After a quick call to Stanton to be sure the money he’d promised would be immediately forthcoming, Edward phoned a series of people whom he wanted to consider recruiting for Omni’s professional staff. Edward and Kim did not get into the car for the drive north until well after ten.
By the time Edward parked in front of the stables in the Stewart compound there was a small crowd of people waiting. They had all introduced themselves, so Edward was spared the task. Instead he waved for them to gather by the padlocked sliding door.
The building was a long, single-story stone structure with infrequent windows set high under the eaves. Since the terrain fell off sharply toward the river, the back was two stories, with separate entrances to each stall on the lower level.
Kim tried multiple keys before finding the correct one to open the heavy padlock. After sliding it open, everyone entered what was the ground floor from the front and the second story from the rear.
The interior was a huge, undivided long room with a cathedral ceiling. On the rear side of the building there were multiple shuttered openings. One end of the room was filled with bales of hay.
“At least the demolition will be easy,” George said.
“This is perfect,” Edward said. “My idea of a lab is one big space so that everyone interfaces with everyone else.”
The stairway leading down to the lower level was constructed of rough-hewn oak and pegged together with dowels an inch in diameter. Downstairs they found a long hall with stalls to the right and tack rooms to the left.
Kim tagged along and listened to the plans to convert the barn rapidly into a state-of-the-art biological and pharmacological laboratory. Downstairs there were to be quarters for a menagerie of experimental animals including rhesus monkeys, mice, rats, and rabbits. There was also to be space for tissue- and bacterial-culture incubators along with containment facilities. And finally there were to be specially shielded rooms for the NMR and X-ray crystallography.
The upstairs would house the main laboratory space as well as a shielded, air-conditioned room for a large mainframe computer. Every laboratory bench would have its own terminal. To power all the electronic equipment a huge electrical service would be brought in.
“Well, there you have it,” Edward said when they had finished the tour. He turned to the contractor and architect. “Can you see any problems with all this?”
“I don’t think so,” Mark said. “The building is sound. But I would suggest we design an entrance with a reception area.”
“We won’t be having many visitors,” Edward said. “But I see your point. Go ahead and design it. What else?”
“I can’t see that we’ll have any trouble with permits,” George said.
“Provided we don’t say anything about the animal aspect,” Mark said. “My advice is just not to mention it. It could create problems that would take a long time to resolve.”
“I’m more than happy to leave the civic relations to you experienced men,” Edward said. “The fact is, I’m interested in expediting this project, so I’d like to take full advantage of your expertise. And to speed completion I’m willing to give a ten percent bonus above time, materials, and fees.”
Enthusiastic and eager smiles appeared on Mark’s and George’s faces.
“When can you start?” Edward asked.
“We can start immediately,” Mark and George said in unison.
“I hope my little job isn’t going to suffer with this newer and bigger project,” Kim said, speaking up for the first time.
“No need to worry,” George said. “If anything it will speed work up at the cottage. We’ll be bringing a big crew in here with all the trades represented. If we need a plumber or an electrician for some small task on your job, they’ll already be on site.”
While Edward, the contractor, the architect, and the various medical-equipment reps settled down to work out the details for the new lab, Kim wandered outside the stables. She squinted her eyes against the hazy but intense noontime sun. She knew she wasn’t contributing to the planning of the lab, so she hiked across the field toward the cottage to check on the renovation.