Part 004 - The Division of Environmental Affairs

Gina sat at her desk. It took her a while to find her office. It was in the science area of the Kumunita. However, it was placed way in the back of the building in an older section. The environment, she laughed as she pondered the offices she passed along the way, wasn’t as important as the science of nuclear energy or the electronics division of guided GPS rocketry.

The Division of Environmental Affairs was small compared to the other offices. There were probably forty people working within it. Most of them were scientists who hid in their labs all day or were perusing the fields and preparing experiments. There were a few public affairs officers who spoke for the division and reported to Gina. She, in turn, reported to the Kamunita.

Gina unpacked the few things she had brought with her to place in her office. She was single and an only child – so there were no pictures of husbands, nephews, or nieces. Her parents had been murdered in a drive by shooting that hit the wrong people. She had just graduated from high school a month before the shooting. She placed the last photo she had of the three of them. The picture was of them all at her high school graduation. Her parents looked so proud in the picture, and they would be proud of her if they were still alive.

After she unpacked, Gina decided to walk around the offices and labs to introduce herself. First, she stopped by the PR office. She met Mike Grabble. He was the one who would inform her of what the scientists were researching and any new findings or discoveries so she could give her monthly report to the Kabinet.

Mike was a short fellow. He couldn’t have been any taller than five foot five, and Gina towered over him at her five foot ten height. Mike was in his forties and balding. He was a pleasant man who liked to tell jokes. He had to of told three in the short time they talked. Gina wondered if he always did that, or if it was a nervous habit.

Mike introduced her to the rest of the staff. No one particularly stuck out as anyone Gina would have to worry about. Her first impression was that everyone seemed confident or feigned it in their introductions and conversations she engaged in. She didn’t stay too long, because she wanted to check out the labs.

Mike offered to lead Gina on a friendly tour of the DOEA. She obliged, thinking it would be easier to find places if someone led her around for the first day. Tomorrow she could venture out on her own and poke her nose around.

The first stop was the wind lab. No actual scientists were in there working since the past month had been windier than usual, and strange winds were whipping through causing the scientists to play in the real winds and not ones in the lab. There was, however, a technician, and he showed Gina all of the machines and how they worked. The hurricane room was the most interesting, she thought, as she sat strapped in - being whipped by hurricane winds. The technician, of course, couldn’t turn it all the way up since a human was in there. The room, however, was really made to test what the winds do to objects and building materials. Gina’s exiting thought was that she sure was glad she wore pants today instead of a dress and ruffled her hair back into place.

Mike was smiling when she exited. He refused to go into the room. He didn’t like big and fast winds, especially ones that could tear a building apart. They moved on to different labs and saw different experiments going on. Gina found it all fascinating and hoped she could finally do some good with all this research and knowledge that Mike would be relaying to her. She hoped she could use it and finally make a difference. The planet was going to hell, and she knew it. The problem was no one in the Kabinet cared. This time, she was in the Kamunita and would be talking to the Kabinet members herself.

Gina went home and began to settle into her new place. The furnishings were nice. The place was spacious yet felt cozy. There really wasn’t a reason to complain. All she could think about when she laid down to go to bed that night was that this path she was now on was sure going to be a wild ride.