Sarah put the notebooks aside and started looking around the room. There had to be some sort of prototype or backup device around, otherwise she'd have to build a new empathizer from scratch. It was a tiny chip though, so if there was a a spare it could be almost anywhere. She didn't look for long before the door to the lab swung open.
"Ms. Trask, what's going on in here? I could hear yelling all the way from my office! Where's John?"
"Dr. Norton!" Sarah looked up to see the head of the physics department standing in the doorway. The older man was John's boss, and her faculty advisor. Not to mention a bit of a condescending jerk. "It's... it's amazing, really! John's made an incredible discovery. Although he's also gone and gotten himself into a bit of trouble."
"What on Earth are you talking about?" He asked, walking closer. She proceeded to explain John's invention, showing him the notes and diagrams he'd left behind.
"Hm. It seems theoretically possible. But there's no way to stabilize the nano-waves!"
"Well, he did it! When I came in he almost instantly started acting just like me. He was able to regain some control when there was distance between us, but it appeared incredibly difficult."
Dr. Norton still didn't look convinced. "And where is Dr. Watson now?"
"No idea. I went to find Dr. Stevens, but she had already left for the day. When I came back, Dr. Smith was gone!"
"Well if he's in this... state... you're describing, isn't it more important to find out where he is rather than snooping through another scientist's research?"
Sarah ignored the veiled accusation and leafed through the pile of notes. "Actually, that's another problem. See this emitter?" She showed him a roughly sketched schematic. "It makes whoever's around him act like his mental state is perfectly normal. The effect has a slight delay, so when I first encountered him I was able to tell what was wrong. But if I'd spent any more time in close proximity, I would have completely forgotten there was even a problem. So even if we found him, we'd have a very short window to get close enough to try and shut down the empathizer."
Dr. Norton looked exasperated now. "Ms. Trask, I know Dr. Watson is prone to flights of fancy. The byproduct of a lonely mind, I suppose. But this whole tale is preposterous coming from you." He put an arm around Sarah's shoulder and escorted her out of the lab, then locked the door behind them.
"Wait, what are you doing? I have work to do!" Dr. Norton stopped in front of the bank of windows facing the quad, and turned to look at Sarah.
"No, Ms. Trask, I'm revoking your lab privileges. Remember, you're not a doctor yet, you're a Ph.D candidate. And you can't just go around insulting the intelligence of your superiors with tall tales!"
"Oh, come on!" Sarah groaned. Norton could be a real asshole sometimes. If she did make another empathizer, she already had a good idea for a test subject.
"Listen, John Watson has earned himself a reputation as a quack around here. You can't let yourself get caught up in his crackpot theories. I've heard some wacky stuff from him over the years but this is--"
"WE ARE THE DELTAS, THE CUTE & SASSY DELTAS!!"
The chant from outside interrupted his train of thought.
"DON'T YOU WISH YOU WERE A DELTA TOO??"
Sarah's mouth was already agape as Dr. Norton turned to look. It was unmistakable, even from across the quad. Among the multiple groups of girls, one was not quite like the other. The Deltas were lined up, shoulder to shoulder, each one decked out in pink. But one was almost a foot taller than the rest. Still, John, now dressed just like the rest, happily clapped along with the cheer, screaming his heart out with pride. As the chant ended, the girls broke formation, and that was when things got really interesting. He mostly seemed to be moving independently, though his movements were still that of a total girly girl having the time of her life. But sometimes, his actions would sync up perfectly with one of the other girls when one of them got close enough.
"Oh my god," was all Dr. Norton could say. "It's... it's true! Wait... where did he get an outfit in his size?"
"So uh, about that lab key..." Sarah said.
