My trip to the tour the local research laboratory had been a lot more interesting than I’d thought going into it. I’d been picturing a bunch of empty corridors with stressed out researchers gazing at algae under microscopes behind closed doors. Instead, they had a spacious atrium absolutely packed with astonishing projects that I didn’t even think was possible. There was an invisible jet, headphones that wirelessly beamed music straight into your head, and a giant tractor beam elevator straight out of Star Trek. I was blown away by all of it. I was even able to take home some of their defense serum. Read more