Science!

Mark and Sana explained the various reactions in progress, pointing out which ones were liable to stop without the proper catalysts, and which ones were liable to explode if they weren't managed carefully. Compared to educational labs he had been in, this one was alien to Tony. Not only were the total number of reactions going on far higher than any he had seen in such a small space, but Mark and Sana seemed to have a clear grasp on all of them, calmly moving from one to the next when they needed to move them along.

"This must be what being a professional chef feels like," Tony thought to himself.

As they worked, Tony started helping with some of the simpler tasks, though he often had to stop to double check an equation or measurement. While he had been among the fastest and sharpest students at his college in understanding and charting reactions (stoichiometry came naturally to him), he was well out of the league of his veteran colleagues. It probably didn't help that they had years of experience and had been working with many of the reactions for weeks already, but Tony couldn't help but feel a little inadequate.

His thoughts would drift to Sana, too. Was it normal for coworkers to be that... forward? Was it just this lab's culture? Was it just Sana? Tony couldn't tell. He resolved to ask Mark about her later. In the meantime, his eyes drifted to her covered body. While the gowning was hardly flattering, he knew she was completely naked under there. He knew what she looked like too, he didn't have to imagine as he undressed her with his eyes. He was sure she caught him looking once or twice, and even thought he caught a wink from her. This was either the most awkward, or best job he could have wished for. Maybe both?

His opportunity to ask about Sana came that afternoon. Sana stepped out to use the WC, and Mark and Tony were waiting for some solutes to settle in a table centrifuge as it spun. Tony broached the topic as delicately as he could.

"So... is Sana on ****?"

Mark looked alarmed for a moment, and then chuckled.

"That obvious, huh? Well, it's nothing serious. In fact, we both are."

"What!?"

"Yeah, they warn you about this in school, and they're generally right to, but we're using one of the **** we've developed, before it hits formal testing. Though, in this case the **** we're on is perfectly safe, and rather helpful really."

"Stripping down in front of a coworker for laughs on their first day is helpful?"

"Er, not that part so much. I suspect its hitting her a little more than me, given we've taken similar doses and she weighs so much less. See, we developed a nootropic, a working one, that also acts as a dopamine agonist. That is, it boosts brain activity. The usual effects of a dopamine agonist, sleepiness and compulsive behavior among others, are offset by some of the aditional energy and focus of the nootropic. Though, the compulsive behaviour piece isn't completely muted, as you could see. There were no other notable side effects we could observe in animal studies. As to why we started using it, well, it was a bit by accident, but I ended up inadvertently trying it first. Numerous risks and ethics violations aside... I've never been as focused, and my memory is better than it has ever been."

Tony nervously follows Mark's story. Was it okay to use something that had some of the effects of drunkedness on the job? Was it okay to use something that gave a competitive advantage in a research field on the job? What is both effects were due to the same ****?

"Now it's all under NDA," Mark continued, "but of course, whistleblower protections won't allow that to stop you from reporting misuse of controlled substances in the workplace. I would hope you will report us if it ever gets out of hand, but I would ask you to keep it under wraps as long as it doesn't adversely impact the workplace. I'm of the opinion that using it is strictly better for this lab's success, but subjectivity is a bitch. So, what do you say?"