25: Geleira, .5

pret·er·i·tion
1. the act of passing by or over; omission; disregard.
2. (law) the passing over by a testator of an heir or otherwise entitled to a portion.
3. (Calvinist theology) the passing over by God of those not elected to salvation or eternal life.
4. (rhetoric) paraleipsis.

Pablo Vargas was alone in the lab, but for the analyst Piter, who was discreetly punching keys at a desk nearby. His small, skeletal presence was easy to overlook. Vargas, meanwhile, filled the room. Something about the intensity of his eyes, darting between his datapad and the glass wall partitioning the lab and the greenhouse, made the space seem that much smaller.

Beyond the wall, a host of specimens from across the equatorial and temperate regions of Geleira grew in individual environments, the temperature and air pressure of each kept steady. The walls of the facility isolated the greenhouse from the outside climate, allowing the plants to interact only with the light from Florescente through a circular atrium. This was the control group. They were important only as a basis for comparison. It was the plants outside that held Vargas' interest.