For good?

      Mika reread her notes for the tenth time. Every word, every formula, every graph — everything had to be perfect. She couldn’t afford to make a single mistake. Not because she was afraid of failure, but because she knew that if they didn’t understand, the discovery would be buried in the corporate archives or, worse, turned into a weapon.       She folded the pages carefully into a folder and reached for the phone. A notification appeared on the screen: “Vadim (4 missed)”.       Mica smiled. Her younger brother never called once — only in batches, as if each successive attempt increased the chances that she would finally answer. She pressed the call button. “Mika!"almost immediately, his voice rang out, too loud as always. “Are you alive? Where are you? Grandma says that if you don’t call back, she will personally come and check if you have been dissolved in any of her reagents!” ” I’m in the lab, " Mica replied, cradling the phone against her shoulder as she continued to lay out the slides for her presentation. “And yes, I’m alive. I’m just… preparing something important.” ” Oooh, " Vadim drawled with obvious interest. “Is it something like “I’ll blow the fuck out of everyone” or”I’ll finally invent a perpetual motion machine”?” “Closer to the second one.” “Really?!"He was quiet for a second, which was rare for him. “So you… did you really do something big?”       Mica bit her lip. She was used to hiding her abilities, but Vadim was the only one she sometimes allowed herself to be real. “It’s possible. But I still don’t know how people will react to this.” “What’s the difference? my brother snorted. “If it’s cool, then you need to tell them. And if someone doesn’t understand — well, then he’s just a fool.”       She laughed. His childlike directness sometimes surprised her more than any scientific theory. “Okay, genius,” Vadim said. “Just promise me that when you get the Nobel Prize, you’ll take me with you. I want to see all these important guys swoon over your speech.” ” I promise, " Mica smiled.       They said their goodbyes, and the screen went blank. She took another look at her notes. The fear was still there, but it was a little less so now.       Tomorrow-presentation.       Tomorrow the world will change.       Or… she’ll regret it.