"Oh, stop being such a toadie, Aaron." Klaus shook off his friend's hand like he was batting away a mosquito, spilling a liberal amount of beer in the process. "Calm down, Genzken hasn't got ears in here, no one's going to report you for not being a walking propaganda poster." 

Klaus was not a tactful drunk. Already more straightforward than most people were comfortable with, Klaus on alcohol tended to vocalize all the unpleasant truths that everyone was thinking but no one wanted to acknowledge. This, combined with the fact that he [i]knew[/i] Aaron, was deeply confused that Aaron had not sided with him, made for a very belligerent professor. 

Mat blinked. "Did you just call Aaron a [i]toadie[/i]?"

"Well, he's clearly not an independent thinker right now." 

Mat frowned, shifting uncomfortably. "[i]None[/i] of us are independent, we all depend on the Party for research funds, you know that. Unless you've completely lost all interest in the sphere-"

"You know the sphere is not the issue," Klaus snapped. "The issue is the directive. Of fucking [i]course[/i] I want to keep researching. I want to take that sphere apart and figure out what makes it tick and understand the fundamental nature of the universe-"

"Then why-"

Klaus slammed his glass on the counter. "Because I don't want to be told what to do! I'm the physicist! I control the project! I decided what questions we answer, and when, and not some idiot medical officer from the idiot establishment." 

But the research pace was not the issue. Klaus knew what the issue was, if it took several rounds of drinks for him to admit it. Ros's words echoed in his mind- [i]Mengele, prisoner, cage[/i]- and he [i]knew[/i], God, he knew what they wanted with the sphere and why they wanted him to hurry. 

"The lab needs to be clear on one thing. We will not be making weapons," Klaus said abruptly. "First, I don't know [i]how[/i] to make weapons. Second, the boys on the front don't need magical weapons. They're doing a great job slaughtering half the men on this continent as it were. If machine guns aren't good enough for them, I don't know what is," he griped, forgetting that Konrad was standing right next to him.