Beyond the Ice Limit

45

GIDEON JOINED GLINN and a few other mission leaders at the far end of the DSV hangar. Glinn—who was in urgent conversation with Dr. Brambell and Antonella Sax—gave him a distracted nod. The golden orb of the sun had set into the ocean, leaving an orange glow across the horizon. The deck lights had just been turned on and were bathing the hangar in a ghastly yellow sodium-vapor light.

The hangar deck was a crowded and restless scene, some people talking in tense murmurs, others in loud expostulations. As Gideon looked over the crowd, he was shocked at the depth of anxiety, if not terror, he saw on many of the faces.

Glinn stepped forward. Gideon hoped he could work his calming magic, but given this crowd he was doubtful.

Glinn held up his hands and a hush fell. “As you all know, the specimen we brought on board—what we had assumed to be a long root or tendril—has vanished from the prep lab. We know that small, worm-like appendages, calved off from the main specimen, have managed to parasitize at least three people so far, and probably four, all assigned to the exobiology lab. Craig Waingro, the lab assistant who accidentally shot himself in a struggle in mission control, had a parasitic worm in his brain. CT scans have shown that the other two exo lab assistants, Reece and Stahlweather, are also infected, harboring worms in their brains. They are now anesthetized, restrained, and locked in the brig.”

At this, the restless murmur of the crowd swelled in volume.

“Please. I have much more to tell you.”

A half silence returned.

“It also seems likely Mr. Frayne, the lead lab assistant, was also infected, which, we believe, explains why he stole the DSV. Dr. Brambell and Dr. Sax have just completed a dissection of one of the worms, and we have more information and a tentative hypothesis to share with you.”

Another swell of chatter; a few shouted challenges.

“Please!” said Garza stepping forward. “Keep quiet and let Dr. Glinn speak.”

“The so-called worms have a single tooth. This consists of a diamond-like compound that can, it seems, work a hole in steel or pretty much any substance. We must assume that they are now dispersed throughout the ship. From what little we know, the worms appear to attack people when they sleep. They anesthetize the victim and enter the brain. This anesthetized period lasts perhaps two hours and, based again on the evidence, appears to take the form of an unwakable sleep.”

“How do you know all this!” someone shouted.

“We don’t know it. This is a working hypothesis, based on eyewitness testimony, inference, and deduction.”

“We need to get the hell out of here!”

Gideon looked in the speaker’s direction. It was Masterson—the second engineer who had riled up the postmortem meeting held in the wake of Alex Lispenard’s death.

“That clearly won’t solve the immediate problem,” Glinn said calmly. “Now let me finish. The more you know about the situation, the better for everyone concerned. It appears that a person, once parasitized by the worm, becomes—for want of a better description—placed in the Baobab’s thrall. Somehow enlisted to do its bidding, so to speak. This may be the reason Frayne stole the DSV, helped by Reece, and intentionally drove it straight into the creature’s maw. And this is also why Waingro tried to interrupt the seismic charges we placed on the seabed—the Baobab must have believed them a threat and taken steps to stop us.”

“That’s bull!” someone said.

Glinn raised his hands. “The phenomenon is not unknown in earth biology—even in humans. Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that lives in a cat’s gut. It spreads to mice via cat droppings, invades their brains, and causes mice to lose their fear of cats—and thus get eaten. That is how the parasite spreads. People infected with toxo also become more reckless, get in more car accidents, seem to lose their sense of prudence. The worms seem to operate in a similar fashion. The parasitized person wakes up, goes about his business, unaware of what is in his brain or that he’s been infected. But while he seems completely normal…he will go to any lengths to achieve his goal of trying to unite with the Baobab. As Frayne did. Or to protect it—as Waingro tried to do.”

“Why?” someone shouted.

“We believe it may be for feeding purposes. It seems to have a specialized diet.”

The feeding purposes phrase caused another tumult. Garza again shushed the crowd.

“Dr. Brambell is going to operate on the two remaining exo lab assistants tonight and try to remove their parasites. Meanwhile, we will be taking all possible precautions. Everyone on board ship is going to be CT scanned, on a twenty-four/seven schedule, which will be posted to the ship’s net very soon. And I am sorry to say that all of us—everyone—are temporarily forbidden to sleep, because that is when it appears one is most vulnerable to attack. Sick bay will dispense phenethylamine to anyone who asks for it. Security, under the leadership of Manuel Garza, will be undertaking an intensive sweep of the ship, which we hope will find the missing worms.”

At this the tumult became general. Garza stepped forward, crying out for people to simmer down, but the tide of anger rolled over him. The no-sleep order, in particular, seemed to spark both apprehension and anger. Suddenly Brambell, who had been waiting in the wings, stepped forward. The startling appearance of the man, and the universal respect in which he was held aboard ship, caused a temporary lull.

“My friends,” he said in his Irish brogue, “it’s quite simple. The worm enters through the nose, and works its way through the nasal bones into the brain. Remember that—until he is given instructions by the Baobab, or until he believes it to be threatened—a parasitized person will act completely normally. The only way to tell if someone is infected, short of a CT scan, is by witnessing a two-hour period of unwakable sleep—or by sudden and unexpected behavioral changes. We must all be vigilant.”

This little speech was met with rapt silence. Glinn, taking tactical advantage, forcefully filled the silence. “We’ve told you all this for two reasons: First, to tamp down rumor and wild talk. Second, to alert you to the dangers and challenges currently facing us. Despite all this, indeed because of it, the program of killing the Baobab must go on full speed ahead. Everyone: back to business.”