Our Last Echo

8

Metropolis

The small piece of rock glowed green with some light of its own. Bill watched it through the glass of the display case. The light pulsed faintly, almost as if the stone were alive. Fascinating.

"We can't identify it," Doctor Emmet said bluntly. "The GC mass. spec. identified traces of known elements on the outside, but the rock itself is not known."

"Not on Earth, you mean," Bill concluded. "It's alien. Is it dangerous?"

"Potentially, yes."

Bill huffed impatiently. "Potentially? What does that mean, potentially? I want facts, Emmet. Facts, facts, facts!"

Doctor Emmet touched a control panel and a lead cover slid over the display case. "The element is in a state of radioactive decay. If we were talking about plutonium, for example, that would mean yes, it's dangerous. Eukaryotic cells exposed to it become damaged."

"Yes! Radiation sickness is bad." Bill glared at the doctor. "Skip to the part I don't know."

"Well, we took a few chips from the rock for testing. We exposed lab mice to the radiation and so far we haven't observed any deleterious effects. It's emitting radiation, but apparently not of a type that's harmful to us. But we can only say that with confidence about short-term exposure. If you hung that thing around your neck and wore it for a few years...well, that could be really bad for you."

Safe for humans. Maybe not so safe for aliens. It was very interesting news.

"I don't plan to wear it as a necklace," Bill said blandly. "Green just isn't my colour. How long until you can tell me about more than short-term effects? And on people, not mice."

Emmet adjusted her lab coat nervously. "That's difficult to say, sir. I can increase the intensity of exposure for the mice, but a study of long-term effects by definition requires time."

"Yes, yes," Bill gestured dismissively. "If this element is of alien origin how do you suppose it would affect alien cells?"

She frowned. "Impossible to say. Unless you know where I can find alien mice, I'm not sure how - "

Bill cut in. "What happened to the body of General Scyro? He's an alien."

Her eyes went wide. "I...I have no idea."

"Doctor, when you called me you said you had some exciting information to share. I strongly recommend you look those words up in a dictionary. So far you have been neither exciting nor informative."

"I..."

"If you had access to the alien remains, could you determine whether this form of radiation would be harmful to Amazonians?"

Doctor Emmet finally figured out that he expected actual science. "Yes, sir. I can."

"Good. Then I will arrange it. How much more of this rock do we have?"

"This is the only sample, Mr Centron, except the small chips I removed for testing. If it came from the Amazonian ship, there might not be any more."

"Hm. Scyro's ship is gone but there are two others. I'll have to get people on that, too." Bill turned to leave. "I want those results by the end of the month, Doctor."

"Of course, sir."

He sighed as he left the lab. Amateurs. He would just have to do it himself.

Tyler was only half listening to the news report as he made breakfast for Diana and himself. The Singleforth vigilante they called Sutton brutalised the leaders of a paedophile ring. One died of his injuries before he reached hospital. Another was seriously injured. The third had been knocked unconscious and his face branded with the symbol of Sutton. Six children with ages ranging from three to twelve, had been rescued.