The Abyss of Time

Chapter Twenty Nine

     "While we're printing off new equipment," said Felgin, "I would really, really like a Bio-Analyser."

     Miller, Jack and two of the security men were gathered around mule One where the printer was humming away, making a pulse plasma rifle. Miller was holding another he'd just removed from the fabrication chamber. It was warm in his hands and gleamed with perfection, in contrast with the others that were already looking shabby and grey even after only two days on the planet. He took it across to mule Two and plugged it into the fusion generator, to charge it.

     "With even the most basic Bio-Analyser Connie and me could start making some real strides into learning this planet's secrets," the scientist pressed. "The Baker 212a has an enzyme reader, a DNA sequencer, a protein structure analyser. It's a whole laboratory in itself and the file's already in the mule's memory."

     "I'm sorry," said Miller, still staring down at the gun in his hands. "We can't carry the extra weight. It would slow us down."

     "The Baker 212a only weighs a couple of kilos. You can put it in a satchel you wear around your neck. The file for the satchel's also in there."

     "We only have so much rare earth elements in storage and we don't know what else we're going to need before we get to the Alpha site. Once we find a place we can dig up more rare elements you can print off as much scientific equipment as you want."

     "If we have a desperate need for gadolinium or something we can recycle the analyser. The elements will still be there, in the electronics. They don't get used up or anything. Please, Sam. At the moment those elements are just sitting there, doing nothing. I could be using them. Making discoveries that could save our lives."

     "What kind of discoveries?" asked Miller, putting the gun down and looking up.

     "Something we can use to fight infection, maybe. Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics when he saw patches of mold killing the bacteria he was trying to grow. Our antibiotics are useless against these future infections, but the native life has to have ways to fight infection. If we could find out what they are, maybe we could manufacture them ourselves. Something that could have saved Jaime, maybe, if we'd had it two days ago."

     Miller stared at him suspiciously, suspecting he was trying to use his sense of guilt against him. He felt a moment of irritation but fought down the urge to give the scientist a sharp refusal. The fact was that Felgin was making some good points, even if he was mainly interested in satisfying his own curiosity. Suppose someone else got infected. Could he live with himself knowing that Felgin might have been able to save him if he'd had his way?

     "Alright," he said, and the scientist almost jumped with joy. "But if we need the rare earth elements it gets recycled, and I'll hear no objections from you."

     "You'll hear none, I promise," said Felgin jubilantly, and he almost ran to the mule to pass on the instructions to Jack.

     "The guns first," Miller called after him. Felgin waved a hand to say he'd heard.

☆☆☆

     Lucy stared across at Simon Rogers, who was sitting on something on the other side of their rest camp. Some kind of barrel shaped organism, but she couldn't tell whether it was an animal or a plant or something else entirely. Whatever it was, though, it didn't seem to mind being sat on.

     The set of Rogers's body in his bright orange surface suit still radiated misery, an emotion that, along with fear, seemed to have taken permanent possession of him. Lucy hadn't noticed before, but then her father had asked her to keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn't try anything while some dramatic event attracted everyone else's attention. She'd been watching him ever since that conversation, several hours ago, and as a result she was coming to realise just how wretched he was feeling. Wretched enough to have been put on suicide watch if he'd been locked up in a prison, back home.