Astronomicon: Behemoth

Chapter 36 - Investigation

Santiago had barely reached the top of the Control Room ladder before he began to give his report to Megan who was reclined in the central commander's chair studying a handheld tablet. Using her foot, she swivelled her chair to face him.

"We've done every test we can, analysed it every way possible with the equipment we've got, which is not bad, and I've tested Walter for everything I can think of. If there's anything harmful in that gel, I sure as hell can't find it."

"So, you're sure that it's safe to eat?" she asked, lowering the tablet to her lap.

"As sure as I can be, but it's hard to get rid of that last nagging doubt. Scientifically, I've done every test I can to ensure the gel is safe to eat. Logically, if I get this wrong, everyone in the trial could be very ill."

"What do we now?"

"Well, Commander, I'm not about to recommend that we let the entire crew eat the stuff."

"A bigger sample group then?" she suggested.

"I'll go along with that. L.E.O. Obi has volunteered to be a guinea pig," he smiled.

"I must balance caution with the need to extend our food supply. I don't want anyone to die because of this. The problem is, without this we might all die."

"Let's add another L.E.O. and Aron to the test group. That will bring us up to about half the awake crew in the test."

"Not Aron," Megan replied. "Add Margaux instead. For now, I want to keep the senior officers out of it. Four is good. Everyone who's not trying the gel can keep an eye on those that are."

"As you wish," he smiled. "I'll monitor everyone involved."

* * *

"Oh well, here goes!" proclaimed L.E.O. Cohen, lifting a heaped spoonful of glistening gel towards his mouth.

"I'm still not sure about this," groaned Margaux as she watched him tentatively close his lips around the spoon.

"Walter has been singing its praises for days," said L.E.O. Obi.

"What's it taste like?" asked Margaux.

L.E.O. Cohen slowly drew the spoon out from between his lips and thought for a moment. "It has the consistency of that evaporating handwash gel, but it tastes like honey-coated bacon. Delicious."

"Eew. That's what Walter said," she replied, turning her attention to the glass beaker of gel on the counter in front of her.

L.E.O. Obi reached past her and dipped his spoon into the beaker. He held it close under his nose. "It really does smell like bacon," he frowned as though that surprised him.

"It hasn't done Walter any harm," said L.E.O. Cohen.

"To be fair, he wasn't exactly right before he ate the gel," she replied.

"That's unkind," replied L.E.O. Obi, disappointment showing on his face.

"But true," she said, rotating her spoon nervously in her fingers.

L.E.O. Obi tentatively dipped the tip of his tongue into the gel on his spoon. A moment later, he slurped the rest of it before spooning more from the beaker.

"Hey! No double-dipping!" she protested. "Mind you, I don't know why I'm complaining, I'm not trying that stuff!"

* * *

This time Aron drove the four-seated buggy right into the cat people hangar and parked it near the vessel, illuminating the vertical stack of spherical modules with the buggy's powerful headlamps. He estimated that the cat vessel was probably less than a third of the size of the Arcadian but, as he had the mapper with him, he would know for sure very soon,