Dominant Species Volume Three -- Acquired Traits (Dominant Species Series) by Coy David

Author:Coy, David [Coy, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: dystopian, space, series, contagion, infections, fiction, alien, science fiction, space opera, outbreak
ISBN: 1419668390
Publisher: David Coy
Published: 2012-06-30T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

“This isn’t working,” Kropp said. “Look at this mess. They’re dead, or nearly so. Whose idea was this, anyway?”

“Mine, sir,” Lin Fong said. “I wanted to know if the plants could support them in a state of unified and sustained ecstasy. The hypothesis was that a sufficient number of Brunigea connections, mated to a sufficient number of specimens, would succeed where plasticizing recombination has failed.”

“But look at the brain patterns, for Christ’s sake,” Kropp said. “The subjects are practically vegetables themselves.”

Lin Fong sighed. “That’s true, but look at the endorphin levels—the phenylethylamine especially, it’s very high. Higher than can be achieved via surrogate drugs. It’s true it spikes then diminishes, but look at the first part—it’s amazingly high. I see that as very hopeful.” His finger traced a jagged line on a graph.

“But it’s flat at this juncture,” Kropp said. “Your design has failed to support your hypothesis.”

“It’s true it’s not high now,” Lin Fong continued. “But the results overall are far better than plasticizing because of the synoptic links in the hypothalamus facilitated by the Brunigea stamen. There . . . there doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of connections that can be made without killing the subjects.” Lin Fong felt himself rambling to cover his failure. Kropp would see right through it. Lin Fong , plunged forward, hoping for the best. “In this configuration, we get multiple limbic to limbic links that compound the euphoria and the . . .”

“You’ve turned them to useless putty,” Kropp said, curtly. “Is the damage permanent?”

Lin Fong turned with his hands on his hips and looked down at the squirming mass of bodies and Brunigea tendrils.

“Perhaps,” he said. “I’d have to extricate one and see. That can be tricky. These are undomesticated Brunigea.”

Lin Fong knew Kropp was right. Now two days of work had been wasted. He should have stopped yesterday when the endorphin levels dropped to zero. His lab coat suddenly felt like lead.

“Undomesticated Brunigea are very aggressive,” Kropp added knowingly.

“Yes.”

“They are parasites, you know?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, stop your tests. This is a dead end. Jacob wants results. Get one of the subjects out and see if you can revive it. Erhlich needs more in the plasticizing lab. He’s still prototyping. He needs them more than you do. We don’t have an inexhaustible supply.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Get on it right now.”

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