Quest for the Hidden City by George Mann

Author:George Mann [Mann, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2022-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

Obik was fussing again.

Rillik wondered if it was just in the Mirialan’s nature. He’d filled at least nine vials of blood samples already, and now he was talking about having the droid—which he called Nibs for some annoying reason—carry out some scans. It seemed like a lot.

Did the medic suspect something?

“So far as I can tell, the crystallization of your lung tissues hasn’t progressed as far as we’d all feared. But we do need to find a way to reverse it. Or at least halt its progress before you lose too much function.” Obik spoke while he ran tests on the blood samples at a small workstation he’d folded out from a panel in the wall. They were in the medical bay at the rear of the Umberfall. Rillik was lying on a small bed, hooked up to a series of bleeping monitors. Outside, the wind was howling.

“I can see why your people are concerned,” Obik continued. “Although these minerals are harmless in their natural, unrefined form, they work like parasites once they’ve entered your body. They seem to be activated by contact with Katikoot blood. Once they’ve taken root, they have the power to alter your physiology, turning healthy tissue into copies of the original mineral cells. It’s almost as if they’re alive. Not in the same sense as you or I, but more like a deadly plant or fungus. They colonize the host body and slowly take control. As far as I can tell, the host eventually dies, but the parasitic minerals try to keep it going, even beyond the point of death.” He paused, holding one of the vials up to the light. Rillik could see that the blood inside it had begun to crystallize, taking on a shimmering hue.

Just like the stuff we mine on Gloam.

Obik placed the vial on a rack, alongside several others. “If you hadn’t originated on another world, I’d have assumed the minerals evolved at the same time as the early Katikoot and adapted their reproduction cycle to take advantage of the abundant population.”

“So you’re saying they use us like eggs, to grow new copies of themselves?” said Rillik.

“Yes, a little bit like that,” replied Obik. “In theory, the host bodies would allow the minerals to spread and defend the colony. Although I’d expect only a handful of hosts to prove successful in this way. Most people who become infected will simply die and remain dead. In a way, it’s absolutely fascinating.” He glanced over his shoulder, shooting Rillik a beaming smile. “But more to the point, I’m certain that, with the proper time and equipment, we should be able to engineer a cure for those who’ve been infected. Including you.” He turned his attention back to his work.

Rillik breathed a sigh of relief. So the answer was no. It didn’t seem that Obik suspected anything.

Good.

Rillik gave a rasping cough. “Thank you,” he said, drawing a deep breath. “I had my doubts about the Republic coming here, I don’t mind admitting that. But I can see now I was wrong.

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