Star Trek Starfleet Corps of Engineers - 60 - The Cleanup by Star Trek

Author:Star Trek
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781416520443
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2006-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter

14

“It looks like a lava lamp,” said Fabian, gazing appreciatively into the transparent, red-tinted tank in the heart of the vast chamber under the shrine. “Only a lot bigger.”

The tank was several meters in diameter and extended high overhead, almost to the ceiling. It fattened as it descended toward a bulge at the base, resembling a laboratory flask.

A ring of instrumentation encircled the base, complete with control panels, monitors, and sensor prods extending into the tank itself. Clumps of some kind of protoplasmic substance were suspended in the liquid inside the tank, constantly oozing together and flowing apart to form new configurations.

“What’s a lava lamp?” said Gomez.

“A late-twentieth-century tabletop lighting device,” said Fabian, “as you would know if you ever accepted the invitation to join me in my Disco Kung Fu Superstar ’76 holo-program.”

“What’s disco?” said Pattie.

“Never mind,” Fabian said with an exasperated wave. Something told him that instead of trying to explain disco to a Nasat, he should quit while he was ahead. “So what’s it supposed to do?”

Soloman sat at one of the control terminals mounted at the base of the giant tank. “Unknown at this time,” he said, a trace of annoyance in his voice. “The morphic systems down here are incredibly robust. They are resisting my efforts to crack the programming or database.”

“Guesses, anyone?” said Gomez, slowly walking around the base of the tank.

“No guess yet, but I have information,” said Pattie, standing up on her hind legs and aiming her tricorder at the tank. “The clumps in the tank are similar in composition to Em-Lin’s changeling multitool, which in turn bears a strong resemblance to Founder physiology.”

“Could it be a Founder nursery, maybe?” said Fabian, reaching out to touch the surface of the tank. A jot of static electricity snapped the tip of his finger as he made contact. The tank’s surface felt warm and surprisingly rough to the touch, like gritty sandpaper.

“There’s biochemical activity,” said Lense, scanning the tank with a tricorder on the opposite side from Pattie. “I’m reading neuroelectric activity as well, but no cellular mitosis. No cell division. The organic clusters could be fetal life-forms in some sort of cryogenic suspension, but they’re not growing and developing right now.”

“Maybe it’s some kind of supercomputer,” said Fabian, “utilizing cultured changeling material to process information the way we use bioneural gel-packs.”

“Whatever it is,” said Gomez, “I think it might be a prototype. An experimental construct. I’ve never seen or read about anything quite like it being used by the Dominion.”

“There we go.” Soloman lifted his hands away from the keyboard that they had been battering. “I think I just about have it. I should be inside the secure shell in a matter of minutes.”

“Great,” said Gomez, and then she turned to Em-Lin, who was standing off to one side with Vance. As usual, Em-Lin looked thoroughly distracted, staring off into space with a troubled frown knotting her features. “Em-Lin.” Gomez raised her voice to cut through whatever vision was holding the Miradorn’s attention. “Em-Lin.

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