Aeons by Andrew Hastie

Author:Andrew Hastie [Hastie, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Here be dragons Ltd
Published: 2021-08-21T00:00:00+00:00

47

Elethium Condensate

[Xenobiology Department, Regent’s Park Zoo, London. Date: Present day]

‘Is there any way to extract it?’ asked Lyra.

Doctor Shika shook her head, zooming in still further on the holographic display to show the man’s brain. ‘Our scans show that its dendrons are too tightly entangled with those of the host for a physical extraction. It would cause too much damage.’

‘So how do they live so long?’ asked Benoir.

‘Blood flukes can survive for decades in humans by regenerating their organs. I assume these have a similar capability.’

Lyra placed her hand on the glass, but felt nothing but the cold.

‘He’s in stasis,’ explained Kaori. ‘You won’t be able to reach him.’

‘Take him out then,’ demanded Lyra, drawing a series of symbols on the icy surface with her fingernail. ‘Let me read this thing.’

Doctor Shika crossed her arms, her expression hardening. ‘Why on earth would I want to do that?’

‘Because there’s more than one of these things out there.’ Lyra pointed to Benoir. ‘And he thinks they may have infected one of the richest families of the nineteenth century.’

Kaori shook her head. ‘It’s too dangerous. People died capturing this one. We know nothing of its origins nor what it’s really capable of.’

‘And you never will if you keep it locked in a freezer! I thought you were supposed to be scientists not zoo keepers. I’m a seer, all I need to do is touch it.’

Lyra couldn’t explain why she felt the compulsion to read its timeline, only that she knew it was somehow linked to what was going to happen to Josh.

‘Perhaps if we use Elethium Condensate?’ Benoir suggested diplomatically.

Kaori’s eyes widened. ‘And where did you hear about that?’

Benoir smiled. ‘I read your paper.’

‘What’s Elethium Condensate?’ asked Lyra.

‘It’s experimental,’ said Kaori, unfolding her arms. ‘We’re using it to study the non-corporeals.’

‘They usually have to work at near-zero Kelvin,’ added Benoir.

‘How cold is that?’

‘Close to absolute zero, heat death of the universe kind of cold — as cold as it gets.’

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