Novo Cetus

Chapter 24

Melinda and James tackled the challenge of neutralizing the nanos. He'd originally designed the nanos to withstand electrical overload. Built with sophisticated circuit breakers, they had the capacity to reroute if they encountered a barrier.

The prototype nanos were "team players," meaning the more nanos there were, the more effective they would be.

Data showed that nanos saturated the skin sample.

Melinda moved from her computer station and circled the stainless-steel water table. She chewed her lip and stared at the piece of flesh soaking in the salt water, willing a plan to come to mind. Dan prepared the area for collection of basic data on water, climate change and composition.

"Maybe we can shock them," Melinda said. "Moto, get me a pair of jumper cables and a battery charger!" She turned to the group."Rubber boots and gloves for everyone," she said, as if she was ordering a round of drinks for the gang.

James swung his chair around and faced Melinda. He appeared exasperated. Melinda waved him off as he began to argue. "I know, I know . . . your design included circuit breakers, but we're going to shock the sample from the outside, your breakers are for internal wire overload." She crouched down and examined the water table.

"The electrical conductivity of stainless steel is relatively poor." She slide under the table like a mechanic checking the break system. "I wish this was aluminum," she grumbled.

Moto returned with all the requested items and heard her desire. "This particular water table has a fairly low fraction of nickel; it may prove to be better than expected," he said.

Melinda grabbed up a pair of boots and gloves and looked expectantly at the others.

"Why do I have to wear these?" Dan asked. Deep into promising research on sedatives, he was hesitant to take time out of his research. "I could just take my research out of the lab and wait until the experiment is over."

"I can't predict what the nanos will do when they experience the shock," explained Melinda. "Hopefully we'll discover a window of time when they are inactive, and I want all brains on deck."

Already into gloves and boots, she and James examined the battery charger. James attached the clamps to the terminals and Moto signaled a clumsy gloved thumbs up, indicating they were securely attached. James started to walk to the wet container. "Do you think they know I'm coming?" he voiced, slowing down a bit.

"I don't think so," replied Dan, now wearing boots and gloves. "At least we haven't evidenced anything like that," he quantified.

"We're pretty lucky this isn't plastic," James noted, his voice hushed. He gently clipped the cables to the side of the container.

There was no reaction from the nano-infused skin.

Melinda skillfully managed to edge out Moto at the rheostat of the charger. "How much juice should I send?" she asked.

"Crank it up pretty good," James said. "The original nanos are set to withstand a pretty substantial shock."

Melinda set the charger on high. "Ready?" she asked. There were nods, and she flipped the switch to on. The reaction was immediate. They heard a loud pop as the electrical current was pushed back into the charger. Acrid smoke drifted up from the charger as fluid oozed from burst seams. Water flew from the container and the air crackled with electrical current. The water surrounding the flesh roiled, and droplets danced against the sides of the water table. Melinda felt her hair stand on end.

The hunk of whale flesh sat in the container, ominously still.

The team fell silent. Dan finally spoke. "I feel like that cop from the movie Jaws, you know, the one who said 'We're going to need a bigger boat.'

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