After much debate, it was decided that the worm shouldn’t need much time to decompress, as it had no swim bladder or gas-filled organs. The fish geeks decided that getting the creature back to the proper temperature was more important than a lengthier decompression process, and Theresa opened the vents to allow the tank to bleed off the pressure. As soon as it was finished hissing, they opened the top and looked down at the long worm with the red feathery face.
“I’m not sure if it’s beautiful or absolutely hideous,” said Ian.
“That’s what your mom said when you were born,” said Mike.
“Play nice, boys. We’ll cover it so the light doesn’t stress it.”
“It doesn’t have eyes,” said Mike. “You think it knows light from dark?”
Theresa looked at Ted, who shrugged. Ian shrugged as well. “I guess you do have a point. Okay—skip the cover.”
“Let’s get this rolled out to the lift and bring it up to the power plant,” said Ted. Although the sea lab didn’t have an actual elevator from the top to the bottom, it did have a small lift to accommodate heavy machinery or crew from the lowest deck, the lab, to the crew quarters and sickbay level on Deck Two. The tank was six feet long by two feet wide and two feet deep and weighed over two thousand pounds when full. It wasn’t going to be carried anywhere.
“Should we leave the bait in the tank for food?” Theresa asked Ted.
“No, it will foul the water. Besides, I want to examine the bluefish. If my theory is correct, it will have traces of the bacteria on it already.”
Theresa furrowed her brow and mulled that over. “Okay, let’s get him up to the power plant and warm him up.”
“How do you know it’s not a she?” asked Mike with a grin.
“Anything this nasty looking has to be a male,” said Theresa.
Ted and Mike each grabbed an end of the tank, which was on a heavy-duty wheeled cart. They maneuvered it carefully out of the lab and down the hallway to the lift, where it was rolled into the small steel cage. Mike squeezed in next to the tank, barely making it, and Ted closed the gate behind him. With the touch of a button, Mike and the sea creature took off for the mid deck where the air was warm.
When the lift stopped on the power plant level, Mike remained stuck inside until Ted jogged down the hall and opened the gate. They pushed and pulled the heavy tank and cart down the hall until they got to the power plant, where Theresa was waiting with the door wide open. Ted and Mike found an out-of-the-way spot in the back of the cavernous room and parked the tank and awful-looking worm. There, in the heat and hum of the ship’s heart, the worm heated up and awaited its fate.
The three of them returned to the lab, and Ted put on rubber gloves and a face mask. He began removing thin exterior slices of the foul-smelling bluefish, to be examined under the heaviest magnification available on their vessel. Mike watched Ted and Theresa operate for a while in silence and then finally walked over to where they were working.
Mike leaned over Theresa’s shoulder, near where a piece of boiled bluefish bait was lying on the table. “You gonna eat that?”
She didn’t look up from the slide she was preparing. “Help yourself. Ketchup is in the fridge.”
“Whatcha doin’?” he asked, peering over her shoulder.
“Getting pissed because some guy from Jersey is leaning over my shoulder,” she answered, but she was smiling.
“Maybe it’s because you smell so good.”
“It’s probably the bluefish,” she quipped.
“Ah—that’s it. Eau du Poisson. Very nice.”
“I’m impressed. You speak French?”
“No. I only speak two languages—English and profanity.”
“Nice.”
“Seriously, what are you two doing?”
“Ted is very interested in the bacteria. I’m helping him prepare slides.”
Mike walked around the table and sat across from Ted, who was working in a petri dish under the microscope. “Okay, so clue me in. What has you so intrigued?”
Ted looked up and fought the urge to tell him to piss off. Instead, he sat up and looked Mike in the eye. “You really want to know? I mean—in detail?”
“Sure.”
“The symbiotic relationship between bacteria and animals is nothing new. You’ve got plenty of bacteria living in your gut right now, which helps you digest your food. If you eat yogurt, you intentionally ingest billions of bacteria that are good for you. But we, as humans, are under the impression that we are running the show and the bacteria are just passive, benevolent hitchhikers. Typical human ego. What if it’s the other way around? What if the bacteria are the life-forms running the planet, and we’re just here to transport them wherever they need to go?”
“Nice. Maybe the yogurt should go shopping at the human store instead of the other way around,” said Mike sarcastically.
“Maybe,” snapped Ted. “The bacteria living in those vents survive in an atmosphere that would kill almost anything on this planet. They’ve lived the exact same way for a few hundred million years. They’ve seen creatures come and go, and they’ve found ways to survive. You think they only exist on Earth?”
“I knew this would somehow lead to your space mission,” said Mike, looking annoyed.
“Damn right. These bacteria have enabled these worms to live in water that should boil them! The bacteria are so efficient, the damned worms don’t even have to eat anymore! There are more secrets to the universe in this petri dish than you could ever imagine.”
“Exactly. Which is why this project should have been funded forty years ago,” said Mike, bringing up the old argument yet again.
Theresa looked at him, obviously angry. He caught her glare and raised his hand in apology. “Okay, look. You and I don’t decide where the country spends the money on research. You’re right—the bacteria is every bit as important to our research as the actual sea life. I get it, okay?” He extended his hand to Ted, who looked as shocked as Theresa.
Ted shook his hand, and Theresa breathed a long sigh of relief. Mike continued. “We’ll get a lot more accomplished if we work together. Peace, okay?”
Ted actually smiled. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “I understand your frustration. You’re also right in your own way—if the funding had been available to your research years ago, we’d know a lot more. And the truth is, as strange as it sounds, our lines of research are totally connected. What we learn here will help get us to Mars and beyond. And the technology of the space missions has made this mission possible.”
“Thank you,” said Theresa. “Both of you. Let’s focus on our research and forget the BS, okay?”
Ian, who had been listening to the entire exchange, shot Mike a look and headed toward the lab door. As he walked by Mike, he whispered, “Pussy.”