Jessica and Ted moved the small X-ray machine to Ian’s bed. They were still wearing their hazmat suits, and Ian was still unconscious. Jessica had decided to get some pictures of his stomach area. His stomach had become swollen and distended since getting sick, and although Ian hadn’t awakened from any pain, it didn’t look good. In fact, it looked downright bizarre.
Ted was quiet, following Jessica’s instructions. When she had turned her back, he pressed Ian’s swollen belly. It felt like a squishy water balloon. Ted’s mask hid his smile.
Jessica took four pictures and waited for them to transfer to the computer. It was a sophisticated machine—as good as anything in a new orthopedist’s office or hospital, and had been put on the ship for the sickbay as well as lab use. As the pictures came in on Jessica’s monitor, she and Ted stood, arms folded, awaiting the images.
The first picture opened and showed a very faint X-ray of Ian’s stomach area. It was a very low-resolution picture. “Damn it,” mumbled Jessica. “I must have done something wrong—I can’t see anything.” She switched to the next picture, slightly lower than Ian’s stomach. The resolution was no better. “Jesus!” she cursed. “What’s with this machine?” Ted stared at the picture. What should have been defined outlines of Ian’s abdominal organs were extremely faint and out of focus, as if his organs had simply started melting.
The third picture came up on the screen. Ian’s small and large intestines should have been showing on the monitor. Instead, there was what appeared to be a clearly defined sack, much larger than his stomach. It appeared to be filled with liquid. Ted tried his best to contain his excitement under his mask.
“What the fuck is that?” exclaimed Jessica, sounding horrified. She leaned closer to the picture and stared. “Ted?”
He looked into her eyes and saw the fear. He was enjoying this moment but didn’t want to gloat openly. “I think we should get a sample from it. Use a syringe and draw out some of the fluid . . .”
“What is it? That shouldn’t be there! Is it a tumor? It’s giant! His midsection is so swollen—whatever that is, it’s huge . . .” She was half talking to herself as she babbled and tried her best to hold it together. She had seen thousands of X-rays in her life, but nothing ever like this. “Ted, what do you think?”
“It would appear that the Deinococcus have taken over their host—just like in the tube worms. Ian appears to have developed a trophosome.”
“A what?”
“A trophosome. It’s the central organ inside the tube worm. Basically, a large holding tank for the bacteria. Quite amazing, actually, how fast the transformation occurred.” Ted was staring at the X-ray, deep in thought.
“What does that mean? What are you saying? Will the antibiotics kill it?”
“When you say it, I assume you mean the bacteria in the gut? I’m not sure. So far, the bacterium appears to have multiplied by several orders of magnitude, to the point where it has changed his anatomy already.”
Jessica was staring at the X-ray.
“Those other pictures—you took them correctly. It wasn’t the machine. You can’t see his other organs very clearly because they are dissolving. They no longer have any purpose. His body is adjusting to the bacteria in the same manner that the tube worms do. I wonder if he’ll keep his mouth . . . ?” he questioned quietly.
Jessica screamed.
“Get a hold of yourself, Doctor. We need a sample. Shall I do it, or would you like to do it yourself?”
Jessica stumbled back to a chair and sat down. She started to put her hands to her eyes to cry.
“I wouldn’t do that!” said Ted smugly. “Touch your eyes with your gloves, I mean. Easy entry point for bacteria and all. Shall I take the sample?”
She nodded and blinked away a tear. Ted opened drawers until he found a syringe. He swabbed Ian’s belly and stuck the needle into the large, bloated ball that was his abdomen. As he drew up the syringe, Jessica’s face fell beneath her mask. The fluid inside was bright red—redder than any blood she’d ever seen.
“Stop!” she screamed, running over to the bed. “Oh my God! He’s bleeding internally!”
Ted held his hand up as if to calmly say “stop.” “He’s not bleeding out. It’s the hemoglobin production. Amazing.”
“What are you talking about?” she said, finally breaking down into tears. “Ian!” She shook his shoulder, but he didn’t wake up.
Ted spoke to her calmly. “Jessica. You have to relax. You’re no good to Ian this way. Sit down and catch your breath . . . and don’t touch your eyes.”
Ted finished drawing up the sample and held a cotton ball against the tiny hole on Ian’s belly until it stopped draining. He held the syringe up to the lights and smiled beneath his mask. “Incredible, really. Deinococcus is the toughest bacteria on the planet, but this is remarkable. It’s the increase in hemoglobin. Exactly as it occurs in the worms.” He turned back to Jessica, who was wiping her face with a handful of tissues, careful not to touch her eyes with her gloves.
“It’s the hemoglobin that makes the feathery appendages in the worms bright red. Those appendages, they’re lungs, really—absorbing gases from the water and then using them for fuel and food for the bacteria. Ian’s body is already producing larger amounts of hemoglobin than any human.” He looked up at Jessica. “It’s quite amazing.”
“He’s not a fucking experiment, Ted! He’s sick! I don’t know how to get him better! I have to call Jim—we need to get him to a hospital . . .”
Ted walked over and stood between her and the phone on the wall. “It’s already too late. Have a look for yourself.” He walked over to Ian and pulled his eyelids up. Ian’s eyes had glazed over to a silvery color, no longer showing any hint of an iris. He looked like a corpse. “The eyes are no longer needed. His skin will change soon, I would think. The skin—the body’s largest organ—it will become part of his digestive system, I would expect. We’ll have to exercise caution there.”
Jessica looked at him, speechless.
“The tube worms absorb nutrition through the skin. Same way the bacteria entered the body. Now that the bacteria are taking over, I can only surmise they will change their host to accommodate their needs.”
Jessica stood up and brushed past Ted to the phone. She ignored him when he started to speak and called the bridge, where Jim answered immediately.
“How is he?” Jim asked.
Jessica started to speak but began sobbing uncontrollably. Jim asked her repeatedly how Ian was—was he alive?—but she couldn’t respond. She handed the phone to Ted and dropped into a chair crying.
“Jim, I believe Ian’s infection with the Deinococcus is beyond treatment.”
“What’re you saying?” asked Jim in shock. “He was only slightly feverish this morning!”
“Yes, well, a lot’s happened since. The bacteria have apparently taken over their host. It’s only a matter of hours I would guess before he’s officially dead. Quite honestly, he’s gone already. Ian, I mean. He’s no longer the Ian that started this mission.”
There was a pause. “Are you telling me that Ian is dying and there’s nothing we can do about it?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Put Jess back on the phone!”
“I’m afraid she’s very upset. Um—give me a moment.”
Jim was standing now, hunched over the console. Tony and Mike walked in and found him red faced on the phone and stopped in their tracks.
“I’m sorry, Commander,” said Jessica between sobs. “It happened so fast. He was sick—I mean, I knew he was sick, but my God!” She was trying her best to keep composed. “In a matter of two hours he went from sick to I don’t know what!”
“Jess—take a breath. Is Ian alive?”
“I don’t know!” she screamed. Ted took the phone from her hand and spoke calmly to Jim.
“Skipper, I think Ian’s gone. His heart is beating and his brain has function, but he is going through severe metamorphosis. He’s not coming back.”
“Are you telling me there is nothing we can do? You tried antibiotics? What did you do for him?” He was shouting into the phone.
“Doctor Clark did everything she could do, Commander. She administered an IV of the strongest antibiotics aboard. As strong as anything in any hospital in the States. The bacterium is too strong. It’s more than bacteria, really. It’s like a separate organism.”
“This bacterium is going to kill Ian? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“I believe it already has. His body is functioning only to serve the bacteria at this point. It’s like coral, if you will. A colony of polyps that together look like a plant or single organism, but are actually separate organisms sharing a central stomach through multiple mouths and feeding apparatus. I’ll need to study this further to fully understand what’s happening.”
Jim’s face was bright red. “You are not conducting a fucking experiment down there, Bell! That’s a member of my crew! I’m coming down there!”
He slammed the handset down and realized Tony and Mike were standing there. After taking a moment to gather his composure, he spoke to them.
“Ian’s gone. Jess and Ted say they can’t help him,” he said barely above a whisper. In the quiet of the ship, it was a thunderclap.
Tony and Mike stood with their mouths open. “Gone? He just got sick! What the fuck happened?” yelled Mike.
“Is Jess okay?” blurted Tony.
“I don’t know,” said Jim quietly. “I’m going down there. You two take the bridge for now and make sure the MC is operating correctly. We haven’t been down here a fucking month and we’ve already got a casualty. Jesus fucking Christ. Run the MC’s diagnostics—make sure this ship is functioning correctly, especially the atmospheric controls. Sterilize this fucking ship!”
Jim walked out of the bridge quickly, making a beeline for sickbay.