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seen the data on this. The prions make the victim more susceptible to these mind-locks and what follows.”
    “Am I infected, or am I missing your point? Good Lord! Mad Cow disease is caused by prions.”
    “You don’t appear to be infected, so relax,” Siri said. “But don’t you think it’s a little odd? She chose not to imprint you. They always do. It’s instinctive.”
    Ryan paced around for a moment. “What happened at that facility with the other female?”
    “Isn’t that obvious?” Siri looked down at the floor. “That one imprinted with nearly everyone before they knew what was happening. Three of her victims died willingly. . . my husband was one. That’s why we needed to see how you’d react. We didn’t have a choice.”
    “I’m so sorry, Siri . . . and I’ve been acting like a selfish jerk.”
    “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We just didn’t know the full extent of these creatures’ abilities.” Siri reached out and gently touched Ryan on the arm. “It’s important that I continue his work . . . it was the last thing he said to me before he died.”
    Ryan gave Siri a warm smile. “Then that’s what we are going to do.  Let me see where she’s going to be held. I’ll need to be ready for her.”

Chapter Three
     
     
    “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
—
Charles Darwin
, English Biologist
     
    B y 10:45 PM, one of the isolation unit’s larger observation rooms had been transformed into a secure holding cell for their guest. The walls and ceilings were covered in half-inch sheets of high quality stainless steel. A series of drains ran down the center of the grey concrete floor from one wall to the other. The only fixture was a large shower head located on a side wall directly above one of the floor drains. A plexiglas barrier with several rows of two inch holes had been erected to separate the female from the researchers. It was a cage, nothing more.
    Only the transfer personnel were allowed inside the isolation unit during her removal from the sphere. Once removed, she would be cleaned up and secured inside her new prison. Ryan had watched the process on a TV monitor placed outside the vault door. The attending technicians injected a final large dose of allicin into the plasma. The female went into a short-lived seizure and became motionless after ninety seconds.
    Ryan became concerned that it may have been too effective and killed her when the large vault door swung open and he was waved inside along with Siri and the Director.
     
    The female had been thrown face down on the hard floor of her cage by the transfer team; her skin was still wet from the hose-down she had been given before being discarded like a lifeless doll. A grey patient gown lay next to her. The men couldn’t be blamed for their rough handling. She had killed five of their own and in their world she needed to be put down for good by a rain of high caliber lead.
    Ryan stood next to the barrier looking for a sign of movement, but she appeared totally inert. The strong odor of industrial disinfectant assaulted his eyes and nose. Special lighting from above reflected off the stainless steel walls with a soft reddish-yellow glow. The Director and Siri studied the feeding apparatus, one intrigued, the other disturbed by its simplicity.
    “So she just needs to place the other end in her mouth to receive her meal?” the Director asked. “While the donor sits on this side filling that container above the two small pumps?”
    “We’ll have to see how it goes,” Ryan replied. “I’m sure it will have to be adjusted, but it should do the job. It’s as direct a way to provide her with human blood as I can think short of letting her take an actual bite out of someone . . . which we don’t want to happen.”
    “No we don’t,” Siri agreed. “How does the donor know when she’s given enough blood?”
    “See that shut off