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within our lifetime. The benefits of our Starxource plants are innumerable, as will be the relief of human suffering . . .
    “Human suffering,” Ostin said bitterly. “The man invented it.”
    “Shh,” Taylor said.
    HATCH: . . . and other sociopolitical factors, such as freeing children in underdeveloped countries from gathering wood and fuel all day, so they can attend school.
    REPORTER: The technology behind your Starxource plants is more confidential than the formula for Coca-Cola, but rumors are that you have created sustainable cold fusion.
    HATCH: The process we’ve developed might best be compared to cold fusion; however, there is no environmental backlash. Starxource plants create no nuclear waste, and there is no danger of a nuclear core meltdown like that experienced in Chernobyl or during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
    REPORTER: When will the first Starxource plants begin operating?
    HATCH (smiling): They already are. Elgen Inc. has been operating mini–power plants in developing countries for more than three years now, and the benefits to the local communities have far surpassed our greatest hopes. We are now preparing to operate in more populated countries.
    REPORTER: Tesla, Edison, and now Dr. C. J. Hatch. Clean, cheap,and renewable energy from Elgen Inc. Finally, some good news for a change. I’m Devina Sawyers. Back to you, Mark and Carole.
    After the video ended we all sat quietly.
    “Hatch said the Elgen were going to control the world,” I said. “If they control the world’s power, they control the world, don’t they?”
    “But it doesn’t make sense,” Ostin said.
    “What doesn’t?” Taylor asked.
    “Cold fusion’s not their bag. The Elgen scientists are biologists, not physicists. It doesn’t make sense that they would invent or discover something outside their field of research. It would be like a pizza chain building cars.”
    Taylor pointed to a folder next to the one Ostin had just opened: ER Protocol. “What’s that?”
    Ostin looked at it. “ER . . . Emergency room protocol?” Ostin clicked on the file.
    MEMO
    Dr. Hatch,
    Due to your recent report of the likelihood of additional ER21 escapes, the board wants to know what protocol has been initiated in order to deal with a potential outbreak. There is concern that due to the organisms’ short gestation periods, an epidemic of ER could quickly spread near one of our Starxource plants, jeopardizing our control. Do the ER20 and ER21 propagate outside the controlled environs, and if so, for how many generations? We have reviewed the press coverage you enclosed concerning the recent ER outbreak near our Puerto Maldonado plant. What is our status to date?
    “What’s an ER21?” Taylor asked.
    “Never heard of it,” Ostin said. “It sounds like a virus, which issomething the Elgen would do. But what does that have to do with a power plant?” He turned to Grace. “Do you know?”
    Grace shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it.”
    We continued reading the chain.
    MEMO
    Mr. Chairman,
    The outbreaks of ER20 and, more specifically, ER21 in Puerto Maldonado have been contained. It was fortunate for us that this outbreak occurred during the rainy season, as the ER cannot withstand the direct application of water due to the specimen’s biological mutations.
    Dr. C. J. Hatch
    MEMO
    Dr. Hatch,
    How can you be certain of the successful containment of the ER20/ER21?
    MEMO
    Mr. Chairman,
    We have developed sophisticated el-readers for detecting ER20/ER21 over large areas. Also, the properties of the living ER20/ER21 make them highly visible in darkness.
    Dr. C. J. Hatch
    MEMO
    Dr. Hatch,
    Fortunate as it may be that the Puerto Maldonado situation has been contained, it is of concern to us that it was only by “fortune” that a near catastrophic situation was mitigated. Please respond to our initial inquiry. Do the ER20 and ER21 propagate outside the controlled environs, and if so, for how many generations?
    MEMO
    Mr.