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highly inhospitable to germs and airborne
pathogens, so this special ventilation system ensured that the air
in the emergency room was as clean, probably more so, than any
other hospital in the world. Unfortunately, it also meant that the
air in the room was ridiculously cold.
    Sure, there was a small
separate system that heated the incoming air, but it was working in
semi-permanent nighttime in a land where 0 °F is considered unseasonably
hot during the daytime. There was only so much it could do to warm
the air. Naturally, everyone kept on thick layers of clothing as
they stood around Scientist Reynolds now. They had checked him for
any obvious wounds, but having found none, they left him thickly
clothed as well. Geoffrey had already relayed what had taken place
to everyone at least three or four times, but these were scientists
he was talking to. By definition they didn’t believe in miracles,
and if nothing else, this was a miracle of horror. What really happened was what
every one of the other scientists wanted to know. Geoffrey was
surrounded by professionals whose minds were steeped in logic via
years and years of practice, and his claim of why Mr. Reynolds was
lying here totally unconscious was anything but logical.
    Though no one spoke the
idea out loud, the possibility that Geoffrey had actually assaulted
Mr. Reynolds crossed everyone’s mind. Other than a dark and raised
patch on the scientist’s shoulder, there was no bruising or other
sign of struggle on either Geoffrey or Mr. Reynolds. All of Mr.
Reynolds’s vital signs were normal, and, except for him
periodically moving his lips and rapidly moving his eyes that would
suggest the scientist was not unconscious, but merely sleeping, he
seemed fine. Someone suggested that perhaps he should be moved out
of the station and back to the States to a better equipped facility
in case something more was wrong with him that they couldn’t see.
After all, the emergency room of the station was, as its name
implied, only designed and stocked for absolute emergencies. It was
far from an extensive operating theater and if any extra medical
attention was needed, it would certainly not be given in this
hocked-up first aid center.
    The problem with having Mr.
Reynolds escorted out, however, was that the only quick
transportation off the station was by helicopter, and the station
was as far from anything resembling a commercial airport as the
emergency room was from a full hospital, so calling for a
helicopter to be dispatched was, by no means, a trivial thing.
Anyone calling for one of the special, and extremely expensive,
helicopters that were on standby for such a trip, would have to
answer with their career should the situation turn out to be
anything other than an absolutely dire one. There was no way to
tell if the current situation was dire. Mr. Reynolds was breathing normally, and
there was no sign of life-threatening trauma. For all appearances,
he was simply unconscious. On the other hand, every person in the
room would readily agree that the meteorite fragment was something
new, something the likes of which none of them had ever experienced
before, and if the account Geoffrey had given was true, then the
proper authorities would have someone’s head if it wasn’t reported
right away.
    No one was sure what call
to make, so they decided that Mr. Reynolds would remain under
observation for the equivalent of a normal night, eight hours, upon
the completion of which, if he was not awake to answer for his own
well-being, then the difficult phone calls would have to be made.
Shifts were allocated so the comatose scientist could be watched
round the clock while the others slept and everyone returned to
their bunk-filled sleeping quarters. For all their efforts, no one
seemed to be able to sleep. These were minds of people whose
profession required that they delve deeply into the unknown, and
there was much that was unknown here. Something big,
something huge ,
was amiss,