Free Protocol 1337 by D. Henbane Page B

microbiologist. I work with tiny little organisms, and sometimes I can make them do cool stuff. Like genetically alter them to eat sulfur from waste collection ponds, tweak their genes a little here and there, make them reproduce faster, or tolerate extreme environments. My specialty is in extremophiles.” Cox explains.
    “Oh, you mean like those bugs that eat arsenic? Like the ones in a lake in California? I saw something about that on the internet.” I reply.
    “Yes, exactly! That’s what I am working on here. Take a look at this screen, you see the small gray blobs next to black there? Those are microbes I found in a sample. They are really special though. I thought at first it was surface contamination, but I harvested a sample from a non-handled area.” Cox starts to get very excited as he points at the microbes.
    “So what makes them so special?” I ask.
    “They are literally not from this planet. Completely alien and possibly the first confirmed case of extraterrestrial life.” Cox says.
    “No freaking way! Aliens like little green men kinda stuff? Now that is really cool, more than cool, that’s mind boggling.” I exclaim.
    Cox went on a long winded rant for quite a while. He got so caught up in his excitement, he wouldn’t let me get a word in. Some of the stuff went over my head and some of the words were hard enough to hear, let alone repeat.
    According to an Aztec legend, a long time ago the Aztecs saw a meteorite crash into a hill. They retrieved it and held it sacred. They referred to it as the tear of the fire god. They placed it on the high altar during festivals. When word spread about the bad dealings of the Spanish false gods, the Aztecs hid the rock deep inside a sacred cave sealed inside a golden box. The legend also mentions that if anyone besides a holy man were to touch it, they would soon find death. The illness they received was said to turn one's body into fire. Scientists speculated that it was a form of radiation sickness. After it was found recently, there was a bidding war for it, and it found its way to Homestake. So what started out as a possible nuclear device became a rock containing alien microbes.
    “So aren’t you worried about this sickness?” I ask.
    “Hardly. First of all, the rock is hermetically sealed in that chamber over there. Second, the microbes are all dead. Lastly, I think the Aztecs were suffering from European diseases and passed the blame to the rock as a way to explain it. We don’t even know what the microbes do yet. They could be totally harmless or the next black death.” Cox explains.
    “Well, at least they are dead, and I feel a lot better now.” I say.
    “For now anyway, I am in the process of isolating its DNA so I can clone it.” Cox says. I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but every time humans try to mess with something, it never ends well. Hopefully, I will be very far away from here before he clones them.
    It has been a really productive day on my data collection mission, and I hope the good doc here quits at five. Then again, he is a career centered geek with nothing better to do. Great, I think to myself, I'm gonna be here till midnight.
    “Hey doc, are you ready to call it quits for the day?” I ask.
    “Not a chance, I still have a lot of work to get done. If you want to leave, that would be fine with me.” Cox replies.
    “I don’t wanna bail out on you early, but I got a phone call to my special lady I need to make. So if it is cool, I am going to bounce out of here.” I say.
    “Go right ahead, I will be fine here by myself.” Cox says.
    “You know doc, I know we got off to a bad start there. I really did enjoy talking to you today. You are working on some cutting edge stuff, and I can understand why you are so dedicated.” I say.
    Cox turns away from his fume hood and looks at me curiously. The expression on his face is very different from before. Maybe this was the first time someone tossed him an olive branch