"Huh." Peterson chuckled. "It seems intelligent…at least enough for motion tracking. Maybe it's an automatic reflex? Like Venus Flytraps?"

"Venus fly traps react to touch."

"So?"

"If the Europhid is tracking your movements…it can see you."

Peterson's eyes went wide and he looked to Connelly, meeting her gaze. "See me?"

"Or at least sense your movement. Sensing light and dark…smell, sound, or something entirely new. My point is that it knows you're there."

In a gentle gesture, Peterson reached out and took Connelly's hand. He squeezed tighter as their eyes locked. "Amazing, isn't it?" Connelly felt herself moving closer to Peterson and a wave of nervous energy swept from her toes to the hair follicles on the top of her head. Her eyes began to close as she prepared for—

Crash! A spray of glass exploded onto Connelly and Peterson. In an automatic reaction, both flung themselves away from the plant incubator, sprawling onto the floor. Connelly pulled herself away and scrambled to her feet, shaking the glass from her jumpsuit.

Peterson was still on the floor, holding his right hand in his left, cringing in pain. Connelly moved to him. "Are you all right?"

"Piece of glass got me," he said. "I'll be okay."

Connelly looked toward the plant incubator. Half of the glass tube had been shattered. The single red tendril slowly pulled its way back inside and buried itself in the red soil.

"Oh God…" Peterson's voice was shaky, almost unrecognizable.

Connelly immediately saw that Peterson was terrified. He stared at his hand, which had a red welt, surrounded by a large, white swollen area. At the center was a small puncture wound, the size of a dime.

"It stung me," he said. "I think it stung me. There's a containment lever in the backside of the incubator. Switch it, quick."

Keeping her eye on the Europhid, Kathy rounded the incubator, found the lever and pulled it. A metal casing rose up and around the broken glass. It wriggled violently as the steel sheath rose. Then it was out of sight, sealed inside.

Connelly couldn't believe what she had seen. The Europhid was not only asexual, partly mobile and had motion tracking abilities, but it could also strike out. This seemingly innocent organism had attacked Peterson and whatever foreign elements it contained were now causing Peterson's body to react.

"You'll be okay," Connelly insisted. "We need to get to the infirmary and contact Choi." But Peterson didn't move. He just sat there, staring at his wounded hand, which was swelling larger by the second.

"Michael, you need to get up. If we don't get you to the infirmary, the swelling could get worse, maybe reach your heart…. Are you listening to me?" Connelly was shouting, but Peterson remained frozen.

He looked up suddenly, his eyes full of fear. "Kathy, I don't want to end up like Benson."

Connelly caught her breath. "Who's Benson?"

*   *   *   *   *