Our heroic Astrophage reaches the upper atmosphere of Venus, collects the CO⁠₂ it needs, and can finally reproduce. After that, both parent and child return to the sun and the cycle begins anew.

It’s simple, really. Get energy, get resources, and make copies. It’s the same thing all life on Earth does.

And that was why two of my little Stooges didn’t walk toward the light.

So how does Astrophage find the sun? My guess: Look for the extremely bright thing and head that way.

I separated Moe and Shemp (the sun-seekers) from Larry and Curly (the Venus-seekers). I put Larry and Curly on a different slide and put it in a light-sealed sample container. Then I set up an experiment in the dark closet for Moe and Shemp. This time, I put a bright incandescent bulb in there and turned it on. I expected them to head right toward it, but no dice. They didn’t budge. Probably not bright enough.

I went to a photography store downtown (San Francisco has a lot of photography enthusiasts) and bought the largest, brightest, most powerful flash I could find. I replaced the lightbulb with the flash and did the experiment again.

Moe and Shemp took the bait!

I had to sit down and take a breath. I should have taken a nap—I hadn’t slept in thirty-six hours. But this was too exciting. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Stratt’s number. She answered halfway through the first ring.

“Dr. Grace,” she said. “Find something?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I figured out how Astrophage reproduce and managed to make it happen.”

Silence for a second. “You successfully bred Astrophage?”

“Yes.”

“Nondestructively?” she asked.

“I had three cells. I now have four. They’re all alive and well.”

Silence for another second. “Stay there.”

She hung up.

“Huh,” I said. I put the phone back in my lab coat. “Guess she’s on her way.”

Steve the army guy burst into the lab. “Dr. Grace?!”

“Wha… uh, yeah?”

“Please come with me.”

“Okay,” I said. “Let me just get my Astrophage samples put away—”

“There are lab techs on the way to deal with all that. You have to come with me now.”

“O-Okay…”

The next twelve hours were… unique.

Steve the army guy drove me to a high school football field where a U. S. Marine Corps helicopter had already landed. Without words, they hustled me into the chopper and up we went into the sky. I tried not to look down.

The chopper took me to Travis Air Force Base, about 60 miles north of the city. Did the marines often land at air force bases? I don’t know much about the military, but that seemed odd. It also seemed a bit extreme to send in the marines just to keep me from driving through a couple of hours of traffic, but okay.

There was a jeep waiting for me on the tarmac where the helicopter landed, with an air force guy standing next to it. He introduced himself, I swear he did, but I don’t remember his name.