Distracting herself, she stood up and tapped a bioplastic panel along the ship’s wall. It became translucent, revealing a series of spindles and pouches, reminiscent of a large, slow-moving bacteria. Water circulation ran through the walls of the Cypher, the ship’s exterior construction mimicking layers of epidermis. It acted as another barrier to radiation, using the radiation to further scrub the recycled water. But to Stacia’s eye, it doubled as a piece of experimental art. She backed up to admire it.

“Hear me out.” Yahya bounded from his seat, dogging her trail through the room. “Prions.”

“Prions?” Stacia continued to watch the water pulse and bubble through the coils, running her finger along the surface of the panel, tracing its course.

“Specifically, fast-replicating prions. That would explain everything.”

“Have you picked them up on a scan?” She knew the answer to the question and kept her back to him to not further embarrass him by staring at him while his face went through its contortions of anguish. Sparing herself from watching his pain.

“No. Which is why I think it’s a prion of some sort.”

“So your absence of proof is proof?” Clasping her hands behind her, she began to wander away from him.

“Exactly.” Yahya trailed after her.

“Yahya…”

“Think about it: Prions consist solely of protein with no nucleic acid genome. Thus, are more resistant to radiation. And detection. The mechanism of his disorder mimics that of a prion-like condition, similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It’s basically a protein-folding chain reaction that disrupts encoding proteins. It’s there, I know it is.”

“It’s…” Stacia turned to meet his face. A mania fueled the glint in his eyes. One that wouldn’t be denied. “Worth considering.”

Yahya’s face brightened. “Good. Good. I’ll begin testing right away. The preliminary round should be complete by the time we reach Titan. He and I can disembark then.”

“Disembark?” Stacia reared back as if splashed by cold water.

“Bek needs specialized care. In his condition…” Yahya’s huge hands danced in front of him, with him desperately straining to catch and hold on to his argument.

“A condition that, as you noted, hasn’t worsened.” Steel replaced compassion in Stacia’s tone.

“For now. Neither of us, or anyone else, can predict what will happen next. Or when.”

“The Cypher is the preeminent research facility in all of Muungano.”

“Gathering from the weight of your meeting with the Ijo, the Cypher and its captain presumably have some Eyes Only duties to attend to.” Yahya closed in on her, his proximity forcing her to look up at him.

“You know I can’t speak to that.” Stacia’s voice softened, but she refused to turn away.

“You can neither confirm nor deny, I understand, it’s the basic refrain of the Code Black / Eyes Only song. I’m simply saying this ship, with its missions and politics, is no place for Bek’s care.”