Beth

Sleep had not found her. It was not nightmares about the aliens. How she had cracked the orb and crushed the fleshy thing underneath her knuckles. Not the stench. Not the view. But Tom’s reaction afterwards. The way he had stared coldly in despair. From friends to unfamiliars in a matter of seconds. Tom hated that she wanted to kill Lisa. Beth could not grasp his reaction. Of course he had been correct in that the situation was contained when Lisa had been disarmed. It had to be connected to his mother’s death; his absolute resolution not to kill. Tom would not back out from his claims and opinions. Maybe he was correct? Maybe she was deranged in wanting to kill Lisa. But that mad woman had tried to kill them! Was it not justified? Lisa would harm others if she wasn’t stopped. Would Tom spare Saif? Everybody didn’t deserve a fair trial. Some deserved to be put down. Lisa and Saif were perfect examples. A permanent stop to their ability to hurt others was the safe approach. Fair trials were for people that could be saved from their insanity, not these sick people. Beth tried to shake off the feeling, but the sense of having made a terrible mistake lingered.

Another day would be spent in the lab with Dr. Birgitta and her team. The dreaded feeling and the anger faded slightly as she focused on the pursuit of knowledge. Maybe she should fully commit herself to the tests, as a method to divert her thoughts? Dr. Birgitta seemed like a trustworthy person, not like Admiral Harris whose only goal had been to uncover her potential for destruction. Dr. Birgitta shared similar values in life and her ability to analyse was intriguing. She seemed friendly and empathic, a sharp contrast from the cold and greedy Saif. If it didn’t work out between them Beth could always stop.

After devouring breakfast in the mess hall she headed towards the lab. She strode with confidence, not needing her hand terminal to locate the lab anymore.

The Au-delà’s crewmembers stared at her when she passed. They didn’t dare to walk too close, since they had all seen how powerful she really was and her thin frame didn’t fool them any longer. A smile crept into her face and she stared back at them. She was the beast to be afraid of.

Through airlock one, the guards scanned her access token yet again. Like they said before, it would not matter if they recognized you, if the access tokens failed you would not enter. The protection suit went quickly on and the hood sealed its atmosphere. Through airlock two. Dr. Birgitta and the science team were already on site. Did they never sleep? They must be hard pressed to figure out the aliens and their technology. Admiral Harris steered with a steel fist. Being a successful student required much. You needed to endure exceptional long hours, but internal inspiration could only get you so far. Callisto had its own wing of science devoted to providing students and researchers with certain drugs. You stayed awake longer and had your focus sharpened. Usage was of course highly monitored and no recreational use accepted, only in the pursuit of knowledge. Beth didn’t like it, but it had helped her on many occasions.

“Good morning!” Dr. Birgitta said, as Beth entered the lab.

Beth yawned. “Morning.”

“During your absence the orb has consumed an additional five centimeters. At this rate, the fleshy corpse will be fully absorbed within eight days,” Dr. Birgitta said.

Beth stepped forward, carefully examining the seams of the cracks along the orb’s surface. Both thinner and smoother. The cracks were slowly vanishing.

“It is repairing itself,” Beth asked. “So, then it has restarted that nuclear reaction you suggested?”

Dr. Birgitta stepped up beside her, holding a hand terminal. “No, there is no evidence that it emits any telltale signs of radiation that a nuclear reaction should. The fleshy tissue is holding it alive. But we have a theory on how it consumes the corpse. A bacterial fluid is secreted from the shell, it mutates the tissue into a state which the shell is able to absorb. Similar to how a human’s stomach works. Besides the absorbing through metal part.”

“So when it is through with its friend’s corpse, it will die? Have you tried giving it other forms of biological matter?” Beth asked.

A sad thought, having human’s first extraterrestrial contact die in captivity. Ironic, really.

“We have tried goat, cow and chicken. Both cloned tissue and genuine meat. But the orb is ignoring all the morsels. We are baffled. When the fleshy corpse is consumed the orb will fade away unless we figure out how to help it,” Dr. Birgitta said.

There had to be a logic to it. Evolution created these creatures, unless there was a third species that had made them. The latter option felt a bit too mind boggling.What exists in large quantities in space? Rocks, ice and vacuum. Maybe the orb used vacuum in a strange mechanism to ignite its core. Too abstract. Or maybe a special metallic ore only found in exotic regions of space? Too science fiction. But ice. In space, ice was plentiful.

“Have you tried to give it ice or water?” Beth asked.

“A nice deduction. But yes, we have tried. The orb showed little interest,” Dr. Birgitta said. “I have been thinking more about which kinds of tests I want to try with you. Non-invasive tests, of course.”

“Shoot,” Beth said. She could withdraw at any moment, but curiosity pulled at her..

“Your metallic skin. I want to explore its properties. Heat resistance, electrical conductivity and such,” Dr. Birgitta said. “I can show you the equipment. Just outside the lab.”

Beth followed Dr. Birgitta, through the rigorous double airlocks and the change of clothes.

As Beth stepped into her overall, Dr. Birgitta observed her stomach. “Your wound. It has healed.”

Beth pulled back, hesitant at Dr. Birgitta’s quick forward step. The researcher found only slivers of scar tissue left in the wake of the wound. She mumbled to herself while continuing the examination.

“If you want to commit yourself to hibernation sleep, I think it is possible now. This has healed well,” Dr. Birgitta said. “You never said anything.”

Beth zipped the overall. “I don’t know. As it healed and started to fade, I kind of forgot about it. My mind has been so focused on the aliens lately.”

“Alright. I have been thinking about timing my own hibernation sleep. We have achieved beyond what we could have imagined with the aliens. And I am out of ideas,” Dr. Birgitta said. “Just around the corner.”

Maybe it was time to sleep. She recalled how inclined she had been to jump into hibernation as soon as possible after the alien contact. Then her mind had wandered once she had been able to study them. Beth decided. Yes, it was time to move forward again.

“I will sleep. Even though the aliens are fascinating, I cannot waste more time on them. I have done what I could and experienced them at hand. This examination you have prepared will be the last thing,” Beth said.

Dr. Birgitta smiled and as usual showed much teeth. “Then let’s get to it. Sit down and show me your metal.”

The stark chair felt cold against her bottom. Anger was never far away, ready to leap forward. She hooked the power and sweetness flooded her mouth. Skin flowed into metal, from the insides of her hands and across her entire body.

“That it is quite something!” Dr. Birgitta said, placing a palm on Beth’s wrist. “Cold, stark and absolutely smooth. I wonder if the skin owns the properties of a singular metal or several. It could be a composite.”

“Or plain old iron,” Beth said. When her skin had been bombarded by the combat suits’ lasers she had felt an increased heat. When the fleshy creature had struck her with that twig she had felt a gut wrenching pain as it cracked the metal. She didn’t register Dr. Birgitta’s hands. The metal skin lessened even lighter touches.

Dr. Birgitta attached electrodes on multiple points across Beth’s body. “How long can you keep the metal activated? Should I use that term: ‘to activate’ within this context?”

“Activate is fine,” Beth said, an additional set of electrodes were attached to the sides of her head, at the temples. “I can keep it active as long as I have fuel. Any external stress put on it will obviously increase the drain and thus decrease the duration. Why the electrodes?”

“Fascinating! And by fuel you mean your body’s water,” Dr. Birgitta said, saying in such a way as if it was a known fact. “To measure your body heat and other interesting vital signs, of course.”

“You have read up on me,” Beth mumbled.

“Of course. Didn’t I tell you already? Well, well,” Dr. Birgitta said. “I will start with heat. Tell me immediately if it hurts or you grow too tired.”

Dr. Birgitta did a circling motion on a hand terminal’s display and held a metal rod against Beth’s arm. The rod glowed as the heat increased.

“Nothing?” Dr. Birgitta asked.

“Nah. Did I not say that my skin withstood laser weapons? This is nothing. Also add all the training I have done, I have grown stronger and elevated my endurance. Crank it up,” Beth said.

Dr. Birgitta pulled out a tripod and attached the rod to it. “Even though the handle is insulated, it is not perfect, too much heat bleeds into it. I will not be able to hold it.”

As the rod’s heat grew its color turned more intense red. Breathing became shallower and quicker. It felt like a physical exercise. Sweat prickled in her forehead and cheeks flushed.

“I am getting warmer now,” Beth said.

“No surprise. The rod is hotter than laser guns now,” Dr. Birgitta said. “Interesting.”

“What?” Beth said, gasped, out of breath.

“If your body’s water supply determines the metal’s thermal protection then maybe we should try to measure that?” Dr. Birgitta said. “We could theorize an equation between water supply and the resulting properties. Excluding all unknown parameters.”

Beth stepped away, regained posture and breathing. Control. Too much pain. “No more.”

Sweetness retreated and skin flowed into normal. She sat down again.

“No problem! I have no intention to harm you,” Dr. Birgitta said. “For a brief moment you would be able to dip your hand into a starship’s drive plume. ”

“Okay.” Beth sighed, shoulders loosened, being away from the heat felt satisfying. Like when you recovered from numb fingers.

Dr. Birgitta pulled out a different rod, it had a rubber handle. “Electrical resistance and conduciveness.”

“Of course,” Beth said.

“You are up for it? I do not want you to feel uncomfortable,” Dr. Birgitta said.

Beth turned to the chair besides the mounted tripod. “Go.”

Sweetness returned and skin flowed into metal. Tongue went over her lips.

“You will need this,” Dr. Birgitta said, sliding a rubber mat under Beth’s feet and the chair. “We do not want to electrify the whole chamber.”

Dr. Birgitta attached the new rod to the tripod, aligned it towards Beth but just not close enough to touch her.

“Close enough for the electrical charge to jump over, but not close enough for the heat build-up to matter,” Dr. Birgitta said. “When you are ready.”

Beth nodded.

The jolt of lightning curled to life and thundered across the small gap. On impact the blue sparks jumped and spread out. Beth felt nothing. The electrical discharge sizzled.

“Nothing?” Dr. Birgitta asked.

“Nothing,” Beth said.

Dr. Birgitta cranked up the strength and hit the button again. The jolt of lightning roared loud and dangerous. Beth shielded her eyes, the jolt was blinding. There was a slight tingle of touch, but nothing more.

“Okay. I do not dare higher than that. A full grown elephant would have been fried with that discharge. Your metal skin is almost perfectly resistant against electricity. Maybe it is not metal at all? There is no metal with the kind of properties which we have witnessed here today,” Dr. Birgitta said. “So it has to be a composite. If it is metal at al.”

Beth unstrapped the electrodes from her body. “Well. It looks like metal, but it sure as hell does not behave as metal.”

-

They spent a few more hours with the alien bodies before giving up. Their goodbyes were brief, but Beth felt that she had made a good friend with Dr. Birgitta. A comforting thought in contrast to Tom’s outburst.

Beth found her quarters, undressed and made the final preparations before the long sleep. Revenge, here we come.