Plurapod Pathogen

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Most of the hundreds of food growing stations orbiting between Jupiter and Saturn hosted feasts throughout the Earth-year, and Porthiant Station Aqua-farm was no exception. Local harvests were timed so feasts happened every month. Multitudes of fish followed an army of spiny crustaceans followed a prairie’s worth of seaweeds and grasses, all before a staggering array of off-world species came around.

Seetha and Les’s crops fit the general category of cold water creatures that didn’t move very much.

After years of attending all the on-station festivals and taking the sub-light shuttle to other stations for variety, Seetha settled into her own practice of not moving much. Stuffing herself silly with Les and staying in over the post-harvest rest days turned social stress into pure relaxation.

Best of all, pure-water-raised mollusks, bivalves, and exotic off-world species didn’t have to be washed, much less cooked. Seetha was happy to take advantage of prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner for as long as it was available.

Les shared the private eating habits of plurapods, keeping hir food and limbs under the water while ze ate. Close as they were, Seetha had no desire to watch her friend engulf and dissolve a meal.

Interspecies relations often improved when such things were hidden.

At last, Seetha climbed into her steaming bergamot and lavender scented tank. Les was barely visible in vibrant purple and blue sea grasses native to Asteriidus, the mysterious plurapod home world. Exhausting week or not, companionable silence would eventually have to give way to whatever was bothering hir.

Before Seetha was ready, Les surfaced, refilling hir vocal pouch.

“I am sorry to bring work up after a lovely feast.”

Seetha moved closer to the large tank, keeping as much of her body submerged in the warmth as she could.

“No apologies, not when it comes to reseeding. Did they send enough this time?”

“They sent enough, but we cannot use all of it. There is some kind of…contamination.”

Seetha frowned. All shipments onto and off of Porthiant Station and every other station, especially harvest and seed, went through strict bio-screening. She couldn’t imagine anything infected getting through.

“The whole shipment?”

“That is the strange thing. Only seed native to Asteriidus is affected.”

“Those are grown here, aren’t they? How could they get contaminated?”

“Spawned and seeded on another level of the station, yes. They are even screened before delivery. Nothing like this has happened before, not that I am aware of. It is not any kind of typical contamination. The seed feels wrong to me.”

That was one of the biggest advantages of plurapods working in aquafarms. Sensory abilities all over their bodies, and especially on their hands and faces, far surpassed anything humans could offer. Les had caught problems with nutrients in the water and common diseases with seed and crops in the past, saving the two of them and the station a fortune.

Seetha wouldn’t be surprised if Les had caught something the bio-screens missed.

“Everything else seems normal, huh?” she said. “At least we shouldn’t need to drain the tank.”

“No need for that, not that I can tell. I re-inspected the other seed after I removed the infected batch. The rest all seem fine. The panic and drama if we suggest draining would be quite exciting, though.”

Seetha laughed, trying to imagine the ConSpace management board’s furor. Tank drains were rare enough that she’d never heard of one happening. Even the possibility of such a large scale problem in one tank meant safety and procedure reviews for every employee, station-wide.

“You have an odd definition of exciting, Les. Still, we need to figure out what happened. It’s bad enough with the one batch. Could be a lot worse if something gets in that does spread. Did you get a chance to re-check the seaweed flats?”

“I did not. I will as soon as I can.”

“Not during rest days you won’t.” Seetha climbed out of the tank, wrapping herself in the absorbent robe. “I’m sure you kept a sample of the spoiled seed. I’ll take it up to the main platform lab tomorrow.”

Cold, seaweed-scented water splashed along Seetha’s legs and back. Les held two of hir hands on the surface, ready to send more after it.

“Rest days apply to humans as well.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll rest. The platform labs will be slow with everyone else hung over or in food comas from the festivals. That means results in hours instead of days. Besides, you’re impossible once you’re out of your routines. You fretting over empty growing space would drive me crazy.”

Les shifted from side to side in the tank, somehow managing not to slop water out. A plurapod version of pacing.

“I would hate to delay seeding in such a large area. Whatever this is may incubate and show up elsewhere later. As long as you do not spend all day working, I suppose that is acceptable.”

“Thank you for your approval, my dear Les. I’ll return as soon as possible, solution in hand.”