Descending Road - DECONTAMINATION by Dana W. Paxson

DECONTAMINATION

1557 4D

Jeddin straightened as he stood in the glass-walled tank, the sixth he had scrubbed. The cleansing solution, strong enough to blister human skin in seconds, made his hands itch slightly; andro genes offered major advantages. His eyes teared with the fumes. He shook away the tears and sensed an ultrasonic hiss. Gas escaping from a microcrevice.

He turned and leaped from the tank in one precise movement, six feet up and five feet laterally, in time to see the tiny blue streak of pressurized viral brew sticking out like a thread from a pipe. He dived across the room for the shutoff valve, and in that instant the pipe ruptured. The brew blasted into the room. Blinded, choked, he found the valve and wrenched it shut. The roar subsided, and the general alarm pulsed through him. Priority Zero. The decontamination would hurt this time. He struggled to his feet.

His vision finally cleared; the brew swirled in the drain. No! He leaped for the override drain block lever. Too late to get it all. Experimental protovirus, and now it was loose.

Dripping the living brew, he headed for decontamination.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	DECONTAMINATION 1557 4D Jeddin straightened as he stood in the glass-walled tank, the sixth he had scrubbed. The cleansing solution, strong enough to blister human skin in seconds, made his hands itch slightly; andro genes offered major advantages. His eyes teared with the fumes. He shook away the tears and sensed an ultrasonic hiss. Gas escaping from a microcrevice. He turned and leaped from the tank in one precise movement, six feet up and five feet laterally, in time to see the tiny blue streak of pressurized viral brew sticking out like a thread from a pipe. He dived across the room for the shutoff valve, and in that instant the pipe ruptured. The brew blasted into the room. Blinded, choked, he found the valve and wrenched it shut. The roar subsided, and the general alarm pulsed through him. Priority Zero. The decontamination would hurt this time. He struggled to his feet. His vision finally cleared; the brew swirled in the drain. No! He leaped for the override drain block lever. Too late to get it all. Experimental protovirus, and now it was loose. Dripping the living brew, he headed for decontamination.