Page 172 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

“Oh; I see you’ve been examining the crystalline circuits in the Key. I assume they are ferromagnetic
in nature; the Ulahri ones use that principle” Michael commented as he looked over the results of
the spectrum scans.

“Yes; they’re similar, but the element base is unusual. It’s a Polychromide Silicate crystal and some
other unknown element that gives the magnetic side of things. The work is extremely fine, Nano
scale level of engineering is also as extremely precise; hardly any tolerance drifts. It’s also really
robust; I broke two diamond cleavers trying to get a sample.” Trok said as he finished setting up the
truss section for Electron magnification analysis.

“Oh! That’s odd? There’s a definite cyclic pattern in these pulses” Michael said; puzzled at what he’d
noticed.

“I saw that too; similar pattern to the cadence shift in Hubris’ translation device” Trok added
“Something to follow up on later. Now; let’s get this scan done on the truss” he finished saying. The
two of them fired up the equipment just as the Dino-clucks were walking in front of the booth. As
the beam fired up and scanned the truss section the Dino-clucks froze; squawked and collapsed in a
heap apparently asleep. Michael and Trok looked at each other with astonishment. When the scan
was finished and the beam shut down the two creatures slowly got up from their prone positions
and carried on as if nothing had happened. The two engineers looked on further astonished. Trok
relayed what had just happened to Stenerton; who had been doing medical analysis of the Dino-
clucks metabolism. “I’ll send someone to collect them for tests; but I think this may be down to
something I found in their nervous system. A ferric compound is incorporated into the cellular
structure of their nervous tissue. It seems our friends can sense and respond to EM radiation. What
were you doing when they collapsed?” he asked. Trok explained about the truss section and the
Electron Magnification scan and what happened when the beam fired up

“I know that there is a weak EM field emitted from the booth during a scan, but it’s considered
harmless, unless you’re made of steel or have unshielded electronics. But It’s at an extremely high
frequency and hardly noticeable?” Trok added puzzled.

“You forget; the Dino-clucks were engineered to survive the harsh High Summer; and a change in the
moons magnetic fields, caused by P’rada’s increased activity and proximity. I’m more interested in
why they recovered so completely and quickly without any outward signs of ill effects. Don’t worry
Michael; the tests I’m going to do are non-invasive” Stenerton replied. Two Medical Orderlies
arrived and took the two creatures with them. Trok and Michael went back to examining the truss
section.

“That’s really weird” Michael announced “The structure of the welds appears to be in flux; as if it’s
there and not there at the same time?” he added puzzled

“You mean it’s phasing. That sheds a new light on just what that cylinder device does. T’luha is down
on the surface I’ll let her know what we’ve discovered. In the mean time I’ve noticed something odd
about the Key. The alloy is infused with an organic compound. Here I have the magnified scans” he
said as he put the images onto the main viewer.

“That looks like the Neuro-mycelium from Venosia Prime. Only this seems to be engineered to
photo-synthesise something. Those granules there; see” Michael exclaimed. He did a quick analysis
of the granules which were stacked in regular banks along the mycelium strands. “Oh my; they’re
artificial forms of the bacterium that caused the original expedition to shut down their dig and
abandon the site” he added

“Not quite the same; these are inert shells not infectious. They seem to act like tiny power cells; I’m
reading a faint charge on each stack. They would appear to be biological batteries to power the