Dig Deeper

Thinking back to the replay from the Feeler lab and something that the doctor had said, it seemed that the key to determining the source of the toxin might be figuring out the point of entry. Between your shoulder, hands and knee, one of them was likely the first point of contact with whatever had introduced the toxin into your body. "Can we view that replay again?" you asked. "I want to stop it and place markers at each point where my knee, shoulder or fingers contacted anything."

The doctor waved his hand over a nearby panel and the sequence you'd watched earlier began to replay. The first contact happened when your fingers touched one of the Feeler's tentacles, and a hand marker was displayed. Next when you touched the root and another hand marker was displayed. This continued until you'd seen the entire sequence play out again. When it was done there were six hand markers, three knee markers and one shoulder marker. Besides the two hand markers on the Feeler, the other four were scattered across different points in the dirt. The knee markers were all in the dirt as well with one next to the Feeler and the others near where you thought you saw the strange plant. Finally, the single shoulder marker was also in the dirt near that location.

The only commonality was the dirt. Could it be that simple? "Is there possibly something in the soil that could have caused this?" you asked.

There was a slight pause as it seemed the three Greys were conferring telepathically. Eventually, the doctor responded, "That is unlikely. There are no known ways that the soil in the lab could harbor a toxin like this."

What else could it be? Was there something invisible or concealed? "MPAD-24, please show me those soil hydration results again." The robot shifted into a viewscreen showing the 2D map with the various values. It didn't seem unusual at first, but after a second look you noticed something.

Along the outer edges there was a subtle pattern where the ground was slightly dryer in small circular areas around the other plants and somewhat more moist further away. That likely meant those plants were absorbing the water closest to them. Since the Feeler looked so dried up, it was likely that it wasn't absorbing much water. However, based on these measurements, there was actually a dryer area with a roughly oval shape that stretched from beneath an edge of the Feeler to the place you'd seen the other plant. Something there seemed to be absorbing the water. "Look at this area," you directed. "Something besides the Feeler seems to be absorbing water from the soil."

The aliens seemed to have an even longer telepathic discussion this time until finally the doctor said, "Those variations could have several mundane explanations. However, it's the only lead we have at this point, so we will begin our investigation there. If you're feeling up to it, you are invited to join us."

"I am much better now that I've had something to eat, and I'm very curious to know what caused this. I'd be happy to join you." you replied.

You accompanied the three Greys back to the Feeler lab with MPAD-24 floating along.