Cellular Division

Cellular Division

In ten years of independent work she has never achieved the level of metabolism for cellular division in a single sample.

Norma hurried to her data terminal and called up second by second analysis of the sample’s progress.

She watched in awe as the single cell duplicated itself. The thrill of possibility quickened her pulse Of course, she had to search for the potential cause, but it seemed it was relatively easy to find. An unusually high level of metallic hydrogen was present on the disc, which meant that he sample’s growth medium had been contaminated.

Cellular Division. Photo by Elena

She would have chided herself for her carelessness: clearly she had used one of the specimen containers meant for a forgotten and abandoned project. But this happy accident had shown her the path to what Norma was now convinced would lead to ultimate success. She imagined the life of a single flowering Generala Pazum – P, but it almost broke her heart to realize that she would likely never see it bloom.

Not because this creation was only meant to thrive in the most inhospitable of environments, but because she would be dead long before the specimen grew. A single tear slid down her face.

(From the number 1 SF novel The Rain, by Elena and George)