This device was specifically designed to gather data from various planets.
Each planet possesses its own unique properties. Some may contain materials unknown on Earth, or even harbor invisible strains of Venom. To better understand the information from these alien worlds, this kind of instrument was developed... Of course, Arthur had never used it before, but at least it looked like something even a novice could operate.
According to Dr. Selvig, Arthur had received the extraction device.
"And then?" he asked.
"Any loose matter on the ground can be extracted. That's step one…" Dr. Selvig's use of the phrase 'step one' immediately gave Arthur a sinking feeling. Then he heard Selvig continue: "Next, you'll need to adjust the second regulator from the left on the control panel down to 2.5, and then…"
And that was when Arthur's nightmare began. God only knew why it had to be this complicated.
The reason humanity created science and so many inventions in the first place, 'wasn't it because humans are inherently lazy?'
Too lazy to fan themselves, so they invented electric fans.
Too lazy to walk, so they built cars.
Too lazy to calculate, so they made computers...
But now, in this age of hyper-advanced technology, how could there still exist such a ridiculously convoluted operating system?
The control panel was a nightmare to behold, crammed with seventy-two separate controls. About a third were buttons, while the rest were dials, each with different settings that triggered various functions. Different buttons toggled different modes…
For the next three full hours, Arthur struggled to keep his composure… but in the end, he still broke down. He flailed about like a headless chicken under Dr. Selvig's constant stream of instructions.
Honestly, if Selvig hadn't been helping, Arthur would've smashed this junk heap into scrap metal and launched it into deep space as cosmic debris, and he wouldn't have cared one bit if that made him a galactic litterbug!
Three hours later, Arthur finally followed every step to the letter, organized everything, and transmitted the data.
He thought the nightmare was over. But then he heard Selvig say: "Give me a moment. I need to sort through the data and format the report into something readable."
"…How long will that take?"
"Not long!" Selvig promised confidently, and then the connection was cut.
Now completely idle, Arthur had nothing to do. He sat down at a random spot. Right next to him was a Symbiote, lying motionless on a rock, camouflaged as ancient grime, pitch black and crusty, resembling something you could toss in a kiln and get a high-end piece of alien porcelain out of.
With nothing better to do, Arthur poked the Symbiote with his finger.
No response. It was limp and squishy. He poked it again… The Symbiote was annoyed. It had been in hibernation. Who was the fool disturbing its nap?
Its whole body slithered limply to one side… completely unlike the lively, aggressive specimens Arthur had seen in the lab, which would launch themselves at anything that moved.
To draw an analogy: The Symbiotes in the lab were like guard dogs, constantly alert and ready to attack. These ones? They were more like ancient turtles, reacting to everything three beats too slow.
"So you're saying their so-called 'hibernation' isn't actual sleep?" Arthur murmured thoughtfully. "They're still aware of their surroundings and can respond to stimuli, just not in any active capacity... Hmm."
He sat for a while longer, eventually pulling out a book to pass the time.
An hour slipped by quietly. Arthur had already read more than half the book, but there was still no word from Dr. Selvig.
"Didn't he say it'd be quick?"
Arthur frowned. The book he had been enjoying moments ago suddenly became unreadable, he couldn't focus on a single word.
He turned and caught sight of that Symbiote again.
The creature had shifted spots but still maintained its camouflage as a lump of ancient black sludge. It hadn't budged since.
Arthur walked over, pinched it between two fingers, and peeled it off the rock.
The black mass slowly writhed in his hand. It didn't seem emotional or aggressive… but just its unpredictable, elastic texture alone made Arthur wonder how the Life Foundation had the nerve to bring this kind of thing back to Earth.
"Let me think…"
Arthur rubbed his chin. The more he pondered the Venom situation, the more dangerous it seemed.
'What if… they hadn't brought back just a few samples this time, but dozens? Or even hundreds?'
'What if, back when Riot escaped, it wasn't just one that got away, but dozens or hundreds?'
'What would that kind of scenario look like?'
If the Life Foundation incident taught anything, it was this: some organizations on Earth already had access to space-level capabilities.
And if that's the case… wouldn't it be wise to implement countermeasures to prevent them from bringing back dangerous entities from the cosmos?
"Am I overthinking this?"
Arthur sighed. He suddenly felt like some nagging old busybody, meddling in things from every direction.
"Forget it…" Just then, the communicator on his wrist beeped. The Symbiote in his hand was still wriggling stubbornly, so he stored it in the Disassembler's Space.
He opened the communicator, and Dr. Selvig's face appeared onscreen. He looked serious. Grim, even.
"Don't tell me it's bad news?" Arthur asked warily.
Dr. Selvig sighed. "Hard to say whether it's good or bad… You'll have to decide that for yourself. I'll stick to the important bits. First, the comet you're currently on really isn't capable of supporting life. That's not just because it lacks an ecosystem; it also emits a unique form of energy fluctuation. I've designated it… Unknown Energy."
"…You're going to get roasted for naming it that." Arthur's face darkened. What kind of name was that, seriously?
Dr. Selvig ignored the jab.
"Based on the scan data just now, that energy is actually the primary reason the Symbiotes are in a dormant state."
"If there's any bad news," Selvig continued, "it's that this energy seems to be unique to this comet. As far as all known and scanned planets go, none of them possess this same energy field."
(End of Chapter)
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