Slither - Edward Lee [87]
"You're right," Trent admitted. "I didn't know that. I thought all sperm was the same."
"Well, it's not, and neither are ova. This worm's ova have multiple purposes, too: to genetically adapt a hostcrab, mollusk, shrimp, and in this case even a possum-to become an unwilling reproductive vessel. And that's exactly what alarmed Loren and me about this worm. It looks a lot like an order of roundwormor nematode-called Trichinella and Trichina."
"That sounds familiar for some reason," Trent said after a pause.
"Sure," Loren said. "Everyone's heard of trichinosis."
More recognition in Trent's eyes. "The stuff you get from eating uncooked pork."
"Right. That worm-the Trichinella spiralis-and others like it can mutagenically change a host to make it more habitable to its own young, too. But the difference is-"
Nora took it from there. "Those kinds of worms never grow more than a few millimeters in length-but look how big this one's gotten just in the last hour."
She held up the beaker.
"Christ!" Trent exclaimed.
The worm inside was now eight inches long and squirming vigorously.
.The similarities are interesting," Nora continued, "but so are the differences. The Trichinella spiralis is an inborn worm-meaning it doesn't live on land or in water. The species exists entirely in hosts, transferring from one to another through food and excrement."
"Lovely," Trent said, making a nauseated smirk.
"But there are plenty of Trichinella-like nematodes that live on land as free-ranging worms, and plenty more that are marine and freshwater species. None of them, however, can do both."
"But this one can," Loren said.
"The most alarming thing about this worm is that it actually resembles several totally different types of worm all in one."
Loren: "It's almost like this thing is part earthworm, part leech, part clam worm, and part trichinosis worm."
"A mutation?" Trent attempted. "From chemicals in the water or something?"
"No mutation could cross-breed multiple species," Nora informed him. "We've seen evidence that it's a chitin penetrator-like a clam worm."
"From the lobster," Trent remembered.
"Exactly. The worm initially infected the lobster by burning a hole in its shell with its digestive enzymes and then injecting its ova through the hole. These kinds of worms also eat the same way."
"Eat?" Trent questioned.
Loren indicated the dead possum. "By filling a host's abdominal cavity with the same corrosive enzymes. The enzymes dissolve the internal organs, and then the worm sucks it back out. A liquefied meal. Lots of worms eat this way, and lots of insects too. Flies are the best-known example."
Trent was staring at the possum. "Wouldn't it take, like, a really big worm to eat all the organs in that possum?"
"It sure would," Nora admitted. "And that's another reason we're worried about this." She held up the beaker again. The worm was now pushing ten inches. "We've seen how big this thing has gotten in less than an hour. How big will it be after a full day?"
"Or a full week?" Loren posed. He gulped at the thought. "A worm that could successfully attack a possum this size and be able to consume probably a full pound of internal organs ..."
Now it was Trent's turn to gulp. "How ... big ... would a worm like that have to be?"
Nora took a guess after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. "Two or three inches in diameter, at least. And at least ten feet long."
Priorities, Nora was thinking now. We've got a few.
"All this talk of worms," Trent remarked. He brushed his arm as if there might be bugs on it. "It's making me paranoid."
"I keep looking over my shoulder," Loren added, "thinking there might be worms behind me, or ova."
They were back at the campsite now, sitting solemnly at the old picnic table. There was nothing more they could do in the lab.
Nora grabbed her snorkeling