Eat and grow

(click here for part 1)

Lab Report Narrative (draft)

After hatching, they eat their way out. Growth rate is constant and rapid. Any that are not consumed by larger specimens after hatching continue to eat and grow until they emerge from the body. Specimens of all size are able to survive outside the body. Smallest specimens observed were less than 1mm in diameter. Largest specimen recorded at emergence was 20 inches long by 9 inches wide and weighed 44lbs.

The most specimens to emerge from one subject was 632. This is considered to be an outlier, as the largest of the set was less than 3 inches in size and the vast majority were smaller than 1cm. After 87 tests, the average number of specimens generated per subject after incubation is 34, of which half on average are smaller than 1 inch in size and the largest on average are 8 inches long and weigh approximately 15lbs.

Post emergence diet is composed of any organic matter. No preference observed for any food source. Specimens kept for study are fed potting soil, office trash, and discarded furniture for economic reasons. Specimens double in size at one week, one month, and three month milestones. Post emergence size determines full adult size.

All specimens to this point have been incubated from the SARS-derived bacteriophage B-73. Funding has not been approved to begin testing using H1N1 or any other originating viruses.

Notes from demolition site

Shaving the galalith down into buttons is time consuming, but satisfying. The dining table is covered in little shavings that I sweep off with my hands after work. The buttons really do look like ivory, and the shavings look like little strings of bone. I wash them in the bath and lay them out to dry. As I take supper amidst my piles of buttons, I feel satisfied by my labor.

Notes (red pen on envelope)

Found in blood
Found in water
Found in lung
Found in heart
Found in kidney
Found past blood brain barrier
Found in semen
Found in bone marrow
Found in saliva
Found in chromosomes

Test results 31

3µm grain size
0.1µm viral size (bacteriophage)

14,000 viral load
15 gram microplastics

Fertilization rate 78%
12 week incubation
Hatch rate 1.1%

Total viable: 120
Total destroyed: 112
Total frozen: 8

Author’s note
When I got here this morning the gate code didn’t work. Nobody answered the intercom either. I ended up following someone else in before the gate could close. I plan to take a couple boxes with me to unpack over the weekend so I don’t have to deal with the drive.