Distortion Offensive by James Axler Page B

pane. “Do you have any idea what they are, Mr. Bryant?”
    The ever-unruffled Clem Bryant looked faintly self-conscious for a moment, letting out a single bark of laughter before he spoke. “I have an idea, of course,” he began.
    The other people in the room had ceased their own conversations to listen to Clem’s clear explanation now, and the man embraced taking the lead and playing to this small, intimate audience.
    â€œI must say that I could not identify the specifictype, given the rather limited time I was given with the creatures, but certain things are immediately clear from examining them.” Clem removed the largest of the mollusks from the bag, holding it up and pointing out certain aspects. “The shell is quite thick for such a small creature, and it employs a double layer between which is a vacuum—nature’s equivalent of insulated glazing. This implies it is designed to withstand exceptional pressures, and that leads me to believe its natural habitat is deep in the ocean, where water pressure is that much greater—the equivalent of living in an environment with very heavy gravity.”
    Clem turned the shell over in his hand, allowing it to catch the light so that the oil-slick rainbow pattern played across its surface. “There is almost no color to the shells themselves,” he explained. “The rainbow coruscation effect you see is created where the outer and inner shells meet. In the darkness of the ocean, these creatures would likely appear a dull, muddy brown, so they would seem to have no use for color—they’re certainly not attracting mates or repelling predators through such vibrancy, and it’s worth keeping in mind that many deep-sea creatures don’t see color anyway.
    â€œThey do have a complex genetic structure, however. The double shell is one indicator of that, and I’m certain that fuller analysis would yield some fascinating information.”
    â€œSo what are they?” Kane grumbled impatiently.
    â€œThat is an answer I don’t have,” Clem admitted, “but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The deepest levels of the ocean have remained a largely unexplored environment, but we do know that there are creatures there that would be unable to survive in shallower waters, much as we cannot survive indefinitely beneath the waves.”
    Nodding, Kane leaned across Clem and pressed his extended finger on the one-way glass. “So, spin it for us quick, Clem—are these things naturally Earth critters?”
    Clem looked bemused for a second until he realized that Kane was pointing at the unearthly frame of Balam. “There’s no evidence here to suggest that these creatures don’t belong on our planet, Kane,” he assured the ex-Mag.
    Kane threw a significant look at Grant, the two of them now certain that this was the first inkling of what it was they were about to deal with.
    â€œEarth stuff we’ve got a chance with,” Grant rumbled in reply to Kane’s unspoken question.
    Lakesh opened the plastic bag and invited Clem to replace the shell before he led the way out of the room and through to the interrogation chamber itself, with Clem, Kane and Grant following. Reba and Donald remained behind, watching through the one-way glass of the observation cubicle in case they were needed.
    Inside the interrogation chamber, Brigid continued to speak to Balam, her tone soft. “Does it have locks?” she asked him.
    Balam shook his huge, egglike head. “It has no need of such,” he explained. “The librarians take care of all intruders.”
    â€œThen if we go there,” Brigid began, “you could show us…”
    â€œNo,” Balam said, an infinite sadness in his voice. “I must not travel to the Ontic Library. I would be unwelcome there, and I have other responsibilities, as you can appreciate.”
    The munchkin, Brigid thought.
    Brigid turned then