Чужой
VII
’Whathaveyoufoundout?’
’It’sgotanouterlayerofwhatappearstobeproteinpolysaccharides.Atleast,that’smybestguess.Hardtotellwithoutapiecefordetailedanalysis,andattemptingtoremoveevenasamplemightcauseittodrainfluidagain.Wecan’triskitdissolvingpartoftheautodoc.’
’Nothardly,’shesaiddryly.’Rightnowthatmachine’stheonlychanceKane’sgot.’
’Exactly.What’smoreinterestingthanthatisthatit’sconstantlysloughingoffcellswithinasecondary,internaldermisandreplacingthemwithpolarizedorganicsilicates.Itappearstohaveadoubleskin,withthatacidflowingbetweenthetwolayers.Also,theacidseemstobeflowingunderhighpressure.
’It’sagoodthingDallasdidn’tcuttoodeeplywiththatknifeorIthinkitwouldhavesprayedtheentireinfirmary.’
Ripleylookedproperlyimpressed.
’Thesilicatelayerdemonstratesaunique,verydensemolecularstructureunderthescope.Itmightevenbecapableofresistingthelaser.Iknow,Iknow,’hesaidinresponsetoherlookofdisbelief,’thatsoundscrazy.ButthisisthetoughestchunkoforganicmaterialI’veeverseen.Thecombinationofthewaythosecellsarealignedwithwhatthey’recomposedofaddsuptosomethingthatdefiesalltherulesofstandardbiology.
’Thosesilicatedcells,forexample.They’remetal-bonded.Theresultiswhatgivesthecreaturesuchresistancetoadverseenvironmentalconditions.’
