Cornelius and David didn't say a word as they ate breakfast.  Today was a big day:  The descent to the lowest levels of the secret laboratory.  They had the protective suits, they had a plan in place to explore those depths and now was the moment of truth, the final search for answers. After they had eaten and cleared away the dishes, they packed the HAZMAT suits into hold all bags and gathered any other useful items for the trip.  Before they stepped out the door, Cornelius turned to David. "Are you ready for this expedition?" Cornelius asked David. "Primed and ready to go, Cornelius." he replied. Cornelius nodded.  "Then there's no time to delay" he said as he picked up the car keys and headed to the door. They left the house and locked up before heading to a parked Ford Bronco that belonged to the DPR.  However, the two men noticed that the skies above Strangerville were a particularly sickly green colour, more so than in recent days. "I...

  "Doctor Cornelius...if these spore samples have the properties you say they do..." "They do" "...Then you're going to need a protective suit of the kind that isn't made to get past that spore cloud." "I know, and that's why I trust you, Moira.  I know you'll find us the best protection that exists.  Try NASA; we'll use spacesuits if need be" Cornelius was demanding the highest standards from his team at DPR headquarters.  He had biologists and technicians working hard on coming up with devices that could combat the alien plant spores so he, and probably David, would be able to pass safely through the spore cloud that blocked the way into the core of the Strangerville laboratory. One of his team, Gene, had  approached him with a new device. "And what, pray tell, is this?" said Cornelius as Gene handed him something that looked like a cross between a science fiction ray gun and a sun lamp. "It's a weapon, Do...