Clark reached the bars of the cell and holding with one hand for support, reached the other through to Lex. The gesture was tentative, almost blind. Clark's eyes weren't fully focused, Lex noticed. He decided to prolong the game and reached for Clark's hand, which he clasped in his.
"Lex. You came." Clark's hand was cold and the skin felt like cracking leather.
"Naturally."
"All right, you've seen it." Ransom interrupted as Clark was about to say something, and Lex felt Clark's fingers tighten. "Are you still interested in paying?"
It was the perfect cue for Lex's prepared lines. Perhaps he should...no. Not quite yet. He wanted to linger over this.
"I'd like to know more of the background first."
Ransom spoke impatiently. "Fine. After we interrogated it, which was quite an extensive process, we concluded that it was genuinely ignorant of its origins, but decided that as small as the possibility was, letting it go free would be too high a risk, if only because of the general concerns it might raise if the public knew that there was a real alien here. To keep it from attempting escape, we continued to weaken it, as you see. It's greatly enfeebled by the implants in its back."
"Implants?"
"Yes. Material from the meteor shower." This man must be related to Chloe Sullivan. "We also found that reducing its food intake to ten grams a week of carbohydrates helped weaken it, so we combined that with the implants rather than using more implants, as they also cause it considerable pain."
"Humanitarian of you."
A thin-lipped almost-smile. "We have no interest in inflicting unecessary pain, even on aliens. And while we avoided the trap of anthropomorphizing it, it appears genuinely capable of suffering and of expressing that suffering in human-like ways."
"As I see. How will you explain what happened? After all, I'd hardly like to pay that much and have one of your double-crossed colleagues come after me."
"All cleared up. Several of the scientists have expressed a concern that it is dying. I and a colleague will report that we found it dead and as the corpse seemed to be decomposing at an alarmingly accelerated rate, we destroyed it as a possible biohazard."
"I see." Lex looked speculatively at Clark, who hadn't release his feeble grip on Lex's hand. "What if there *is* a bio-hazard? I might be unleashing a plague by bringing him back to the surface. Not the fame I want associated with LuthorCorp or even my own name." Let them think that their story was backfiring, that he was slipping away with a regretful gesture. He released Clark's hand.
"It's safe. The changes from the implants create toxins that affect only it. There are unknown bacteria in its system, apparently in a symbiotic relationship, but when we isolated and tested them, they didn't cause harm to any of the animal subjects we tested. As fascinating as the topic is, and I mean that sincerely, delay doesn't serve either of us. Are you interested in paying?"
Time enough.
"Lex. You came." Clark's hand was cold and the skin felt like cracking leather.
"Naturally."
"All right, you've seen it." Ransom interrupted as Clark was about to say something, and Lex felt Clark's fingers tighten. "Are you still interested in paying?"
It was the perfect cue for Lex's prepared lines. Perhaps he should...no. Not quite yet. He wanted to linger over this.
"I'd like to know more of the background first."
Ransom spoke impatiently. "Fine. After we interrogated it, which was quite an extensive process, we concluded that it was genuinely ignorant of its origins, but decided that as small as the possibility was, letting it go free would be too high a risk, if only because of the general concerns it might raise if the public knew that there was a real alien here. To keep it from attempting escape, we continued to weaken it, as you see. It's greatly enfeebled by the implants in its back."
"Implants?"
"Yes. Material from the meteor shower." This man must be related to Chloe Sullivan. "We also found that reducing its food intake to ten grams a week of carbohydrates helped weaken it, so we combined that with the implants rather than using more implants, as they also cause it considerable pain."
"Humanitarian of you."
A thin-lipped almost-smile. "We have no interest in inflicting unecessary pain, even on aliens. And while we avoided the trap of anthropomorphizing it, it appears genuinely capable of suffering and of expressing that suffering in human-like ways."
"As I see. How will you explain what happened? After all, I'd hardly like to pay that much and have one of your double-crossed colleagues come after me."
"All cleared up. Several of the scientists have expressed a concern that it is dying. I and a colleague will report that we found it dead and as the corpse seemed to be decomposing at an alarmingly accelerated rate, we destroyed it as a possible biohazard."
"I see." Lex looked speculatively at Clark, who hadn't release his feeble grip on Lex's hand. "What if there *is* a bio-hazard? I might be unleashing a plague by bringing him back to the surface. Not the fame I want associated with LuthorCorp or even my own name." Let them think that their story was backfiring, that he was slipping away with a regretful gesture. He released Clark's hand.
"It's safe. The changes from the implants create toxins that affect only it. There are unknown bacteria in its system, apparently in a symbiotic relationship, but when we isolated and tested them, they didn't cause harm to any of the animal subjects we tested. As fascinating as the topic is, and I mean that sincerely, delay doesn't serve either of us. Are you interested in paying?"
Time enough.