Chapter 12
"How are your pupils doing? Julia asked.
"Quite well" Chris answered "At least Sandy is. David is a bit slow, but he'll come through."
"Well, you know how Barnabas feels about David. He wants to hold David's child in his arms, so he wants David to go for the full cure, so he does not need a vasectomy."
"How about a child by Carolyn?"
"Carolyn will have an hysterectomy. It is decided. Kenneth will perform it, even if he does not like the idea."
Chris sighed. It was a rotten thing to do. but there was no other choice. Not with what they knew.
"Do you think that David and Sandy will be enough?" Chris' brow furrowed "They are doing all right, yet I know we need all the help we can get."
"According to Roxanne, it should be enough." Julia felt uncomfortable with Chris voicing her own fears back at her.
"There should be something else se can do."
"There isn't"
Chris was silent for a few moments, as if thinking "You ran tests on Jeb Hawkes, didn't you?"
'Yes. I did. But that was in 1970..."
"Maybe you found somehting we could use."
"I...I don't think so."
"Say what you remember. Maybe we can use it'
"All right. Their skin secretes acid. Or rather it is coated with acids, which let them breathe through the skin."
"What would happen if you neutralized the acids, as if with sodium hydroxide?'
"They'd burn and suffocate."
"Why not tell that to Roxanne? She might find that useful.
Julia knew how little Roxanne cared for that information. Yet Chris seemed so enthusiastic about it that she didn't have the heart do disabuse him.
Maybe she was too unforgiving, Iris thought.
Certainly Barnabas thought so. He tried to get her to reconcile with Reverend Trask's flock.
Except that she could not stand the people. She just plain did not like them. And the fact that they had tried to burn down her shop did not make her like them even more.
Sure, let Barnabas get sentimental and talk about the need for forgiveness and reconciliation... well, he could preach as much as he wanted... He was in no mood to forgive anybody.
And anyway, why did she care about Barnabas? It had been a while since he had shown up here...
Maybe he was planning to dump her. Again...
"Sodium hydroxide?" Megan asked.
"According to what Chris told me, it serves to neutralize their skin acids, and that causes them to burn and suffocate.
"Well, I will have to get hold of some... I hope we have enough time. ...
"Megan, I... I had some idea..."
"No, you can't participate in the battle. You re not a trained operative, and you may do the wrong thing."
"I know. but I know who can help.."
"No civilians. No amateurs. And the people involved have to be able to obey without question.. That's three reasons why I don't want you in the frontline."
"I will not be involved. But I know of a way to give more strength to Angelique."
"Ask he first if she thinks is a good idea. then do as she says."