"What is it?" Emily Piggott, the director of the East-North-East PRT, asked in an iron tone. In front of her, an image of a janitor from a local school was displayed on the screen, on whose face was the creation of a biotinker. The photo was taken in a hastily equipped quarantine chamber, which previously served as a testing room.
"In the course of research, it was found out that this is an alien organic breathing mask." Accustomed to the manner of his boss to talk, or simply not considering her, replied the Armsmaster, the head of the local Protectorate, a tinker, unusually dressed not in his power armor, but a suit of full biological protection with a mask removed.
"If it was a joke, it's the worst I've ever heard in my life. Facts Armsmaster! What are we dealing with? The director slapped the table.
"An organism code named "Facehugger" came into contact with a civilian named Larry Bowman at 20:42 local time, after which he put the civilian into artificial sleep, unconfirmed so far, producing a soporific agent in his lung bags. Attempts to remove the body cause a civilian suffocation reaction and were unsuccessful. See the following image." Piggot looked at the screen and pressed a button. An X-ray image appeared on the screen. "The organism grabbed the civilian's face with its limbs and inserted an appendage into the throat, the purpose of this action we are now finding out. But most importantly, judging by the results of the scan, it turned out that the organism is not a carbon form of life, but a silicon one.
"And why is it so important?" The director asked dryly.
"Firstly, instead of blood, the body has the strongest acid capable of corroding metal, so it was decided to abandon the option of surgical intervention. And secondly, none of the well-known biotinker have ever created creatures of a non-carbon life form, their creations are either a copy or a modification of the existing biome of the Earth. Armsmaster was somehow able to look at Emily more professionally than before, reinforcing his next thought. "This creature could not have appeared on Earth. I would assume that a biotinker appeared in the city whose specialization is alien life forms."
"Speaking of the creator of this one... creatures." The director seemed to spit out the last word. "Who is the one who created it and who is he?"
"The investigation has just begun, and much has not been achieved. The creature hatched from an egg in the locker of a certain Taylor Hebert, whose father has currently filed a missing daughter report. She was last seen at school this afternoon. The egg was transported in a biohazard container to the drilling rig. I will continue the study to protect the civilian Bauman from the creature. I suggest calling a Panacea to speed up the learning process."
"By no means. We cannot endanger the best steam human healer on the continent." Piggot began to speak in a low but furious voice. "Armsmaster. Soon we may have dozens, if not hundreds, like Bowman. The testers will continue to study this Person, and you will go and find the creator of this creature. I have already imposed a state of emergency and will not lift it until we secure the city from this threat. Am I making myself clear?"
"Yes ma'am"