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.Or the nose that can take the perfume.""We'll find them.What else is the chemical industry for?""Sorry to upset you, old buddy, but the tests show low durability.It's no polymer, it's more like jelly."Erik was silent for a long time.Then he spoke, quietly, almost to himself:"You know, sometimes I think that that's not the same bio-tosis that we came here with.I'm not even sureit's a biotosis at all."Sergei raised his eyebrows angrily."The composition is the same, the structure is the same, the mineral additives are the same.What the hellkind of problems are you inventing now?""You see, I have a strange memory of that night.Of course, there's a lot that I didn't understand, because itall happened in a fraction of a second, but anyway ""Yeah, you've told me," Sergei said tiredly, sitting next to Erik.He rubbed his forehead, chasing awayunpleasant thoughts."I had the feeling that all this hadn't risen up from the pit but had fallen from the sky.It may have seemedthat way to me because of the rain and the speed of the biotosis' growth, but the feeling was definitely likethis: clouds of hard smoke fell from above and buried me.""A subjective impression." Sergei dismissed it."Only one thing worries me.How could it have grown likethat? It's making us look stupid.We grow over a hundred million tons of polymer and we don't know how.In fact, we're still right where we started, even though in theory we have succeeded.""Why do you keep harping on a hundred million tons? Where did you get that figure?""Very simple.I calculated the volumes of the quarry and the mound now formed by the biotosis.We knowthe specificgravity if s close to one.Multiply it and you'll get a hundredWORLD SOUL71Butand something million tons.Of course, that's rounded off.the point isn't in absolute figures anyway, butin the order of magnitude.What miracle changed a few pounds into a million tons?"'That part is easy to explain.The basic raw material for the biotosis' growth is the atmosphere, its gases.The possibilities are unlimited.And the speed of the reaction depends on the stage of development of theprocess.In this case the chain and highly branched process led to the rapid development of the biotosis.""Then why did its growth cease so abruptly?" Sergei asked."According to my observations, it's stoppedgrowing." Erik thought."Maybe it's a question of energy?" he said, wiggling his stiffened fingers."There was a heat loss into thesurrounding medium.How about that?""Maybe," Sergei said."It just may be.""You know, Sergei, we have the wrong approach to our biotosis.We keep thinking about our strictlyutilitarian goal to obtain a sturdy polymer and turn it over to industry.And we keep looking at the realmiracle that has occurred before our very eyes in the same old way how to get some use out of it as fastas possible.I think the phenomenon of the biotosis' sudden growth is considerably more complex, and asscientists, we should analyze it thoroughly.""That's all true.If the biotosis had grown like this six months ago, I would be digging around in it myselfwith pleasure until I found out what had happened, where the dead blob got the energy.But the times havechanged.Amazing things are happening in the world.To tell the truth, I'd like to be taking part in them.AndI'm irritated by this mountain of watery gelatin, which has turned out to be completely different from whatwe had thought.And then, you're hurt, and seriously, and we need to get you out of here.""I'm not leaving until I figure out what's going on with the biotosis," Erik insisted."But what can you do?""I'll lie here, look at it, and think.And you, my friend, willhelp me examine and analyze our sweet watery gelatin/'72Emtsev and ParnovSergei smiled and approached Erik."You're a pig, Eri.Maybe I'm not a real scientist.I find a mental leap more exciting than practicalapplication.I've spent my life dreaming of working on a major project.""A hundred million tons of polymer isn't enough for you?"'That's not it
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