"Beware of Dog" I will admit, I was a bit dubious when Crichton began having hallucinations. Aeryn Sun informed me that the Human species is unaccustomed to long-term space travel, and she proposed that our journey might be at last taking its toll on the commander. Crichton seemed preoccupied, playing games by himself and talking to imaginary companions, and it seemed that Aeryn's theory had merit. However, there were more pressing matters to deal with. The crew had come to suspect their food supply was contaminated with parasites. In an effort to track down and destroy these parasites, Chiana purchased a Vorc: a small, harmless creature bred to locate vermin and dispose of them. So, when Crichton claimed to have seen a fierce creature in one of the access tubes, the crew and I felt certain it was merely another delusion created by his prolonged exposure to space. Though D'Argo and Chiana doubted Crichton's story, they remained convinced there was a parasite of some kind contaminating the cargo, and continued to use the Vorc in an effort to track it. Perhaps it was their unwillingness to believe Crichton that prevented the crew from being prepared for their first encounter with the all-too-real beast, which proved to be potentially deadly. Rygel and Chiana found the creature first, and allowed it to corner them in one of the maintenance bays. They escaped unharmed, but when D'Argo came to their rescue, he did not fare as well. The beast leaped at D'Argo, and bit him, injecting him with poisonous venom. Zhaan studied a sample of the poison, and confirmed that if it continued to spread through D'Argo's system, the Luxan would soon and certainly die. The spread of the poison was slowed by immersing D'Argo in a cooling chamber, gaining the crew some time, though not much. Zhaan speculated she might be able to synthesize an antidote if she had a sample of the beast's DNA to work from. With nothing but the Vorc to guide them, the crew set out to find the beast before D'Argo's time ran out.... Wayne Pygram  . . . . . .  Scorpius Writer  . . . . . .  Naren Shankar Director  . . . . . .  Tony Tilse << Previous Log Next Log >>