Phantoms

very large sow bug. The sow bug became a beetle. The pace of the changes seemed to be speeding up.
     
    “What about a brain?” Jenny wondered aloud.
    Sara said, “What do you mean?”
    “The thing must have a center of intellect. Surely, its memory, knowledge, duplicating abilities aren’t stored in those same altered cells.”
    “You’re probably right,” Sara said. “Somewhere in the creature, there’s most likely an organ that’s analogous to the human brain. Not the same as our brain, of course. Very, very different. But with similar functions. It probably controls the cells we’ve seen, and they in turn control the formless protoplasm.”
    With growing excitement, Jenny said, “The brain cells would have at least one important thing in common with the scattered cells in the amorphous tissue: They would never change form themselves.”
    “That’s most likely true. It’s hard to imagine how memory, logical function, and intelligence could be stored in any tissue that didn’t have a relatively rigid, permanent cell structure.”
    “So the brain would be vulnerable,” Jenny said.
    Hope crept into Sara’s eyes.
    Jenny said, “If the brain’s not amorphous tissue, then it can’t repair itself when it’s damaged. Punch a hole in it, and the hole will stay there. The brain will be permanently damaged. If it’s damaged extensively enough, it won’t be able to control the amorphous tissue that forms its body, and the body will die, too.”
    Sara stared at her. “Jenny, I think maybe you’ve got something.”
    Bryce said, “If we could locate the brain and fire a few shots into it, we’d stop the thing. But how do we locate it? Something tells me the shape-changer keeps its brain well protected, hidden far away from us, underground.”
    Jenny’s excitement faded. Bryce was right, the brain might be its weak spot, but they’d have no opportunity to test that theory.
     
    Sara pored over the results of the mineral and chemical analyses of the tissue sample.
    “An extremely varied list of hydrocarbons,” she said. “And some of them are more than trace elements. A very high hydrocarbon content.”
    “Carbons are a basic element of all living tissue,” Jenny said. “What’s different about this?”
    “Degree,” Sara said. “There’s such an abundance of carbon in such various forms…”
    “Does that help us somehow?”
    “I don’t know,” Sara said thoughtfully. She riffled through the print-out, looking at the rest of the data.
     
    * * *
     
    Sow bug.
    Grasshopper.
    Caterpillar.
    Beetle. Ants. Caterpillar. Sow bug.
    Spider, earwig, cockroach, centipede, spider.
    Beetle-worm-spider-snail-earwig.
    Lisa stared at the lump of tissue in the petri dish. It was going through a rapid series of changes, much faster than before, faster and faster by the minute.
    Something was wrong.
     
    “Petrolatum,” Sara said.
    Bryce said, “What’s that?”
    “Petroleum jelly,” Jenny said.
    Tal said, “You mean… like Vaseline?”
    And Flyte said to Sara, “But surely you’re not saying the amorphous tissue is anything as simple as petrolatum.”
    “No, no, no,” Sara said quickly. “Of course not. This is living tissue. But there are similarities in the ratio of hydrocarbons. The composition of the tissue is far more complex than the composition of petrolatum, of course. An even longer list of minerals and chemicals than you’d find in the human body. An array of acids and alkalines… I can’t begin to figure out how it makes use of nourishment, how it respires, how it functions without a circulatory system, without any apparent nervous system, or how it builds new tissue without using a cellular format. But these extremely high hydrocarbon values…”
    Her voice trailed away. Her eyes appeared to swim out of focus, so that she was no longer actually looking at the test results.
    Watching the geneticist, Tal had the feeling that she was suddenly excited about something. It didn’t show in her face or in any aspect of her body or posture. Nevertheless, there was definitely a new air about her that told him she was onto something important.
    Tal glanced at Bryce. Their eyes met. He saw that Bryce, too, was aware of the change in Sara.
    Almost unconsciously, Tal crossed his fingers.
     
    “Better come look at this,” Lisa said urgently.
    She was standing by the petri dish that contained the portion of the tissue sample they hadn’t yet used.
    “Hurry, come here!” Lisa said