"The friction, then," Aivas observed, "is essential to free the organism."
"Let's not free it," Caselon suggested drolly.
"It is as well," Master Oldive remarked thoughtfully, "to know that it is helpless."
"At our mercy," Sharra added, grinning.
"The observation will be continued," Aivas said.
"Do let us know if its condition changes," Sharra said.
Besides Caselon, Sharra, Mirrim, and Oldive, Brekke had volunteered and brought Tamara, the unsuccessful queen candidate, for the girl did not seem to mind monotonous tasks as much as others did. Two more healers, Sefal and Durack, and Manotti, a Smithcraft journeyman, completed their staff. There were times when they could have used twice the number, but all had been trained by Aivas and soon worked well together, smoothly and efficiently and in good spirits.
Initially they had the barest essentials for the task at hand. In the laboratory there were two cubicles. On the top of the work benches were disks that lit up with various kinds of light; Sefal, a dour but diligent sort, was fascinated by the effects obtainable during initial demonstrations. Most important for their purpose was the binocular stereo microscope that they all had to learn to use. The x and y dimensions caused no problem, but to learn to use the z proved to be far more difficult. To demonstrate, Aivas had Sharra take a hair from her head and tie knots in it under the microscope-not as easy as it sounded, as each of them learned when they tried it.
To one side of the microscope was a flush drawer with a sliding cover, in which some oddly truncated glass instrument's were found. These, Aivas told them, they had to learn to duplicate in order to do the dissection work required.
Two more workbenches and stools were found and dragged into the two cubicles, although that limited what free space there was.
While Sharra was tying knots in her hair using the binocular microscope, Aivas had Sefal and Manotti take apart one of the two refrigerators to obtain the parts necessary to bring the third one down to -150 degrees, the temperature they would need to work on the Thread organism. They might have to reduce its temperature to that of the Oort Cloud from whence it came, -270C or 3K absolute-but for the present, they could be content with maintaining the Thread's temperature in Pern orbit.
"I don't know what I'm doing," Manotti complained at one point as he gutted the dispensable refrigerator unit.
"That is not at issue," Aivas reassured him. "You need only follow instructions, for there isn't time to teach you cryogenics or refrigeration engineering. Do as you are told."
"I will, I will." Manotti said, grimacing as he very carefully removed a coil of tubing from the back of the first refrigerator. "Now where does this go?"
Aivas explained. When the transfer was completed and the machinery purred into activity, Manotti gave a whoop of triumph. Next, several of the cold capsules were altered to provide additional three-degree-absolute temperature storage for their specimens. For they needed many more than the original Thread ovoid that Farn had caught. The ovoids, as they shortly learned, came in a variety of sizes and in many conditions and, surprisingly, temperatures.
"You'd think one would be enough," Mirrim muttered to Sharra.
"Humans are not duplicates of each other," Aivas replied, though she had not intended to be overheard. She rolled her eyes at Sharra. "Patently the Thread organisms will also exhibit anomalies-ordinary deviations and quite likely mutations. They are as much a life-form as humans are, and they are in a very stressful environment so near Rukbat."
"That puts us neatly in our place," Oldive said with a grin.
Over the next few days, each team member had to learn to cope with the binocular microscope. Tying knots in a strand of hair gave way to carving flowers from splinters of wood and making paper flowers one millimeter across. Sharra proved the deftest of all, with Brekke and Mirrim not far behind her.
Caselon and Manotti, aided by Sefal and Durack, assembled a microforge with a flame two millimeters long, in which they heated the special glass Aivas had had Master Morilton mix, a glass with such a high lead content that even the amenable Morilton had protested. After Aivas told him that he could make knives with the high-lead mix sharp enough to cut bread, Morilton was at least curious enough to wish to experiment. So Aivas and Caselon got the unusual material.
Working carefully, Caselon pulled glass in the tiny flame, then took the resultant tube down to the 3K absolute in which the finished product would be used. When the first rod shattered, he reflexively jumped back despite the fact that he wore protective face and body shields. He glanced around sheepishly.
"A good habit to acquire, Caselon," Aivas remarked approvingly. "Try again."
When the fourth rod had shattered, Caselon was disgusted.
"The glass may not have been blended well enough, Caselon. Master Morilton supplied you with several different mixes. Use the one with the highest lead content. The instruments must be flexible, bending rather than shattering," Aivas said, projecting such a reassurance of eventual success that Caselon took head"
The fifth attempt bent slightly in the extreme cold but it did not shatter or crack.
"Now, using that mix, make more rods, which you will then fashion into knobs, spikes, and blades. Each of you will work your own tools, with Caselon as your instructor. To further dissect Thread, you will need what are ordinary tools, hacksaw, chisel, mallet, scalpel, but in miniature. Carborundum stone will sharpen edges."
Caselon's set was much admired by the others, though Mirrim thought them stubby inelegant implements. Consequently, when she, on her competitive mettle, made her set longer, she discovered that the flexibility of the length proved a disadvantage when the instruments were used.
"There is so much to do before we do anything," she complained. "We've wasted weeks on all this!"
"And you will spend weeks on the next procedures, Mirrim," Aivas said in a tone that chided her for impatience. "You have worked with great diligence and achieved feats of expertise that two Turns ago you would not have been capable of performing. Do not despair. You are about to embark on the truly interesting phase."
"What?" Mirrim asked bluntly.
"Dissecting Thread."
"But haven't we?" Sharra exclaimed, pointing to the cold capsule where the sectioned Threads were housed.
"You have cut the ovoids apart, but you have not truly examined them as minutely as you shortly will. Now, let us see if the waldoes still operate."
Caselon had been fascinated by these devices, which would allow them to work in a chamber maintained at the very low temperatures at which the Thread specimens were kept. He volunteered to be first, but Aivas chose Sharra, as she had already done more microscopic work than the journeyman. The apparatus was powered up, the specimen and the glass tools placed inside the waldo chamber, and the binocular microscope swung into position.
Resolutely, Sharra put her hands into the gloves and gave a little shudder.
"Cold!" she said, and attempted to move her fingers. "I thought you said these waldoes would follow my movements."
"Meters show that current is being taken into the mechanism," Caselon said, looking at the dials. "Here, let me."
Sharra withdrew her hands, but Caselon had no more luck than she.
"All right, Aivas," she said. "What do we do now?"
There was one of the brief but noticeable pauses they had all come to expect whenever Aivas conducted an internal search.
"The mechanism has been unused for twenty-five hundred years. It is not unreasonable to assume that maintenance might be required. A lubrication of the finger joints with silicone fluid may restore mobility."
"Silicone fluid?" Caselon asked.
Manotti raised his hand. "I know what he means. Aivas, is there a smith journeyman or master available?"