15
Auroreus and Cococcus were discussing plans for increasing their colony’s virulence when Commensalis entered the fibrin house in a state of rapture.
“There is a new ringed horror out there, more than double the size of penicillin. I began expressing the mist of penicillin hydrolysis and instructed my comrades to do the same. It was no use. I am sure I will never forget the sight as long as I should live: it spun through our midst, paralyzing all bacteria in its path, rendering them incapable of further replication. They are still outside now, but I am afraid they are not long for this world,” said strong-walled Commensalis.
“Please tell me Gelaus is with you,” said Melaus, shaking with fear.
“I’m sorry, Melaus,” said Commensalis gravely.
Melaus made no reply, unable to move or express anything.
Just then, Auroreus felt the presence of SarA of fine-tuned expressions and was struck with the recollection of Grammaticus’s gift of a plasmid of sulfonamide resistance. Auroreus spoke thus:
“The hybrid of which you speak may be a sulfonamide. There is no time to verify whether this is the case. We must begin assembling the protein detailed in this plasmid,” said Auroreus, releasing the plasmid of sulfonamide resistance into the fibrin house.
“Are you sure?” said Prokus, taking up the plasmid.
“No,” said shining Auroreus. “But it is the only thing I can think of.”
As the rest of the colony took up the plasmid of sulfonamide resistance, the bacteria suddenly felt a great trembling.
“Nobody move,” said Commensalis.
The trembling continued for a few seconds before culminating in a great burst. One of the walls of the fibrin house suddenly caved in, and a massive hole appeared, letting in extracellular fluid and blood cells.
“Move!” said Prokus, with a sense of authority that Auroreus and Cococcus had not yet seen. “The abscess has ruptured!”
“Everyone, begin assembling the sulfonamide resistance protein!” said Auroreus, shouting above the buzz of fear that had quickly spread over the colony.
Cococcus addressed Auroreus in sticky words: “We are exposed to the immune system, Auroreus. This could be very bad. We need to start fighting, right now. Agr demands it. If we do not act, we will be destroyed by the new ringed horror, or else by neutrophils and macrophages.”
Auroreus said nothing, feeling the gravity of the situation and the peril of Cococcus’s suggestion. A molecule of the unidentified ringed horror entered the house through the hole in the wall.
“Stay calm, everyone, and continue expressing the protein of sulfonamide resistance,” said Auroreus.
The molecule spun closer to the colony, and last goodbyes were said by all. After what felt to Auroreus like a lifetime, the molecule closed in on the colony and dissolved instantly on contact. Silence fell over the inside of the fibrin house.
“Thank you, Grammaticus,” said Auroreus quietly.
“Do you not see the opportunity that this presents?” said Cococcus.
“What opportunity, Cococcus? We almost died just now, and we are still under serious threat,” replied Auroreus.
“This is our chance. You see it just as well as I do, Auroreus. This is the best chance we’re going to get.”
“You cannot mean—”
“Yes. We need to seed. Not later, not after we have prepared not with the support of the colony. We need to create a new nidus somewhere else, and we need to do it now.”
Auroreus considered Cococcus’s words, and looked around at the other bacteria, who were in a frenzy, expressing proteins of sulfonamide resistance and attempting to restore the wall which had been damaged.
“Such is life as a Staphylocococus,” said Auroreus. “We must accept the opportunities that our master regulators present, or die.”
“I’m glad we are in agreement,” said Cococcus. “May I propose we go to the heart?”
“Keep your voice down,” said Auroreus.
“Our beautiful walls, destroyed,” said Commensalis. “I knew that infection was a risk, but I had not prepared myself for the consequences. We have failed our fellow bacteria.”
“Commensalis, may we make a suggestion?” said Auroreus, as Cococcus stood impatiently behind.
“Outsider, your suggestions have already brought us enough destruction,” said Prokus.
Ignoring Prokus, Cococcus addressed Commensalis with sticky words: “This is not the time to give up. This is an opportunity. A chance to migrate to deeper tissues and build a more resilient colony. One house was never going to be enough.”
“What do you mean, deeper tissues?” said Commensalis.
“Until now, we have stayed quite close to the surface,” said Auroreus, “just beneath the skin—a vulnerable position. Our house caved in on the internal side. If it was the outer wall that had been compromised, we would have spilled out into the outside world. Most of us would be dead now if that had been the case.”
Commensalis and Prokus were silent for a moment. Commensalis said quietly, “I had not known we were in so precarious a situation.”
“We cannot worry about that,” said Cococcus. “Right now, with or without you, Auroreus and I are going to go deeper into our host.”
“Nonsense!” said Prokus, flaring up with anger.
“We have suffered many losses from our colony,” said Commensalis, “but we still have a considerable population. If the two of you should decide to seek refuge in deeper tissues, it is not for us to stop you.”
With no time to lose, Auroreus and Cococcus separated from the rest of the colony.
“This is the future we were promised when we were born as Staphylococci,” said Auroreus. “Truthfully, I never thought we would make it this far.”
“Your celebration is premature, Auroreus, but appreciated. For my part, I always knew we could do it. Ever since we transmitted ourselves from Ruby, I knew that we could handle any challenge that would meet us here.”
“That was a long time ago. I hope the Ruby colony is doing well.”
“We are doing this for them, Auroreus. We will carry on their legacy as far as we can. And it all starts with this. Just one finger.”
“Just one finger.”
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