The Andromeda Strain

The men arrive at Level V. Hall sees mechanical hands maneuvering the satellite to the correct laboratory. The hands open the satellite and remove the sample from inside. A lab rat is placed near the sample to determine whether the bacteria is immediately dangerous. The rat dies almost instantly. The experiment is repeated with a monkey, which also dies. The animals are taken away to be autopsied while the scientists prepare to deal with the alien bacteria present in the sample.

Hall is tasked with treating Peter Jackson and the baby. He enters a room labelled Miscellaneous which is fitted with special suits. The suits are connected to a tunnel, allowing Hall to enter and be in the same room as the patients without breaking the sealed environment. He discusses the situation with the attending nurse. They talk about the computer and the condition of the patients. The patients seem stable, and the computers have analyzed every possible data point to diagnose them. Hall orders more tests and collects samples from the patients by stepping into the suits. As Hall examines Jackson in a systematic fashion, the patient wakes. Jackson warns Hall to go away before going limp once again. Hall continues with his tests and gives Jackson blood and oxygen. He turns his attention to the baby and discovers there is seemingly nothing wrong or out of the ordinary about the child except that he survived.

Stone and Leavitt examine the satellite capsule. If there is an organism from space, they must find, study, and understand it. They study the capsule using robotic arms and computers. Eventually they find a small indentation inside the capsule, caused by a “black fleck of jagged material no larger than a grain of sand” (101) as well as patches of something green. Their careful examination continues for hours as they struggle to contain their excitement or intrigue. The green patches flicker purple occasionally and seem to grow. Leavitt and Stone take samples and remove the strange, jagged fleck of rock. They prepare to study what they have found as closely as possible.

Burton performs autopsies on the rat and the monkey but cannot stop thinking about what he saw in Piedmont. He also works on the vector experiments to determine how the disease is transmitted. His inability to concentrate leads to mistakes. He experiments with more rats and discovers that the infectious agent that spreads the Andromeda Strain is roughly the size of a small cell. His work suggests that dead animals are not infectious. Burton is not surprised by this, as he knows that the best-adapted bacteria are “those that could live off the host without killing him” (107). The Andromeda Strain can kill men, but it is not adapted to live with them if it cannot be transmitted by dead bodies. Next, he discovers that the blood clotting begins in the lungs and spreads. He does not think to examine the brain for potential blood clots. Experiments show that anticlotting medicines can delay death for up to three minutes, but death is always inevitable. Burton returns to his autopsies but does not examine the dead rats he injected with anticlotting medicine. After 10 hours, he believes he understands the size of the Andromeda Strain as well as its transmission method, the way it causes death, and the limited effectiveness of medicines.

Hall examines the results from his examination of the two survivors. The baby boy’s results seem entirely normal, but Peter Jackson’s are not. Both Hall and the computer struggle to explain the man’s strange results. Hall wakes the sleeping patient and tries to interview him about what happened. Jackson seems disoriented and complains about a previous visit to a hospital when he was treated for coughing up blood. Hall realizes Jackson has a stomach ulcer that he self-medicates with nearly a bottle of aspirin a day as well as a blend of alcohol and methanol. Hall is interrupted by a sound indicating that he must change his clothes and attend a meeting. Elsewhere in the facility, staff monitor the computers to make sure they are functioning correctly. They do not spot a paper jam that prevents certain important messages from being received.

The scientists meet in the cafeteria and talk while they eat. Meals come in pill and liquid form. The men reveal what they have found during their investigations. They discuss the uniquely acidic nature of Peter Jackson’s body and realize that this has helped him to survive. Stone then leads the other scientists to the morphology lab to show them the green organisms discovered on the satellite capsule. They watch the green patch turn purple and grow. The men plan their next experiments. Using microscopes, Stone scrapes fragments from the rock to run different tests at once. The green organism seems to react to his actions.

Arthur Manchek receives a strange telephone call telling him about a crash near Piedmont. He wonders why the small nuclear bomb has not yet been dropped on the town as part of Directive 7-12. The Wildfire team was apparently notified of the decision to delay the bomb but have not yet responded. He travels to the crash site while reviewing the logs of the downed aircraft. The pilot complained of a rubber air hose dissolving while in the air over Piedmont. The Wildfire team was sent a message about the crash but still have not responded. No one suspects that there might be a reason the Wildfire team is not checking or receiving their messages. Manchek inspects the crash site with others. Later, he is told that this particular aircraft contained no rubber. Instead, it was built with a synthetic plastic designed to resemble human skin. No one is certain what is happening.

The scientists settle into a familiar routine of experiments in the underground facility. They accept that most of their experiments will lead to dead ends, but they persevere. Burton uses a spectrometer to analyze the chemical makeup of the rock fragments recovered from the satellite. Leavitt analyzes the amino acids of similar fragments and thinks about the scientific progress made in the lead up to the Wildfire Project. Stone prepares a sample for an electron microscope and thinks about how well their work is progressing. He assumes the bomb has been dropped on Piedmont, so he does not need to worry about contamination unless anything leaks from the Wildfire lab. Given the strict security around the Wildfire lab, the team could work securely for more than a year if required.

Hall examines the bomb detonator substations and thinks of his role as the Odd Man. The bombs are triggered to automatically detonate if contamination is detected. If that occurs, only Hall can avert the explosion. If the threat of contamination is real, he is expected to allow the lab and everyone inside to be destroyed.

An idea comes to Leavitt in a dream. He rushes to tell his theory to the others but notices that he has experienced a blackout. These lapses in time have become a common part of his life. Leavitt has forgotten the idea that came to him in his dream. Though he knows he should tell the other scientists about these lapses, he cannot bring himself to do so.

Stone paces around the lab. He is sure he has overlooked something regarding the birds in Piedmont. He cannot figure out the missing part of his thoughts and so prepares for the midnight meeting.

The scientists meet and share information. They are all exhausted and agree to sleep more; they do not worry about contamination because the bomb destroyed the threat of Piedmont infecting anyone else. They agree to request a code name for the organism, which means they must send a message. The response assigns the organism with the code name Andromeda. This communication reveals the backlog of missed messages, including the delay of Directive 7-12. The paper jam on the main computer is also discovered and removed, much to the scientists’ horror. As Stone demands the bomb be dropped on Piedmont, he learns about the crashed plane and the troops now stationed around the contaminated town. He demands to know as soon as the first soldier dies. Finally, Hall notices a message describing the strange death of an Arizona highway patrolman.