Leavitt and Stone are examining a tiny pebble they’ve spotted in the Scoop probe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Go to sixty,” says Stone. Leavitt punches a button, and the display screen switches to a higher magnification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Jeremy, do you think maybe –” begins Leavitt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Maybe it’s just a grain of sand,” says Stone. “Go to eighty.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The micro camera blurs and magnifies more. now, the copper screen mesh is a large wicker lattice on the screen. The pebble is now a craggy rock, with fluorescent green patches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What about the bits of green?” asks Leavitt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Paint,” says Stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“For God’s sake!” says Leavitt, dismissively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Pistachio ice cream – there’s no basis to assume it’s anything yet!” says Stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You’re too good a scientist not to be thinking the same thing I am,” says Leavitt. “If this is really something new, some brand new form of life…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Our best hope of cracking it is to be grindingly thorough – – with the help of computer number one,” says Stone, tapping Leavitt lightly on the head. “Okay? Now let’s get on with it.” Leavitt glares at him for a moment, then looks back at the monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More green patches are seen on the screen mesh. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Baskin-Robbins scale of alien microbe identification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":738,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"http:\/\/www.andromedaminute.com\/cm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/as080.mp3","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"22:25","filesize":"21.05M","date_recorded":"28-10-2020","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"22068159"},"tags":[],"series":[4,11],"episode_featured_image":"http:\/\/www.andromedaminute.com\/cm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/as080.jpg","episode_player_image":"http:\/\/www.andromedaminute.com\/cm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/AndromedaCover1400.jpg","download_link":"http:\/\/www.andromedaminute.com\/cm\/podcast-download\/772\/minute-080-pistachio-ice-cream.mp3","player_link":"http:\/\/www.andromedaminute.com\/cm\/podcast-player\/772\/minute-080-pistachio-ice-cream.mp3","audio_player":"\n