"It helped to detect that the anomaly was present, but it won't be as useful with what I want to do next."

Gaius fights the urge somehow, to tell her to be careful, or to the move the microscope away. Their supplies were limited at best, and the last thing he wanted was any of their meager equipment to be inadvertently damaged.

"I'm not sure exactly what they are, or what they do. The mass specrometer would allow us to detect the presence of various elements and their abundances. Once we know its basic composition, we should be able to better pinpoint what its true purpose is."

Gaius runs a hand through his hair at her next question. "My hypothesis is rather obvious, actually. That whatever is in our bloodstream has dampened the powers of those who have abilities that in my world would be considered supernatural."

He presses his lips together nervously. Six presses a hand on his shoulder and leans in. "You should ask her."

Gaius turns to look at. "Ask her?" he says in low tones. And in the instant the words leave his lips, he realizes exactly what Six was telling him.

"As for," he says louder now,, trying to cover up his little dialogue with Six. "As for you, would you be one of those people?" he asks. "A person with special powers?"