The trio got together early the next day in the lunchroom. They were drinking coffee, except for Myna, who preferred mushroom tea.
“Hokay now”, Mac announced. He was wearing a t-shirt with the words “Owned by Big Mushroom” on the back.
"The report is written, and we still haven’t told anyone about the breach.”
Myna looked up from her tablet. "We need to figure out what to do next. It looks like the equipment is ok and PB-78 is growing, although the results are kind of weird. We were exposed to the spores when the power went down. Are we in danger?”
Myco replied, "Major danger. We should tell the institute's board and let them know right away."
Myna groaned. “Myco, stop messing around.” The institute’s board was famous for postponing meetings and decisions while they went on augmented reality team safaris. The board chair spent most of his time sending memos to researchers reminding them of the risks of not following CDF procedures in development - not like anyone needed reminding.
Mac said “I think we’re ok. I’ve been collecting spores, molds and fungus for years and I’ve never had any problems. I only started wearing masks when I got this gig.”
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Myna looked at Myco and he nodded.
“All right then. Let’s turn in the report. What are the next steps for PB-78?”
Myco began. "We need to consider the potential implications of this discovery. PB-78's ability to use multiple feeding strategies is truly remarkable. It could have huge implications for the field of mycology and even beyond that, in fields such as agriculture and environmental conservation."
"Exactly," Mac agreed. "PB-78's ability to parasitize insects could be a powerful way to control insect pests. And other kinds of pests."
"That's true," Myco chimed in. "Could be scary. We need to be very careful with how we handle this variety. Now that PB-78 is growing reliably in the lab, I’ll focus on varying growing mediums and see what it *can’t* eat.”
"I agree," Myna said. "I’m going to look into the potential symbiosis that the mushroom may possess. That may help us figure out why its network organizes itself so differently."
"Right," Mac added. "I’ll check out the parasite angle."
Myna said “Let’s get together at the end of the week. That gives us some time to suss this out before the headquarters guys show up.”
“Sounds like a plan”. Coffee and tea cups clinked together.
After Mac and Myco left, Myna got her tablet out and started working.
She was uneasy. They weren’t talking about their exposure to PB-78. The possibilities were – not good.