“Babylon should be evacuated.” A researcher from the sub-team tasked with learning about external influences from the object. He swivelled in his chair to address Nirann directly. “The Cradle has a historic integration with the stratum of the biosphere. We still don’t know enough about why this relationship exists - it's too dangerous to have millions of people inside.”

“That is our formal recommendation to the government. It's up to them how to proceed, as it's obviously not in our remit.” Freyr offered, then also turned to Nirann. “Locking down the Vault seems like a good move. But, that is an inflexible solution. How long would it take to reinstate automatic control if we removed it?” Freyr threw the question out to the room, and Dr Wetherall replied.

“Erm, a while? Everything is connected, so it wouldn’t be a case of flicking some switch.”

“So a problem arises if we find one of the Navigator’s colleagues and need to save them as well. Not an insurmountable problem, but one to put in the report.” Freyr kissed her teeth, weighing everything up in her head, arms crossed and brow furrowed.

Vreta’s remark silenced the room. Eventually it was Dr Kim who responded, standing up to one side of the room. “We brought it here foremost to save its life. We’re ensuring its own safety [i]as well[/i] as ours by taking protective measures.