Page 13 - Nutshell 1

Horatio turned a deep ultramarine. “I thought Rhoda perished in the
screws of a cruise ship. It’s a risky business getting in the path of those
juggernauts simply to bathe in their effluents. But that report was wrong,
eh?”
Algernon Bloom bobbed and weaved in the sluicing tide.
“Right. She found refuge in a small flotilla of wandering red bacteria
and soon turned them into a huge invasion force. I learned about it from
Max Plankton: he is constantly on the alert for changes in the sea.
Anyway, that gigantic blob is heading this way. I’ve been warning
everyone I can. But nobody understands the danger—they can’t believe
how destructive it will be. That’s what comes of living in these isolated
colonies: rumors about the outside world are exaggerated or downplayed.
I’m lucky to have found you, Horatio! You know about the red tide.”
“You bet I do, Algie! Nothing will be left alive along the coast if they
arrive in a tightly-packed mass. And I’ve heard enough.” Horatio turned
to the azure assembly quivering expectantly behind him. “We have a
mission, gang! No more floating around contemplating our chloroplasts.
Are you ready?”
“Yeah! Better dead than red!”
“Let’s rock off this rock!”
“Action! We want action!”
Horatio reviewed his troops. He knew the value of a small,
disciplined, loyal group. “We leave immediately, on the next wave out of
here. I’ll explain the plan along the way. Let’s go west, young algae!”

Then he said to Bloom: “You might as well stay here, good buddy.
We’ll be back when it’s over.”
And they were gone, sluiced out to the open sea. Algie was left alone
in the pool except for an ancient starfish clinging to the bottom.