Michael_Crichton_-_The_Androme

"What does that have to do--" "The fact of the matter is," Stone said, "that you are the Odd Man. You are the key to all this. Quite literally."

He took his own key and walked to a corner of the room.

He pushed a hidden button and the wood paneling slid away to reveal a burnished metal console. He inserted his key into a lock and twisted it. A green light on the console flashed on; he stepped back. The paneling slid into place.

"At the lowest level of this laboratory is an automatic atomic self-destruct device," Stone said. "It is controlled from within the laboratory. I have just inserted my key and armed the mechanism. The device is ready for detonation. The key on this level cannot be removed; it is now locked in place. Your key, on the other hand, can be inserted and removed again. There is a three-minute delay between the time detonation locks in and the time the bomb goes off. That period is to provide you time to think, and perhaps call it all off."

Hall was still frowning. "But why me?"

"Because you are single. We have to have one unmarried man."

Stone opened a briefcase and withdrew a file. He gave it to Hall. "Read that."

It was a Wildfire file.

"Page 255," Stone said.

Hall turned to it.

Project: Wildfire ALTERATIONS 1. Millipore(R) Filters, insertion into ventilatory system. Initial spec filters unilayer styrilene, with maximal efficiency of 97.4% trapping. Replaced in 1966 when Upjohn developed filters capable of trapping organisms of size up to