HOW TO MAKE AN ANTIVENOM
During their journey to the site, Captain Ahmed listened carefully to the Professor who spoke about the spiders, the new enemy. Concerning the antivenom, making a new one was a difficult task. Venom was put into animals then antibodies were to be extracted. This might take years as it had to be made safe to use. Unknown species of spiders needed a new antivenom.
A MEDICINE FOR THE BITE OF THAT SPIDER
Ayman read the e-mail he had received before leaving his house. It was from Dr Fakhry. She stated that the ancient medical text described a medicine for the bite of the black and yellow deadly spider. The ancient Egyptians made it form the roots of a plant called "Echinacea Negra" which was almost extinct but was found now in Sinai. It was studied by a researcher in the Department of Botanical Science at Cairo University, called Wafaa Sultan.
A DECISION TO GET THE PLANT
Captain Ahmed called the Colonel on the radio to tell him about that plant. The Colonel decided to contact Wafaa to get that plant from Sinai.
THE THREE VEHICLES ON THE SITE
When the three vehicles reached the site, they came to a high wire fence and a gate guarded by two policemen. They stopped near some wooden buildings the archaeologists had used. The man unloaded the equipment, the protective clothing, the insecticides and the things they brought.
GOING WELL-PROTECTED INTO THE TOMB
Ayman, the Professor, Captain Ahmed and three officers went down into the tomb. For protection, they were all covered completely by black suits with no openings They had thick transparent windows over the face. They breathed through a filter like a gas mask. They switched on the torch that each man wore on his head. They reached the wide passage by following the same route the robbers had taken.
SETTING UP THE EQUIPMENT
The Professor set up his equipment in the place where a lot of webs were hanging from the ceiling. He also spread a white sheet and fitted it over a frame he made by four metal tubes. The sheet became a few centimetres above the ground.
SMOKE AND THE SPIDERS
The Professor started the engine on a machine like a gun. He switched on a smoker. Smoke poured out and went up to the ceiling. Dead things fell on the sheet. When he switched off, twenty small insects and spiders were on the sheet. The professor picked up three spiders of the same kind of the spider Ayman had seen but half as big. With a magnifying glass, he examined them and found they were adult males.
A BIG SPIDER ATTACKS A YOUNG OFFICER
A black and yellow spider twice as big as the dead ones suddenly fell on the sheet. It was not dead. It jumped and attacked a young officer with its fangs on his face mask. The other two officers used the insecticide sprays and the spider fell to the ground. The Professor examined it. It was a female. Then it moved again, ran into the darkness and disappeared.
LEAVING THE TOMB
The officer fell down. The spider had broken through the face mask. The Captain decided to leave immediately. The injured man was carried. The Professor carried the bag with the three spiders. In the fresh air they took off the officer's suit. There was no blood on his face. The Professor said he just breathed in some insecticide, but he would be OK.
THE CAPTAIN DECIDES TO DESTROY THE SPIDERS
The Professor said the spiders were an unknown species. He hadn't found one like it on the database. The Professor did not like the Captain's decision to destroy the spiders as they were a great discovery. The Captain said ten people were killed by them and they did not want others to be killed.
COULD THEY DESTROY THE SPIDERS?
The Professor agreed, but believed it was impossible to destroy them all. They lived in underground rooms and the area was not known. In addition, the archaeological site would be destroyed.
THE COLONEL'S INSTRUCTIONS
Captain Ahmed spoke to the Colonel on the radio. The Colonel wanted him, the Professor and Ayman to return to the town and to bring the dead spiders to send their venom sacs to an antivenom lab. Wafaa Sultan, the Botanist Researcher would go to Sinai by helicopter to get the plant from there. The spider seen by Ayman had to be found. The professor hoped it hadn't produced its young yet
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الخميس أبريل 10, 2008 8:38 pm