No sign of Bob. He's spent all day in his room. Probably sleeping. I doubt he slept while he was in The Sick Land. His dedication is impressive; he took a big risk getting that sample.

I've been to the lab twice to look at Bob's specimen. Though it's in the freezer, it's shrinking. Mal stuff can't survive outside The Sick Land. The deeper the origins, the faster the decay. It's almost the reverse of what happens to regular stuff in The Sick Land. Stuff like people.

I had a good talk with Xi today about people in The Sick Land. One of her interests is a local tribe. They've retained some of their oral culture; several of their myths describe interactions with a people who lived in the Green Zone. They talk about men with gigantic right arms. It's fascinating stuff, although the veracity is similar to that of other tribal legends. Xi's passionate discussion of her research really cheered me up.

I'm optimistic about the coming months. Xi and Bob will both leave, but there'll be new researchers. Hopefully we can do something special.