Sea Monsters and Other Delicacies by David Sinden Page A

thanks to you, Ulf,” Dr. Fielding said. “It’ll take a day or two to replenish its venom.” She reached to the back of the brain. “This over here is the brachial lobe. It controls movement.” She carefully slid her hands down either side of the bulge. “Oh, my goodness,” she said.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?” Ulf asked.
    â€œI’ve found the problem, Ulf.”
    Gently, Dr. Fielding pushed her hand in, parting the spongy flesh.
    Ulf saw a huge red lump. “What is it?” he asked.
    â€œA blood clot, Ulf. A ball of congealed blood.” It was massive. “The artery that goes to the brachial lobe has ruptured. The brachial lobe isn’t functioning correctly. That explains why its tentacles are in spasm.”
    â€œCan you fix it?”
    â€œIt’ll be tricky. We’ll have to perform an arterial bypass.”
    â€œHow do we do that?” Ulf asked.
    â€œWe’ll have to redirect the blood flow with a synthetic blood vessel, then remove the clot. While we operate we’ll have to seal off the blood supply entirely. It’s a risky operation. It’s possible that the tentacles will be left paralyzed.”
    Dr. Fielding took another headlamp from her medical bag and Ulf put it on. “When I say, I need you to hold that blood clot for me.”
    She took out a laser pen, two metal clips, and a length of thin silicone-rubber tubing. “This is the synthetic blood vessel,” she explained, showing him the length of tubing. “We’ll use it to replace the ruptured artery.”
    Dr. Fielding looked across to Orson. “We’re about to close off the blood supply to the brachial lobe,” she called. “She should go still for a while.”
    The giant was wrestling with a tentacle that had slipped free from its rope. “You got it. Good luck,” Orson called.
    Dr. Fielding parted the upper lobes of the brain. Ulf could see the huge red clot. “Lift it up,” Dr. Fielding told him.
    Ulf cupped his hands around the blood clot. It felt sticky and warm. As he lifted it, he saw a thick blood vessel running along its base to the brachial lobe.
    â€œThat’s the ruptured artery that we have to replace,” Dr. Fielding said. She carefully clipped the metal clips to it, on either side of the clot. “Now the blood flow is sealed off, we have to work quickly.”
    Ulf glanced up. All the sea monster’s tentacles had gone limp.
    â€œConcentrate, Ulf.”
    He held the clot steady. Dr. Fielding took her laser pen and pressed its tip to the artery.
    Ulf saw a glowing red dot as the laser burned a small hole in the artery wall. Dr. Fielding repeated the procedure, burning a second hole in the artery on the other side of the clot.

    She switched the laser pen off and, with a microneedle and thread, stitched the ends of the synthetic blood vessel onto the two holes.
    â€œNow we have to cut out the clot.”
    With a pair of small scissors, Dr. Fielding snipped the clot from the damaged artery. Ulf felt it come free in his hands. It was heavy, and wobbled as he lifted it out.
    â€œPerfect,” Dr. Fielding said. She held open a specimen bag and Ulf dropped the clot inside it. “Now let’s see if the bypass has worked.”
    She unfastened the metal clips.
    Ulf could see blood starting to flow through the synthetic artery. “You’ve mended it!” he said.
    â€œDon’t get your hopes up, Ulf. We won’t know definitely for a minute or two.” Dr. Fielding looked across to Orson. “Tell me if you see any signs of movement,” she called.
    The sea monster’s tentacles were hanging limply all around, attached to the ropes.
    â€œWill do,” Orson replied.
    â€œUlf, could you help me get the shell back on now, please?” Dr. Fielding asked.
    Together, Ulf and Dr. Fielding reached across and lifted the large circular slab of shell back into the