Tony forced himself to calm down.
In one corner of his helmet's HUD, the scarlet countdown digits ticked down mercilessly: 10:48... 10:47... 10:46... Time was racing away beneath radiation's poisoned fangs.
He had to think. He had to seize even the slightest possible clue.
Connors's biological traits were the key.
It absorbed and converted radiation... Could that conversion not be the end point? Could the substances it expelled after "purifying" them merely be byproducts... or waste residue... of some even more violent, unstable reaction? Did some Bio-fusion mechanism beyond Human Science exist within its body, one capable of "igniting" matter at a deeper level? Or... was it itself a living valve leading to some High-dimensional energy space?
"J.A.R.V.I.S.!"
Tony's voice was resolute, overwhelming the turbulent waves in his heart. "Abandon the conventional fission-model projections! Connect me to all non-standard spectrum remote-sensing data from the Lookout Tower satellites, especially the High-energy Neutrino flow monitoring! Also, pull up every known analysis report on Connors's biological tissue samples, from its first appearance to before it sank. Focus especially on any anomalous isotopes or energy-concentration patterns detected inside it! Cross-reference them! Now! I need to know the core mechanism behind this Energy Burst! What exactly is its 'fuel'?"
"Connecting, sir. The volume of data is immense. Cross-analysis will require time."
J.A.R.V.I.S. responded as enormous Data Streams began scrolling rapidly across the other side of Tony's helmet display.
"Sir! The latest signal from the deep-sea sensor array... anomalous analysis complete!"
On the main screen, a new, more intricate wave pattern suddenly overlaid the blinding white point of light that represented destruction. It was no longer a chaotic eruption of energy, but a series of strange pulsing lines carrying a Life Rhythm!
"Detected... a powerful Life Signal!" Every word from J.A.R.V.I.S. landed like a heavy hammer.