Gordon blows a breath between his teeth, thinking. "We've found another cave system the Vortigaunts should be able to establish themselves in," he says. "Less vulnerable than the Mongolian ones and the caves around here."

The Vortigaunts' numbers, on the surface, are pretty impressive. Their breeding populations.... that's another story. When Bernice's people reported that they'd found a cavern in what used to be the Indochina peninsula full of oddly glowing pools that seemed to do the more injured explorers good just by touching the waters, he knew he had to contact the Vorts immediately.

"Doesn't seem to be much sign of human mothers slacking off in naming their children after me, which is starting to get embarrassing... oh, and Alyx got it into her head that Shephard's hand needs an upgrade. She's building a new one out of Legos, just in case he's willing to let her anywhere near that arm."

"Myself, I'm just trying to keep people from flying off in sixteen different directions until we've got enough of an agricultural and industrial base for smaller communities to support themselves. People don't realize how precarious our situation still is during the lean times of year."