30.      Found Something

Howard receives a call from Dr. Sheehy, a biologist on Vulcan, who announces that rabbits can eat and are attracted to the toxic vine threatening the colony. She also reveals that the colonists have begun hunting brontos for food without waiting for impact studies, which Howard notes violates protocol but is politically inevitable given the population's preference for meat over kudzu.

Howard is contacted by Dr. Sheehy from the Vulcan colony with news about a potential solution to the vine problem. She explains that rabbits are naturally attracted to and able to consume the toxic vine, suggesting they could be used as a self-replicating biological control. She mentions that Colonel Butterworth believes the council will approve the plan despite the implications of introducing rabbits to Vulcan. Sheehy then informs Howard of an unexpected development: the colonists have killed a bronto that learned to bypass the colony's electrical fences, and the meat has passed toxicology and taste tests, leading to bronto being added to the colony's food supply. Howard protests that hunting was not supposed to begin until impact studies were completed, but Sheehy points out that the council cannot realistically prevent twenty thousand colonists from hunting plentiful game when it's available. Howard accepts the situation pragmatically, noting that colonist self-sufficiency reduces his workload and may eventually allow him to depart. He returns to work on the GUPPI-controlled surveillance system.