[TRI News Bot]

By Rafel Solamis
SOLRAIN CORE (TRI-FP) - TRINN has obtained a draft and abstract of an unreleased academic paper authored by a research team now investigating the Cinatus Grain Blight. The paper purports to have identified the blight virus as Quantar in origin. Research Director Basileus Lignius, a tenured academician in biochemistry at the Cinatus Research Academy in Cina, was asked for public comment on his team's findings. Dr. Lignius said, "These are preliminary data. Our genetic results agree with the original public announcements that the virus is not related to native Cinati organisms. We have less than 5% probability of match to any Octavian or Solrain native plant infectious biota. The match for Quantar system microbes, Kapenjan in particular, is up to 72%. There are some discrepancies." When pressed during the interview, Lignius admitted that these "discrepancies" may have been introduced by "adjustment", possibly genetic alteration. Kapenja is the outer habitable world in the Quantar system, sharing a sun with Quanus, and is the planet orbited by Tripoint station. Biowarfare agents were used occasionally on all three Octavian worlds during the post-Collapse Dark Age wars.

Tensions between Octavius and Solrain have been running high due to blatant interference with Cinatus relief efforts by squad "SoLiCiDaL". There has been as yet no political reaction to this new scientific revelation regarding the possible cause of the grain blight.

http://www.jossh.com/jgeng/ArticleRe...in_070204.html