Remember that rock potpourri I discussed in that last, ridiculously long entry?

I'm a bit worried about it. I dropped a few rocks into a metal, saucer-shaped candle holder in my bathroom then, copying the guy at the RenFair, dribbled a bit of water over the rocks.

Checking back on it a day later, I see the water has (naturally) dried up. What I was not expecting is that the little smelly rocks are--blooming.

They look like coral. Or sashimi. (Octopus.)

Or, you know, some kind of alien creature, about to go into hyper-production.

I fear I might have inadvertently loosed some intergalactic plague upon the world.

Said alien growth, we'll call it Ferd, for easy reference, not content with blooming on the rocks, has crawled along the bottom of the saucer and, in places, is now creeping over the edge and beginning to cover the bottom of the dish. I'm a bit torn, trying to decide what to do, you know? Part of me wants to wait and see what happens. The other part of me (the part that watches Alien, even though I know it will scare me pantsless) thinks I should rush out and buy a flame gun or something. Ferd could turn nasty or something. I'd hate to wake up tomorrow with knobby growths and an alien consciousness forcing me to drive to the nearest grocery store and touch all the fresh food or something.

If you read in the headlines next week that Denver has been eaten by some extraterrestrial mold, the world can go to its end knowing that I'm really sorry. 'Satiable curiosity, you know.

I was assuming it was water the RenFair's guys rocks were sitting in. Maybe it was some complex chemical concoction designed to keep the spores dormant? If so, I'm pretty sure that's something I was entitled to be told up front.