"What kind?"
"All kinds."
"But anything particular? Something that he wanted to extract something from."
"Well, let's see—He brought back lots of sample specimens, but there was one that he played with all the way home. It was an insectivorous or carnivorous species, as I recall—"
"Yes? Yes?"
"That produced a chemical he thought might prove useful if it could be extracted and concentrated or synthesized—Now, hold on. Are you trying—?"
"Why not? And why didn't you mention this sooner?"
"For the simple reason—What got you off on this tangent?"
"Rain. The kid's diary said 'rain potential.' The captain's log mentioned a surface weather front. And it rained just before I was hit."
"I fail to see the connection. But think about this: It rained on the survey team I ferried here, too—not often, but more than once or twice—and nothing happened to them."