Autoheteromorph 233: a life-form so highly adaptive that it can feed on literally anything. Starting as a chemical, it can develop into a plant, and end up as a plant-animal. Under control, it is an infinitely useful source of high-grade protein. Given mobility such as a human host, it is infinitely dangerous.Shroud was more than 200 years old, and slated for euthanasia. He had worked on the original AHT 233 control and was the last surviving expert on the formation of the life-form. When a young woman, victim of a space-accident, was suspected of carrying the protein, Dr. Shroud was literally called back from the dead to solve the problem.