"We thought so, yes. Whenever it ate someone, it learned how to do everything the original could. And we got a helicopter pilot..."

He hoped that Van Wall had not been eaten, or if he had the imitation was caught quickly. The alternative would not be good. Even assuming the creature didn't know how to build itself a spaceship or something while their backs were turned.

"Well, I figure there's nothing I can do about it here. I just hope my friend had the good sense to watch his back better than I did."