The Autosampler

Andrea Detlefsen
Jul 24, 2017 · 2 min read

From the dark there comes a stirring, listen close, a motor purring,
Frigid waters are disturbed, a single ripple rings.
Through the murky walls and waters, creeps a shadow (impending slaughter?)
Sluggish seconds slide while they await the coming sound.

Chugging towards its destination, short of any hesitation,
It proceeds with great precision, passing row by row.
Finally there is a stopping, then begins the dreaded dropping,
Even, measured, resolute, extending ceaselessly.

With a pop the needle pierces, down to where the heart of fear is,
Down to where the sample lies and liquid meets the air.
Peering upwards at the heavens of a world within a vial,
Bonds that squirmed with natural motion vibrate now in fear.

The human hair-sized radius then dips into the aqueous,
Whirling currents swirl inside the wake of its small path.
Pausing, only for an instant, it flashes with a wicked glint.
Fragments of a protein, peptides, wait in dire suspense.

Then, without any forewarning, and hardly any time for mourning,
The needle takes a greedy drink and up the peptides go.
Defenseless against this blitz, they tumble round in frenzied fits,
Panic and tumult ensue, there’s nothing they can do.

Finally it stops imbibing, and the current is subsiding,
Peptides who remain below are safe, at least for now.
But those who have been whisked away won’t live to see another day,
The needle retreats through the hole, with a swig in tow.

Those forsaken cry in chorus “Pray for those who’ve gone before us,
Where they went, we’ll never know. What horrors they’ll endure!”
Reeling, still, from the irruption, they grieve over the abduction.
Eventually they’ll settle, as there’s nothing left to do.

Autosampler in action (with sound!)

Lab Musings

To inform and inspire. Creative science writing by Pitt undergraduates.

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