The Porcelain Container’s Danger

This flow follows the movement of a lethal Zone material from feared rumor to catastrophe and concealed contraband.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Buyer Seeks the Jelly

A Buyer Seeks the Jelly A Strange Request Richard Noonan tells Redrick that a buyer wants Witches' jelly and death-related artifacts. Redrick understands that the request goes beyond ordinary scientific curiosity or salvage. A Refusal to Join Redrick says that the buyer should retrieve the material himself. His contempt is partly bravado, but it reflects a real awareness that the jelly can destroy human bodies and institutions.

The Laboratory Disaster

The Laboratory Disaster A Failed Containment Plan Researchers at Currigan Labs place Witches' jelly in a specially isolated room, believing it can be handled safely. When they open its container, the substance passes through barriers and spreads. Human Consequences Thirty-five people die, many others are crippled, and the building is destroyed. The event demonstrates that even sophisticated laboratories cannot confidently contain materials whose properties they do not understand.

A Hidden Container

A Hidden Container Contraband With a Cost Redrick keeps a dangerous Porcelain container from buyers who want it filled. The object makes his dealings more consequential than the sale of ordinary Zone artifacts. Concealment and Surrender After escaping arrest, he hides the container beneath a phone booth and tells Throaty where it is, in return for support for his family. The threat remains physically present even as Redrick relinquishes direct control.

After Redrick’s first expedition

Several years before Noonan’s late conversation

After Redrick’s arrest at the Borscht