Challenge #01422-C327: Some Things Don't Work
"Kill it with fire!" -- OohLookShiny
It was a joke amongst the Glunk Cleanup Detail. They were a mix of either the most dedicated cleaners, or the most incorrigible of criminals. And both were under careful watch from rescue teams, but for different reasons.
And all of them knew that flamethrowers had negligible effects on the Glunk.
Well. All of them that weren't new.
Once in a great, long while, someone who was unfamiliar with all the tried-and-failed methods of cleaning up the Glunk would join the team, acquire a flamethrower, and attempt to -as they say- kill it with fire.
If the resultant cloud of noxious smoke is not enough to discourage them from trying that sort of thing again... or the sight of a mostly-undamaged mass of mess after the smoke has cleared has failed to encourage a repeat attempt... then the unfortunate cogniscent is left to deal with the smoke on their own, next time. Or judged to be mentally incompetent and sent off to a care facility for the remainder of their lives.
Most often, they recognise the danger and behave themselves thereafter.
Glunk cleanup is hard, laborious, and almost infinite work. People guess at the dimensions of the mess and chop it down at an average rate of one standard distance unit a year. And there is a prize for speeding up that rate that doesn't involve further pollution.
Considering that it is over a Decade's worth of luxuries, there is some stiff competition to win it.
(Muse food remaining: 13. Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories! Or comment below!)