Blish,James – And all the Stars a Stage

sounded in the least alike.

jorn spread his hands helplessly.

“Whoever it is, they’re sick,” he said. “We’d better get in fast. Resume

drilling.”

“Arrchk. Arr hamds. Rk.”

The cherry-red half-disc of metal canted suddenly, and then fell on the

other side of the door. The boy put the cutter down carefully and yanked

the two unlocked dogs free, pushing open the door and walking through it

without waiting for orders.

Then he put his band over his mouth and tried to get out again, but he

could not entirely baffle the press of people pushing after him; somehow

the word had been passed, and the control barrel was almost crowded now. He

was sick in their midst before he could break free into the barrel itself.

The rest sidled slowly into the cabin along the walls, less because they

wanted to than because the pressure of people behind them made it

imperative.

It was wholly incredible. Certainly the youngsters could not have

understood it; though they could clearly see that it was horrible, they

could hardly begin to guess where the real horror lay. They lacked the data

for any such awareness.

At first glance, jorn thought that the wizened old lady was still alive. It

was only long minutes later, at third or fourth look, that he saw that the

open eyes were dull and unwinking, and that she was in fact

174 James Blish

almost mummified. She was seated on the deck, leaning against the hult her

mouth sagging open on one side.

Ertak, nude except for a few scraps, lay on his bunk, looking even smaller

than the woman. His great shoulders and chest had somehow vanished; in