‘No, you didn’t. What is an Old One?’
‘A huge carnivore. Bloodthirsty, ferocious. Attacks a man on sight. The other two went along in an effort to protect the doctor-‘
‘The temperature has held for the last three days,’ said Tennyson to the nurse. ‘Has there been no break?’
‘None at all, Doctor. Small fluctuations. Nothing that could be called significant.’
‘And the respiratory difficulty?’
‘It seems to be getting worse.’
‘The medication?’
‘It’s all on the chart, Doctor.’
‘Yes, I see’, said Tennyson.
He picked up the woman’s scrawny wrist. The pulse was rapid and shallow. The stethoscope, when he held it against her chest, communicated the rasping of the lungs.
‘Food?’ he asked. ‘Has she taken nourishment?’
‘Only the IV the last two days. Before that a little milk and some broth.’
Tennyson looked across the bed at Ecuyer.
‘Well?’ asked the Vatican man.
‘I ‘think pneumonia,’ said Tennyson. ‘Probably viral. Have you facilities for making tests?’
‘We have a laboratory, but no technician. He was with Anderson and Aldritt.’ ‘All three were killed?’ ‘That’s right. All three. Perhaps you, Doctor…’ ‘I do not have the expertise,’ said Tennyson. ‘All I can do is treat the disease. You have medical and pharmaceutical supplies?’
‘Yes, a wide range of them. Ordinarily, we do not run so thin on medical staff. We did have two technicians, but one resigned several months ago. We’ve not been able to replace him. End of Nothing, Doctor, apparently is not the kind of place that attracts good people.’
‘My best diagnosis,’ said Tennyson, ‘is some type of viral pneumonia. It would help to know the type, but without trained personnel, that’s impossible. There are so many new viruses, picked up and transmitted from planet to planet, that it’s hard to pinpoint one specific agent. Within the past year or two, however – or so I read in medical journals – a new broad-spectrum antiviral substance -‘
‘You mean protein-X,’ said the nurse.
‘Exactly. Do you have it?’
‘Some came in on the last trip Wayfarer made. The trip before this one.’
‘It could be effective,’ Tennyson said to Ecuyer. ‘Not enough is known about it to be sure. The substance specifically attacks the protein coating of a virus, destroying the entire virus. We’d be taking a chance using it, of course, but we have nothing else.’
‘What you are saying,’ said Ecuyer, ‘is that you cannot guarantee…’
‘No physician can make a guarantee.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Ecuyer. ‘Somehow or other, we must save her. If we don’t use the protein…’
‘She still may live,’ said Tennyson. ‘Her body will have to fight against the virus. We can give her some support. We can help her fight, but we can’t do anything about the virus. She has to beat that herself.’
‘She’s old,’ said the nurse. ‘She hasn’t much to fight with.’ ‘Even with the protein,’ asked Ecuyer, ‘we can’t be sure?’ ‘No, we can’t,’ said Tennyson.
‘About the protein agent? You want to think about it further? The decision is up to you. But I’d judge we haven’t too much time. What is your recommendation, Doctor?’
‘As a physician, if the decision were mine alone, I would use the protein. It may not help. But so far as I know, it is the only thing with which to fight an unknown virus. I have to be honest with you. The protein could conceivably kill her. Even if it helped, it might not help enough.’ He moved to Ecuyer’s side, laid a hand on his arm. ‘This woman means a great deal to you?’
‘To all of us,’ said Ecuyer. ‘To all of us. To Vatican.’
‘I wish I could help you more. I’m in no position to insist on anything. Is there something I can do or tell you that would help you in reaching a decision?’
The woman on the bed moved, raising her head and shoulders from the pillow, fighting for a moment in an attempt to raise herself even further, then falling back again. Her face twisted and her lips moved. Words came from her. ‘The towers,’ she cried. ‘The great and shining staircase. The glory and the peace. And the angels flying…’
The face untwisted, relaxing. The words shut off.
Tennyson looked at the nurse. She was staring at the woman as if hypnotized.
Ecuyer was pawing at Tennyson’s shoulder. ‘We use the protein,’ he said. ‘We will use the protein.’
Nine
The suite was large and well appointed. The living-area floor was covered by thick carpeting, the furniture stopped just this side of elegance; in a huge fireplace that took up half of one wall a fire burned. Off to one side was a dining area, doors opened into a kitchen and a bedroom; gilded mirrors and tasteful paintings hung upon the wall, intricate carvings of what appeared to be ivory were positioned on the mantel.
‘Sit down and take it easy,’ Ecuyer said to Tennyson. ‘Make yourself at home. I can guarantee that chair over there is comfortable. And what are you drinking?’
‘Would you have some Scotch?’
‘You have good taste,’ said Ecuyer. ‘How did you run into Scotch? It’s virtually unknown. Only a few old human hands. . .’
‘The captain on the ship,’ said Tennyson, ‘introduced me to it. An Old Earth drink, he told me.’
‘Yes, the captain. He keeps us well supplied. Several cases every trip. We have a standing order from a planet called Sundance – a human planet, as you might guess. It is the only place within a thousand light-years that stocks it. The cases always seem to be a little short. The captain pilfers them. We make no comment on it. It is, we figure, a legitimate kickback.’
Ecuyer brought the drinks, handed one to Tennyson and settled himself with the other.
‘Drink up,’ he said. ‘I think we may have something to drink to.’
‘I hope so,’ said Tennyson. ‘The patient, even this soon, seems to be responding to the protein. We’ll have to keep close watch of her.’
‘Tell me, Doctor, do you always show this much devotion to your patients? You stayed at Mary’s bedside until she showed signs of possible improvement. You must be tired. I will not keep you long. You should get some rest.’
‘If you have a place for me.’
‘A place for you? Dr. Tennyson, this is your place. It is yours so long as you stay with us.’
‘My place? I thought that it was yours.’
‘Mine? Oh, no. I have a suite much like this. But this one is for guests. For the moment, it is yours. We understand you lost your luggage, and we’ve arranged to supply you with a wardrobe. It will be here in the morning. I hope you do not mind.’
‘It was unnecessary,’ Tennyson said stiffly.
‘You persist in not understanding,’ said Ecuyer. ‘There is nothing we can do that would properly repay you.’
‘You can’t be sure of what I’ve done. Mary still may not make it, even with the protein.’
‘But there was improvement.’
‘Yes, the pulse is better. She seems a little stronger. The temperature dropped a bit, but not enough to be significant.’
‘I have faith in you,’ said Ecuyer. ‘I think you’ll pull her through.’
‘Look,’ said Tennyson, ‘let’s start by being honest. You’ve talked with the captain, or some of your people have talked with him. You know damn well I didn’t lose my luggage. I brought along no luggage. I had no time to pack. I was on the run.’
‘Yes,’ said Ecuyer smoothly. ‘Yes, we know all that. But we were not about to confront you with it. We don’t know what happened, and unless you want to tell us, we don’t want to know. We have no need to know. I know you are a doctor. I wasn’t even absolutely sure of that to start with, but now I know you are. With you there is a chance Mary will live; without you, what would have been her chance?’
‘Probably no chance at all,’ said Tennyson. ‘Unless that little nurse had decided on her own….’
‘She wouldn’t have,’ said Ecuyer. ‘She had no way to know. And she would not have dared.’
‘All right, then. Say I saved the patient. Hell, man, that’s my business. That’s what I’m trained to do. Save all I can; I cannot save them all. You are not in debt to me. A simple fee would be all I ask. Maybe not even that. I left my credentials behind. At the moment, I couldn’t prove I am a doctor if my life depended on it. And I’m not sure at all of my legal right to practice here. There are such things as licenses.’
Ecuyer waved his hand. ‘No need to worry on that score. If you say you are a doctor, then you are a doctor. If we let you practice here, then you have the right to practice.’