mild, not obvious as are the other areas of inflammation, but is present in
uniform intensity in all of the survivors regardless of physiological
classification. I wondered if there was anything on their ship which would
explain this.
“I am also puzzled by the amputation wounds,” Prilicla went on. “I have been
suturing incised wounds, none of which have penetrated to vital organs, and
generally tidying up. But the stumps I have covered with sterile dressings only
until the possibility of replacing the original limbs has been eliminated. Have
you found anything down there which might be a missing limb or organ? Or have
you given thought to the shape, size, and purpose of these missing parts?”
From amidships there were sounds of metal scraping against metal and of erratic,
heavy breathing in their phones as the Captain cleared an obstruction. When it
was quiet again, Murchison said, “Yes, Doctor, but I’ve formed no firm
conclusions. There is a fairly complex nerve linkage to the stump in all three
types and, in the case of the big DCOJ, a collapsed, tubular connection whose
origin I have been unable to trace because of its close association with the
very complex upper intestinal tract. But taking into account the positioning of
these limbs or organs, which are at the base of the spine in the two smaller
life-forms and on the medial underside of the large one, all 1 can say is that
the missing parts must have been considered particularly edible by the attacker
since it did not remove any-
thing else. I have no clear idea of the size or shape of the missing parts, but
my guess would be that they are probably tails, genitalia, or mammaries—”
“I’m sorry to interrupt a medical conference, ma’am,” Fletcher broke in, in a
tone which suggested that he was very glad to interrupt before it could go any
farther. He went on quickly, “Doctor Conway, I’ve found another DCMH. It is
tangled up in bedding, not moving, and seems to be uninjured. I thought you
might like to examine it here rather than have it pulled through the wreckage in
the corridor.”
“I’m on my way,” Conway said.
He climbed out of the hold and crawled along the corridor in the Captain’s wake,
listening as Fletcher resumed his commentary. Immediately forward of the
cleared section of corridor the Captain had found the Dormitory Deck. It was
characteristic of the early type of hyperships which did not have artificial
gravity, and was filled with rows of sandwich-style double hammocks which
retained the sleeper in weightless conditions. The hammocks were suspended on
shock absorbers so as to double as acceleration couches for off-duty crew
members.
There were three distinct sizes of hammock, so the ship had the DCLG, DCMH, and
DCOJ life-forms in the crew— which proved that even the large and apparently
unintelligent DCOJs were ship’s personnel and not lab animals. Judging by the
number and size of the hammocks, the two smaller life-forms outnumbered the
large one by three to one.
He had made a quick count of the hammocks, the Captain said as Conway was
passing the damaged hydraulic system reservoir, and the total number, thirty,
agreed with the number of casualties found outside and inside the ship, which
meant that the missing criminal was almost certainly not of any of the three
species who served as the crew.
It was difficult to be precise regarding occurrences on the Dormitory Deck,
Fletcher explained, because loose objects, ornaments, and personal effects had
collected on the wall when the ship had fallen on its side. But one third of the
hammocks were neatly stowed while the remaining two thirds looked as though they
had been hastily vacated. No doubt the neat hammocks belonged to the crew
members on duty, but the Captain thought it strange that if the ship operated a
one-watch-on, two-
off duty roster the rest of the crew were in their bunks instead of half of them
being outside the dormitory on a recreation deck. But then he was forgetting the
fact that the safest place during the landing maneuver would be inside the
acceleration hammocks.
The Captain was backing out of the dormitory as Conway reached it. Fletcher