White, James – Sector General 05 – Sector General

not in sequence. That is, the ones which were separated by the hibernation

compartments whose occupants died. We are now sure that the being is a group

entity whose individual members are independently intelligent and may be capable

of linking up naturally to their adjoining group members when the conditions are

right. This is the theory, sir, but it requires experimental verification.

“The entities who are out of sequence could pose serious problems,” Conway

concluded. “They will have to be removed from their hibernation compartments and

presented to each other so that I may determine the extent of the surgical work

involved in reassembling the group entity.”

“Sooner you than me, Doctor,” Dermod said with a brief grimace of sympathy. “But

what exactly do you need?”

He is like O’Mara, Conway thought, impatient with con­fused thinking. He said,

“I need two small ships to bring in the CRLT segments I shall specify and to

return them to their places in the coil. Also a large cargo hold which can

accom­modate two of the hibernation cylinders joined end to end and the two

beings which will be withdrawn from them. The hold is to be fitted with

artificial gravity grids and nonmaterial re­straints in case the conscious CRLTs

become confused and aggressive, and personnel to operate this equipment. I know

this will mean using the cargo lock and hold in one of the largest ships, but I

require only the hold; the vessel can go about its assigned duties.”

“Thank you,” the Fleet Commander said dryly, then paused while someone offscreen

spoke quietly to him. He went on, “You may use the forward hold in Descartes,

which will also provide the personnel and its two planetary landers for fetching

and carrying your CRLTs. Is there anything else?”

Conway shook his head. “Only an item of news, sir. The Federation archivists

think they have found the CRLTs home planet, although it is no longer habitable

due to major orbital changes and associated large-scale seismic disturbances.

The Department of Colonization has a new home for them in mind

and will give us the coordinates as soon as they are absolutely sure that the

environment and the CRLTs physiological clas­sification are compatible. So we

have somewhere to take Humpty-Dumpty when we’ve put it together again.

“However,” Conway ended very seriously, “all the indi­cations are that this was

not simply a colony ship which ran into trouble, but a planetary lifeboat

carrying the last surviving members of the race.”

Conway stared anxiously around the enormous interior of Descartes’s forward hold

and thought that if he had known there were going to be so many sightseers he

would have asked for a much larger operating theater. Fortunately one-of them

was the ship’s commanding officer, Colonel Okaussie, who kept the others from

getting in the way and ensured that the area of deck containing the two joined

hibernation cylinders was clear except for Murchison, Naydrad, Prilicla,

Fletcher, and Okaussie himself. Conway was sure of one thing: Whether the

initial CRLT link-up attempt was a success or a failure, there would be no

chance at all of keeping the result a secret.

He wet his lips and said quietly, “Uncouple the cylinders and move the joined

faces three meters apart. Bring the artificial gravity up to Earth-normal,

slowly, and the atmosphere to normal pressure and composition for the life-form.

You have the figures.”

The fabric of his lightweight spacesuit began to settle against Conway’s body

and there was mounting pressure against the soles of his feet as he watched the

facing ends of the two cylinders. Then abruptly the circular endplates jumped

out of their slots to clank onto the deck and come to rest like enor­mous,

spinning coins. The hibernation cylinders were now open at both ends, enabling

the two CRLTs to move toward or away from each other, or from one compartment to

the next.

“Neat!” Fletcher said. “When the coilship is spinning in its space-traveling

mode, centrifugal force holds the being against the outboard surface of the

cylinder, and when the spin ceases in the presence of real gravity and an

atmosphere the airtight seals drop away, the individual compartments are opened

to all of the others and the beastie, the complete group entity, that is, exits