offspring was already giving indications of being quite happy among strangers.
Thornnastor and Murchison had been successful in isolating and finding a
specific against the pathogen affecting Crelyarrel, although they had admitted
to Cha Thrat that the principal reason for its survival on the Rhiim ship was
its possession of a fair degree of natural resistance. Now the little symbote
was going from strength to strength, and was beginning to concern itself about
the health and comfort of the FGHJ host creatures. It wanted to know how soon
new Rhiim parasites could be brought to Sector General to take charge of them.
Similar questions were being asked by the group of visiting Monitor Corps
officers who seemed to be ignorant of, or perhaps disinterested in, her recent
insubordination on Rhabwar. They were Cultural Contact specialists investigating
the ship with a view to gaining as much information as possible about the
species who had caused it to be built, including the location of their planet of
origin, before making a formal approach to the Rhiim on behalf of the
Federation. They badly wanted to talk to the survivor.
Crelyarrel was anxious to cooperate, but the problem was that its people
communicated by a combination of touch and telepathy limited to their own
species. It was not yet well enough to take full control of a host crew member
and, until it was able to do so, the translation computer could not be
programmed with the language used by their FGHJ hosts.
Even though it was now generally accepted that the parasitic Rhiim were a highly
intelligent and cultured species, none of the hospital staff were particularly
eager to surrender their bodies, however temporarily, to DTRCcontrol—and the
feeling was mutual. The only person that Crelyarrel would agree to take over and
speak through, with her permission,, of course, was Cha Thrat.
As a result of these unofficial demands on her time, there had been little of it
left for Cha Thrat to worry about her own problems.
Until now.
The muffled sounds of conversation from the inner office had died away into
inaudibility, which meant, she thought, that they were either speaking quietly
to each other or not speaking at all. But she was wrong, the meeting was over.
Senior Physician Cresk-S;ar silently led the way out, its hairy features
unreadable. It was followed by Colonel Skempton, who made an untranslatable
sound, then Rhabwar’s ruler, who neither looked nor spoke, and Lieutenant
Timmins, who stared at her for a moment with one eye closed before leaving. She
was rising from her seat to enter the inner office when O’Mara came out.
“Sit where you are, this; won’t take long,” it said. “You, too, Braithwaite.
Soramaradvans don’t mind having their problems discussed before concerned
witnesses, and this one certaimly has a problem. Is that deformed bird-cage
you’re sitting on comfortable?”The problem,” it went on before she could reply,
“is that you are an oddly shaped peg who doesn’t quite fit into any of our neat
little holies. You are intelligent, able, strong-minded yet adaptablle, and have
experienced, seemingly without any permanent ill effects, the levels of mental
trauma and disorientation that would cause many beings severe psychological!
damage. You are well regarded, even respected, by some very important people
here, by many with no influence at all, and disliked by a few. The latter group,
chiefly Monitor Corps personneland a few of the medical staff, feel very unsure
of who or what you are, and who has the seniority, while working with you.
“Sometimes,” Cha Thrat said defensively, “I’m not sure who or what I am myself.
When I am thinking like a senior person I can’t help behaving like a…” She
stopped herself before she said too much.
“Like a Diagnostician,” O’Mara said drily. “Oh, don’t worry, this department
never reveals anyone’s deep, dark, and, in your case, peculiar secrets.
Prilicla, when it wasn’t enthusing over your behavior immediately preceding and
during Rhone’s delivery and on the Rhiim ship, told me about the joining it
feels you underwent on Goglesk. Being Prilicla, it is anxious to avoid any
painful and embarrassing incidents between its friends Conway, Murchison, and
yourself, and so are we.
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