“Hello,” it said. “Are you the new trainee nurse? We were expecting a Kelgian.”
Hewlitt opened his own mouth, but it was a moment before he found his voice. “N-no,” he said. “I’m not a medic, just a layperson visiting the Chalder ward for the first time.”
“Oh,” said the Chalder. “I hope my approach did not frighten you. Please accept my apologies if it did, but you did not react like a first-time visitor. I am Patient AUGL Two-Eleven. If you give me the case number of the person you wish to visit, I would be pleased to take you to it.”
He was about to introduce himself when he remembered in time that the Chalders did not exchange names, and avoided serious embarrassment for them both. The other’s compliment must have made him foolhardy, because he found himself saying, “Thank you. But I do not wish to speak to one particular person. Would it be possible to meet and spend a short time with all the patients?”
Patient Two-Eleven closed and opened its mouth several times. Hewlitt wondered if it was about to object when it said, “That would be possible, even desirable, especially to the three patients like myself who are overdue for discharge and are growing bored. But time is limited. The main meal of the day will be released in less than an hour. The food is synthesized, naturally, but highly mobile and lifelike, and smaller beings like yourself are required to vacate the ward during meals in case of an accidental ingestion.”
“Don’t worry,” said Hewlitt, “I shall certainly leave before then.”
“That is sensible,” said the Chalder. “May I make an observation and a suggestion that may possibly offend you?”
Hewlitt looked again at the massive, armored body and size of its teeth, then said, “No offense will be taken.”
“Thank you,” it said, moving closer and slightly past him so that only one enormous eye, a side view of the mouth, and a stiffly projecting fin were visible. “Earth-humans are not very efficient in water; you move slowly and must expend much energy to do so. If you would grip the base of the fin that is close to you and hold on tightly with both hands, we can move between the patients in a fraction of the time you would otherwise require.”
Hewlitt hesitated. “The fin looks, well, fragile. Are you sure I won’t damage you?”
“Not at all,” said Two-Eleven. “Admittedly I have been unwell, but I am much stronger than I look.”
Unable to think of a suitable reply, Hewlitt grasped the base of the fin whose thick, red-veined stem sprouted from a gap in the scaly armor like an enormous, translucent rhubarb leaf. He tightened his grip as he felt an invisible something trying to pull him loose, then realized that it was increasing water pressure caused by their motion and that the whole ward, its decorative foliage, the massive figures of the patients, and the diminutive medical staff were slipping past at speed.
There were no beds in the ward, he saw at once, and realized that that should not have surprised him considering the environment. What appeared to be the equivalent of bedridden patients were tethered loosely to the insides of open-ended treatment frames that looked like uncovered box kites. One of these patients, whose entire body surface was cracked and discolored by either age or disease, was being attended by Lioren. The majority of the others were floating without restraints close to their personal, marked-out areas of wall or ceiling, their eyes fixed on illuminated viewscreens and presumably being entertained. At the far end of the ward, which was apparently their destination, two Chalders were drifting motionless nose to nose. When Two-Eleven and Hewlitt approached, their massive tails flicked and they swung into a ponderous turn to face them, their vast mouths already gaping open.
“You may dismount now,” said Two-Eleven, bringing forward a ribbon tentacle to point. “These are Patients One-Ninety-Three and Two-Twenty-One. And this is an Earth-human visitor who would like to talk with us.”
“I can see that it isn’t one of your body parasites,” said One-Ninety-Three. “What does it want to talk about? The stupid reason we are still here?”
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