more than half asleep, like mine.” “And mine,” Naydrad joined in.
Con way, who had been trying not to think of how long it had been since he had
last eaten or slept, decided that the best way to deal with an impending mutiny
among his overworked medics was to ignore it. He indicated a small area on the
rear interface of the first alien, midway between the central conical depression
and the upper rim of the interface, then pointed to the corresponding area on
the forward face of the second one. He said, “We can safely ignore these
reproductive organs in both creatures, since this kind of link-up is temporary
and physiologically independent of the parent-offspring fusion mechanism. As 1
see it the three areas we must concentrate on are the central conical projection
and its corresponding recess, which are the connecting points for the central
nerve core and our primary concern. Second is this narrow, semirigid tongue with
the fleshy mushroom at its tip which locates with this slit in the other—”
“That connection is also of vital importance,” Murchison broke in, “since it
links up the nerve networks controlling the voluntary and involuntary muscles
which move each CRLTs legs and enable the group entity to walk in unison. There
would be small advantage to the group entity if it could share mentation but a
number of its segments were unable to walk.” “Friend Murchison,” Prilicla said
timidly, “it seems to me that the original nerve impulse from the head segment,
or whichever individual CRLT was responsible for initiating the movement, would
not be sufficiently strong to trigger the ambulatory muscles throughout the
enormous length of this group entity.”
“That is true,” the pathologist replied. “But there is an organic amplifier,
consisting of a bunching of nerve ganglia situated just above the womb, or the
position where the womb had been in the males, in an area where the surrounding
tissue has a high mineral content and is particularly rich in copper salts. This
biological booster ensures that the ambulatory muscles receive their signals
with undiminished strength throughout the length of the chain.”
“Third,” Conway said, raising his voice slightly to discourage further
interruptions, “there are these four flaps of muscle which terminate at their
apexes in osseous hooks which locate in these four bone-reinforced orifices in
the second creature. This is the primary mechanism by which the individual
segments are held together nose to tail, and in this instance—”
“It is also the method by which the CRLT female at the end of the line held onto
its developing offspring,” Murchison broke in again. “At that stage the
offspring had no choice in the matter. But as it matured, produced its own
offspring, and moved farther up the line I feel sure that voluntary separation
became possible. In fact, separation would be necessary during activities which
did not require the entire group entity for their performance.”
“That is most interesting, friend Murchison,” Prilicla said. “I should think
that the first time such a voluntary separation took place a certain amount of
psychological trauma would be present. It would be analogous to a coming-of-age
ceremony, perhaps, even though the separation might not be permanent—”
Before Conway could speak, Prilicla fell silent and began trembling in reaction
to the Doctor’s feelings of irritation and impatience. He said, “This is all
very interesting, friends, but we do not have the time just now for a general
discussion. In any case, following the type of temporary separation you
mentioned, the young adult would rejoin its original parent segment and not a—I
suppose you could describe it as an ancestor seventeen times removed, which is
the problem currently facing us. And now, if you don’t mind, we will concentrate
on this problem and on the surgical procedures necessary to solve it.
“Feel free to interrupt at any time,” he added dryly.
But the interruptions were few and pertinent, and very soon it became obvious
even to the watching tractor beamers, Des-cartes’s commanding officer, and Fleet
Commander Dermod, whose face appeared briefly but with increasing frequency on
the overhead screen, that the medical team was also working hard.
Because Sector General was the Federation’s foremost emergency hospital, the