“I noticed,” he said.
“…and such words are forgotten by the next deal,” it went on. “Just forget the incident, as the others will have done by now, and go to sleep.”
“But it didn’t happen like that,” he said. “At the time we were between games and the words were spoken while we were eating lunch.”
The Hudlar was silent for a moment while it looked along the beds on both sides of the ward. Everyone but Hewlitt and itself seemed to be asleep, so that there was nothing more urgent to claim its professional attention. He felt pleased, and a little ashamed, of his newfound ability to maneuver this medical monstrosity to his will.
“Very well, Patient Hewlitt,” it said, “what was the subject of conversation, and can you recall the remark that caused Patient Morredeth to take offense?”
“I already told you I couldn’t,” said Hewlitt. “I was simply describing and talking about a small, furry animal, a household pet … Do Hudlars keep pets? … I had played with as a child. Morredeth did not object to anything I was saying until it suddenly accused me of talking dirty, and Bowab agreed with it. At the time I thought they were joking, but now I’m not so sure.”
“In its present condition,” said the nurse, the speaking membrane vibrating in the Hudlar equivalent of a near whisper, “Patient Morredeth is unusually sensitive about its fur. But you were not to know that. Tell me what was said, exactly?”
Was it possible, Hewlitt wondered suddenly, that the nurse was using him instead of the other way around? Was it pleased and eager to use any excuse to ease the boredom of night duty by giving nonmedical support to a worried patient, and would that be its clinically acceptable excuse to Leethveeschi for what might turn out to be a prolonged midnight chat? He took his time and repeated everything that had been said leading up to and during the description and behavior of his cat while it was being petted. He did not think that a being whose skin was like flexible steel could have erotic fantasies about fur, but in this place one could never be sure of anything.
When he finished speaking, the nurse said, “Now I understand. Before I try to explain what happened, tell me how much you already know about the Kelgian life-form.”
“Only the information given in the introductory paragraphs from the nonmedical library listing of member races of the Federation,” he said, “most of which was historical material. The Kelgians are physiological classification DBLF, warm-blooded, multipedal, and possessing a cylindrical body covered overall with mobile, silvery fur which is continually in motion while the being is conscious and, to a lesser extent, when it is dreaming.
“Because of inadequacies in the Kelgian speech organ,” he went on, “their spoken language lacks modulation, inflection, or any other form of emotional expression. But they are compensated for this by their fur, which acts, so far as another Kelgian is concerned, as a perfect and uncontrollable mirror of the speaker’s emotional state. As a result, the concepts of lying or being diplomatic, tactful or even polite are completely alien to them. A Kelgian says exactly what it means or feels because the fur is revealing its feelings from moment to moment, and to do otherwise is considered a stupid waste of time. Am I right so far?”
“Yes,” said the Hudlar. “But in this situation the medical library data would have been of more use to you. Did Morredeth discuss its condition with you?”
“No,” he replied. “When I asked, it said that it didn’t want to talk about it. I was curious but decided that its ailment might be embarrassing and was none of my business anyway, and dropped the subject.”
“Sometimes Patient Morredeth will not talk about its troubles,” said the nurse, “and at other times it will. If you ask tomorrow or the next day it will probably tell you about its accident and the long-term results, which are very serious but not lifethreatening, in great detail. I am telling you this because nearly everyone in the ward knows of Morredeth’s problem, so I am not breaking patient confidentiality by discussing the physiological and emotional aspects of the case with you.”