brought back to us quickly and that you will, this time - this time - bring back the information we need.'
'I'll try, Director,' said Fisher.
'You say that dubiously,' said Koropatsky. 'Please understand the importance of what I am asking you to do. We must know just what they're doing, how strong they are, and what the planet is like. Once we know all that, we will know what we must do, and how strong we must be, and for what kind of a life we must be prepared. Because, Fisher, we must have a planet, and we must have it now. And we have no choice but to take Rotor's planet.'
'If it exists,' said Fisher hoarsely.
'It had better exist,' said Koropatsky. 'Earth's survival depends upon it.'
Chapter 27. Life
59
Siever Genarr opened his eyes slowly and blinked at the light. He had a little trouble focusing at first and couldn't quite make out whatever filled his vision.
The image sharpened slowly and soon Genarr recognized Ranay D'Aubisson, Chief Neurophysicist of the Dome.
Genarr said in a weak voice, 'Marlene?'
D'Aubisson looked grim. 'She seems well. It's you I'm concerned about right now.'
A pang of apprehension made its way through Genarr's vitals and he tried to drown it with his sense of black humor. He said, 'I must be worse off than I thought if the Angel of the Plague is here.'
Then, as D'Aubisson said nothing, Genarr asked sharply, 'Am I?'
She seemed to come to life. Tall and angular, she bent over him, the fine wrinkles about her piercing blue eyes becoming more prominent as she squinted at him.
'How do you feel?' she asked, answering no questions.
'Tired. Very tired. All right, otherwise. I think?' The rising inflection served to repeat his earlier question.
She said, 'You've been sleeping for five hours.' She was still not answering.
Genarr groaned. 'I'm tired anyway. And I have to go to the bathroom.' He began to struggle into a sitting position.
At D'Aubisson's signal a young man approached rapidly. Respectfully, he placed his hand under Genarr's elbow and was indignantly shaken off.
D'Aubisson said, 'Please let yourself be helped. We have made no diagnosis yet.'
When Genarr was back in bed ten minutes later, he said ruefully, 'No diagnosis. Have you made a brain scan?'
'Yes, of course. Instantly.'
'Well?'
She shrugged. 'We found nothing of importance, but you were asleep. We will take another when you're awake. And you must be observed in other ways.'
'Why? Isn't the brain scan enough?'
Her gray eyebrows rose. 'Do you think it is?'
'No games. What are you getting at? Say it straight out. I'm not a child.'
D'Aubisson sighed. 'The cases of the Plague we have had showed interesting features on brain scan, but we were never able to compare it with the pre-Plague standard because none of the sufferers had been scanned prior to onset. By the time we set up a routine and universal brain scanning program for all people in the Dome, there were no longer any unmistakable cases of the Plague. Did you know this?'
'Don't lay traps for me,' said Genarr pettishly. 'Of course I knew of it. Do you think my memory is gone? I deduce, then - I can still deduce, too, you know - that although you have my scan of earlier days and can compare it with the scan you just took, you found nothing of significance. Is that it?'
'You obviously do not have anything remarkably wrong, but we might have something we would consider a subclinical situation.'
'If you find nothing?'
'We might not notice a subtle change if we're not specifically looking for it. After all, you collapsed and you are not ordinarily given to collapsing, Commander.'
'Take another scan now that I'm awake, then, and if it's something so subtle it escapes you, then I'll live with it. But tell me about Marlene. Are you sure she's well?'
'I said she seems well, Commander. Unlike you, she showed no abnormality of behavior. She did not collapse.'
'And is she safely inside the Dome?'
'Yes, she brought you in herself, just before you fell unconscious. Don't you remember?'
Genarr flushed, and mumbled something.
D'Aubisson's look grew sardonic. 'Suppose you tell us exactly what do you remember, Commander. Tell us everything. Any of it may be important.'
Genarr's discomfort increased as he tried to remember. It seemed a long time ago and the edges were blurred, very much as though it were a dream he was trying to recall.
'Marlene was taking off her E-suit.' Then, weakly, 'Wasn't she?'
'Quite. She came in without it and we had to send someone out there to retrieve