The Galactic Circle Veterinary Service

by Stephen Benjamin

  Levi turned to Clarrett and dropped his submissive pose. “What has happened to them?” he snapped.

  Clarrett shrugged. “I have no idea. We didn’t have any particular schedule or route. Maybe they missed us when we turned the corner back there. Don’t worry about them. The city is very safe, and Ranu knows his way around.”

  “That is not the point,” Levi barked. “I need to know—” He stopped short, squinted his left eye in an attempt to control its twitching, and then forced a smile. “Well, I suppose that they will be fine.” Neither his expression nor his emotions reflected his words. His eyes darted to each new face that appeared out of the crowd.

  Clarrett said, “Would you like to go in, Mr. Schvartz?”

  The rebbe’s head swung back toward the lieutenant, then to me, then back again. “Why yes, that would be of interest.” His voice inveigled once again.

  Could he actually believe that anyone would swallow his act whole?

  As Clarrett started up the steps of the building, Levi sidled up to me. “Mr. Cohen will hear from me later. You had better stay close.”

  I said nothing and followed the rebbe as he trailed in Clarrett’s wake.

  In an anteroom to the main entry, a vidshow on a large plasma screen about an outbreak of epidemic pustular dermatitis in cattle in the south of the continent caught my interest. EPD is a nasty disease, and I had never seen a case on Dovid’s World.

  I caught Levi’s arm and pointed to the screen. “Levi,”—we dropped the Reb title when in company— “would it be all right to stay here and watch this show? It’s about a cattle epidemic. I’d like to learn about that. You could stay with me if you don’t want me out of sight.”

  He frowned. It had become clear that the rebbe hated anything to do with real disease. I wouldn’t get any useful technical help out of him. He glanced at Clarrett. I could almost feel his brain fracturing between the desire to keep me close or continue his spying. “You may stay here,” he hissed, “but I expect you to be here when I return.” With that, he wheeled and stalked over to Clarrett, and the two of them disappeared around a corner.

  I took a chair in front of the plasma screen and tried to calm my roiling stomach. I hoped Fur would not get in trouble, and me by association. A woman’s voice narrated:

  “EPD is a highly contagious virus that causes skin lesions similar to the pox virus diseases of old Terra. The virus also attacks the lymphoid system and reduces immunity, so the animals are prone to develop secondary bacterial infections at the sites of the blisters. If the bacterial infections are not treated, septicemia often results, leading to death.”

  The camera rolled over herds of thousands of cattle. The voice-over continued:

  “Sammara’s cattle herds are one of the mainstays of our economy. Cold stasis-preserved beef is a delicacy and a major export to other worlds. EPD, if unchecked, has the potential to destroy seventy to eighty percent of the herds. Veterinarians and other government personnel are working around the clock to enforce effective quarantines...”

  ***

  The show was over by the time Clarrett and Levi returned. Levi asked me, “Have you seen Cohen?”

  “No.”

  He gave me a dirty look, as if I was responsible for the disappearance of Fur and Ranu. My mouth wanted to explain Fur’s absence, to cover for him, but for once, my brain intervened. I could say nothing that would not raise Levi’s level of suspicion even more. I did not even have to bite my tongue again.

  Since entering the building, clouds had rolled in and a light drizzle now descended. We had no raingear, so we waited inside as Clarrett went to arrange for transportation.

  We returned to the spaceport where we had accommodations in a luxury hotel. This turned out to be a suite with sitting room and three separate bedrooms. After Clarrett left, Levi muttered and paced the main room. He ignored me, and I retired to my bedroom to get away from his execrable aura. I sat down on my bed, a pillow propped behind me, and turned on the vid. I flipped through channels and fretted over the situation. The news that caught my attention was more about the EPD epidemic. I really wanted to learn more, maybe see it first-hand. When I heard Ranu’s voice, I turned off the screen and went back to the common room.

  “Yes, I apologize for losing track of you. We continued toward the waterfront. When it started to rain, Mr. Cohen and I took refuge in a tavern.”

  Fur chimed in. “Katz’s has some of the best brews in town and an electroboard player and singer was performing.”

  “I’m afraid we lost track of the time, as well. I am sorry if you were worried about us.”

  Ranu gave a masterful performance, and Levi never had a chance to get a word in edgewise.

  Before Ranu left, I asked if it would be possible to see the EPD outbreak. He said he would pass on the request.

  Fur asked Levi, “And what did you see, Reb Levi? Was it interesting? Quite a city, yes?”

  Levi evaded Fur’s questions and stormed out.

  I retired to my room again and collapsed onto my bed. I had not blown Fur’s cover, thank God. My earlier anger at the big man had evaporated, and I was left with nothing but dread. What would happen to my parents and me if Levi learned that Fur was an SOD member? I was not sure I wanted to know.

  CHAPTER 5

  Lieutenant Clarrett showed up early the next morning and found us at breakfast. “Sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Berger asked if he could observe the EPD outbreak down south. Do you still want to do that?”

  “I sure do,” I replied and I looked at Fur and Levi. Fur nodded his agreement.

  Levi muttered, “If I must.” He obviously did not like the thought of having one or both of us out of his sight again.

  We piled into a whirlydrone that had landed on the roof of our hotel. The view of the city as we flew over was a dramatic contrast of new construction interspersed with older, dingier areas. A military-type pilot flew the aircraft, so Clarrett served as tour guide again.

  “You can see the difference between the old and the new areas. Striking, isn’t it?”

  When no one answered, Fur asked, “How long is the flight?”

  “About two hours,” Clarrett replied.

  I enjoyed the scenery. Levi was truculent since Clarrett declined to discuss military matters further.

  We flew over well-ordered farms and pastures. Fences and brush rows cut the land into a neat checkerboard, and copses of woodland separated farms. They had not followed the unfortunate practice of my world in recent years of cutting down most of the forests to maximize tillable acreage.

  As the drone approached our destination, plumes of sepulchral smoke dotted the countryside like heralds of disaster. Below us, a large chamber on the bed of a trailer belched inky fumes. “That’s a mobile crematorium.” I had given my companions a rundown on the nature of EPD, but hadn’t discussed the management of outbreaks.

  “We haven’t advanced that much from procedures used a thousand years ago for diseases like foot and mouth disease and EPD, although EPD is a much newer disease than foot and mouth. Back then, the only recourse was to quarantine infected herds, slaughter them, and burn or bury the carcasses. We’re more efficient with the incineration now, but that’s it. You deal with animal disease based on different principles than human disease.”

  Even when I understood the need to euthanize and incinerate the herds, it was a painful thing to see, and I cringed inwardly. “Even with our modern antivirals and antibiotics, the cost of treatment of tens of thousands of cattle in a major outbreak isn’t economically feasible.”

  Clarrett and Fur’s faces were grim, but Levi seemed unmoved, his face frozen in its usual sour expression.

  When we landed, I jumped down and ducked under the rotor blades. In a landscape of rich crop and pasture land, the only animals in sight were in a corral adjacent to the crematorium.

  From that direction approached an incredible vision. I could not remove my eyes from her. Tall, only a few centimeters short of my skinny fr
ame, her close-cropped, curly hair had auburn highlights. She wore blood-spattered gray coveralls that did not hide her ample curves. Smudges of black soot on her face, including one on the tip of her thin, straight nose, only seemed to enhance her beauty by contrast. She caused my tongue to stick to the roof of my now very dry mouth. Magnificent. A Goddess.

  “Good morning,” Clarrett said to her. “Do I have the pleasure of addressing Dr. Simon?” Clarrett was tall and handsome in a stuffy military way and I was jealous of the smile she gave him.

  “My pleasure, Lieutenant. And these are our guests, I assume?”

  Her green-eyed gaze on me had my tongue wrapped in a Gordian knot. I had never been good with the ladies. My ability to sense emotions worked against me. I was used to indifference, or outright disdain, from the opposite sex, which made it difficult to hold a reasonable conversation, much less anything intimate. This encounter was worse. I couldn’t remember anyone who had affected me to this degree. Her response to me was friendly and curious. Fur and Levi introduced themselves, and everyone waited for me to speak. Dr. Simon’s amused grin did not help one bit.

  I finally unglued my mouthparts and stammered, “Hi. I’m, um, Cy. Dr. Berger, I mean. Call me Cy. Please. Um, glad to meet you.”

  “I’m Roxanne. Let’s walk over to the barn,” she pointed to a building adjacent to the corral, “where we can talk.”

  Roxanne? I couldn’t believe her name. It took me a moment to wrap my mind around that and to get my feet moving. I followed the group toward the building.

  Dr. Simon—Roxanne—took off her protective outer clothes and dropped them in a barrel before we went inside. We found seats, and she continued. “I understand you are from Dovid’s World, Dr. Berge—Cy—and that you haven’t had EPD there for more than a century. You’re fortunate.” She gestured toward a window with her head. “This has been anything but fun.”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I learned about it in school, but that’s as close as I’ve come.”

  We proceeded to a technical discussion about the disease, differential diagnoses, confirmatory tests, and so forth, which put me more at ease.

  Fur asked, “This has got to be hard on the farmers and ranchers. What will they do now?”

  “We have improved cloning techniques, stasis cryostorage of embryos, and new forced embryonic maturation equipment, so the herds can be repopulated fairly quickly. While it is painful to see your animals subjected to euthanasia and the economic impact is severe, those technologies moderate the losses. It is cheaper to repopulate than to treat all the affected animals, especially since losses would be more than fifty percent even in the treated groups.”

  Intrigued by her comment about the forced maturation, I made a mental note to follow up on that. Clarrett was silent, but followed the discussion, while Levi stared out a window. He did not even try to look interested. I could almost taste his impatience.

  After some further discussion, Roxanne asked, “Would you like to examine the cattle?”

  “Sure would,” I said.

  “Okay, let’s get suited up.”

  Roxanne, Fur, and I donned disposable protective coveralls, plasboots, gloves, masks, and head covers. Clarrett and Levi declined the opportunity. No surprise with respect to Levi. He did not trust Fur or me out of his sight, but he wanted no part of the diseased animals.

  We walked to the corral where Roxanne opened the gate then closed it behind us. The cattle were black Hebrides, a beef strain developed on Sammara for their vigor and high quality meat. Fur and I moved over to a cow and examined her from a short distance.

  “That one’s relatively early,” Roxanne said. “Only mild secondary infection as of yet.”

  The skin lesions ranged from early vesicles to a few full-blown ulcers. The latter showed the purulent exudate typical of bacterial infection. The lesions were present over the entire body. The animal had her head down and her breathing labored. I looked at Roxanne. “You call this mild?”

  “They do get viral pneumonia, but it’s not enough to kill them unless they get secondary bacterial invaders. This lady has more problems than is typical for the viral phase alone.”

  “Yeah, looks like it.” The cow hardly reacted to me when I moved closer. I lifted the cow’s lips. There were no mucosal ulcers. I bent down and checked her hooves, but could see no lesions below the hocks. I looked to Roxanne again. “No mouth or foot lesions.”

  She nodded. “The lack of those lesions is a major feature that differentiates EPD from other blister-forming diseases like vesicular stomatitis and foot and mouth disease.”

  We looked over a few more animals in various stages of the disease then Roxanne said, “They’re ready for this group now.”

  Several coveralled men herded the cattle out of the corral into a chute that led up to the chamber on the flatbed. I could feel the discomfort of the animals. For many, it was a general malaise due to the illness, accompanied by some degree of fear—a diffuse, nonspecific dread. Herd illnesses stressed my empathic ability the most. I could deal with single animals better; then I had a chance to soothe them. Cattle packed the chute and, as the first animals were euthanized, the overall level of herd fear rose, as did my uneasiness. Animals lowed plaintively. The euthanasia was painless, a quick laser beam through the ear and brain, but it seemed like the laser cut through me at the same time. My stomach writhed, and I turned away, staggering slightly.

  My face must have shown my distress. “Are you okay?” Roxanne asked. “You don’t look good.”

  “I-I’m fine.” I gritted my teeth and fought off a wave of nausea and the inevitable headache. I hated that she might think I was a wuss.

  At that moment, a gust of wind swirled and blew the acrid smoke over the crowded cattle. In seconds, the level of fear in a few animals jumped to panic, as infectious as the disease. With frenzied bellows, several animals bolted in the only direction they had available to them—straight at us. The herd followed. I stumbled as emotional vertigo hit me. I didn’t think I could make it to the fence. Maybe Fur could.

  “Take Roxanne and run,” I yelled to the big man.

  Fur picked up Roxanne as if she were a child and sprinted for safety, but I never moved.

  I heard Roxanne scream, “Cy.”

  I put everything I had into controlling my negative reactions, then I concentrated on the lead cattle, the ones headed straight for me. Once, years before, I had prevented a stampede when a predator had gotten into our corral at home. I prayed I could do it now. I targeted my thoughts to calm the lead animal, despite my own terror, nausea, and pounding skull. Time seemed to slow as I projected even harder. The horns of the lead steer gleamed. Sweat soaked my shirt. I dropped to one knee. The steer came to a halt within a body length of me, and the rest of the herd split and bucked around him in a black wave. The back of the stampede had broken and the herd now milled while they gasped and huffed.

  As the coveralled workers herded the cattle toward the crematorium once again, I staggered toward Roxanne and Fur. Fur met me, grabbed my arm, and led me to an overturned water trough, where he sat me down. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Amazing.”

  Roxanne stared at me as if I had grown horns myself. “What in blazes did you do? And how?”

  I shook my head and did not answer.

  Roxanne’s eyes fixed me with a glare that said she expected an answer. After a moment, she went to help the men with the cattle. A few minutes later, she returned. “You okay now?”

  “Yeah. Maybe I’d better explain.”

  “I think that might be nice.”

  I held hard to my shields as concern, tinged by perplexity, radiated from both Roxanne and Fur. I looked at the ground as I spoke. “I’m a bit unusual.”

  Fur snorted.

  “I’m empathic for animals. I feel something of what they do and perceive their mental state, and I can make myself felt by them. I’m not sure how better to put that into words, but I can calm distressed animals. This was...a bit m
ore.”

  Fur pulled at his beard. “A bit more? You call that a bit more? You just stopped a goddamned stampede.”

  “Mr. Cohen said it right to begin with. Amazing.” Roxanne shook her head. “Can you diagnose specific problems in animals? Locate internal disease sites, like liver versus kidney?”

  “Mostly it’s just a general impression. If an animal has severe and very localized pain, I sometimes pick that up. It’s useful when I palpate an animal. I feel when I elicit pain without having to interpret the animal’s response. That allows me to spare them some discomfort. The most useful aspect is the ability to soothe. Makes it easier to deal with a stressed patient. I concentrated on that lead animal and calmed him down.”

  “Incredible. I’ve never heard of anything like that.” She looked at Fur. “Have you?”

  “Nope. Our Dr. Berger is unique, so far as I know.”

  “Does this work with people?” Roxanne asked.

  “No! No. Not with people. Only animals.” I knew I’d overreacted when I got a narrow-eyed look from Roxanne. “When this first manifested, I was a mess for a while. A family friend, a psychiatrist at the medical school, helped me. He ran me through all sorts of tests, but he never found anything other than some strange electrical activity in the hippocampal region of my brain. It did make veterinary medicine a logical career choice, but I don’t tell people. I don’t want to be seen as a freak.”

  Reb Levi and Clarrett joined us. I shook my head at Fur and Roxanne before I turned away, hoping they would get the message to keep my secret. Levi had returned to the whirlydrone while we examined the cattle. Now I guessed he felt obliged to find out what had happened. He must have seen the stampede.

  “Did you stop those cattle? How?” he demanded in his usual imperious manner. He peered at me. His eye squinted and his scarred cheek twitched.

  “It wasn’t really a stampede,” I said. “The cattle were just nervous.”

  “Nervous? They were charging you.” He glowered at me, and his mind radiated a lack of understanding of what had happened.