Karen studied Theo’s face for a moment, but she admitted nothing before turning away. Theo watched her walk out of the tunnel and into daylight.
When Karen returned, she came over to where Theo was working. "If you can stand it, I can,” she announced. "What can I do?”
"If you’ll open the bags and hold them out for me, then seal and freeze them, it will save us a lot of time.”
"O.K. Are you labeling them?”
"Some of them. I was hoping I’d remember from the film.”
"I’ll label. We’re going to have a lot of sacks.”
The work did go much faster with two. The biggest problem was the very size of the creature and Theo’s ignorance of it. More than once she wished for a block and tackle and six strong crewmen. Short of that, she used her trusty saw and sent Karen out to the freezer so the girl wouldn’t have to watch. By midafternoon she had as many tissue samples as she needed. They began to clean up.
It was raining hard now. Karen had the practical idea of simply laying the bloody instruments on the rocks outside. Theo found a bucket in the aircraft and filled it in a puddle to clean up inside. When everything had been packed into the aircraft and they were finished, they were still wearing their rubber suits. Theo’s was too messy even to pack into a sealed bag. Nor did she want to smell it when she took her helmet off.
"I’ll fix that,” Karen yelled above the splatter of rain on their helmets. "You stand there and I’ll slosh you off with the bucket.” It seemed like a good idea to Theo until the first bucket of cold water caught her on the stomach. In all the time she had been working she had not gone to the bathroom, not even thought of it. Now, with cold running water all around, she could think of nothing else. She saw Karen scoop up another bucketful and aim at her. With a shrill cry of absolute need, Theo dashed behind the nearest rock. She could hear Karen’s laughter above the sound of rain.
XIX
FOR VARIETY, AS KAREN SAID, IT WAS RAINING IN SHEETS WHEN THEY TOOK OFF. THEO RADIOED THE BASE TO REPORT THEIR ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME. REPEATEDLY THE CONTROLLER BEGGED HER TO BE CAREFUL. "IT’S RAINING HERE TOO,” HE SAID, HIS VOICE NEAR TEARS. SINCE HE KNEW THEY WERE ON AUTOPILOT, HIS CAUTIONINGS APPEARED EXCESSIVE.
"What’s wrong?” Theo asked. "The rain is a bore, but it’s not tragic.” There were static and silence until, in response to her repeated calls, the Commander answered. He assured her all was well.
"He didn’t talk long,” Karen said afterward. "I’d have all kinds of questions I couldn’t wait to ask.”
"He’s very busy with half the staff gone.” But it bothered Theo too. The calm Paluvian Commander had sounded harassed.
The clouds made it twilight by four. The last hour they flew in the dark, which really didn’t make much difference except psychologically. Both felt relief when the instruments showed they were landing, and they could see the yellow triangle of fog that marked the opening in the hangar dome. Then finally the blue marker lights on the dome slid past the window and they landed with a thump on the wet floor.
Through the window of the aircraft she saw Tairas at the hangar control board. He had the telescopic dome almost closed when she opened the hatch. She released the seat belts. "What do you say to a bath and dinner, Dr. Orlov?”
"I say that is the best idea you’ve had all day,” said Karen. "We skipped lunch. And wisely so.” And for that instant Theo wondered which of the girl’s parents had said, "and wisely so” in that tone. It seemed a verbal bridge to the past.
"Everything go all right?” The Commander stuck his head through the hatch. They got up to meet him.
"Beautifully,” said Theo. "Wait until you see the films.”
He sniffed the air and grimaced. "... Uh, yes. What exactly did you . . . uh . . . find ?”
Theo started to tell him, with Karen’s help, but it seemed to the woman he was only half listening. Interested, yes, but . . . "At any rate, our enemy is an exotic predator. Once I get some time in the lab, I can tell you more.”
He nodded distractedly and flicked on his wrist intercom. "Crewmen to the hangar to unload the work wagon.” Then, looking over the dripping hull, "Muddy up there . . . we’ll leave the mesh on this car. Just in case we have to go . . . hunting. . . .” He met her questioning look and attempted to smile. "I am very glad you two are back. It is so dark out there ... so black and empty . . . God!”
Theo caught Karen’s eye. Both of them had heard this tone before, but never from this man. Jonathan Tairas was fighting an anxiety attack. Suddenly Theo felt very tired. She put a reassuring hand on Karen’s arm.
"Is the whole staff frightened again, Commander?” she said. "Is that what’s wrong?”
He made an attempt to regain self-control. "Forgive me. It’s like malaria ... it sneaks up on you. To answer your question, no, not all of us. Only four had to be sedated. Dr. Wexler seems to feel safe. And Philip Park, and the three from the ringworlds. The rest of us are managing. But it is enervating.”
"Did you learn something terrible while we were gone? Everyone seemed O.K. this morning.”
He shook his head. "Maybe the isolation . . . the rain. You two left us. . . . No. No news really. We made voice contact with the people at Ag. They are all well but frightened, too. I regretted having to tell them about the . . . uh . . . what do you call them ? Cave bears? It really put a panic into them. Commander Kim can’t reach Base One either. We both agreed to start transmitting a distress signal... to space. I have done so.. ..”
He looked as if he were going to express more doubts and saw Karen watching him, her face a mixture of clinical interest and sympathy. He straightened. "But we’ll get through this. It’s a matter of self-discipline. Now”—his tone became lighter—"forgive my saying so, but you two need a bath. I must not detain you any longer. Believe me!”
The two of them walked through the rain to the living dome, rather than take the new igloo-like passageway. Theo thought they would make a less memorable entrance if they let the rain scrub them a bit more. All the outside lights were on yellow for the fog. Although there were supposed to be armed guards on duty, they saw no one. But the fog was very thick. The only sounds were those of the waves pounding against the rocks.
The lobby fountain was playing soothing lighting music when they entered the dome. The lobby was empty. Along the curving hallway privacy screens were drawn everywhere until they came to Dr. Wexler’s room. Theo slowed.
"Let’s tiptoe,” she whispered. "I don’t want her to see me like this. She’ll lecture me about personal appearance.”
"Maybe she’s not in there,” whispered Karen.
"Theo Leslie, is that you?” Dr. Wexler appeared in her doorway. "I’m so glad you’re back! I was worried—you two are a mess! A positive mess! Or I should say negative mess. When we don’t look our best we tend to get ill more ...”
"Later, Evelyn.” As she passed the door, Theo thrust her sleeve under the other woman’s nose.
". . . more quickly,” Evelyn continued. "You must . . .” The scent came through to her then and a look of such revulsion came over her face that both Karen and Theo burst into laughter. "What is that ? That is the most wretched ...”
Still laughing, Theo broke into a run. "Race you to the showers,” she called, and Karen passed her.
They dropped their clothes into the laser-fired disposal and bathed with disinfectant, then stood beneath the sunlights for ten minutes and bathed again with perfumed soap and shampoo.
"Do you suppose we’re O.K. now?” Karen said finally. "I’m tired of water. And I’m very hungry.”
Theo handed her a towel. "We’ll go get some robes and I’ll drop this off in the Commander’s office.”
She had forgotten to return the gun to him at the hangar. It was now on the mirror shelf with her watch and belt. But the Commander’s office was locked when they passed, and they weren’t dressed to go looking for him. Back in their rooms, Theo tossed the gun on her bed, saying, "I’ll give it to him later.”
"What is it?” she asked, seeing Karen frown.
"I don’t know ... do you think yellow lights are a good idea?” "Fog lights? The color penetrates more, I guess. Why?” "Remember how the animals liked our yellow tent?”
Their eyes met in the mirror. Theo did remember. She knew what Karen meant, and knew why she was getting goose bumps. "You’re thinking of the animal that licked the roof? The big eye that shone in the distance?”
Karen nodded. Without a word Theo got up and hooked the gun belt on beneath her robe, then sat down and finished drying her hair.
"I’m going to tell the Commander about the yellow,” Karen said and went out to the hall intercom. After a few minutes she came back. "He says the automatic guard lasers will stop anything and the white lights glare too much and the alarm will go off and not to worry.”
"Good. Let’s go eat.” Theo wore the weapon to dinner.
THEY FOUND MOST OF THE REMAINING STAFF IN THE REC ROOM HAVING DINNER. THE ROOM WAS BUSY WITH THE SCENT OF HOT FOOD AND CHATTER. WHILE THE TONE WAS NOT JOYOUS, NEITHER WAS IT AS MOROSE AS THEO HAD SEEN IT BEFORE. SHE AND KAREN WERE GREETED WARMLY. THEIR RETURN SEEMED TO CHEER THE GROUP.
' It s your new image as a mother,” Evelyn murmured as they stood waiting for their turn at the servers. "Most of us feel so desperately alone here now that your relationship is very reassuring. ...”
"That’s twaddle, Evelyn!” said Theo.
Karen, who had missed Evelyn’s remark, looked up, puzzled.
The psychiatrist gave Theo a maddeningly superior smile as a young man passed and patted Karen on the shoulder as one would pat a mascot. "No. It’s not. But we won’t argue....”
"Hey, Theo. Tell us what you found.” The questions began and continued until their food was ready and they sat down at a table.
"You can see the films tomorrow,” Dr. Wexler promised them. "Now if you’ll excuse us, I have a medical problem to discuss with these two.”
"What problem?” Theo smiled up at Philip, who dropped two cubes of wine on their table as he passed.
"Do you see anything psychologically significant in the fact that neither of you suffer from fear?” Evelyn leaned close, as if they were fellow conspirators. Karen drew back and made a face.
"Evelyn. It’s been a long, hard day. We’re in no mood for analytical discussions. Especially not over dinner. What’s your point?” Theo’s obvious irritation went ignored by the other woman.
"I find it interesting that some of us seem to be immune. I wonder what it is in our psychological make-up that gives us that extra sense of security?”
"Something obviously makes us superior,” Theo quipped, then turned serious. ffEverything does not have to be mental.” She opened her wine canister and took an approving sip. "For all we know this fear is a symptom of something else—a poison we're ingesting from the water perhaps—or the air? Some tiny trace mineral ...” She paused, something nagging in a corner of her mind. Then Evelyn spoke and the idea was gone.
"It’s psychosomatic and you know it. You always feel this need to defend people.”
"I always feel the need not to have our privacy totally invaded.
You like to dissect minds and pin them out for study. The best part is destroyed in the operation. I find that perverse.”
“Can we eat now?” Karen had been waiting politely for the adults to begin.
“Oh, I—think so,” Theo paused as Dr. Wexler abruptly got up from the table. She looked hurt, and Theo felt a pang of remorse at her use of the word “perverse.” That must have hit Evelyn right in her self-image.
Theo reached out and caught her by the hand. “Let’s talk in the morning.”
“If you wish,” said Evelyn and departed, all wounded dignity.
Karen watched her go and frowned to herself, then shrugged and dug into her pseudo-chicken tetrazzini.
“Dr. Wexler’s hands are damp and icy, and her pulse is fast,” said Theo quietly.
“She’s scared, too?”
Theo nodded. “But she’s keeping it to herself.” Then, thinking of her own insensitivity, she added, “Damn!”
“Is it a disease, Theo?”
“The fear? Perhaps in a metaphysical sense—”
“Simon—my father—said that it was like a disease, and tonight the Commander said something like that. And you said maybe a poison or trace mineral.”
Theo thought it over as she ate. “They’ve done all sorts of blood tests, radiation tests, every other kind of test. Nothing.” She passed a cube of milk to Karen, who shook her head. Theo put the milk back. “But also, we don’t know what to look for... .”
The light and music in the room went dim, then hesitantly returned to full power. Under normal conditions no one would have paid any attention to a thing like that. But now it produced an outcry of fear. At the next table one man promptly fainted, a woman slid under the table and cowered there, her eyes mad with terror. Several people rushed from the room, bruising themselves against furniture in their panic to escape. "Get the guns! Where are the guns ?” someone asked.
It was pitiful to see, Theo thought. These normally highly competent people were almost incapacitated. "It’s all right,” she called out. "It’s all right. You are all still safe. It was a temporary power loss. Nothing bad.” Then, appealing to their rational minds, she asked, "What do we have running that would draw like that?”
"The security system, but no alarm went off,” Philip Park called from the far side of the room. "Dr. Leslie’s right. Relax.”
"You can talk,” someone muttered. "You don’t know.”
The noise level returned to normal.
Theo went back to her original train of thought. Evelyn was right; what was different about her, Karen, possibly Philip, and the few others who never seemed affected? Had comparative tests been run on the blood of the local animals? Could they be? Their chemical composition was so different. . . .
She realized that Karen had finished eating and was sitting quietly watching people and that she had not spoken for minutes. "I’m sorry,” Theo said. "I was thinking.”
"I know. Anything?”
"No.”
"Want some chocolate cake?”
The lights flickered again while they were walking back to their room. "I wish we could see out,” said Karen. As in the rec room, an interior space, there were no windows in the tubelike corridor. "I think something’s out there.”
"Why?”
"When the music’s soft . . . listen.” Karen stopped still. Faintly above the melody Theo heard a surge of sound.
"That’s the waves.”
Karen shook her head. "Too high-pitched.”
It occurred to Theo that Karen’s ears could still hear sounds an adult could not. "Hum what you hear.”
The girl attempted a sound starting below low D and arcing up until she coughed.
"I can’t go that high—or whir in my throat like that.”
They were passing the empty dining room. "Let’s look out these windows. We can see better.” Karen hesitated a bit but followed Theo in.
The big room was very dark and smelled of damp carpet and disinfectant. With the privacy curtain shut, the hall noises were inaudible. Rain drummed steadily on the dome. The new window was a yellow oblong of fog and water drops sparkling from the fog lights outside. They stood by the window, peering into the murk.
"There! Where the fog moved! ...”
"What?”
"Something . . . there! See it?”
For a second Theo saw a dim bulk, perhaps brown, at the limit of light penetration. The fog blew shut again.
"What do you think?”
"Could be a browser—one of the big swamp creatures?”
"How far is the swamp?”
"Maybe a hundred miles down th
e coast,” admitted Theo. Karen didn’t voice her doubt on that speculation. She didn’t have to. They stood close in silence for a long time. Finally Theo said, "Let’s go to bed.”
Just as they turned to go, something out there screamed. The sound cut through all other sounds and, when it ended, seemed to have purchased total silence. The warble alarm began to make loops of sound.
XXI
P OWERFUL lasers were firing. A more secure defense system had been rigged into the base power grid. Something had crossed a boundary out there in the fog, tripped a wire or broken a light beam. All dome lights went dim; the music went off.
Theo heard the distinct "Pmmp! pmmp!” of the weapon’s pulsing. The animal cried out again in agony. In her mind she imagined its pain, and her body involuntarily writhed in empathy.
"There are two—three! Of them!” Karen pointed.
Air currents were moving, generated by the big animals themselves or the intense heat of the weapons, shifting the fog. For perhaps thirty seconds they could see the creatures. The largest, the one in the line of fire, lay on the ground, its eyes wild, its body jolted by each pulse of the laser. Behind the dying creature were two more, both tugging with mouth, claws, and front legs to pull the victim away.
"Are they going to eat it?” Karen whispered.
"No ...” Theo hesitated. "I think they are trying to help it.”
"Oh-h! They’re intelligent?”
"Watch them.”
"I don’t want to. That’s sad.” But she did. She saw them pull the fallen animal free and tug it away, out of the misty light. The laser shut off. The fog swirled in. From beyond the light came one more cry. Then quiet.
Guards ran past the window on the path below. As full power returned, the music swelled up. In the hallway voices called out. Theo heard it all and yet did not, thinking about that last noise from the creatures. Was it a cry of terminal pain or of grief for a fallen comrade ?
"What can they do for it?” Karen asked as they crossed the room.
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