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"Muromeshomon," she said quietly as the seal was closing, "may you fare well.
When she turned to go back to the unplanted vegetation, Cha Thrat's mind was
concentrated on her Chalder friend to such an extent that she did not think of
the impropriety of what she, a mere second-grade techni-cian, said to the
Earth-human Monitor Corps Major as she passed it.
"My congratulations, Chief Psychologist," she said gratefully, "on a most
successful! spell.
O'Mara responded by opening its mouth, but not even an untranslatable sound
came out.
The three days that followed were spent on the Rhab-war resupply job, bringing
crew consumables and time-expired equipment to the largely Earth-human
maintenance people charged with bringing the ambulance ship to peak operating
efficiency, and occasionally assisting with the installation of some of the
simpler items. On its next trip Rhabwar would be carrying Diagnostician
Conway, a former leader of its medical team, and the present crew did not want
it to find any cause for complaint.
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On the fourth day, Timmins asked Cha Thrat to wait while the other assignments
were given out.
"You seem to be very interested in our special ambulance ship," the Lieutenant
said when they were alone. "I'm told that you've been climbing all over and
through it, and mostly when it's empty and you are supposed to be off-duty. Is
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this so?
"Yes, sir," Cha Thrat said enthusiastically. "It is a complex and beautifully
functional vessel, judging by what I've heard and seen, and it is almost a
miniature version of the hospital itself. The casualty treatment and
other-species environmental arrangements are especially. .." She broke off, to
add warily, "I would not try to test or use any of this equipment without
permission.
"I should hope not!" the Lieutenant said. "All right, then. I have another job
for you, on Rhabwar, if you think you can do it. Come with me.
It was a small compartment that had been convertedfrom a post-op recovery
room, ana it suit reiameu us direct access to the ELNT Operating Theater. The
ceiling had been lowered, which indicated that the occupant-to-be either
crawled or did not stand very tall, and the plumbing and power supply lines,
revealed by the incomplete wall paneling, bore the color codings for a
warm-blooded oxygen-breather with normal gravity and atmospheric pressure
requirements.
The wall panels that were in place had been finished to resemble rough
planking with a strangely textured grain which resembled a mineral rather than
wood.
There was an untidy heap of decorative vegetation on the floor waiting to be
hung, and beside it a large picture of a landscape that could have been taken
in any forested lakeland on Sommaradva, if it had not been for subtle
differences in the tree formations.
The framework and padding of a small, low-level bed was placed against the
wall facing the entrance. But the most noticeable feature of the room, after
she had blundered painfully against it, was the transparent wall that divided
it in two.
At one end of the wall there was a large door, outlined in red for visibility,
and a smaller, central opening that contained remote handling and examination
equipment capable of reaching across to the bed.
"This room is being prepared for a very special patient," Timmins said. "It is
a
Gogleskan, physiological classification FOKT, who is a personal friend of
Diagnostician Conway. The patient, indeed its whole species, has serious
problems about which you can brief yourself when you have more time. It is a
gravid female nearing full term. There are psychological factors that require
that it receives constant reassurance, and Conway is clearing his present
workload during the next few weeks so that he will be free to travel to
Goglesk, pick up thepatient, and return with it to Sector General in plenty of
time before the event takes place.
"I understand," Cha Thrat said.
"What I want you to do," Timmins went on, "is to set up a smaller and simpler
version of this accommodation on Rhabwar's casualty deck. You will draw the
components from Stores and be given full assembly instructions. The work is
slightly above your present technical level, but there is ample time for
someone else to complete the job if you can't do it. Do you want to try?
"Oh, yes," she said.
"Good," the Earth-human said. "Look closely at this place. Pay special
attention to the attachment fittings of the transparent wall. Don't worry too
much about the remote-controlled manipulators because the ship has its own.
The patient restraints will have to be tested, but only under the supervision
of one of the medical team who will be visiting you from time to time.
"Unlike this compartment," it went on, "your casualty deck facility will be in
use only during the trip from Goglesk to the hospital, so the wall covering
will be a plastic film, painted to represent the wood paneling here and
applied to the ship's inner plating and bulkheads. This saves on installation
time and, anyway, Captain Fletcher would not approve of us boring unnecessary
holes in his ship. When you think you understand what you will be doing,
collect the material from Stores and take it to the ship. I'll see you there
before you go off-duty.
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..
"Why the transparent wall and remote handling equipment?" Cha Thrat asked
quickly, as the Lieutenant turned to go. "An FOKT classification doesn't sound
like a particularly large or dangerous life-form.
"... To answer any questions not covered by your information tape," it ended
firmly. "Enjoy yourself." " days that followed were not particularly
The
enjoyable except in retrospect. The tri-di drawings and assembly instructions
gave her a permanent headache during the first day and night but, from then
on, Timmins's visits to check on progress became less and less frequent. There
were three visits from Charge Nurse Nay-drad, the Kelgian member of the
medical team who, Tarsedth informed her, was an expert in heavy rescue
techniques.
Cha Thrat was polite without being subservient and Naydrad, in the manner of
all
Kelgians, was consistently rude. But it did not find fault with her work, and
it an-, swered any questions that it did not consider either irrelevant or
stupid.
"I do not fully understand the reason for the transparent division in this
compartment," she said during one of its visits. "The Lieutenant tells me it
is for psychological reasons, so that the patient will feel protected. But
surely it would feel more protected by an opaque wall and a small window. Is
the FOKT
in need of a wizard as well as an obstetrician?
"A wizard?" said the Kelgian in surprise, then it went on. "Of course, you
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zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkwiatpolny.htw.pl
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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