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inches from Conway he said in a dangerously quiet voice. "Just what are you
busy at, Doctor?"
Conway was practically dancing with impatience. He asked pleadingly, "Can't
this wait?"
He would not be able to get rid of the psychologist without some sort of
explanation for his recent conduct, Conway knew, and he desperately wanted to
have the next hour free from interference. He moved quickly to the patient and
over his shoulder gave O'Mara a hasty r sum of his deductions regarding the
alien ambulance ship and the colony from which it had come. He ended by urging
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the psychologist to call Skempton to delay the first contact until something
more definite was known about the patient's condition.
"So you knew all this a week ago and didn't tell us," O'Mara said
thoughtfully, "and I can understand your reasons for keeping quiet. But the
Corps had made a great many first contacts and managed them very well, thank
you. We have people specially trained for this sort of thing. You, however,
have been reacting like an ostrich-doing nothing and hoping that the problem
would go away. This problem, involving a culture advanced enough to have
crossed intergalactic space, is too big to be dodged. It has to be solved
quickly and positively. Ideally it would involve us showing proof of good
feeling by producing the survivor alive and well..
O'Mara's voice hardened suddenly into an angry rasp, and he was so close
behind Conway that the doctor could feel his breath on his neck.
.... Which brings us back to the patient here, the being which you are
supposed to be treating.
"Look at me, Conway!"
Conway turned around, but only after ensuring that Prilicla was still keeping
a close watch. Angrily he wondered why everything had come to the boil at once
instead of happening in a nice, consecutive fashion.
"At the first examination," O'Mara resumed quietly, "you fled to your room
before we could make any headway. This looked like professional cold feet to
me, but I was inclined to make allowances. Later, Dr. Mannon suggested a line
of treatment which although drastic was not only allowable but definitely
indicated in the patient's condition. You refused to move. Then Pathology
developed a specific which could have cured the patient in a matter of hours,
and you balked at using even that!
"Ordinarily I discount rumors and gossip in this place," O'Mara continued, his
voice rising again, "but when they become both widespread and insistent,
especially among the nursing staff who generally know what they're talking
about medically, I have to take notice. It has become plain that despite the
constant watch you have kept on the patient, the frequent examinations and the
numerous samples you have sent to Pathology, you have done absolutely nothing
for the being.
"It has been dying while you pretended to treat it. You've been so afraid of
the consequences of failure that you were incapable of making the simplest
decision-"
"No!" Conway protested. That had stung even though O'Mara's accusation was
based on incomplete information. And much worse than the words was the look on
the Major's face, an expression of anger and scorn and a deep hurt that
someone he had trusted both professionally and as a friend could have failed
him so horribly. O'Mara was blaming himself almost as much as Conway for his
business.
"Caution can be taken to extremes, Doctor," O'Mara said almost sadly. "You
have to be bold, sometimes. If a close decision is necessary you should make
it, and stick to it no matter what..
"And what the blazes," asked Conway furiously, "do you think I'm doing?"
"Nothing!" shouted O'Mara. "Absolutely nothing!"
"That's right!" Conway yelled back.
"Respiration has ceased," Prilicla said quietly.
Conway swung around and thumbed the buzzer for Kursedd. He said, "Heart
action? Mind?"
"Pulse faster. Emoting a little more strongly."
Kursedd arrived then and Conway began rattling out instructions. He needed
instruments from the adjoining DBLF theater and detailed his requirements.
Aseptic procedure was unnecessary, likewise anesthetics- he wanted only a
large selection of cutting instruments. The nurse disappeared and Conway
called
Pathology, asking if they could suggest a safe coagulant for the patient
should extensive surgery be necessary. They could and said he would have it
within minutes. As he was turning from the intercom, O'Mara spoke:
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"All this frantic activity, this window-dressing, proves nothing. The patient
has stopped breathing. If it isn't dead it is as near to it as makes no
difference, and you're to blame. Heaven help you, Doctor, because nobody here
will."
Conway shook his head distractedly. "Unfortunately you may be right, but
I'm hoping that it won't die," he said. "I can't explain just now, but you
could help me by contacting Skempton and telling him to go easy on that alien
colony.
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