CV

39

Nothing more happened on the lifeboat for the rest of the day. At the staff meeting in the morning, McNulty said, “There’s no use speculating, but what bothers me is that the thing may be deliberately holding back. Staying in one host until the victim dies.”

“Can it do that?” asked Higpen.

“It did once before.”

“I don’t see what it would gain,” said Arline Truman. There were faint brown semicircles under her eyes.

“Well, if it killed another person, we’d have to take the rest of them out of there.”

“But what if we didn’t? Then it would be stuck on the lifeboat.”

“We’d have to,” said McNulty. His face was grim.

“All right, but it doesn’t know that. Maybe it’s trying to bluff us.”

“As you say, Doctor, there’s not much use in speculating,” said Bliss. “It may be a war of nerves. When it sees that we don’t flinch, it will change hosts again and then we’ll go on with the volunteers as we planned.”

“Yes, and then what?” Bernstein wanted to know. “Mr. Bliss, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was thinking, what if this plan works—what then?”

“It gives us a breathing space.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“I know it isn’t. Doctor, have you had any luck with the drug idea?”

“No.”

“What drug idea is that?” Bernstein demanded.

“Oh, just a thought. We wondered if there might be some common drug that would keep the parasite from invading anyone.”

“The sample is too small,” McNulty said. “So far I haven’t found anybody who was under the influence of marijuana or barbiturates, or half a dozen other things, but that doesn’t prove anything.”

“What about dosing the volunteers before they go in?” Truman asked.

“Worth trying, maybe. There are thousands of drugs.”

Bernstein said, “I want you to look at this. What if the drugs don’t work, what if nothing works? Then there’s only one way we’re going to kill that parasite, and that’s to kill the person it’s in.”

McNulty was shaking his head.

“Throw him overboard,” said Bernstein. “Right down to the bottom of the sea.”

“We can’t do that,” said McNulty almost inaudibly.

“Maybe we can’t do anything else,” said Bernstein. “We’re going to have to face this sooner or later, and it might as well be now.”

“Mrs. Bernstein, let’s not exaggerate. Doctor, I had another thought—what about the period when the parasite is between hosts? Something like a crab out of its shell. Do you suppose it might be vulnerable then?”

McNulty stroked his chin. “Vulnerable to what?” he said. “Electrical fields, maybe?”

“Yes, something like that. Mr. Jacobs, could you rig up some sort of gadget?”

“Sure, if I know what you want.”

“Well, more or less a little of everything. Electrical fields, ultrasound, radio frequencies, anything you can think of.”

“It will look like some kind of Buck Rogers gun,” said Jacobs, grinning.

“All right, but if it turns the trick, we won’t mind. Is there anything else? Any other suggestions? Until tomorrow, then.”

The observer was delighted with this unique opportunity to observe McNulty, the man who was charged with caring for his former hosts, and he was interested by the dim, distorted image of himself as McNulty imagined him. He admired the doctor for his humility, his lack of self-deception, and his deep anguish at having caused the death of a patient; these qualities gave his personality a flavor which the observing mind found deeply satisfying.

Through McNulty, also, he had gained insight into the characters of the other rulers of Sea Venture, particularly Bliss and Bernstein. Bliss was a conscientious and unimaginative man, an administrator. Bernstein, by far the strongest personality in the ruling circle, had nearly been the death of him. He had considered taking them both if he could, but he had concluded that it would be foolish to put them out of action, since they would be replaced by others about whom he knew nothing. Furthermore, the engineer Jacobs represented a possible threat which must be investigated.

As they got up to leave, he saw his opportunity and slipped out, across to the man waiting his turn at the doorway and in again, and the startlement and confusion crashed in around him as the body fell to the floor and someone else tripped over it.

“My God, it’s Dr. McNulty!” said Bliss’s voice. “Mr. Skolnik too?”

“No, I’m all right,” said Skolnik, getting to his feet. “But I think he’s got it.”

“How is that possible?” said somebody.

“Mr. Seaver, call the hospital, please, get a litter up here.”

“Do you want me. Chief?” said Jacobs.

“No, that’s all right.” Jacobs and one or two others walked out.

“Do you realize,” Arline Truman was saying, “that this means the parasite was in Dr. McNulty all the time we were talking? It knows every single thing we said.”

A horrid thought came into Bliss’s mind. He said loudly, “Ladies and gentlemen, will you please all move away from one another? Get out of the doorway, if you will, back into the room . . . that’s right, thank you. I’d like you to keep at least five feet away from each other. When you leave, please do so one at a time, keeping your distance.” He looked around. “Who’s missing? Taggart, Williams and Jacobs. Mr. Seaver, will you please try to get them on the phone and tell them the same thing? Tell them to stay at least five feet away from everyone.”

“What’s this for?” Skolnik asked.

“The parasite is probably in one of us at this moment. We have reason to think that it can’t travel more than four feet or so from one person to another. If the thing went from one to another of us, it could put the whole operating staff in hospital.”

Higpen said quietly to Yetta Bernstein, “We can’t go back to perm.”

“You’re right.”

“What about elevators?” Erik Seaver asked. “And restaurants? You can’t even get from one place to another in Sea Venture without coming closer than five feet to somebody.”

“In that case, don’t go out. We’ll do our conferences by phone if necessary. Do your work the same way as much as you possibly can. Have your meals in your rooms, and be sure the stewards don’t come near you.”

Higpen attracted Truman’s attention. “Arline, Yetta and I think we’d better stay somewhere until this is cleared up. Can you get us a couple of rooms?”

“Yes.” She put her hand to her forehead. “Let me think. I’m not even sure I can get back to my office. All right. I’ll call them from here, get the numbers of the rooms, and I’ll have somebody open them and leave the keys inside.”

“Thank you.”

“All right, then,” said Bliss, “if there are no more questions, will you please leave one at a time? As soon as we know where we are, I’ll notify all of you.”

Jacobs went into his office, feeling shaken up. The thing had never attacked a staff member before, and he had unconsciously assumed that it wouldn’t. He sat down, put his feet up on his desk, and began to think about Bliss’s idea for a Buck Rogers gun. Electrical fields, radio hash, no problem, just an unshielded motor—a drill would do, and he could use the grip and trigger for the rest of the stuff. Diagrams went through his head. Ultrasonics, maybe not—they had an ultrasound generator in the fishery, but it was too big. Ultraviolet, though . . .

And as the observer absorbed his knowledge, he saw that none of the things Jacobs was planning could harm him. He had thought as much, but it was important to be sure. When the steward came in with the lunch cart, he slipped out again and watched as Jacobs toppled silently to the floor.