Alien

VII

'What do you think?'

Parker was leaning as close as he could, sweating along with Brett as the latter attempted to seal the delicate last connections within the cramped confines of twelve module. They were trying to perform work that normally employed the services of a remote automatic tracer and the facilities of a computerized tool runner. Since they possessed neither runner nor tracer they were forced to cope with the trouble utilizing instruments not designed for the purpose.

Wrong tools for the wrong job, Parker thought angrily. Somehow, they would have to manage. Unless twelve module was properly repaired and made operative once more they'd have one hell of a time trying to lift off. To get away from this world, Parker would have made the necessary internal replacements with his teeth.

Right now, though, it was Brett's turn to fight with the recalcitrant components. Like every other instrument aboard the Nostromo, the module used snap-in, factory-sealed replacement parts. The trick was to remove the ruined garbage without interrupting other critical functions or damaging still more delicate portions of the ship's drive. The new parts would fit in easily, if they could only get rid of the carbonized junk.

'I think I've got it,' his companion finally said. 'Give it a try.'

Parker stepped back, touched two buttons set into the overhead console, then glanced hopefully at a neighbouring portable monitor. He tried the buttons a second time, without success. The monitor remained blissfully silent.

'Nothing.'

'Damn. I was sure that was it.'

'Well, it isn't. Try the next one. I know they all look okay, except for that number forty-three, and we've already replaced that. That's the trouble with these damn particle cells. If the regulator overloads and burns some of them out, you have to go inside and find the ones that have vacuum-failed.' He paused, added, 'Wish we had a tracer.'

'You and me both.' Soft sounds of metal scratching on plastic sounded from inside the unit.

'It's got to be the next one.' Parker tried to sound optimistic. 'We don't have to hand-check every single cell. Mother narrowed it down this far. Be thankful for small favors.'

'I'll be thankful,' Brett responded. 'I'll be thankful when we're off this rock and back in hypersleep.'

'Stop thinking about Kane.' He touched the two buttons, cursed silently. 'Another blank. Try the next one, Brett.'

'Right.' He moved to do so, replaced the cell he'd just checked in its proper place. Parker adjusted several overhead toggles. Maybe they could narrow down the injured line a little farther. Twelve module contained one hundred of the tiny particle acceleration cell chambers. The thought of manually checking every one of them to find a single one that had failed made him more than ready to break things.

At precisely the wrong moment, a voice called from a nearby 'com speaker. 'What's happening?'

Oh, hell, Parker thought. Ripley. That damn woman. I'll tell her what's happening. 'My Johnson is happening,' he informed her curtly, adding several things pitched just below the effective range of the omni pickup.

'Keep working,' he told his companion.

'Right.'

'What's that?' she said. 'I didn't catch that.'

He moved away from the module. A stab activated the 'com amp. 'You want to know what's happening? A lot of hard work is what's happening. Real work. You ought to come back here and give it a try sometime.'

Her reply was instant, composed. 'I've got the toughest job on this ship.' Parker laughed derisively. 'I have to listen to your bullshit.'

'Get off my back.'

'I'll get off your back when module twelve is fixed, not before. You can count on that.' There was a click at the other end before Parker could offer his ready comment.

'What's up?' Brett leaned out of the module. 'You two fighting again?'

'Naw. Smart-mouth broad, that's all.'

Brett hesitated, paused to examine the currently opened cell. 'Right. Let's try it again.'

Parker pushed the buttons, examined the monitor, thought of putting his fist through it while imagining it to be a certain warrant officer's face. He wouldn't do anything nearly so melodramatic, of course. Though short-tempered, he was sensible enough to realize how badly he needed the monitor.

And Ripley.

Ash was running a new battery of tests on Kane's comatose form. They provided additional information about his condition. None of it was particularly useful, but the science officer found it all fascinating.

Kane's insides were immediately visible to anyone who cared to enter the infirmary and have a look at the main medical viewscreen. Kane himself was in no position to object to this particularly intimate invasion of privacy.

Ripley walked in, took note of the readouts. His condition hadn't changed since she'd last seen him. She hadn't expected it to. The alien remained affixed to his face.

She studied the smaller readouts, then took the empty seat next to Ash. He acknowledged her arrival with a slight smile and did not turn from his console.

'Making some different tests on him,' he informed her. 'Just in case anything happens.'

'Like what?'

'I haven't the vaguest idea. But if anything does, I'll want to know about it as soon as it starts.'

'Anything new?'

'With Kane?' Ash considered, marshaling his thoughts. 'Still the same. He's holding steady. No, better than that. He's holding strong. No changes for the worse.'

'What about the creature? We know now it can leak acid and heal itself fast. Anything else we know?'

Ash sounded pleased with himself when he replied. 'Like I told you, I've been running tests. Since we can't do anything for Kane, I thought it sensible to try to learn as much as we can about the creature. You never know what seemingly insignificant discovery might lead to its eventual removal.'

'I know that.' She shifted impatiently in her chair. 'What have you found out?'

'It's got an outer layer of what appears to be protein polysaccharides. At least, that's my best guess. Hard to tell without a piece for detailed analysis, and attempting to remove even a sample might cause it to drain fluid again. We can't risk it dissolving part of the autodoc.'

'Not hardly,' she said dryly. 'Right now that machine's the only chance Kane's got.'

'Exactly. What's more interesting than that is that it's constantly sloughing off cells within a secondary, internal dermis and replacing them with polarized organic silicates. It appears to have a double skin, with that acid flowing between the two layers. Also, the acid seems to be flowing under high pressure.

'It's a good thing Dallas didn't cut too deeply with that knife or I think it would have sprayed the entire infirmary.'

Ripley looked properly impressed.

'The silicate layer demonstrates a unique, very dense molecular structure under the scope. It might even be capable of resisting the laser. I know, I know,' he said in response to her look of disbelief, 'that sounds crazy. But this is the toughest chunk of organic material I've ever seen. The combination of the way those cells are aligned with what they're composed of adds up to something that defies all the rules of standard biology.

'Those silicated cells, for example. They're metal-bonded. The result is what gives the creature such resistance to adverse environmental conditions.'

'Anything new besides the silicates and the double dermis?'

'Well, I still have no idea what it breathes, or even if it breathes the way we think of standard respiration. It does seem to be altering the atmosphere around it, perhaps absorbing whatever gases it requires through numerous surface pores. There's certainly nothing resembling a nostril. As a living chemical factory it surpasses in efficiency anything I've ever heard of. Some of its internal organs don't seem to function at all, while others are doing things I can't begin to guess at.

'It's possible the visually quiescent organs have defensive functions. We'll find out if we ever have to provoke it further.' He cocked an expectant eye at her. 'That enough for you?'

'Plenty.' Kane shouldn't have been brought back on board, she mused. They should have left him and the creature outside. Ash was the one responsible for them being here.

She studied the science officer unobtrusively, watching him work his instruments, store pleasing results, and discard those he had no use for. Ash was the last member of the crew she'd have suspected of being capable of a dramatic gesture, yet he was the one who'd made the sudden decision to let the explorers back aboard, going against all accepted procedure.

She had to correct herself. In addition to Ash, Dallas and Lambert had also gone against procedure in demanding admittance. And Kane's life had been at stake. Suppose Ash had obeyed her directive and left the three outside? Would Kane still be alive? Or would he now be just a statistic in the log? That would have simplified one thing, though: She wouldn't have to face Kane when he recovered and have to explain why she'd tried to refuse him and the others admittance.

Ash noticed her expression, looked concerned. 'Something the matter?'

'No.' She sat up straighter. 'Sum it all up for me. Pretend I'm as dumb as I sometimes feel. What's it all mean? Where do we stand with it?'

'Interesting combination of elements and structure make it practically invulnerable given our present situation and resources.'

She nodded. 'That's exactly how I read it, if your results are accurate.' He looked pained. 'Sorry. Okay, so it's invulnerable.' She was watching him closely. 'Is that why you went ahead and let it in?'

As always, the science officer refused to be baited. He showed nothing in the way of resentment when he replied. 'I was following a direct order from the captain. Remember?'

She forced herself to keep from raising her voice, knowing that Ash respected only reason. 'When Dallas and Kane are off the ship, I'm senior officer. I'm acting commander until one or the other actually sets foot back inside.'

'Yes, of course. I forgot, that's all. The emotions of the moment.'

'Like hell.' His attention remained fixed to various readouts. 'Emotions never made you forget anything.'

That made him turn to her. 'You think you know all about me. All of you. You're so sure you know exactly what kind of person I am. Let me tell you something, Ripley. When I opened the inner hatch I was aware of what I was doing, yes. But that business about who is in charge when, well, I'm capable of forgetfulness just like anyone else. My memory's very good, but it's subject to failure like anyone's. Even a mechanical memory like Mother's can lose track of information.'

Failure, sure, she thought. Selective failure. Still, the science officer could be telling the truth. She'd better watch out how many of her shipmates she insulted. Parker and Brett already felt something less than love for her, and now she was on the verge of making an enemy of Ash.

But she couldn't still the suspicions. She almost wished Ash would get mad at her.

'You also managed to forget the science division's own basic quarantine law, something that's drilled into every ship's officer early in flight school.'

'No.' At last, she thought. A statement she could believe. 'That I didn't forget.'

'I see. You didn't forget.' She paused for emphasis. 'You just went ahead and broke it.'

'You think I did it lightly. That I didn't consider the possible consequences of my action.'

'No, Ash. I'd never think that.' Again, he didn't react to provocation.

'I didn't like having to do it, but I saw myself as having no choice,' he explained softly. 'What would you have done with Kane? His only chance to stay alive seemed to rest with getting him into the infirmary, where the autodoc could work on him as soon as possible. His condition has been stabilized. I'm inclined to give credit for that to the machine and its rapid treatment, the early application of antisepsis and intravenous feeding.'

'You're contradicting yourself, Ash. A minute ago you said it was the creature who was keeping him alive, not the autodoc.'

'The creature does seem to be making a contribution, but it's doing so in Kane's atmosphere and environment. We've no way of knowing what it might have done if left alone with him outside. Here we can keep a close watch on his system and be ready to compensate if the creature shows signs of acting inimically toward him. We couldn't do that if he were still outside.' He paused long enough to throw a switch, check a reading. 'Besides, it was a direct order.'

'Meaning you'll listen to Dallas over me no matter what the situation?'

'Meaning the captain's the captain, and the fact that he was one metre outside the corridor instead of inside isn't reason enough for me to start ignoring his decisions.'

She looked away, furious with him and with herself. 'By breaking quarantine procedure you risk everybody's life, not just Kane's.'

Ash moved smoothly to punch out a request on the computer board, stared solemnly at the information provided. He spoke without facing the insistent Ripley.

'You think it was an easy decision for me to make? I'm aware of the rules regarding quarantine and alien life forms, probably more so than you. I had to balance them against a man's life.

'Maybe I should have let him die out there. Maybe I have jeopardized the rest of us. But I know one thing: Rule makers always draw up their precious rules and regulations in safety and comfort, not out in the field, where those same absolutes are supposed to be applied. At those times we have to rely on our own minds and feelings. That's what I did.

'So far the creature hasn't made a threatening gesture toward any of the rest of us. It may do so later on, in which case it will be facing an alarmed and ready group of six instead of an unprepared single man stumbling through the dark hold of an unfamiliar vessel. I'll balance that risk against Kane's life.' His fingers danced over the console.

'I don't dispute your personal feelings.' Ripley shifted her weight to her left, rose. 'I'm simply saying you have no right or authority to impose them on the rest of us. Maybe we don't feel like taking the same risk.'

'It doesn't matter now. Kane's aboard. . and alive. Events will proceed from that reality, not from past alternatives. It's a waste of time discussing them.'

'This is your official position, then, as a science officer? Not exactly right out of the manual.'

'You are being repetitive, Ripley. Why? To provoke me? I have already voluntarily entered my actions in the official log, and will subject myself to whatever decision the Company may make in the matter. Yes, it's my official position. Remember that the prime consideration of science is the protection and betterment of human life. I would never contravene that'

'No, but your idea of what betters human life might differ from someone else's.'

For some reason that caused him to turn and stare sharply at her, when her other, more direct probes had produced no response. 'I take my responsibility as science officer as seriously as you do that of warrant officer. That should be sufficient for you. I'm tired of this. If you have a specific accusation to make, lodge it with Dallas. If not,?and he turned back to his precious instrumentation, 'you do your job and I'll do mine.'

She nodded once. 'Fair enough.' Turning, she headed for the corridor. . still unsatisfied but unsure why. Ash's answers had the veneer of validity, were hard to argue with. That wasn't what was troubling her.

It was the fact that his action in popping the lock to let the exploration team inside went against much more than the rules. It went against every facet of the science officer's personality, directly contradicted his demonstrated professionalism in other matters. She hadn't known him that long, but until this incident he'd given her and everyone else aboard the impression that for him nothing ranked above, the official science manual.

Ash claimed he'd done what he'd done only to save a man's life. She'd taken the official side. Was she wrong? Would Kane have agreed with her?

She headed for the bridge, much troubled in mind. Little bits of coincidence swam in her head, nagging at her thoughts. The mind glue to bring them together remained missing. .

There was nothing to do on the Nostromo now but wait. Wait for Parker and Brett to complete their work, wait for a change in Kane's condition.

On the bridge, Lambert was amusing Jones the cat with some string. The string supposedly was on board solely for Jones' enjoyment, but the cat knew better. It was occasionally incumbent on him to entertain the humans. They seemed to derive considerable pleasure from his poking and swatting at the white cord as they manipulated it in their clumsy great paws.

Lambert called the game cat's cradle. Jones called it people's cradle. He was a very conscientious cat and did his best to keep the navigator smiling. They were so solemn sometimes. It was a difficult job for a cat. But Jones was conscientious. He continued to work at pleasing the human, thinking of food and warm, fat mice.

'What do you think?' Brett glanced out from beneath the overhang, eyed his colleague.

Parker adjusted a control, wiped sweat from his forehead. 'Almost. Another half a degree and we'll be finished. Maybe that'll satisfy Ripley.'

The engineering tech made a rude noise. 'Didn't you know? Ripley can't be satisfied.' Pinging sounds came from behind the intake screen he was working on.

Parker glanced at the silent intercom speaker and grunted a reply. 'If we don't get full shares after this, I'll lodge a complaint. We've earned double pay. Probably qualified for hazard as well. This time the Company had better make it worth our while or we'll go to the Guild. No messing around anymore.'

'Right,' snapped Brett. A hand extended outward from inside the tube where the screen was secured. 'Number three sealer ought to do it.'

Parker fished around in a neatly labeled but filthy plastic case, handed up a tiny grey square stenciled over in green and red, and glared at the inoffensive intercom. .

The rhythm was primitive, unsophisticated, and the recording had lost brilliance with age and much use, but Dallas lay back and absorbed the music as though he were present at the ancient recording session. One foot tapped silently, in unthinking podal counterpoint to the melody.

The communicator beeped for attention. It did so three times before catching the captain's notice. Letting out a resigned sigh, he reached out and shut off the music, then flipped the acknowledge switch for the 'com.

'Dallas here.'

'Ash. I think you should have a look at Kane. Something's happened.'

Dallas swung his legs off the lounge, sat up quickly. Ash didn't sound worried, which was encouraging. He did sound confused, which was not.

'Serious?'

'Interesting.'

'I'll be right there.'

He stood and threw the final cutoff on the tape machine, reluctantly saw the green light on its flank wink out. Ash had said 'interesting.' That could mean a host of things, not necessarily good, had occurred. He found some relief in the knowledge that Ash would have said something very different if Kane had already expired.

Which meant that the exec was still alive. . but in an 'interesting' condition.

As it turned out, Ash wasn't even referring to Kane. His call had been prompted by the condition of something else.

Dallas found the science officer in the corridor outside the infirmary, his nose pressed to the glass. He was staring in, looking around as the captain approached.

'What's going on?' Ripley had suddenly appeared at the other end of the corridor. Her gaze switched rapidly from Ash to Dallas, back again. 'I heard over an open monitor.'

'Listening in?' Dallas eyed her curiously.

She made a face. 'Nothing else to do on this boat. Why? You object?'

'No. Just curious.' He looked through the thick glass into the infirmary, spoke to Ash when no great revelation manifested itself.

'Well?'

'Kane.' The science officer pointed. 'Look closely at him. All of him.'

Dallas stared, squinted, then noticed what Ash was talking about. Or rather, he didn't notice it.

'It's gone.' A fast inspection of the infirmary showed no sign of the alien. Kane remained motionless on the medical platform. His chest rose and fell steadily. He seemed to be breathing normally and without effort despite the absence of the alien. Lingering inspection showed what looked to be tiny black dots scattered around the rim of his face.

'Has it planted something on him?' Dallas tried to shy away from the repulsive thought.

'No.' Ash spoke positively, and Dallas was willing to believe him. He had to believe him. Anyway, the personnel dossiers said that the science officer's vision was the sharpest on board.

'They're indentations, not rises. I'd guess they're sucker marks.' Ash paused, added, 'Those aside, Kane appears undamaged by the experience.'

'Which may not be over yet,' Ripley put in. 'The door is seal-tight. It must still be in there.' She sounded confident, but it was a cover for her real feelings. The thought of the spidery hand-shape with its glazed, unblinking eye scrabbling about underfoot frightened her more than she dared show.

'We can't open the door,' Ash said thoughtfully. 'We don't want to let it out. The last thing we want to do is give it the run of the ship.'

'I couldn't agree more.' Ripley was scanning the infirmary floor, saw only bright metal and paint. 'We can't grab it or kill it from a distance. So where does that leave us?'

'When we tried to remove it from Kane's face,' Dallas said, 'we cut it, injured it. Maybe if we didn't threaten it too overtly, it wouldn't offer resistance. Maybe we can just pick it up.' Visions of spectacular Company commendations, perhaps a promotion, certainly a bonus, swirled through his head. Then he again noticed the unconscious form of Kane and felt guilty.

Ripley was still shuddering at the thought. 'You can try picking it up. I'll watch the door.'

'I think it's a worthwhile idea.' Ash was moving away from the glass. 'It's an invaluable specimen. We should certainly make an attempt to capture it alive and intact.'

He touched the switch controlling the door. The infirmary was a good place to try to hunt down the intruder. It was double-walled, and save for the airlocks, it was the tightest compartment on the Nostromo.

The door slid back slightly. Ash looked to Dallas, who nodded. Again the control was touched and the door moved another few centimetres. Now it was open enough for a man to slip through. Dallas went in first, followed cautiously by Ripley. Ash entered last, quickly hit the stud, shutting the door behind them.

They stood close together in front of the door, scanning the room. Still no sign of the alien. Dallas pursed his lips, blew a sharp whistle. That failed to stir the creature, but it did make Ripley giggle a bit unsteadily.

Keeping his eyes on the hidden places, Dallas started toward an open cabinet. It would make an excellent hiding place. But close inspection of the interior showed only medical supplies, neatly arranged and undisturbed.

If they were going to try to trap the creature with something other than their hands, they needed something solid. Dallas chose the first suitably sized object he saw, a stainless-steel alloy tray. As he turned to continue the stalk, he was quite aware that if the creature felt sufficiently threatened, it could melt its way through the tray as easily and effortlessly as it could Dallas's hands. But the weight was comforting.

Ash was inspecting the far corner of the infirmary. Ripley grew bored standing next to the door. She closed it, walked in, and looked beneath the platform holding Kane, thinking the creature might have attached itself to the underside. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready to throw her clear at the first sight of the tiny invader. She wasn't disappointed when the underside of the platform proved to be unoccupied.

Straightening, she considered where to search next. She brushed against a bulkhead. Something solid and unyielding landed on her shoulder. Her head jerked around and she found herself staring at long skeletal fingers and a dull grey cabochon of an eye.

Somehow she got out a single scream. Her muscles spasmed and she twisted awkwardly. As she did so, the creature tumbled heavily to the deck. It lay motionless.

Dallas and Ash had come running at her scream. Now the three of them stood gazing at the motionless shape lying among them. The fingers were clenched tight, uncannily like the hand of a dead man, which it still resembled more closely than anything else. Only the extra fingers, the tail, and the dull, lidless eye broke the illusion.

Ripley's right hand rested on the shoulder where the thing had landed. She was gulping air rather than inhaling it, the adrenalin slowly leaking from her system. She could still feel the alien weight on her.

She extended a booted foot, prodded the hand-shape. It didn't move or resist. In addition to the dullness of the single eye, its leathery skin looked shrunken and dry. She nudged it with her foot again, turning it over. The tube lay limply against the palm, almost completely retracted.

'I think it's dead.' Dallas studied the unanticipated corpse a moment longer, then glanced at Ripley. 'You okay?'

Tongue and larynx were forced into action. 'Yeah. It didn't do anything. I think it was long dead before it fell on me.'

She walked to the open cabinet and selected a long metal forceps. A touch on the curled fingers failed to elicit any reaction, as did a poke at the eye. Dallas held out the tray. Using the forceps, she maneuvered the petrified alien into it, quickly nipped shut the gleaming lid.

They moved to a nearby table. The alien was carefully removed from the tray and placed on the flat surface. Ash turned a bright light on it. The illumination intensified the ghastly pallor of the thing. He chose a small probe, pushed and prodded the unresisting form.

'Look at those suckers.' He used the probe to indicate the series of small, deep holes lining the inside of the creature's 'palm.' They extended cornpletely around it. 'No wonder we couldn't get it off him, between these, the fingers, and that tail it wrapped around his neck.'

'Where's its mouth?' Dallas had to force his gaze away from the single eye. Even in death, the dull orb possessed a sort of hypnotic attraction.

'Must be this tube-like organ, up in here. The thing it had down his throat. But it never showed any sign of feeding.' Ash used the probe to turn the corpse over on its back. He got a grip on the tube with the forceps, partly pulled it out of the palm. As he extracted more of the tube, it changed colour to match the rest of the body.

'It's hardening as soon as it contacts the air.' Ash moved the tiny form over to a scanner, slipped it underneath the lens, and adjusted controls. Numbers and words appeared on tiny screens when he depressed a certain button.

'That's all,' he finally informed them. 'It's over. It's dead. No life signs whatever. We may not know much about it, but it's not so alien you can't determine whether it's alive or not'

Ripley's shoulder tingled. 'Good. Let's get rid of it.'

Ash looked at her in disbelief. 'You're joking, of course. Very funny.'

She shook her head. 'Like hell I am.'

'But. . this has to go back.' Ash sounded almost excited. 'This is the first contact with a creature like this. There's nothing like it on any of the tapes, not even the hypotheticals. All kinds of tests should be run on it.'

'Fine,' she said. 'So run your tests, and then we'll get rid of it.'

'No, no. It requires the facilities of a completely equipped biology lab. I can only record the slightest details of construction and composition. I can't begin to guess at such critical things as its evolutionary history.

'We can't dump one of the greatest xenological discoveries of the past decade out the lock like a piece of common garbage! I protest, personally and in my capacity as science officer. Kane would do the same.'

'That thing bled acid, nearly bored a hole right through the ship.' She nodded toward it. 'God knows what it might do now that it's dead.'

'It hasn't done anything,' Ash countered. 'The acidic fluid is probably absorbed into the dead cells and has been rendered inert. It hasn't done a thing.'

'Not yet.'

Ash turned an imploring gaze on Dallas. 'It has not moved, nor resisted in any way when we prodded it all over, even in its eye. The scanner insists it's dead and I think it's safe to assume it's not a zombie. Dallas, we have to keep this specimen.'

When Dallas didn't respond, Ash continued. 'For one thing, if we can't pull Kane out of his coma, the medical team that treats him will need to have the creature that induced the condition. Throw it away and we might be throwing away the secret to reviving Kane.'

Dallas finally spoke. 'You're the science officer. It's your department, your decision.'

'Then it's made.' Ash bestowed a fond look on his acquisition. 'I'll seal it in a stasis tube. That'll arrest any possibility of revivification. We can handle it.'

'That's what Kane probably thought,' Ripley muttered. Dallas glared at her and she looked away. 'That takes care of the monster's future, I guess.' She gestured at the medical platform. 'What about Kane?'

Ash turned to face the pallet. After a brief examination of the exec and careful study of his sucker-marked face, the science officer activated several instruments on the medical console. The autodoc made noises, and readouts began to appear.

'He's running a fever.'

'Bad?'

'No. Nothing his system can't handle. The machine will bring his temperature down. He's still unconscious.'

'We can see that.'

Ash glanced back at the bitter Ripley. 'Not necessarily. He could be sleeping, which would be different.'

Ripley started to reply, was cut off by an angry Dallas. 'You two stop your bickering.' As if he didn't have enough to worry about, now he had to deal with tension between crewmates. Considering the mental pressure they'd all been under recently, such conflicts were to be expected, but he'd tolerate only the minimum necessary to relieve it. Open antagonism was something to be avoided at all costs. He had no time to deal with congealing cliques.

To get Ripley's mind off Ash and vice versa, he turned the conversation back to Kane. 'Unconscious and a slight fever. Anything else?'

Ash studied readouts. 'Nothing that shows here. His vital signs continue strong.'

'Long-term prognosis?'

The science officer looked hesitant. 'I'm not a medical officer. The Nostromo isn't big enough to rate one.'

'Or important enough. I know that. But you're the closest thing we've got. I just want your opinion. It's not going into the log and I certainly won't hold you to it. Hell, I can't hold you to it.' His gaze travelled back down to Kane, shipmate and friend.

'I don't want to appear unduly optimistic,' Ash said slowly, 'but based on his present condition and on what the monitors tell me, I'd say he may make it.'

Dallas grinned, nodded slowly. 'Good enough. Can't ask for more than that.'

'I hope you're right,' Ripley added. 'We disagree on some things, but this time I pray to God you're right.'

Ash shrugged. 'I wish I could do more for him, but as I said, I'm not trained for it. It's up to the autodoc. Right now I'm getting back some mighty peculiar readings, but there's no precedent for the machine to attack from. All we can do is wait until it figures out what the alien did to him. Then it can prescribe and commence treatment.' He looked suddenly disappointed.

'I wish I was medically qualified. I don't like waiting on machines.'

Ripley looked surprised. 'That's the first time I ever heard you say anything disparaging about a machine, Ash.'

'No machine is perfect. They ought to be more flexible. We need a complete hospital in here, not just this little autodoc. It's not designed to cope with anything this. . well, this alien. The problem may be beyond its capability. Like any machine, it's only as effective as the information programmed into it. I just wish I knew more medicine.'

'This is also,' Ripley went on, 'the first time I've ever heard you express feelings of inadequacy.'

'If you know less than everything, you always feel inadequate. I don't see how you can feel otherwise.' He looked back down at Kane. 'That feeling is magnified when the universe confronts you with something utterly beyond your experience. I don't have the knowledge to cope properly, and it makes me feel helpless.'

Handling the forceps carefully, he lifted the alien by two of its fingers and transferred it to a large, transparent vial. He touched a control set into the vial's stopper, sealed the vial shut. A yellow glow filled the tube.

Ripley had watched the procedure intently. She half expected the creature to suddenly melt its way out of the stasis tube and come clutching for them all. Finally convinced that it could no longer threaten her, except in nightmares, she turned and headed for the infirmary exit.

'I don't know about the rest of you,' she said back over a shoulder, 'but I could do with some coffee.'

'Good thought.' Dallas glanced at Ash. 'You be okay in here by yourself?'

'You mean, alone with that?' He jerked a thumb in the direction of the sealed container, grinned. 'I'm a scientist. Things like that heighten my curiosity, not my pulse rate. I'll be fine, thanks. If anything develops or if Kane's condition shows hints of changing, I'll buzz you immediately.'

'Deal.' He looked back to the waiting Ripley. 'Let's go find that coffee.'

The infirmary door slid tightly shut behind them and they started back toward the bridge, leaving the autodoc to work on Kane, and Ash to work on the autodoc. .