|
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
concerned wore them, without inflicting further damage to the living contents. Page 45 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html It made no effort to salvage any part of the suit, but instead used its high-speed cutter to section the entire surface, leaving it with so many connected incisions that the pieces could be peeled away and discarded like the shell of a multiply cracked egg. Except in the places where the material and underlying skin had fused together into a single, charred mass, the uniform went the same way. While it was dealing with those areas, Naydrad positioned the patient for him on its frictionless bed of cooling air and began the rehydration process. Murchison and Danalta joined them without comment and smoothly took over the procedure while he withdrew to hover above the patient. "How is it, sir?" said Murchison. They both knew that it wasn't asking about the patient's physical condition, which was clear to see, but the unseen emotional radiation that only he could detect. "Can it withstand major surgery?" "It is better than I would have expected, and yes," Prilicla replied. "It has suffered major trauma and as a result is deeply unconscious, but the emotional radiation is characteristic of a being who, unconsciously, is still fighting to survive. That situ-ation could change for the worse if we don't operate quickly. "This patient," he went on for the benefit of the recorders, "took shelter in a heavy metal equipment cabinet. It was found in the kneeling position with its body folded forward at the waist and steadied by one hand. That hand and its lower limbs were in lengthy contact with metal whose heat was^aonducted through the suit fabric to the feet and knees so that*these areas have sustained deep charring that involves the underlying circulatory system, muscles, and associated nerve networks. The other two casualties have already lost their feet and lower limbs. We may be able to save the hand on this one, which seems to have been holding a non-conducting tool to keep it from direct contact with the hot metal. Your feelings, friend Murchison, and those of the rest of you, indicate that you have come to a decision, but I must ask the question verbally. "Is there general agreement," he ended, "that the lower legs should be removed without delay?" He was aware of their feelings, so there was no real need for them to speak, but file:///F|/rah/James%20White/White,%20James%...or%20General%2012%20-%20Double% 20Contact.txt (41 of 144) [5/21/03 10:31:15 PM] file:///F|/rah/James%20White/White,%20James%20-%20Sector%20General%2012%20-%20 Double%20Contact.txt Murchison, who had its own, peculiarly Earth-human form of empathy, was feeling Prilicla's need for support and reassurance. "Yes," it said firmly. Before anyone else could reply, there was an interruption in the form of the captain clearing its breathing passages. It said, "Much as I dislike watching major operative procedures, espe-cially on fellow officers of my own species who are personally known to me, I've been forcing myself to do so. The reason is that, to my medically untutored mind, and considering the literal hell they went through on that ship, it seems to me that there is a strong possibility that none of these casualties will survive." It hesitated for a moment, and he was able to detect distant feelings of embarrassment mixed with determination as it went on. "To me the most urgent priority here is the gathering of information, knowledge that could be of vital importance to a great many beings throughout the Federation. After all, your pa-tients were intent on killing themselves, so restoring one of them to a condition in which he can tell us why is ..." "Friend Fletcher," Prilicla broke in gently, "your words are giving rise to intense feelings of disagreement and anger which the medical team is trying Page 46 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html hard not to verbalize, and in the present circumstances those words are an unwanted distraction. The clinical condition of the three casualties is [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
Podobne
|