59

Siever Genarr opened his eyes slowly and blinked at the light. He had a little trouble focusing at first and couldn't quite make out whatever filled his vision.

The image sharpened slowly and soon Genarr recognized Ranay D'Aubisson, Chief Neurophysicist of the Dome.

Genarr said in a weak voice, 'Marlene?'

D'Aubisson looked grim. 'She seems well. It's you I'm concerned about right now.'

A pang of apprehension made its way through Genarr's vitals and he tried to drown it with his sense of black humor. He said, 'I must be worse off than I thought if the Angel of the Plague is here.'

Then, as D'Aubisson said nothing, Genarr asked sharply, 'Am I?'

She seemed to come to life. Tall and angular, she bent over him, the fine wrinkles about her piercing blue eyes becoming more prominent as she squinted at him.

'How do you feel?' she asked, answering no questions.

'Tired. Very tired. All right, otherwise. I think?' The rising inflection served to repeat his earlier question.

She said, 'You've been sleeping for five hours.' She was still not answering.

Genarr groaned. 'I'm tired anyway. And I have to go to the bathroom.' He began to struggle into a sitting position.

At D'Aubisson's signal a young man approached rapidly. Respectfully, he placed his hand under Genarr's elbow and was indignantly shaken off.

D'Aubisson said, 'Please let yourself be helped. We have made no diagnosis yet.'

When Genarr was back in bed ten minutes later, he said ruefully, 'No diagnosis. Have you made a brain scan?'

'Yes, of course. Instantly.'

'Well?'

She shrugged. 'We found nothing of importance, but you were asleep. We will take another when you're awake. And you must be observed in other ways.'

'Why? Isn't the brain scan enough?'

Her gray eyebrows rose. 'Do you think it is?'

'No games. What are you getting at? Say it straight out. I'm not a child.'

D'Aubisson sighed. 'The cases of the Plague we have had showed interesting features on brain scan, but we were never able to compare it with the pre-Plague standard because none of the sufferers had been scanned prior to onset. By the time we set up a routine and universal brain scanning program for all people in the Dome, there were no longer any unmistakable cases of the Plague. Did you know this?'

'Don't lay traps for me,' said Genarr pettishly. 'Of course I knew of it. Do you think my memory is gone? I deduce, then - I can still deduce, too, you know - that although you have my scan of earlier days and can compare it with the scan you just took, you found nothing of significance. Is that it?'

'You obviously do not have anything remarkably wrong, but we might have something we would consider a subclinical situation.'

'If you find nothing?'

'We might not notice a subtle change if we're not specifically looking for it. After all, you collapsed and you are not ordinarily given to collapsing, Commander.'

'Take another scan now that I'm awake, then, and if it's something so subtle it escapes you, then I'll live with it. But tell me about Marlene. Are you sure she's well?'

'I said she seems well, Commander. Unlike you, she showed no abnormality of behavior. She did not collapse.'

'And is she safely inside the Dome?'

'Yes, she brought you in herself, just before you fell unconscious. Don't you remember?'

Genarr flushed, and mumbled something.

D'Aubisson's look grew sardonic. 'Suppose you tell us exactly what do you remember, Commander. Tell us everything. Any of it may be important.'

Genarr's discomfort increased as he tried to remember. It seemed a long time ago and the edges were blurred, very much as though it were a dream he was trying to recall.

'Marlene was taking off her E-suit.' Then, weakly, 'Wasn't she?'

'Quite. She came in without it and we had to send someone out there to retrieve it.'

'Well, I tried to stop her, of course, when I noticed what she was doing. Dr Insigna called out, I remember, and that alerted me. Marlene was a distance away from me, by the stream. I tried to call out, but, in the shock of the situation I couldn't manage to make a sound just at first. I tried to get to her quickly, to - to-'

'Run to her,' put in D'Aubisson.

'Yes, but - but-'

'But you found you couldn't run. You were almost in a state of paralysis. Am I correct?'

Genarr nodded. 'Yes. Rather. I tried to run, but - did you ever have one of those nightmares when you are pursued and somehow you can't manage to make yourself run?'

'Yes. We all have those. It usually comes when we have managed to tangle our arms or legs in the bedclothes.'

'It felt like a dream. I managed to get my voice, at last, and shouted at her, but without the E-suit, she couldn't hear me, I'm sure.'

'Did you feel faint?'

'Not really. Just helpless and confused. As though it were not even any use in trying to run. Then Marlene saw me and ran toward me. She must somehow have recognized I was in trouble.'

'She didn't seem to have any trouble running. Is that right?'

'I wasn't aware that she was. She seemed to reach me. Then we- I'll be honest, Ranay. I don't remember after that.'

'You came into the Dome together,' said D'Aubisson calmly. 'She was helping you, holding you up. And once in the Dome, you collapsed and now - here you are.'

'And you think I have the Plague.'

'I think you experienced something abnormal, but I can find nothing in your brain scan, and I am puzzled. There you have it.'

'It was the shock of seeing Marlene in danger. Why should she be taking off her E-suit if she weren't-' He stopped abruptly.

'If she weren't succumbing to the Plague. Is that it?'

'The thought crossed my mind.'

'But she seems fine. Would you like to sleep some more?'

'No. I'm awake. Take another brain scan and see to it that it comes out negative because I feel much better now that I have the story off my chest. And then I'm going about my business, you harpy.'

'Even if the brain scan is apparently normal, Commander, you'll stay in bed for at least twenty-four hours. For observation, you understand.'

Genarr groaned theatrically. 'You can't do that. I can't lie here and stare at the ceiling for twenty-four hours.'

'You won't have to. We can set up a viewing stand for you, so that you can read a book or enjoy holovision. You can even have a visitor or two.'

'I suppose the visitors will be observing me, too.'

'It's conceivable they may be questioned on the matter. And now we'll set up the brain scan equipment again.' She turned away, then turned back with a smile that softened slightly at the edges. 'It's very possible you're all right, Commander. Your reactions seem normal to me. But we must be sure, mustn't we?'

Genarr grunted, and when D'Aubisson turned again and walked away, he made a face at her straight back. That, he decided, was a normal reaction, too.

60

When Genarr opened his eyes again, it was to see Eugenia Insigna gazing at him sadly.

He looked surprised and began to sit up. 'Eugenia!'

She smiled at him, but that did not make her face look less sad.

She said, 'They said I could come in, Siever. They said you were all right.'

Genarr felt a wave of relief. He knew he was all right, but it was nice to hear that his opinion was confirmed.

He said with bravado, 'Of course I am. Brain scan normal, asleep. Brain scan normal, awake. Brain scan normal, for ever. But how's Marlene?'

'Her brain scan is perfectly normal, too.' Even that did not lighten her mood.

'As you see,' said Genarr, 'I was Marlene's canary, as I had promised. I was affected by whatever it was before she was.' And then his mood changed. It was no time for banter.

He said, 'Eugenia, how can I excuse myself to you? I wasn't watching Marlene to begin with, and I was too paralyzed with horror to do anything afterward. I failed completely, and did so after telling you with such confidence that I would take care of her. Honestly, I have no excuse.'

Insigna was shaking her head. 'No, Siever. It was in no way your fault. I'm so glad she brought you in.'

'Not my fault?' Genarr felt dumbfounded. Of course it was his fault.

'Not at all. There's something much worse than Marlene foolishly removing her suit, or you being unable to act quickly. Much worse. I'm sure of it.'

Genarr felt himself turning cold. What's much worse? he thought. 'What are you trying to tell me?'

He swung himself out of bed and suddenly became aware of his bare legs and of the totally inadequate gown he was wearing. He hastily draped the light blanket around himself.

He said, 'Please sit down and tell me. Is Marlene all right? Are you hiding something about her?'

Insigna sat down and looked solemnly at Genarr. 'They say she's all right. The brain scan is entirely norm al. Those who know about the Plague say she shows no symptoms.'

'Well then, why are you sitting there as though it's the end of the world?'

'I think it is, Siever. Of this one.'

'What does that mean?'

'I can't explain. I can't reason it out. You have to talk to Marlene to understand. She's going her own way, Siever. She's not upset over what she did. She insists that she cannot properly explore Erythro - experience Erythro is the phrase she uses - with the E-suit on and she has no intention of wearing one any longer.'

'In that case, she won't go out.'

'Oh, but Marlene says she will. Quite confidently. Whenever she wishes, she says. And alone. She blames herself for having let you come with her. She's not callous over what happened to you, you see. Over that, she is upset. And she was glad she reached you in time. Really, there were tears in her eyes when she talked about what might have happened if she hadn't walked you into the Dome in time.'

'Doesn't that make her feel insecure?'

'No. That's the oddest part of it. She's now sure that you were in danger, that anyone would have been in danger. But not she. She is so positive, Siever, I could-' She shook her head, then muttered, 'I don't know what to do.'

'She's a positive girl by nature, Eugenia. You must know that better than I do.'

'Not this positive. It's as though she knows we can't stop her.'

'Perhaps we can. I'll talk to her and if she pulls any of this "You can't stop me," when she talks to me, I'll just send her back to Rotor - and at once. I was on her side, but after what happened to me outside the Dome, I'm afraid I'm going to have to be tough.'

'But you won't.'

'Why not? Because of Pitt?'

'No. I mean you just won't.'

Genarr stared at her, then laughed uneasily. 'Oh come, I'm not that much under her spell. I may feel like a kindly uncle, Eugenia, but I'm not so kindly I'll let her walk into danger. There are limits, and you'll find that I know how to set them.' He paused, and said ruefully, 'We seem to have changed sides, you and I. Before today it was you who insisted on stopping her and I who said it couldn't be done. Now it's the other way around.'

'That's because the incident outside has frightened you, and the experience since then has frightened me.'

'What experience since then, Eugenia?'

'I tried to set the limits, after she was back in the Dome. I said to her, "Young lady, don't you dare speak to me like that or, far from not being able to leave the Dome, you won't be able to leave your room. You'll be locked in, tied up if necessary, and back to Rotor we'll go on the first rocket." You see, I was wild enough to threaten her all the way.'

'Well, what did she do? I'm willing to bet a large sum she didn't burst into tears. I suspect she gritted her teeth and defied you. Right?'

'No. I hadn't even gotten half the words out when my teeth started chattering and I couldn't speak. A wave of nausea swept over me.'

Genarr said, frowning, 'Are you about to tell me that you think Marlene has some strange hypnotic power that can prevent us from opposing her? Surely that's impossible. Have you ever noticed anything like that in her before this?'

'No, of course I haven't. I don't even see this in her now. She has nothing to do with it. I must have looked quite ill at the moment I was threatening her and that clearly frightened her. She was very concerned. She couldn't possibly have caused it and then reacted so. And when you two were outside the Dome and she was taking off her E-suit, she wasn't even looking at you. She had her back to you. I was watching and I know that. Yet you found you couldn't do anything to interfere with her and when she realized you were in trouble, she flew to your assistance. She couldn't have deliberately done that to you and reacted in that fashion.'

'But then-'

'I'm not through. After I had threatened her, or, rather, after I had failed to threaten her, I scarcely dared say anything to her that wasn't perfectly superficial, but you can be sure I kept my eye on her and tried not to let her see I was doing that. At one point, she talked to one of your guards - you have them all over the place.'

'In theory,' muttered Genarr, 'the Dome is a military post. The guards merely maintain order, help out when needed-'

'Yes, I dare say,' said Insigna with a touch of contempt. 'That's Janus Pitt making sure he has a way of keeping you all under observation and under control, but never mind. Marlene and the guard talked for quite a while, seemed to be arguing. I went to the guard afterward, after Marlene was gone, and asked him what Marlene had talked to him about. He was reluctant to say, but I squeezed it out of him. He said she wanted to arrange some sort of pass that would allow her to leave and re-enter the Dome freely.

'I said to him, "What did you tell her?"

'He said, "I told her that would have to be arranged at the Commander's office, but that I would try to help her."

'I was indignant. "What do you mean you would help her?" I said. "How could you offer to do that?"

'He said, "I had to do something, ma'am. Every time I tried to tell her it couldn't be done, I felt sick." '

Genarr listened to all of this stonily. 'Are you telling me that this is something Marlene does unconsciously, that anyone who dares contradict her is made ill, and that she doesn't even know that she is responsible for it?'

'No, of course not. I don't see how she can be doing anything at all. If this were an unconscious ability of hers, it would have made its appearance on Rotor, and it never happened there. And it isn't just any contradiction. She tried for a second helping of dessert at dinner last night, and quite forgetting that I didn't dare cross her, I said sharply, "No, Marlene." She looked terribly rebellious, but subsided, and I felt in perfect health, I can tell you. No, I think it's only in connection with Erythro that one can't contradict her.'

'But why do you suppose that should be, Eugenia? You seem to have some notion or other about this. If I were Marlene, I would read you like a book and tell you what that notion is, but since I am not, you must tell me.'

'I don't think it's Marlene at all who's doing this. It's - it's the planet itself.'

'The planet!'

'Yes, Erythro! The planet. It's controlling Marlene. Why else should she be so confident that she is immune to the Plague, and that she will come to no harm? It controls the rest of us, too. You came to harm when you tried to stop her. I did. The guard did. Many people came to harm in the early days of the Dome because the planet felt it was being invaded, so it produced the Plague. Then, when it seemed you were all content to remain within the Dome, it let go, and the Plague stopped. See how it all fits in?'

'Do you think, then, that the planet wants Marlene out upon its surface?'

'Apparently.'

'But why?'

'I don't know. I don't pretend to understand it. I'm just telling you how it must be.'

Genarr's voice softened. 'Eugenia, surely you know that the planet can't do anything. It's a lump of rock and metal. You're being mystical.'

'I am not. Siever, don't slip into this trick of pretending that I'm a silly woman. I'm a first-class scientist and there's nothing mystical about my thinking. When I say the planet, I don't mean the rock and metal. I mean that there's some powerful permeating life-form upon the planet.'

'It would have to be invisible, then. This is a barren world with no sign of life above the prokaryote, let alone intelligence.'

'What do you know about this barren world, as you call it? Has it been properly explored? Has it been searched through and through?'

Slowly, Genarr shook his head. He said with a pleading note in his voice, 'Eugenia, you're drifting off into hysteria.'

'Am I, Siever? Think it out yourself and tell me if you can find an alternate explanation. I tell you the life on the planet - whatever it is - will not have us. We're doomed. And what it wants with Marlene' - her voice quavered -'I can't imagine.'