in0 by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

chief scientist’s only complaint. The ferry was also bringing a government representative into his life.
    Bendagar had been in the service long enough to know that the most dreaded words any high-ranking official can utter are, “We are here to help you.” Twelve hours earlier, he had heard that very statement from the World Coordinator herself. To his chagrin, that “help” had arrived with unseemly speed.
    Bendagar had pondered all of this with a furrowed brow as he watched the docking procedure on his office viewscreen. Too few minutes later, the annunciator chimed.
    Sighing deeply, he consciously rearranged his features into a neutral mask before yelling, “Come in!”
    The man who entered was younger than expected, but bore the identifying look of all political appointees.
    It was a hard look to describe, but one familiar to anyone who has been in government service for a long time. It was a fusion of haughty self-importance with the perplexed expression of someone who has no idea what is going on. Bendagar thought of it simply as “The Look.”
    Dieter Pavel crossed Bendagar’s office using the overhead grips like a child on a set of monkey bars.
    “Professor Bendagar?” he asked, holding out his hand to be shaken. The gesture marked him as a groundhog. Shaking hands was awkward in microgravity, especially when the other hand was needed to anchor oneself. Most microgravity dwellers confined themselves to a quick nod of greeting. Despite this, Bendagar leaned across the desk as far as his seat belt would allow and took the proffered hand.
    “Mr. Pavel?”
    Pavel nodded. “You were notified that I was coming, weren’t you?”
    “Yesterday.”
    Pavel laughed. “Sounds like you knew before I did.”
    “What can we of the survey do to help you?”
    Pavel pulled himself into the framework that served as the visitor’s chair and slipped his legs into the hold down straps. “You probably know that better than I do. They did not give me much guidance. Why don’t we begin at the beginning? What has happened since your people found the alien?”
    “I have full reports - ”
    Pavel held up his hand in a restraining gesture. “I am sure you do, Dr. Bendagar. I will read them later. In the meantime, I am merely looking for an overview of the situation.”
    “Very well,” Bendagar answered with something approaching resignation. “As soon as the report of a survivor came in, the captain ordered a cabin prepared to receive him. We had a busy time of it for an hour or so.”
    “You took the usual precautions against disease?”
    “Of course. The captain cleared out a cluster of cabins at the end of a cul-de-sac corridor, all of which are against the outer hull. The former occupants were less than happy to be evicted. We stripped the central cabin of furnishings, sealed off its connection with the ship’s environmental system and installed an air renewal unit before depressurizing the cabins around it.”
    “Why did you do that?”
    “To build a Class 1 bio-barrier, of course. We have yet to discover an organism more complex than a spore that can survive a journey through vacuum. We installed multiple contamination locks in the corridor leading to our holding pen and implemented full decontamination procedures for everyone going in or out. The precautions were as much for the alien as for us. We did not want him coming down with the common cold or something equally devastating. That mistake has been made far too often in the past.”
    “It sounds as though you were admirably thorough.”
    “If there is one thing we of the survey know, Mr. Pavel, it is how to establish a proper quarantine.”
    “I never doubted it, Dr. Bendagar. What happened next?”
    We equipped the holding pen with cameras and self-contained sanitation facilities, gathered up everything aboard the alien ship that resembled a foodstuff, and then brought the alien aboard in a decontaminated rescue bag. We left the bag in the cabin, sealed