"James White - SG 10 - The Final Diagnosis" - читать интересную книгу автора (White James)

see fall into two distinct types: those who avoid others, and those who are avoided
by others. This is due to differences in medical rank, the insignia of which is
displayed on a band worn around a limb or some other prominent bodily
extremity. I am giving you this information now because it will also serve as a
guide to establishing the relative seniority of the various doctors and nursing staff
you will meet during treatment. You will soon be able to tell the difference
between the band markings that I wear, which are those of a nurse-in-training, and
a charge nurse, an intern, a member of the Psychology Department, a senior
physician, or one of the diagnosticians

"Theoretically," it went on, "the staff member possessing the greater medical
seniority has right of way. But there are many who believe that it is stupid to
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suffer contusions or some lesser bodily discomfort by holding too strictly to this
rule and, if the other being is more massive and well muscled than they are, simply
get out of its way regardless of differences in rank. That is why nearly everyone
gets out of my way. But in the case of a patient like yourself who is presumably in
urgent need of treatment, the litter bearing you has priority of passage regardless
of the low rank, very low in my case, of the nurse guiding it.тАЭ

Feeling reassured, Hewlitt looked more closely at the beings around him instead of
cowering and closing his eyes at their approach. A person can get used to
anything, he was thinking, but a few minutes later he was not so sure

"What. . . what was that disgusting, horrible thing that just went past?тАЭ

The nurse did not reply until they had turned in to an intersection and the creature
was out of sight. Then it said, "That is a physiological classification PVSJ, an
Illensan chlorine-breather, wearing the protective envelope necessary in an oxygen-
rich environment. They have very sensitive hearing. You would do well to
remember that.тАЭ

Hewlitt could not remember seeing anything that looked like an ear, or an eye or a
nose or mouth for that matter; just a spiny, membranous body that looked like a
haphazard collection of oily, rotting vegetation writhing within the yellow fog
inside the loose, transparent body cover

"Nurse," he said with great vehemence, "no matter what my future treatment is to
be, I do not want a thing like that anywhere near me!тАЭ

The nurse's speaking membrane vibrated, but no speech came through its
translator. Then it said, "We will arrive in Ward Seven within a few minutes. I
expect to be allowed to assist with your nursing care, Patient Hewlitt, and if there
is any other way that I can help with nonmedical advice or information you have
only toтАФтАЭ

"Aren't there any human doctors and nurses in this place?" he broke in sharply. "I