"White, James - Sector General 06 - Star Healer.PDB" - читать интересную книгу автора (White James)

УGood,Ф the Major said. He went on briskly. УThird, there is Senior Physician Conway. We should be striving for objectivity in this matter, which is the reason why I am referring to you in the third person. He is a strange character in some ways, and has been since he joined us. A bit of a brat and very sure of himself in the early days, but he showed promise. In spite of this he remained a loner, didnТt mix socially, and seemed to prefer the company of his extraterrestrial colleagues. Psychologically suspect behavior, that, but it conferred distinct advantages in a multispecies hospital whereЧФ
УBut Murchison isnТt Conway began.
..... An extraterrestrial,Ф OТMara finished for him. УI realize that. The processes of senile decay are not so advanced in me that I would fail to notice that she is an Earth-human DBDG female, and then some. But apart from Murchison, your close friends are people like the Kelgian charge nurse Naydrad, the Melfan Senior Edanelt, Prilicla, and, of course, that SNLU dietician with the unpronounceable name from Level Three Oh Two, and even Diagnostician Thornnastor. This is highly significant.Ф
УWhat does it signify?Ф Conway asked, wishing desperately that the other would stop talking and give him time to think.
УYou should be able to see that for yourself,Ф OТMara said sharply, then went on. УAdd to this the fact that Conway has performed excellently over the years, has seen many important and unusual cases through to their successful conclusions, and has not been afraid to take personal responsibility for his professional decisions. And now there are indications that he may be losing his fine edge.
УIt isnТt serious as yet,Ф the psychologist went on quickly before Conway could react. УIn fact, neither his colleagues nor the man himself has noticed it, and there is no diminution of professional competence. But I have been studying his case very closely, and it has been apparent to me for some time that Conway is slipping into a rut, and must.
УA rut! In this place?Ф Conway laughed in spite of himself.
УAll things are relative,Ф OТMara said irritably. УLet us call it the increasingly routine response to the completely unexpected, if rut is too simple for you. But to resume, it is my considered opinion that this person requires a complete change of assignment and duties. This change should be preceded by the immediate removal from the ambulance ship responsibilities, some minor psychiatric assistance, and a period of mental reappraisal..
УAgonizing reappraisal,Ф Conway said, laughing again without knowing why. УReappraisals are always supposed to be agonizing.Ф
OТMara studied him intently for a moment, then he exhaled slowly through his nose. Caustically, he said, УI donТt approve of unnecessary suffering, Conway, but if you want to agonize while youТre reappraising, feel free.Ф
The MajorТs normally abrasive manner had returned, Conway noted. Apparently OТMara no longer regarded him as a patientЧ which was pleasantly, or rather unpleasantly, reassuring. But his mind was fairly seething as it tried to assimilate and consider all the implications of this sudden and dramatic change in his situation, and he knew that he was temporarily incapable of responding coherently.
УI need time to think about this,Ф he said. УNaturally,Ф OТMara said.
УAnd IТd like to spend some time on Rhabwar to advise Prilicla
onЧ УNo!Ф OТMaraТs open hand slapped the desk top. УPrilicla will
have to learn to do the job in its own way, as you had to do, for the best results. You will stay away from the ambulance ship and not speak to the Cinrusskin except to wish it goodbye and good luck. In fact, I want you out of this hospital as quickly as possible. There is a Monitor Corps scoutship on courier duty leaving in thirty hours from now, so you wonТt have time for long goodbyes.
УI do not believe,Ф he went on sardonically, Уthat there is any way that I can stop you saying a long goodbye to Murchison. Prilicla will already have broken the news of your imminent departure to her, and I canТt think of anyone who could break it more gently, since it has been told what is going to happen to you over the next few months.Ф
УI wish,Ф Conway said sourly, Уthat somebody would tell me.Ф
УVery well,Ф the Chief Psychologist said, sitting back in his chair. УYou are being assigned for an indefinite period to a planet which, in its most widely used language, is called Goglesk. They have a problem there. I donТt know the details, but you will have plenty of time to brief yourself on it when you arrive, if it interests you. In this case you will not be expected to solve the problem; you will simply rest andЧФ
OТMaraТs intercom buzzed, and a voice said, УSorry, sir, but Doctor Fremvessith is here, early for its appointment. Shall I ask it to return later?Ф
УThatТs the PVGJ for the Kelgian tape erasure,Ф OТMara replied. УThere are problems there. No, ask it to wait and administer sedation if necessary.Ф
To Conway he went on. УAs I was saying, while you are on Goglesk I want you to take things easy and think very carefully about your professional future, and take plenty of time to decide what you want to do or not do at Sector General. To assist the process, IТll provide some medication designed to enhance the memory and aid dream recall. There are no long-term side effects. If you are going to take a mental inventory, the least I can do is supply a light for the darker recesses.
УBut why?Ф Conway said, and suddenly he was not at all sure that he wanted the answer.
OТMara was watching him intently, his mouth a tight, expressionless line, but the look in his eyes was sympathetic. He said, УYou are beginning to realize the purpose of this meeting at last, Conway. But to save wear and tear on your overworked brain, IТll make it simple for you.
УThe hospital is giving you the chance,Ф he ended very seriously, Уto try for Diagnostician.Ф
A D~agnosticia~!...
Many times Conway had had the disquieting experience of having his mind shared with an alien alter ego, as had the majority of the medics at Sector General. He had even, for one relatively short period, had his mind apparently taken over by several extraterrestrials. But after that experience OТMara had spent several days putting the mental pieces of the original Conway personality together again.
The problem was that although the hospital was equipped to treat every known form of intelligent life, no single person could hold in his or its mind even a fraction of the physiological data necessary for this purpose. Surgical dexterity was a product of experience and training, but the complete physiological information on a patient had to be furnished by means of an Educator tape, which was simply the brain record of some great medical genius belonging to the same or a similar species to that of the patient being treated.
If an Earth-human doctor had to treat a Kelgian patient, he took a DBLF physiology tape until treatment was completed, after which the tape was erased. The exceptions to this rule were the Senior Physicians of proven stability with teaching duties, and the Diagnosticians.
A Diagnostician was one of the medical elite, a being whose mind was considered stable enough to retain permanently six, seven, and in some cases ten physiology tapes simultaneously. To the datacrammed minds of the Diagnosticians were given the initiation and direction of original research in xenological medicine in addition to the practice and teaching of their considerable art.
But the tapes did not impart only the physiological dataЧthe complete memory and personality of the entity who had possessed that knowledge was transferred as well. In effect a Diagnostician subjected himself or itself voluntarily to an extreme form of multiple schizophrenia. The entities apparently sharing oneТs mind could be aggressive, unpleasant individualsЧgeniuses were rarely charming peopleЧwith all sorts of peeves and phobias. Usually these did not become apparent during the course of an operation or treatment. Often the worst times were when the possessor of the tape was relaxing, or sleeping.
Alien nightmares, Conway had been told, were really nightmarish. And alien sexual fantasies or wish-fulfillment dreams were enough to make the person concerned wish, if he was capable of wishing coherently for anything, that he were dead. Conway swallowed.
УA response of some kind is called for,Ф OТMara said sarcastically, his manner indicating that he was back to being his usual, unlovable self and that the Conway interview was no longer a matter for concern. УUnless that gape is an attempt at nonverbal communication?Ф
УI... I need time to think about it,Ф Conway said.
УYou will have plenty of time to think about it,Ф OТMara said, standing up and looking pointedly at the desk chronometer, Уon Goglesk.Ф


CHAPTER 4


The officers of the Monitor Corps scoutship Trennelgon knew Conway, both by reputation and by the fact that on three separate occasions he had given instructions to their communications officer during the search and retrieval operation on the widely scattered life capsules of the gigantic coilship belonging to the CRLT group entity.
Virtually every scoutship in three Galactic Sectors had been called on to assist in that operation, and Conway had communicated with the majority of them at some stage, but this tenuous connection made TrennelgonТs crew act toward him as if he were a famous relative. So much so that there was no time to think, or feel morbid, or do anything but respond to their friendly curiosity regarding Rhabwar and its rescue missions until he began yawning uncontroflably in their faces.
He was told that the trip would require only two Jumps and that they were estimating arrival in the Goglesk system in just under ten hours, after which he was reluctantly allowed to retire.
But when he stretched out on the narrow Service bunk, it was inevitable that he would start thinking of Murchison, who was not stretched out beside him. And his recollections were sharp and clear as they always were of anything they had said or done together, so that OТMaraТs memory-enhancing medication was superfluous.
She had begun by discussing the implications of PriliclaТs new appointment and the effect of DanaltaТs shape-changing faculty on the established rescue procedures. Only gradually had she worked the conversation around to ConwayТs possible advancement to Diagnostician. It had been obvious that she was as reluctant to bring up the subject as Conway had been, but Murchison was less of a moral coward.
УPrilicla has no doubt about you making it,Ф he heard her saying again, Уand neither have I. But if you were unable to adjust, or could not for some reason accept the position, it is still a high professional compliment to have been considered.Ф
Conway did not reply, and she turned toward him, raising herself on one elbow. УDonТt worry about it. YouТll be gone for a few weeks, maybe months, and youТll hardly even miss me.Ф
They both knew that was untrue. He looked up at her faintly smiling but concerned features and said, УAs a Diagnostician I might not be the same person anymore. ThatТs what is worrying me. I might end up not feeling the same toward you.Ф
УIТll make damned sure that you do!Ф she said fiercely. More quietly, she went on, УThornnastor has been a Diagnostician for nearly thirty years. IТve had to work very closely with it as my head of department, and apart from gossiping and purveying information on all and sundry on the sexual misdemeanors of every species on the hospital staff, no serious personality changes have been apparent to...Ф
A non-Tralthan like you,Ф Conway finished for her.
It was her turn to be silent. He went on. УA few years back I had a multiple carapacial fracture on a Melfan. It was a lengthy procedure, done in stages, so that I had the ELNT tape riding me for three days. The Melfans have a great appreciation of physical beauty, so long as the physique concerned is exoskeletal and has at least six legs.