bred it for a weapon to use against us before we conquered them. They
could have done it. Their biological science was of a high enough
order."

"But how did it get here?"

"I wouldn't know--unless you've hired a Santosian or someone else who
was affected."

"We did have a man from Santos. Fellow called Joe Kryla. We had to let
him go because he was a nudist. It made a bad impression on the Lani.
But that was over a year ago."

"That's about the right time to build up a good reservoir of infection.
The fatal cases usually don't show up before an area is pretty well
seeded."

"That's not so good."

"Well, there's one thing in our favor. The Lani are pretty well
concentrated into groups. And so far there doesn't seem to be any
infestation outside of Hillside Station--except for two deaths in Lani
recently sent from there. If we quarantine those stations and work fast,
may be we can stop this before it spreads all over the island."

"That's fine, but what are you going to do now?"

"Treat those that show symptoms. There should be some Trematox capsules
at the hospital. If there aren't we'll get them. We'll take the
sick ones back to the hospital area and push therapy and supportive
treatment. Now that we know the cause, we shouldn't have any more death
losses."

"Old Doc didn't treat at the hospital," Blalok said.

"I'm not Old Doc."

"But it's going to mess up our operations. We're using the ward
buildings to finish training the Lani scheduled for market."

"Why?"

"It's convenient. Most of the ward space is filled right now." Blalok
said. There was a touch of disgust in his voice.

"They're well, aren't they?" Kennon demanded.

"Of course."

"Then get them out of there."

"But I told you-"

"You told me nothing. The hospital area is needed for something more
than a training center. Perhaps Old Doc was trained in outcall work, but
I'm not. I work from a hospital. The only things I do on outcalls are
diagnoses, vaccinations, and emergencies. The rest of the patients come
to the hospital."

"This isn't going to set well with Jordan and the division chiefs."

"That's not my concern," Kennon said. "I run my business in the best way
possible. The patients are of more concern than the personal comfort of
any straw boss or administrator. You're the administrator--you calm them
down."

"You have the authority," Blalok admitted. "But my advice to you is to
go slow."

"I can't," Kennon said. "Not i