ed the
floor switch on a waste receptacle and spat into it with feeling.

"Then I'm going to depend on you for some straight answers," Brion
said. "This is an un-standard operation, and the standard techniques
just don't begin to make sense. Even Poisson Distributions and
Pareto Extrapolations don't apply here." Stine nodded agreement and
Brion relaxed a bit. He had just relieved himself of his entire
knowledge of societics, and it had sounded authentic. "The more I
look at it the more I believe that this is a physical problem,
something to do with the exotic and massive adjustments the Disans
have made to this hellish environment. Could this tie up in any way
with their absolutely suicidal attitude towards the cobalt bombs?"

"Could it? Could it?" Dr. Stine paced the floor rapidly on his
stocky legs, twining his fingers behind his back. "You are bloody
well right it could. Someone is thinking at last and not just
punching bloody numbers into a machine and sitting and scratching
his behind while waiting for the screen to light up with the
answers. Do you know how Disans exist?" Brion shook his head. "The
fools here think it disgusting but I call it fascinating. They have
found ways to join a symbiotic relationship with the life forms on
this planet. Even a parasitic relationship. You must realize that
living organisms will do anything to survive. Castaways at sea will
drink their own urine in their need for water. Disgust at this is
only the attitude of the overprotected who have never experienced
extreme thirst or hunger. Well, here on Dis you have a planet of
castaways."

Stine opened the door of the pharmacy. "This talk of thirst makes me
dry." With economically efficient motions he poured grain alcohol
into a beaker, thinned it with distilled water and flavored it with
some crystals from a bottle. He filled two glasses and handed Brion
one. It didn't taste bad at all.

"What do you mean by parasitic, Doctor? Aren't we all parasites of
the lower life forms? Meat animals, vegetables and such?"

"No, no--you miss the point! I speak of parasitic in the exact
meaning of the word. You must realize that to a biologist there is
no real difference between parasitism, symbiosis, mutualism,
biontergasy, commensalism--"

"Stop, stop!" Brion said. "Those are just meaningless sounds to me.
If that is what makes this planet tick I'm beginning to see why the
rest of the staff has that lost feeling."

"It is just a matter