ll me that," he said. "You're a doctor yourself. In a
pinch you could take Kessler's place."

"And I get my share of pinches," she said brightly. "Okay, so I'm a
doctor, but only on Earth. Until I complete my off-planet internship
here, I'm not allowed to practice."

"You know as much about Van Daamas as anyone does."

"That may be," she said. "Now don't be alarmed, but the truth ought to
be obvious. None of our anti or neobiotics or combinations of them have
a positive effect. We're looking for something new."

It should have been obvious; he had been hoping against that, though. He
looked at the shapeless figure sitting beside him and remembered Peggy
as she usually looked. He wondered if they were any longer concerned
with him as an individual. They must be working mainly to keep the
disease from spreading. "What are my chances?"

"Better than you think. We're looking for an additive that will make the
biotics effective."

* * * * *

He hadn't thought of that, though it was often used, particularly on
newly settled planets. He had heard of a virus infection common to
Centaurus that could be completely controlled by a shot of neobiotics
plus aspirin, though separately neither was of any value. But the
discovery of what substance should be added to what antibiotic was
largely one of trial and error. That took time and there wasn't much
time. "What else?" he said.

"That's about it. We're not trying to make you believe this isn't
serious. But don't forget we're working ten times as fast as the disease
can multiply. We expect a break any moment." She got up. "Want a
sedative for the night?"

"I've got a sedative inside me. Looks like it will be permanent."

"That's what I like about you, you're so cheerful," she said, leaning
over and clipping something around his throat. "In case you're
wondering, we're going to be busy tonight checking the microbe. We can
put someone in with you, but we thought you'd rather have all of us
working on it."

"Sure," he said.

"This is a body monitor. If you want anything just call and we'll be
here within minutes."

"Thanks," he said. "I won't panic tonight."

She plugged in the decontagion uniform, flashed it on and then left the
room. After she was gone, the body monitor no longer seemed reassuring.
It was going to take something positive to pull him through.

They were going to work through the night, but did they actually hop