s an odor in the room, but this time it was the kind that
lingers in all hospitals. He tried to sit up, but that was more than he
could manage. He lay there a long time, looking through the heavily
reinforced window; then someone came in.

"You'll live," said the voice behind him--the same voice.

"Think so?" He hadn't intended to turn around, but the spice was back
and he wanted to see. It was only the fragrance she wore--there was none
in her voice or demeanor. That was still ice.

When she sat down, he could see that her hair was a shade of copper and
the uniform she wore a dark green. She was not a robot and therefore not
a nurse or a guard. It was logical to assume she was a doctor, police
variety--definitely the police.

Thadeus Jadiver sighed. "What am I in for?"

"You're not in for anything. Maybe you should be, but that's not my
business," she said in a flat voice. That was the only thing about her
that was flat; the rest curved nicely even under the uniform. "This is
an emergency as well as a police hospital. We were close, so we took you
in."

That was reassuring. Jadiver tried to smile as he lifted a curiously
bandaged arm. "Thanks for this."

"I'll take only half the credit. That was a combo job."

He was going to have difficulty if she insisted on using technical
slang. "What's a combo job?"

"Just what it sounds like. A combination robot-human surgeon. All
hospitals use them. The robot is more precise and delicate, but it lacks
the final margin of judgment that's supplied by the human. Two of us
work together in critical cases."

He still couldn't remember what had happened, but it would come back in
time. "I was critical?"

Her mouth was firm and her cheekbones a trifle too broad. Just the same,
the total effect was pleasing, would have been more so with a little
warmth stirred in. "To give you an idea, you'll notice that every square
inch of your skin is now synthetic." She leaned over and took his hand,
which was encased in a light spongy cocoon. Expertly, she peeled back
the end and exposed the tips of his fingers.

Jadiver looked, then turned away. "Cellophane," he said. "A man can be
born, live, die, and be shoveled away; begot and beget, completely
untouched by human hands."

She looked blank at the mention of cellophane. Probably didn't know what
it was, thought Jadiver. So few people did any more.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Your skin's transparent now, but in a
few days