Glued to various places on Richard’s forehead, arms, and elsewhere on his body with a kind of medical adhesive were sensor disks no more than half a centimeter in diameter each. Each of them broadcasted a signal to a relay box beneath the foot of his bed. This relay box connected to an office in which his vital signs were monitored by a relatively young calico cat in a physician’s uniform. It was not too different from the uniforms worn by human physicians here, or for that matter on Earth, except that it was the right size and shape for a cat, and from behind the pelvis extended a long cloth sheath that completely encased her tail. Her off-duty clothes tended to just have a hole in the rear of the pants, allowing the tail to extend behind, covered only by its fur – but as this was a medical uniform that she was wearing, it was designed to fully encase the tail.

As she operated the console through which she monitored Richard’s vital signs, the extra digits on her paws that acted as opposable thumbs were visible. They were a reflection of the fact that she was of the same species as Edmund back on Earth.

A speaker went off on her desk. “Are you there, Dr. Quill?” she heard a computer-generated voice ask.

“Yes, I’m here,” she answered.

“Okay,” said the voice. “Captain Brodok is here. He wants an update on the patient he brought in five days ago.”

“Okay,” answered the cat. “Bring him in here.”

“You mean,” said the voice, “you want me to escort – Captain Tansari Brodok – to your office?”

“Is that a problem?” asked Dr. Quill.

“No,” responded the voice after a moment’s pause.

* * *

“I thought this is an ape hospital,” said Captain Brodok. He was well-composed – though not altogether hiding his anger.

“It is,” affirmed Dr. Quill. “That means that it is hominoid patients that we are equipped to provide full treatment for. With regards to the staff, however, the concern is more about how knowledgeable we are about hominoid physiology than whether we ourselves are apes.”

“True,” agreed Brodok, “but just about every physician I have ever met specialized on their own atrotaxon. Someone treating an atrotaxon other than their own – such as an ape treating a cat – or in this case, a cat treating an ape – tends to be a veterinarian. I did not bring my ward over here for veterinary care.”

“What you say is generally true,” conceded Dr. Quill, “but there are exceptions. For example, my people are often heavily involved in monitoring and shielding the cradle-world of Earth. I studied for the purpose of working there, which I did for a short while, until I got a job offer here. I am very competent in the medical care of hominoids – especially ergastrianite humans, such as Cromagnids – and I assure you that I am the only one in the staff of this hospital who has any familiarity with the particular Cromagnid culture on Earth that Mr. Muller comes from.”

“Very well,” acquiesced Brodok, sitting down, his anger now abated. “I must apologize. I am not always this quick to assume the worst in what I see – but the circumstances that brought Mr. Muller into my care predispose me to be overly-suspicious of certain things.”

“What circumstances?” asked Dr. Quill.

“He was found in a Sciurian craft that we were forced to board after it violated our space,” answered Brodok.

“Sciurians?” gasped Dr. Quill. “What would they be doing with an Earth person?”

“You seem especially alarmed,” observed Brodok.

“I am,” confirmed Dr. Quill. “The Sciurians have no business anywhere near the Sol star system. If they’re carrying an Earth person – something is up. Something serious.”

“Like what?” asked Brodok.

“I don’t know,” answered Dr. Quill, “but with the cronies that have been in charge of Sciuria for the past twelve years – it can’t be good.”

“I’m working on arranging a tribunal for the Sciurian crew that was carrying him,” explained Brodok, “but for now, the biggest charge I can bring on them is violations of the Nursery Principle. Do you think I can do better than that?”

“With the way he was banged up?” asked Dr. Quill in surprise.

“That would be hard to do,” answered Brodok. “It’s not exactly legal, or for that matter, ethical, to send squirrels to stand trial on a planet that only gives legal protections to members of a small set of human species - and since Earth is where Mr. Muller was kidnapped from, they can’t exactly be tried on that charge somewhere else.”

“Well,” she answered, “I can’t tell you what to do there. I’m a doctor, not a lawyer. But can’t you get a change in venue or something on the basis of the impossibility of trying the accused on Earth?”

“I haven’t given up on that,” admitted Brodok, “but in this case, that would be difficult – and it’s success isn’t certain. But if I can get to the bottom of the greater conspiracy I might be able to see them booked for something else.”

“I see,” acknowledged Dr. Quill. “Well, I have reviewed what is known about Mr. Muller – including where on Earth he is from. I have a friend who is stationed in the same town. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to contact him about this.”

“If you think something can come of it,” said Brodok, “go ahead.”