Linus parked beside the other rover and made his way down the crater wall with Noah close behind him. Another suited figure was kneeling on the ground behind a fair-sized boulder. Linus skirted the rock and came to a halt. He was in a permanent section of shadow created by the boulder and the wall of the crater. An indicator in the lower right section of his helmet display told him the outside temperature had just plunged from 247°C to -213°C, a difference of four hundred sixty degrees. The interior of his suit felt slightly cooler, though he couldn't tell if it really was, or if it just seemed that way.
In front of the kneeling figure lay the body. It looked like a collection of freeze-dried jerky topped by a mummified head. The skin was mottled and dark, the hair brittle and broken. Its clothes looked too big for it. Linus noticed automatically that one foot was clad in a black sock. The other foot was encased in an ordinary-looking brown loafer. Exposed skin and flesh had shrunk away from the fingernails, turning them into blackened claws.
The figure kneeling near the body was running the wand to a holographic scanner over the corpse. The figure paused when Linus approached, then went back to work.
"This is a bad neighborhood, Karen," Linus said. "You never know what kind of reprobate will find you out here."
"Hoy, Linus," Karen said without turning around. Her voice came crisp and clear over the corn-link. "Are you going to wrap this up for me nice and easy? I'm a doctor, not a medical examiner."
Linus blinked. "What? Yes, you are."
"That was a joke, son. You missed it."
"Oh. Right." He changed the subject. "Karen, this is Noah Skyler, just arrived from Earth. Noah, this is Karen Fang. She's Luna City's doctor. And medical examiner."
Karen clipped the wand to her belt and rose. Noah waved. "Dr. Fang?" he said.
"Actually, my name should be pronounced fong," she said dryly. "But that's not near as much fun, is it?"
"Uh..."
"Don't let her fool you," Linus said. "She loves being Dr. Fang, and you get brownie points for telling her a new vampire joke."
"Why do vampires drink blood?" Karen said promptly. Her voice was low and rich, and had a strange accent— Australian mixed with a pinch of something Asian.
"I don't know," Noah said, and Linus thought he detected a hint of Groucho Marx. "Why do vampires drink blood?"
"Because coffee keeps them awake all day."
There was a pause. "You don't have to laugh when they're not funny," Linus said.
"That's a relief," Noah said.
"Hey!"
"So anyway, Kid," Linus said, gesturing at the crime scene. "Tell me what you see."
Noah's helmet bent as he scanned the ground. Linus waited patiently. It was a test, of course. Noah knew it was a test, and Linus knew Noah knew it was a test. And the kid took his time.
"Probably a white male, but hard to tell," Noah finally said. "About one and three-quarters of a meter tall, weight uncertain, since the body fluids have all boiled away. The victim's clothes are those of someone of a proportional weight to his height, however. Average-quality red shirt and brown trousers. One shoe missing, probably a brown loafer to match the one currently worn by the victim. "
He knelt near the corpse as Karen had done, removed a flashlight from his kit, and shined it over the body. "Bruising and lividity are impossible to check under these conditions. Time and cause of death aren't immediately obvious. It could be the result of exposure to ... to vacuum, but the victim could have b een already dead upon such exposure. I see two post-mortem puncture wounds, one to the upper left shoulder, the other to the upper left thigh."
Pretty good. Linus felt a little finger of relief. No matter how good someone looks in their application, you never knew if they were really any good until they hit the field. Still, it wouldn't be a good idea to let the kid think he had everything completely nailed.
"How do you know the punctures are post-mortem?" Linus asked,
In front of the kneeling figure lay the body. It looked like a collection of freeze-dried jerky topped by a mummified head. The skin was mottled and dark, the hair brittle and broken. Its clothes looked too big for it. Linus noticed automatically that one foot was clad in a black sock. The other foot was encased in an ordinary-looking brown loafer. Exposed skin and flesh had shrunk away from the fingernails, turning them into blackened claws.
The figure kneeling near the body was running the wand to a holographic scanner over the corpse. The figure paused when Linus approached, then went back to work.
"This is a bad neighborhood, Karen," Linus said. "You never know what kind of reprobate will find you out here."
"Hoy, Linus," Karen said without turning around. Her voice came crisp and clear over the corn-link. "Are you going to wrap this up for me nice and easy? I'm a doctor, not a medical examiner."
Linus blinked. "What? Yes, you are."
"That was a joke, son. You missed it."
"Oh. Right." He changed the subject. "Karen, this is Noah Skyler, just arrived from Earth. Noah, this is Karen Fang. She's Luna City's doctor. And medical examiner."
Karen clipped the wand to her belt and rose. Noah waved. "Dr. Fang?" he said.
"Actually, my name should be pronounced fong," she said dryly. "But that's not near as much fun, is it?"
"Uh..."
"Don't let her fool you," Linus said. "She loves being Dr. Fang, and you get brownie points for telling her a new vampire joke."
"Why do vampires drink blood?" Karen said promptly. Her voice was low and rich, and had a strange accent— Australian mixed with a pinch of something Asian.
"I don't know," Noah said, and Linus thought he detected a hint of Groucho Marx. "Why do vampires drink blood?"
"Because coffee keeps them awake all day."
There was a pause. "You don't have to laugh when they're not funny," Linus said.
"That's a relief," Noah said.
"Hey!"
"So anyway, Kid," Linus said, gesturing at the crime scene. "Tell me what you see."
Noah's helmet bent as he scanned the ground. Linus waited patiently. It was a test, of course. Noah knew it was a test, and Linus knew Noah knew it was a test. And the kid took his time.
"Probably a white male, but hard to tell," Noah finally said. "About one and three-quarters of a meter tall, weight uncertain, since the body fluids have all boiled away. The victim's clothes are those of someone of a proportional weight to his height, however. Average-quality red shirt and brown trousers. One shoe missing, probably a brown loafer to match the one currently worn by the victim. "
He knelt near the corpse as Karen had done, removed a flashlight from his kit, and shined it over the body. "Bruising and lividity are impossible to check under these conditions. Time and cause of death aren't immediately obvious. It could be the result of exposure to ... to vacuum, but the victim could have b een already dead upon such exposure. I see two post-mortem puncture wounds, one to the upper left shoulder, the other to the upper left thigh."
Pretty good. Linus felt a little finger of relief. No matter how good someone looks in their application, you never knew if they were really any good until they hit the field. Still, it wouldn't be a good idea to let the kid think he had everything completely nailed.
"How do you know the punctures are post-mortem?" Linus asked,
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