"Rafe, hold up a minute," and the straggling line came to a halt. He took Heather's slim fingers gingerly between his own, carefully examining the erupting green-ish dots; behind him Camilla cried out:
"Judy! Oh, God' look at her face!"
Ewen swung around to Dr. Lovat. Her cheeks and eye-lids were covered with the greenish dots,which seemed to spread and enlarge and swell as he looked at them. She squeezed her eyes shut. Camilla caught her hands gently as she raised them to her face.
"Don't touch your face, Judy--Dr. Ross, what is it?"
"How the hell do I know?" Ewen looked around as the others gathered around them.
"Anybody else turning green?" He added, "All right, then. This is what I'm here for, and everybody else keep your distance until we know just what we've got. Heather!" He shook her shoulder sharply. "Stop that! You're not going to drop dead, as far as I can tell your vital signs are all just fine:,
With an effort, the girl controlled herself. "Sorry."
"Now. Exactly what do you feel? Do those spots hurt?"
"No, dammit, they itch!" She was flushed, her face red, her copper hair falling loose around her shoulders; she raised a hand to brush it back, and Ewen caught her wrist, careful to touch only her uniform sleeve. "No, don't touch your face," he said, "that's what Dr. Lovat did. Dr. Lovat, how do you feel?"
26
"Not so good," she said with some effort, "My face bums, and my eyes--well, you can see."
"Indeed I can." Ewen realized that the lids were swell-ing and turning greenish; she looked grotesque
Secretly Ewen wondered if he looked as frightened as he felt. Like everyone there, he had beenbrought up on stories of exotic plagues to be found on strange worlds. But he was a doctor and this washis job. He said, mak-ing his voice as firm as he could' "All right' everyone else stand back; but don'tpanic, if it was an airborne plague we'd all have caught it, and probably the night we landed here. Dr. Lovat, any other symptoms?"
Judy said, trying to smile, "None--except I'm scared."
Ewen said, "We won't count that--yet." Pulling rubber gloves from a steri-pac in his kit, he quickly
took her pulse. "No tachycardia, no depressed breathing. You, Heather?"
"I'm fine, except for the damned itching."
Page 18
Ewen examined the small rash minutely. It was pinpoint at first, but each papule quickly swelled to a
vesicle. He said, "Well, let's start eliminating, What did you and Dr. Lovat do that nobody else did?"
"I took soil samples," she said, "looking for soil bac-teria and diatoms."
"I was studying some leaves," Judy said' "trying to see if they had a suitable chlorophyll content."
Marco Zabal turned back his uniform cuffs. "I'll play Sherlock Holmes," he said. "There's youranswer." He extended his wrists, showing one or two tiny green dots. "Miss Stuart, did you have to moveaway any leaves to dig up your samples?"
"Why, yes, some flat reddish ones," she said, and he nodded. "There's your answer. Like any good xenobotanist, I handle any plant with gloves until I'm sure what's in it or on it, and I noticed the volatile oil at the time, but took it for granted. Probably some distant relative of urushiol-- rhus toxicodendron-- poison ivy to you. And it's my guess that if it comes out this quickly, it's simple contact dermatitis and there aren't any serious side ef-fects." He grinned, his long narrow face amused. "Try an antihistamine ointment, if you have any, or give Dr. Lovat a shot, since her eyes are swollen so much it's going to be hard for her to see where she's going. And
27
from now on don't go admiring any pretty leaves until I pass on them., all right?"
Ewen followed his instructions, with a relief so great it was almost pain. He felt totally unable to copewith any alien plagues. A massive hypo of antihistamines quickly shrunk Judith Lovat's swollen eyes tonormal, although the green color remained. The tall Basque showed them all his specimen leaf, encased ina transparent
"Judy! Oh, God' look at her face!"
Ewen swung around to Dr. Lovat. Her cheeks and eye-lids were covered with the greenish dots,which seemed to spread and enlarge and swell as he looked at them. She squeezed her eyes shut. Camilla caught her hands gently as she raised them to her face.
"Don't touch your face, Judy--Dr. Ross, what is it?"
"How the hell do I know?" Ewen looked around as the others gathered around them.
"Anybody else turning green?" He added, "All right, then. This is what I'm here for, and everybody else keep your distance until we know just what we've got. Heather!" He shook her shoulder sharply. "Stop that! You're not going to drop dead, as far as I can tell your vital signs are all just fine:,
With an effort, the girl controlled herself. "Sorry."
"Now. Exactly what do you feel? Do those spots hurt?"
"No, dammit, they itch!" She was flushed, her face red, her copper hair falling loose around her shoulders; she raised a hand to brush it back, and Ewen caught her wrist, careful to touch only her uniform sleeve. "No, don't touch your face," he said, "that's what Dr. Lovat did. Dr. Lovat, how do you feel?"
26
"Not so good," she said with some effort, "My face bums, and my eyes--well, you can see."
"Indeed I can." Ewen realized that the lids were swell-ing and turning greenish; she looked grotesque
Secretly Ewen wondered if he looked as frightened as he felt. Like everyone there, he had beenbrought up on stories of exotic plagues to be found on strange worlds. But he was a doctor and this washis job. He said, mak-ing his voice as firm as he could' "All right' everyone else stand back; but don'tpanic, if it was an airborne plague we'd all have caught it, and probably the night we landed here. Dr. Lovat, any other symptoms?"
Judy said, trying to smile, "None--except I'm scared."
Ewen said, "We won't count that--yet." Pulling rubber gloves from a steri-pac in his kit, he quickly
took her pulse. "No tachycardia, no depressed breathing. You, Heather?"
"I'm fine, except for the damned itching."
Page 18
Ewen examined the small rash minutely. It was pinpoint at first, but each papule quickly swelled to a
vesicle. He said, "Well, let's start eliminating, What did you and Dr. Lovat do that nobody else did?"
"I took soil samples," she said, "looking for soil bac-teria and diatoms."
"I was studying some leaves," Judy said' "trying to see if they had a suitable chlorophyll content."
Marco Zabal turned back his uniform cuffs. "I'll play Sherlock Holmes," he said. "There's youranswer." He extended his wrists, showing one or two tiny green dots. "Miss Stuart, did you have to moveaway any leaves to dig up your samples?"
"Why, yes, some flat reddish ones," she said, and he nodded. "There's your answer. Like any good xenobotanist, I handle any plant with gloves until I'm sure what's in it or on it, and I noticed the volatile oil at the time, but took it for granted. Probably some distant relative of urushiol-- rhus toxicodendron-- poison ivy to you. And it's my guess that if it comes out this quickly, it's simple contact dermatitis and there aren't any serious side ef-fects." He grinned, his long narrow face amused. "Try an antihistamine ointment, if you have any, or give Dr. Lovat a shot, since her eyes are swollen so much it's going to be hard for her to see where she's going. And
27
from now on don't go admiring any pretty leaves until I pass on them., all right?"
Ewen followed his instructions, with a relief so great it was almost pain. He felt totally unable to copewith any alien plagues. A massive hypo of antihistamines quickly shrunk Judith Lovat's swollen eyes tonormal, although the green color remained. The tall Basque showed them all his specimen leaf, encased ina transparent
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