by H. L. Gold
here--"
"Now, now," said Dr. Lowell soothingly. He'd come in unnoticed by eitherof the men. "Dr. Hoyt is right, of course. We _would_ like to make oldpeople young and some day we'll be able to afford it. But not for sometime to come."
"Why not?" Dr. Hoyt demanded in a lower tone, visibly flattered by Dr.Lowell's seemingly taking his side.
"Rephysical can't actually make anyone young. It can only give theoutward appearance of youth and replace obviously diseased parts. But anold body is an old organism; it has to break down eventually. If we giveit more vigor than it can endure, it breaks down too soon, much soonerthan if we let it age normally. That represents economic loss as well asa humanitarian one."
"I don't follow you," Dr. Hoyt said bewilderedly.
"Well, our patient used to be a machinist. A good one. Now he's onlyable to be an oiler. A good one, too, when you improve his eyesight. Hecan go on doing that for years, performing a useful function. But he'dwear himself out in no time as a machinist again if you de-aged him."
"Is that supposed to make sense?"
"It does," said Dr. Lowell, "for Deneb."
Dr. Hoyt wanted to continue the discussion, but Dr. Lowell was alreadyon his way to inspect another part of the hospital. Grumbling, the youngman helped chart the optical nerves that had to be replaced and measurethe new curve of the retinas ordered by Social Control.
But he fought just as strenuously over other cases, especially a retiredfreight-jet pilot who had to have his reflexes slowed down so he couldbecome a contented meteorologist. Whenever there was a loud disagreementof this sort, Dr. Lowell was there to mediate calmly.
* * * * *
At the end of the day, Dr. Kalmar was emotionally exhausted. He said ashe and Dr. Lowell were washing up, "The kid's hopeless. I thought youcould straighten him out--God knows I couldn't--but he'll never see whywe have to work the way we do."
"What do you suggest?" Dr. Lowell asked through a towel.
"Send him back to Earth. Get an intern who's more malleable."
Dr. Lowell tossed the towel into the sterilizer. "Can't be done. We'reexpanding so fast all over the Galaxy that Earth can't train and shipout enough doctors for the new colonies. If we sent him back, I don'tknow when we'd get another."
Dr. Kalmar swallowed. "You mean it's him or nobody?"
"Afraid so."
"But he'll never fit in on Deneb!"
"You did," Dr. Lowell said.
Dr. Kalmar tried to smile modestly. "I realized immediately how little Iknew and how much more experience you had. I was willing to learn. Why,I used to listen to you and watch you work and try to see your reasonsfor doing things--"
"You think so?" asked Dr. Lowell.
Dr. Kalmar glanced at him in astonishment. "You know I did. I still do,for that matter."
"When you landed on Deneb," said Dr. Lowell, "you were the moststubborn, opinionated young ass I'd ever met."
Dr. Kalmar's smile became an appreciative grin. "Damn, I wish I had thatlight touch of yours!"
"You were so dogmatic and argumentative that Dr. Hoyt is a suggestibleschoolboy in comparison."
"Well, you don't have to go that far," Dr. Kalmar said. "I get whatyou're driving at--every intern needs orientation and I should be morepatient and understanding."
"Then you don't follow me at all," stated Dr. Lowell. "Invite Dr. Hoyt,Miss Dupont and me to your house for dinner tonight and maybe you'll geta better idea of what I mean."
"Anything for a free meal, eh?"
"And to keep a doctor here on Deneb that we'd lose otherwise."
"Implying that I can't do it."
"Isn't that the decision you'd come to?"
"Yes, I guess it is," Dr. Kalmar confessed. "All right, how about dinnerat my house tonight? I'll round up the other two and call Harriet soshe'll expect us."
"Delighted to come," said Dr. Lowell. "Nice of you to ask me."
Miss Dupont was elated at the invitation and Dr. Hoyt said he hadnothing else to do anyway. On the videophone Mrs. Kalmar was dismayedfor a moment, until Dr. Lowell told her to put through an emergencyorder to Central Commissary and he'd verify it.
That was when Dr. Kalmar realized how serious the old man was. On a rawplanet where crises were everyday routine, a situation had to becatastrophic before it could be called an emergency.
* * * * *
Dinner on Deneb was the same as anywhere else in the Galaxy. To freewomen for other work, food was delivered weekly in cooked form. Aspecial messenger from Central Commissary had brought the emergencyrations and Mrs. Kalmar had simply punctured the self-heat cartridgesand put the servings in front of each guest; the containers weredisposable plates and came with single-use plastic utensils. No garbage,no preparation, no cleaning up afterward, except to toss them all intothe converter furnace. Dr. Hoyt was still not accustomed to wholly grownfoods; he'd been raised on synthetics, of course, which were the stapleson Earth.
"Well, that was good," said Dr. Lowell, getting up from the table withhis round little belly comfortably expanded. "Now, let's have a fewdrinks before we start a professional bull session. Where do you keepyour liquor? I'd like to mix my special so Dr. Hoyt can see we colonialsare not so provincial."
"Good Lord, I haven't had your special for years!" exclaimed Dr. Kalmar."Since about the time I came to Deneb, in fact."
"That's why it's a special. Reserved for state occasions, such asarrivals of colleagues from our dear old home planet."
"Oh, you don't have to go to all that bother," said Dr. Hoyt. "You'dhave to make it twice--once now and once when I leave."
"That won't be for quite a while, will it?" Miss Dupont asked anxiously.
"As soon as I finish my internship. No more alien worlds for me. I likeEarth."
Mrs. Kalmar got him to talk about it, which was much easier than gettinghim to stop, while Dr. Kalmar showed the old man where the liquor stockand fixings were kept. Watching him mix the ingredients with a chemist'scare, Dr. Kalmar felt a glow of nostalgia. He recalled the celebrationat Dr. Lowell's house, several months after he had come from Earth, whenhe'd enjoyed himself so much that he'd passed out. It was one of thepleasanter memories of his start on Deneb.
"Can't mix them all in a single batch," Dr. Lowell explained, bringingthe drinks over one at a time as he finished preparing them. "Mrs.Kalmar ... Miss Dupont ... our gracious host, Dr. Kalmar ... and now Dr.Hoyt and myself." He lifted his glass at Dr. Hoyt. "Welcome to ourlatest associate--product, like ourselves, of the great medical schoolsof Earth. It's a forlorn hope, but may he learn as much from us aboutour peculiar methods as we learn from him about the latest terrestrialadvances."
Dr. Hoyt, smiling as if he didn't think it possible, stood up whenthey'd downed their toast to him. "To Earth," he said. "May I get backin record time." He gulped it, said, "Delicious--for a colonial drink,"and froze with his smile as fixed as if it had been painted on.
"Leo!" Miss Dupont cried, and shook him, but he stayed frozen.
"The man's allergic to alcohol!" said Dr. Kalmar, astonished.
"Do something!" Mrs. Kalmar begged. "Don't let him stand there likethat! He--he looks like a petrified man!"
"Don't get panicky," said Dr. Lowell in a quiet, confident voice."That's when you passed out, Dr. Kalmar. Right after your first taste ofmy special."
"But _we_ haven't," Dr. Kalmar objected.
"Naturally. Your drinks weren't drugged."
"Drugged?" shrieked Miss Dupont. "You doped him?"
"That's rather obvious, isn't it?"
"But--what for?" Dr. Kalmar stammered.
"Same reason I slipped you a mickey not long after you got here. Wecan't take any chances that he'll ship back to Earth. You see?"
"I don't," raged Miss Dupont. "I think it's a cheap, dirty, foul trickand it won't work, either. You can't _keep_ him drugged."
"I don't like you talking to Dr. Lowell like that," said Dr. Kalmarindignantly.
"You should be the last one to object," Mrs. Kalmar pointed out. "Hesaid he drugged you, too."
"I know," Dr. Kalmar said blankly. "I don't understand--"
"You will," promised Dr. Lowell. "Just come along and don't interfere.Better give him the order; it'll keep