Instead, they had elected to take over the minds of the Patagonia Station steers. Lynne would have given several years of her life to know why and how the selection had been made. According to Martin Juarez and Joanna, there had been no abnormal behavior on the part of other species of food-on-the-hoof bred and raised at the two stations. Sheep, fowl and pigs had been left entirely alone, either through choice, or because they were invulnerable to zombie possession. The zombies, whose visible record had been left for human study on hundreds of magnificent murals in the ruins that had survived for untold ages, owing to the airless and moistureless Martian climate, had been one of the two dominant species on the Red Planet. Somehow--probably through their ability to survive in electronic rather than physical form--they had survived the long desolation of their home world, where all animate life with the exception of the mindless czanworms and the imbecilic sand-lurtonks had succumbed. They were weird and utterly repulsive creatures--with complex multiple bodies, undefined appendages and much-too-well-defined reproductive organs. Their concept of proper mating behavior was utterly beyond the pale from a human point of view. They were revolting--and Lynne well knew that much of the horror they inspired in human minds was caused by the fact that they managed to make their ghastly idea of fun and games even momentarily alluring. Lynne shuddered, remembering her previous combats with them, before their positively-charged entities had succumbed to the telepathically directed bursts of negative anion-gun barrages. Then she said, “The first thing I’d like to do is examine every record you have of abnormal behavior among the cattle.” “Joanna will give you the tapes, Mrs. Marcein,” said Martin Juarez. He paused, then added, “I’m sorry to be causing you such trouble at this time.” “Forget it,” said Lynne, lighting a cigarette. “I’ll manage. Even if the worst should happen, I can always try again. You may not have the chance if we don’t lick this thing right now.” She knew that Juarez knew he should have reported the trouble sooner--at least to Mars Agriculture Chief Radchev. But Mars was still a pioneer planet, and a responsible project boss like Juarez was very much on his own. Naturally, he had not wished to report a failure until he could be sure it was real and that there was no possibility of mastering it with the means at his command. Lynne liked him, sensed his very real abilities, and had no wish to chide him.