Life on other planets -- Fiction; Quarantine -- Fiction; Science fiction; Space medicine -- Fiction
"Very neat," observed Calhoun. "Weald Three is our port, Murgatroyd.
The plane of the ecliptic would be ... Hm...."
He swung the outside electron telescope, picked up a nearby bright
object, enlarged its image to show details, and checked it against the
local star-pilot. He calculated a moment. The distance was too short
for even the briefest of overdrive hops, but it would take time to get
there on solar-system drive.
He thumbed down the communicator button and spoke into a microphone.
"Med Ship _Aesclipus Twenty_ reporting arrival and asking coordinates
for landing," he said matter-of-factly. "Purpose of landing is
planetary health inspection. Our mass is fifty tons, standard. We
should arrive at a landing position in something under four hours.
Repeat. Med Ship _Aesclipus Twenty_...."
He finished the regular second transmission and made coffee for
himself while he waited for an answer. Murgatroyd came out for a cup
of coffee for himself. Murgatroyd adored coffee. In minutes he held a
tiny cup in a furry small paw and sipped gingerly at the hot liquid.
A voice came out of the communicator:
"_Aesclipus Twenty_, repeat your identification."
Calhoun went to the control board.
"_Aesclipus Twenty_," he said patiently, "is a Med Ship, sent by the
Interstellar Medical Service to make a planetary health inspection on
Weald. Check with your public health authorities. This is the first
Med Ship visit in twelve standard years, I believe--which is
inexcusable. But your health authorities will know all about it. Check
with them."
The voice said truculently:
"What was your last port?"
Calhoun named it. This was not his home sector, but Sector Twelve had
gotten into a very bad situation. Some of its planets had gone
unvisited for as long as twenty years, and twelve between inspections
was almost commonplace. Other sectors had been called on to help it
catch up.
Calhoun was one of the loaned Med Ship men, and because of the
emergency he'd been given a list of half a dozen planets to be
inspected one after another, instead of reporting back to sector
headquarters after each visit. He'd had minor troubles before with
landing-grid operators in Sector Twelve.
So he was very patient. He named the planet last inspected, the one
from which he'd set out for Weald Three. The voice from the
communicator said sharply:
"What port before that?"
Calhoun named the one before the last.
"Don't drive any closer," said the voice harshly, "or you'll be
destroyed!"
Calhoun said coldly, "Listen, my fine feathered friend! I'm from the
Interstellar Medical Service. You get in touch with planetary health
services immediately! Remind them of the Interstellar Medical
Inspection Agreement, signed on Tralee two hundred and forty standard
years ago. Remind them that if they do not cooperate in medical
inspection that I can put your planet under quarantine and your space
commerce will be cut off like that!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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