“Could I show Cleiti the tapes, Varian?”
“By all means. Just don't erase 'em by mistake!”
“Varian! I've been handling tapes for weeks with no blanking.”
Kai could sense that Varian wanted Bonnard out of earshot. He was also aware that somehow or other the two women had exchanged some tacit information and were impatient to talk uninhibitedly. Kai had a few questions to put to Varian, too, about Bakkun, Paskutti and trapped herbivores.
“My teams get off all right?” Kai asked Lunzie to cover the conspicuous silence as Bonnard made his way across the compound. He paused to pat Dandy.
“Yes, all except Bakkun, who went off with the heavy-worlders on some jaunt of their own.” Lunzie gestured towards the shuttle and they moved that way. “Remember asking me about the stores, Kai?” she said in a low voice. “Someone raided our hold of a selection of basic medical supplies. Also, the synthesizer has been used enough to drain a power pack. Now the synthesizer may be heavy on power but I hadn't used it that much on the new pack. So I had Portegin check it out this morning before he went off, and there's no malfunction. Someone's been using it. What was synthesized I couldn't say.”
“Where did the heavy-worlders go, Lunzie?” Varian asked.
I don't know. I was in the stores by then, when I heard sled and belts going. Then Portegin came, told me the heavy-worlders had taken off . . ." Lunzie paused, frowning in concentration "That's odd. I was in the store hold, and they didn't come to me for any rations."
“No!” Varian's low exclamation startled the doctor and Kai.
“What's wrong, Varian?”
She had turned very pale, looked suddenly quite sick and leaned against the bulkhead.
“No, I must be wrong.”
“Wrong?” Lunzie prompted her.
“I must be. There'd be no reason for them to revert. Would there, Lunzie?”
“Revert?” Lunzie stared intently at Varian who was still leaning weakly against the bulkhead. “You can't think . . .”
“Why else would Paskutti be interested in flank-wounded, herbivores that I didn't know anything about? I never thought Bakkun was callous. But, to say such a thing in front of a boy . . .”
Lunzie gave a snort. “The heavy-worlders don't have a high opinion of adult light gravs, less of the ship-bred, and children on their worlds never speak until they've killed . . .”
“What are you two talking about?” asked Kai.
“I'm afraid I agree with Varian's hypothesis.”
“Which is?” Kai spoke testily.
“That the heavy-worlders have taken to eating animal protein.” Lunzie's calm detached tone did not lessen the impact of such a revolting statement.
Kai thought he would be ill, the sudden nausea was so acute.
“They've . . .” He couldn't repeat the sentence and waived one hand in lieu of the words. “They're Federation members. They're civilized . . .”
"They do conform when in Federation company,' said Varian in a low colourless voice, indicating how deeply shocked she was. "But I've worked with them in expeditions before and they will . . . if they can. I just didn't think . . . I didn't want to think they'd do it here."
"They have been discreet," said Lunzie. "Not that I'm defending them. If it hadn't been for Bonnard's chance remark . . . No," and Lunzie frowned at the floor plates, I've been skirting the edges of a theory ever since that night . . ."
“The night you served them the fruit distillation.” Varian rounded on Lunzie, pointing at her. “They weren't drunk! They were high. And you know why?” Neither had time to answer her hypothetical question. “Because of the violence . . .”
"Yes, violence and alcohol would act as stimuli on the heavy-worlders," said Lunzie, nodding her head judiciously." They have a naturally slow metabolism," she told Kai. "And a low sex drive which makes them an admirable mutation for EEC expeditions. Given the proper stimulants and. . ." Lunzie shrugged.
“That's my fault. I shouldn't have let them drink that night. I knew. You see,” Varian rushed on in a spate of confession, “that was the day a fang-face savagely attacked a herbivore. I noticed Paskutti and Tardma reacting strongly although I thought at the time I was imagining things . . .”
“That was the violence needed and I compounded the problem by offering the fruit distillation.” Lunzie was willing to share the responsibility. “They must have made quite a night of it.”
"And we thought they'd gone to bed early! "Varian clapped her palm on her forehead, admitting stupidity. "With too potent a brew . . ." She started to laugh and then, drew in her breath sharply, "Oh, no!"
“Now what?” demanded Kai sharply.
“They went back.”
“Went back?” Kai was confused.
“Remember my asking you about the big sled's flight time?” Varian asked Kai.
“They went back and slaughtered that herbivore for its flesh?” Lunzie asked Varian.
“I wish you didn't need to be so revoltingly vulgar,” said Kai, angry at the doctor as well as himself and his churning stomach.
“Yes,” Lunzie continued, ignoring Kai, “they would definitely need additional animal protein . . .”
“Lunzie!” Now Varian tried to stop her but the physician continued in her detached clinical way.
“I do believe they eat, and enjoy, animal protein. On their own planet, they have to eat it, little vegetable matter grows on high grav worlds that is digestible by human stock. Generally they will conform to the universal standards of vegetable and synthetic proteins. I have given them subsistence foods high in . . .” Lunzie stopped. “Could that be why the synthesizer was overworked?”
“Protein?” asked Kai, desperately hoping that members of his expedition had not abrogated all the tenets of acceptable dietary controls.
“No, the other daily requirements they couldn't get from a purely animal diet. One thing that isn't missing from our stores is our sort of protein.”
Varian, looking green, held up a hand to divert Lunzie.
“Didn't think you were the squeamish type, Varian,” Lunzie said. “Still, your sensitivity does credit to your upbringing. The temptation to eat animal flesh is still strong in the planet-bred . . .”
“Kai, what are we going to do?” asked Varian.
“Frankly,” said Lunzie, “though you didn't ask me, I'd say there was nothing you can do. They have been discreet about their vile preference. However,” and her tone altered, “this only supports my contention that you can never successfully condition away a basic urge. It requires generations in a new environment to be positive of your results. Oh!” Lunzie had begun in her usual confident, pedantic tone. Her exclamation was startled. “I say, Kai, Varian,” she looked from one to the other at her most solemn, “EV is returning for us, isn't it?”
“We have every reason to believe so,” said Kai firmly.
“Why do you ask, Lunzie?” Again Varian seemed to hear something in the woman's question that Kai had missed.
“Gaber doesn't believe so.”
“As I told Dimenon,” said Kai, feeling the need to show unconcerned authority, “we are out of contact but if the Theks aren't worried, neither am I.”
“The Theks never worry,” said Lunzie. “Worry is for people pressed by time. How long have we been out of contact, Kai?”
He hesitated only long enough to catch Varian's eye and her approval. Lunzie was a good ally.
“Since the first reports were stripped from the satellite.”
“That long?”
“We surmise, and the Theks confirm it, that the cosmic storm EV was going to investigate after leaving us, has caused interference and EV can't reach the satellite.”
Lunzie nodded, stroking the back of her neck as if her muscles were taut.