Tieran looked dubious. There had been too many times when he’d been afraid that the fire-lizard would take off between never to be seen again. He had spent many sleepless nights worrying about that until the fire-lizard’s fever had broken.
Tieran had woken that morning to a head softly rubbing against his cheek and a plaintive cheep. Small green eyes whirled. As Tieran stared in amazement, his heart beat faster and faster with the hope that this fire-lizard would stay with him. And so the little brown had.
Now Wind Blossom regarded her daughter thoughtfully, considering whether she would take her advice and go back to sleep. Just as she had made up her mind and was ready to lie back down, Emorra’s eyes opened again and she said, “What would happen if the dragons did get infected?”
Wind Blossom gestured for her to continue, noticing that Tieran had awakened and, like Kassa, was listening intently.
“Threadfall’s over; the dragons don’t have to fight,” Emorra said. “If the infection is just in the lungs…”
“Are you suggesting that the shock of between killed the queen fire-lizard?” Wind Blossom asked.
Emorra frowned. “If so, would going between kill infected dragons?”
“So the dragons would be unharmed as long as they could be prevented from going between?”
“If the infection itself isn’t deadly,” Emorra agreed. “And hopefully the dragons would build up an immunity.”
“True, but the immunity would not be expressed in the germ plasm,” Wind Blossom countered.
“Meaning what?” Kassa asked, her brow creased in irritation. She had done her best to try to follow their various discussions for the past sevenday, but it was difficult for someone not trained in medicine.
“She means the next generation of dragons would be just as likely to catch this infection,” Emorra explained. “Assuming, of course, that it ever mutates sufficiently to infect dragons instead of fire-lizards.”
“No,” Wind Blossom said, shaking her head. “There is little doubt that an organism that attacks fire-lizards will also attack dragons and watch-whers.”
“But the dragons are so much bigger!” Kassa objected.
“There is something to that,” Wind Blossom conceded with a nod of her head.
“Do you mean that there would have to be many more of the organisms-”
“Bacteria,” Wind Blossom corrected.
“Why bacteria?” Emorra wondered.
“Because the infection in the fire-lizard was suppressed with an antibiotic,” Wind Blossom replied with a look of exasperation. “If it were viral, the antibiotic would not have worked.”
“Of course,” Emorra said, and grimaced, feeling like an especially dim pupil in front of an acerbic teacher. “I’m tired, Mother. My mind’s not working at its best.”
“Obviously,” Wind Blossom agreed tartly. She looked at Kassa. “Your point about size was a good one. It is quite likely that there would have to be more bacteria on a dragon before the infection manifested itself.”
“And that gives the dragon’s immune system more time to build antibodies,” Emorra pointed out. “So maybe this infection wouldn’t affect dragons or watch-whers.”
“Perhaps,” Wind Blossom allowed. “But would you risk all of Pern on a possibility?”
Kassa worked on the question. The answer left her horrified. “Are you saying that if the dragons got infected, they could all die-and leave Pern defenseless against Thread?”
“We hope it won’t come to that,” Emorra said fervently.
“But that is why we must know more about this fire-lizard and its owner,” Wind Blossom declared.
“Why not look at its harness,” Tieran suggested sleepily. The others all jumped.
“I didn’t meant to disturb you,” Wind Blossom apologized.
“Fine,” Tieran replied grumpily, “then stop talking and let me get back to sleep.” He turned over and then turned back again, looking at Wind Blossom. “I thought I heard you say that the fire-lizard’s illness was bacterial.”
“I did.”
Tieran gave her a surprised look. “I can’t see why you say that. What if the bacteria infection was only opportunistic?”
Wind Blossom’s eyes widened as she considered his question. “That is certainly a possibility,” she admitted.
“You were the one who told me to know what you’re talking about before you open your mouth,” he observed grumpily, rolling back in his bed again.
Kassa regarded Wind Blossom with wide eyes, waiting for the older woman to flay the young man with her tongue. She was disappointed. Wind Blossom raised an eyebrow at Tieran, shrugged, and lay back down in her cot.
Emorra and Kassa exchanged amazed looks and then Emorra, too, closed her eyes.
Presently, it was quiet once more in the tent. In her memory, the whole conversation began to assume an unreal air as Kassa waited for dawn to properly wake them all.
“Food’s here!”
Moira’s shout woke them several hours later. Tieran and the fire-lizard were the first out of the tent.
“How are you today, Tieran?” Moira asked.
She had volunteered to bring their food every day since the quarantine had started, rain or shine-and it was mostly rain. Tieran was very grateful for her dedication.
“What’s the news?” he asked, carefully taking the basket of food from where Moira had left it and carrying it toward the tent.
“The weather is supposed to break in three days,” Moira said. “Maybe if Wind Blossom says-”
“If the fire-lizard is still well, that would be a good time,” Wind Blossom said, slipping out of the tent. “Please tell Janir.”
“I will,” Moira replied with a bob of her head. “Janir sends his apologies and says that he’ll be along later in the day.”
“Janir is always busy,” Wind Blossom said. Tieran gave her a look, not quite certain how to take her statement. “Please tell him he must make a stockpile of nitric acid-”
Moira looked confused.
“My mother means HNO3 ,” Emorra said, stepping out of the tent to stand beside Wind Blossom. She looked at her mother. “Why should he do that?”
“Precaution,” Wind Blossom said. She looked back to Moira. “Tell him to get at least thirty barrels.”
“Thirty barrels,” Moira repeated with a nod.
“Quickly,” Wind Blossom added.
“Very well, I’ll tell him,” Moira answered. She turned to leave. “I must get back to the College, to start the next meal.”
“Someone wake Kassa,” Emorra said, “or Tieran will eat her breakfast, too.”
Janir came by that afternoon, stopping a good ten paces upwind of the tent. Tieran was on watch and called to the others.
It was raining, a cold, steady drizzle. Emorra carried an umbrella to cover their group; Janir protected himself with an umbrella of his own.
“Moira said that you wanted thirty barrels of nitric acid, is that right?” Janir began.
“Yes,” Wind Blossom answered simply.
“Why?” Janir asked. “I thought burning the tent and its contents would sterilize the area enough.”
“Not for the tent, for emergencies,” Wind Blossom corrected.
“For other fire-lizards,” Emorra said.
“Or dragons,” Wind Blossom added. “Have we heard any news?”
“About other fire-lizards getting sick?” Janir asked. At Wind Blossom’s nod he replied, “No.”
“It’s hard to believe that this infection is an isolated incident,” Wind Blossom said.
“Maybe we were lucky,” Emorra suggested.
“How much luck can we have?” Wind Blossom asked. “Do you want to bet on luck when one of the fire-lizards is dead and all our antibiotics are gone?”