"What is it that you've used successfully?" Aari asked.
She shrugged. "Symptomatic stuff. Heat for comfort, cold for swelling, blankets, food when they can take it, liquids always, flam-go for fever, sit them up when they cannot breathe. That sort of thing."
"And it works?"
"More often than anything else. And more often on people my age and the children. The others-well, they were mostly too gone by the time I reached them. The younger euros, too. The Federation health teams and epidemiology people, the hazmat teams, all are gone. It is said that many of them died also, in spite of their precautions. I do not know who would wish such a disaster upon us, but it is better for you if you go." The old woman's voice was cracked and broken, but matter of fact.
"We have special protection," Acorna told her. "We have come from many galaxies away to help, and we will. Can you take us to those who are still alive?"
"Oh yes, I can do that. First we will find my grandson. He is with many other young people, playing a game. I hope they are all still there. Our holas-communicators-no longer work, so I have not been able to reach him. But I know where it is. I will take you there."
They walked to the gymnasium where the woman knew her grandson to be. It was good that they walked, because as they passed each street, doors opened and youngsters came out to join them, sometimes assisting older people, sometimes carrying infants or toddlers.
They were all very frightened, and it seemed to Acorna that the older the children were, the more likely they were to be sick. She and Aari promptly treated everyone showing any symptoms at all and decontaminated the others so that they would not get sick. All of this was done with the aid, they said, of Linyaari medical nanotechnology. The people they treated were so ill, frightened, shocked, or grief-stricken that they probably could have pierced each person with their horn tips and claimed that cured them without causing a stir or having anyone take notice of it.
"We have no data whatever about the possibility of someone being reinfected. once they have been cured of the plague. Nor do we know how well disinfecting will correct their prior exposure," Acorna told Abuelita, which simply meant "grandmother."
The older woman shrugged. "Time will tell."
By the time the three of them reached the building where Abuelita's grandson Jalonzo was supposed to be playing in a gaming tournament, the crowd following behind them had swelled to hundreds of people. Each of these had been touched by either Acorna or Aari but no one had seemed inclined to go home.
Abuelita took a last look at them. "I believe they now look to you to feed them, as well as heal them. These are not, you understand, the vigorous and self-sufficient. All are either too old or too young to care for themselves. Something must be arranged. Have you been in touch with the government? Will they send help? At least someone to carry away the bodies and cleanse the homes so that the people will have shelter?"
"We saw no living person until we met you," Aari told her. "And we lost contact with the communications center before we landed-the officers in charge did not sound well at the time."
Approaching the gymnasium, they saw a delivery flitter moored in front of the building. A black cloud hung between it and the door. As they moved closer, they saw that it consisted of thousands of insects buzzing around the swollen corpse of a man whose shirt proclaimed mucho nacho.
"Aiyee," Abuelita said, shaking her head and almost surreptitiously making the sign of a cross in the air with her fingers. This was the remnant of an ancient religion, as the profile of Paloduro explained in the section on local customs.
Pushing past them, Aari knelt beside the fallen man and discreetly touched his horn to the man's body, dispelling the flies and the odor of death, though not, of course, reviving the corpse.
"You can no longer help him, my son," Abuelita told him.
"So I see," he said. "But we know so little about this disease, I felt I must just make sure. I've cleansed the body of the infection at least, so that our friends there"-he nodded to the masses in the street-"may pass without harm."
"Bueno," she said. She squared her shoulders and stepped around the corpse and up to the door, pulling on the handle. But it did not open.
She rapped sharply on the plasglas and peered inside. "You, chico, open this door!"
Inside, some distance up the hallway, a boy trembled and shook his head.
Abuelita looked as if she would try to kick in the door, but instead she backed away and yelled, frustrated, "Jalonzo Allende, you open this door right now!"
With a deep sigh she turned back to Aari and Acorna, who did not look at her, but stared steadily at the door, reinforcing her command by sending a mental message to the boys inside. Before Abuelita looked to the door again, it was being opened by a very tall, very large, dark-haired boy.
"Abuelita! How did you know? You're just in time. Some of the older kids are really sick."
He saw Aari and Acorna then and stared curiously at the crowd behind them. "Who are they? Neat costumes! I'm sorry, but the tournament is about over so if you've come to play . . ."
"The time for play has ended, Grandson. These people are healers from another world,"
"Take us to your stricken," Aari said.
What kind of people are those?" Jaya demanded angrily. "Because you came to try to help us, they are going to make you stay here, too? That's not fair!"
Khorii was a little relieved that the girl's anger was now aimed at Calla and the Moonbase instead of at her and Elviiz. "I know. It isn't reasonable. They do know we can make the ship safe to land. My mother has done that sort of thing lots of times, and it's her fathers who run the Moonbase."
"There is the quarantine, however," Elviiz said. "There are rules."
"They should be applied sensibly," Khorii said. She sighed. "I think all of these people must be distantly related to Liriilyi. They put rules and caution over good sense and the proof they already have of our skills. This is dangerous and silly, and a waste of time when there are dying people that we could help."
"Yes, it lacks perceptive analyses given the data; however, it is not as silly as suggesting that the teachers are related to Liriilyi. They are human, and she is Linyaari. Our species cannot mate, and therefore cannot be related by blood. She might be an adopted relative, such as those in our family through Mother. But Liriilyi does not care to meet humans when given a chance, so that is also unlikely."
Khorii rolled her eyes. "Yes, Elviiz, and that speech was ample chastisement for my little joke."
"Oh," he said, and lifted the corners of his mouth, then let them drop.
The com unit was switched off now, and she felt isolated and frustrated by the stupidity of others. These were the people who were supposed to be taking care of her and were too frightened to realize that in this situation, she was the one who could take care of everyone. Well, most of them anyway, under all of the circumstances she had seen so far. Why would otherwise intelligent people choose blindly to follow dumb regulations that should be suspended in this case?
But before Khorii could discuss it any further with Elviiz or Jaya or hail the Moonbase again to try to convince Calla she was right, she heard Sesseli calling her from far back in the corridor. "Khorii! Khorii, you have to help poor Khiindi!"
The little girl ran forward and grabbed Khorii's hand, tugging it for a while before running back to Hap, who was cradling a limp and drooling Khiindi in the crook of one arm and holding a cage containing three more cats in his other hand. Sesseli tugged a handful of Haps tunic, as if that would pull him to Khorii faster.
Khiindi was indeed a sorry-looking little beast. For the second time within a few hours, he seemed at death's door. Gently, Khorii scooped him up and buried her face in the soft hot fur of his panting side, burrowing her horn into the nape of his neck. She could almost see-could see-hundreds of small organisms deserting his body. They fled to Hap, who set down the cage of cats to scratch.