‘And what would he say,’ said Insigna bitterly, ‘if Marlene were exposed - and destroyed - and the Plague remained untouched? What would he say if my daughter's life were uselessly reduced to vacuity? And what would Dr D'Aubisson say?’

‘The doctor would feel unhappy. I'm sure of that.’

‘Because she wouldn't gain the credit for the cure?’

‘Of course, but she would also feel unhappy about Marlene - and, I dare say, guilty. She's not a monster. As for Pitt-’

‘He is a monster.’

‘I wouldn't even say that, but he has tunnel vision. He sees only his plan for the future of Rotor. If anything goes wrong, from our standpoint, he will undoubtedly tell himself that Marlene would, in any case, have interfered with his plans, and he will consider all to have happened for the good of Rotor. It will not hang heavily on his conscience.’

Insigna shook her head slightly. ‘I wish we were making a mistake, that Pitt and D'Aubisson were not guilty of such things.’

‘I, too, wish that, but I am willing to trust Marlene and her body language insights. She said that Ranay was happy at the possibility that she would have a chance to study the Plague. I accept Marlene's judgement in this.’

‘D'Aubisson said she was happy for professional reasons,’ Insigna said. ‘Actually, I can believe that, in a way. After all, I'm a scientist, too.’

‘Of course you are,’ said Genarr, his homely face crinkling into a smile. ‘You were willing to leave the Solar System and go on an untried trip across the light-years to gain astronomical knowledge, even though you knew it might mean the death of every person on Rotor.’

‘A very small chance, it seemed to me.’

‘Small enough to risk your one-year-old child. You might have left her with your stay-at-home husband and made sure of her safety, even though it would have meant you would never see her again. Instead, you risked her life, not even for the greater good of Rotor, but for the greater good of yourself.’

Insigna said, ‘Stop it, Siever. That's so cruel.’

‘I'm just trying to show you that almost everything can be looked at from two opposing sets of views, given sufficient ingenuity. Yes, D'Aubisson calls it professional pleasure at being able to study the disease, but Marlene said the doctor was being malevolent, and again I trust Marlene's choice of words.’

‘Then I suppose,’ said Insigna, the corners of her mouth curving downward, ‘that she is anxious to have Marlene go out on Erythro again.’

‘I suspect she does, but she is cautious enough to insist that I give the order and even suggests I put it in writing. She wants to make sure that it is I, not she, who gets the blame if something goes wrong. She's beginning to think like Pitt. Our friend Janus is contagious.’

‘In that case, Siever, you mustn't send Marlene out. Why play into Pitt's hands?’

‘On the contrary, Eugenia. It's not simple at all. We must send her out.’

‘What? ’

‘There's no choice, Eugenia. And no danger to her. You see, I now believe you were right when you suggested there was some permeating life-form on the planet that could exert some sort of power over us. You pointed out that I was deleteriously affected, and you were, and the guard was, and always when Marlene was in any way opposed. And I just saw precisely that happen to Ranay. When Ranay tried to force a brain scan on Marlene, she doubled up. When I persuaded Marlene to accept the brain scan, Ranay immediately improved.’

‘Well, there you are, then, Siever. If there's a malevolent life-form on the planet-’

‘Now, wait, Eugenia. I didn't say it was malevolent. Even if this life-form, whatever it might be, caused the Plague as you suggested it did, that stopped. You said it was because we seemed to be content to remain in the Dome, but if the life-form were truly malevolent, it would have wiped us out and it would not have settled for what seems to me to have been a civilized compromise.’

‘I don't think it's safe to try to consider the actions of a totally alien life-form and deduce from that its emotions or intentions. What it thinks might well be totally beyond our understanding.’

‘I agree, Eugenia, but it's not harming Marlene. Everything it has done has served to protect Marlene, to shield her from interference.’

‘If that's so,’ said Insigna, ‘then why was she frightened, why did she begin to run to the Dome, screaming? Not for one moment do I believe her tale that the silence made her nervous and she was just trying to make some noise to break that silence.’

‘That is hard to believe. The point is, though, that the panic subsided quickly. By the time her would-be-rescuers reached her, she seemed perfectly normal. I would guess that something the life-form had done had frightened Marlene - I would imagine it was as unlikely to understand our emotions, as we are to understand its - but, seeing what it had done, it proceeded to soothe her quickly. That would explain what happened and would demonstrate, once again, the humane nature of the life-form.’

Insigna was frowning. ‘The trouble with you, Siever, is that you have this terrible compulsion to think good of everyone - and everything. I can't trust your interpretation.’

‘Trust or not, you will find we can in no way oppose Marlene. Whatever she wants to do, she will do, and the opposition will be left behind, gasping in pain or flat-out unconscious.’

Insigna said, ‘But what is this life-form?’

‘I don't know, Eugenia.’

‘And what frightens me more than anything, now, is: What does it want with Marlene?’

Genarr shook his head. ‘I don't know, Eugenia.’

And they stared at each other helplessly.