Alien by Alan Dean Foster

  'Exactly. What's more interesting than that is that it's constantly sloughing off cells within a secondary, internal dermis and replacing them with polarized organic silicates. It appears to have a double skin, with that acid flowing between the two layers. Also, the acid seems to be flowing under high pressure.

  'It's a good thing Dallas didn't cut too deeply with that knife or I think it would have sprayed the entire infirmary.'

  Ripley looked properly impressed.

  'The silicate layer demonstrates a unique, very dense molecular structure under the scope. It might even be capable of resisting the laser. I know, I know,' he said in response to her look of disbelief, 'that sounds crazy. But this is the toughest chunk of organic material I've ever seen. The combination of the way those cells are aligned with what they're composed of adds up to something that defies all the rules of standard biology.

  'Those silicated cells, for example. They're metal-bonded. The result is what gives the creature such resistance to adverse environmental conditions.'

  'Anything new besides the silicates and the double dermis?'

  'Well, I still have no idea what it breathes, or even if it breathes the way we think of standard respiration. It does seem to be altering the atmosphere around it, perhaps absorbing whatever gases it requires through numerous surface pores. There's certainly nothing resembling a nostril. As a living chemical factory it surpasses in efficiency anything I've ever heard of. Some of its internal organs don't seem to function at all, while others are doing things I can't begin to guess at.

  'It's possible the visually quiescent organs have defensive functions. We'll find out if we ever have to provoke it further.' He cocked an expectant eye at her. 'That enough for you?'

  'Plenty.' Kane shouldn't have been brought back on board, she mused. They should have left him and the creature outside. Ash was the one responsible for them being here.

  She studied the science officer unobtrusively, watching him work his instruments, store pleasing results, and discard those he had no use for. Ash was the last member of the crew she'd have suspected of being capable of a dramatic gesture, yet he was the one who'd made the sudden decision to let the explorers back aboard, going against all accepted procedure.

  She had to correct herself. In addition to Ash, Dallas and Lambert had also gone against procedure in demanding admittance. And Kane's life had been at stake. Suppose Ash had obeyed her directive and left the three outside? Would Kane still be alive? Or would he now be just a statistic in the log? That would have simplified one thing, though: She wouldn't have to face Kane when he recovered and have to explain why she'd tried to refuse him and the others admittance.

  Ash noticed her expression, looked concerned. 'Something the matter?'

  'No.' She sat up straighter. 'Sum it all up for me. Pretend I'm as dumb as I sometimes feel. What's it all mean? Where do we stand with it?'

  'Interesting combination of elements and structure make it practically invulnerable given our present situation and resources.'

  She nodded. 'That's exactly how I read it, if your results are accurate.' He looked pained. 'Sorry. Okay, so it's invulnerable.' She was watching him closely. 'Is that why you went ahead and let it in?'

  As always, the science officer refused to be baited. He showed nothing in the way of resentment when he replied. 'I was following a direct order from the captain. Remember?'

  She forced herself to keep from raising her voice, knowing that Ash respected only reason. 'When Dallas and Kane are off the ship, I'm senior officer. I'm acting commander until one or the other actually sets foot back inside.'

  'Yes, of course. I forgot, that's all. The emotions of the moment.'

  'Like hell.' His attention remained fixed to various readouts. 'Emotions never made you forget anything.'

  That made him turn to her. 'You think you know all about me. All of you. You're so sure you know exactly what kind of person I am. Let me tell you something, Ripley. When I opened the inner hatch I was aware of what I was doing, yes. But that business about who is in charge when, well, I'm capable of forgetfulness just like anyone else. My memory's very good, but it's subject to failure like anyone's. Even a mechanical memory like Mother's can lose track of information.'

  Failure, sure, she thought. Selective failure. Still, the science officer could be telling the truth. She'd better watch out how many of her shipmates she insulted. Parker and Brett already felt something less than love for her, and now she was on the verge of making an enemy of Ash.

  But she couldn't still the suspicions. She almost wished Ash would get mad at her.

  'You also managed to forget the science division's own basic quarantine law, something that's drilled into every ship's officer early in flight school.'

  'No.' At last, she thought. A statement she could believe. 'That I didn't forget.'

  'I see. You didn't forget.' She paused for emphasis. 'You just went ahead and broke it.'

  'You think I did it lightly. That I didn't consider the possible consequences of my action.'

  'No, Ash. I'd never think that.' Again, he didn't react to provocation.

  'I didn't like having to do it, but I saw myself as having no choice,' he explained softly. 'What would you have done with Kane? His only chance to stay alive seemed to rest with getting him into the infirmary, where the autodoc could work on him as soon as possible. His condition has been stabilized. I'm inclined to give credit for that to the machine and its rapid treatment, the early application of antisepsis and intravenous feeding.'

  'You're contradicting yourself, Ash. A minute ago you said it was the creature who was keeping him alive, not the autodoc.'

  'The creature does seem to be making a contribution, but it's doing so in Kane's atmosphere and environment. We've no way of knowing what it might have done if left alone with him outside. Here we can keep a close watch on his system and be ready to compensate if the creature shows signs of acting inimically toward him. We couldn't do that if he were still outside.' He paused long enough to throw a switch, check a reading. 'Besides, it was a direct order.'

  'Meaning you'll listen to Dallas over me no matter what the situation?'

  'Meaning the captain's the captain, and the fact that he was one metre outside the corridor instead of inside isn't reason enough for me to start ignoring his decisions.'

  She looked away, furious with him and with herself. 'By breaking quarantine procedure you risk everybody's life, not just Kane's.'

  Ash moved smoothly to punch out a request on the computer board, stared solemnly at the information provided. He spoke without facing the insistent Ripley.

  'You think it was an easy decision for me to make? I'm aware of the rules regarding quarantine and alien life forms, probably more so than you. I had to balance them against a man's life.

  'Maybe I should have let him die out there. Maybe I have jeopardized the rest of us. But I know one thing: Rule makers always draw up their precious rules and regulations in safety and comfort, not out in the field, where those same absolutes are supposed to be applied. At those times we have to rely on our own minds and feelings. That's what I did.

  'So far the creature hasn't made a threatening gesture toward any of the rest of us. It may do so later on, in which case it will be facing an alarmed and ready group of six instead of an unprepared single man stumbling through the dark hold of an unfamiliar vessel. I'll balance that risk against Kane's life.' His fingers danced over the console.

  'I don't dispute your personal feelings.' Ripley shifted her weight to her left, rose. 'I'm simply saying you have no right or authority to impose them on the rest of us. Maybe we don't feel like taking the same risk.'

  'It doesn't matter now. Kane's aboard . . . and alive. Events will proceed from that reality, not from past alternatives. It's a waste of time discussing them.'

  'This is your official position, then, as a science officer? Not exactly right out of the manual.'

  'You are being repetitive, Ripley. Why? To prov
oke me? I have already voluntarily entered my actions in the official log, and will subject myself to whatever decision the Company may make in the matter. Yes, it's my official position. Remember that the prime consideration of science is the protection and betterment of human life. I would never contravene that'

  'No, but your idea of what betters human life might differ from someone else's.'

  For some reason that caused him to turn and stare sharply at her, when her other, more direct probes had produced no response. 'I take my responsibility as science officer as seriously as you do that of warrant officer. That should be sufficient for you. I'm tired of this. If you have a specific accusation to make, lodge it with Dallas. If not,?and he turned back to his precious instrumentation, 'you do your job and I'll do mine.'

  She nodded once. 'Fair enough.' Turning, she headed for the corridor . . . still unsatisfied but unsure why. Ash's answers had the veneer of validity, were hard to argue with. That wasn't what was troubling her.

  It was the fact that his action in popping the lock to let the exploration team inside went against much more than the rules. It went against every facet of the science officer's personality, directly contradicted his demonstrated professionalism in other matters. She hadn't known him that long, but until this incident he'd given her and everyone else aboard the impression that for him nothing ranked above, the official science manual.

  Ash claimed he'd done what he'd done only to save a man's life. She'd taken the official side. Was she wrong? Would Kane have agreed with her?

  She headed for the bridge, much troubled in mind. Little bits of coincidence swam in her head, nagging at her thoughts. The mind glue to bring them together remained missing. . . .

  There was nothing to do on the Nostromo now but wait. Wait for Parker and Brett to complete their work, wait for a change in Kane's condition.

  On the bridge, Lambert was amusing Jones the cat with some string. The string supposedly was on board solely for Jones' enjoyment, but the cat knew better. It was occasionally incumbent on him to entertain the humans. They seemed to derive considerable pleasure from his poking and swatting at the white cord as they manipulated it in their clumsy great paws.

  Lambert called the game cat's cradle. Jones called it people's cradle. He was a very conscientious cat and did his best to keep the navigator smiling. They were so solemn sometimes. It was a difficult job for a cat. But Jones was conscientious. He continued to work at pleasing the human, thinking of food and warm, fat mice.

  'What do you think?' Brett glanced out from beneath the overhang, eyed his colleague.

  Parker adjusted a control, wiped sweat from his forehead. 'Almost. Another half a degree and we'll be finished. Maybe that'll satisfy Ripley.'

  The engineering tech made a rude noise. 'Didn't you know? Ripley can't be satisfied.' Pinging sounds came from behind the intake screen he was working on.

  Parker glanced at the silent intercom speaker and grunted a reply. 'If we don't get full shares after this, I'll lodge a complaint. We've earned double pay. Probably qualified for hazard as well. This time the Company had better make it worth our while or we'll go to the Guild. No messing around anymore.'

  'Right,' snapped Brett. A hand extended outward from inside the tube where the screen was secured. 'Number three sealer ought to do it.'

  Parker fished around in a neatly labeled but filthy plastic case, handed up a tiny grey square stenciled over in green and red, and glared at the inoffensive intercom . . .

  The rhythm was primitive, unsophisticated, and the recording had lost brilliance with age and much use, but Dallas lay back and absorbed the music as though he were present at the ancient recording session. One foot tapped silently, in unthinking podal counterpoint to the melody.

  The communicator beeped for attention. It did so three times before catching the captain's notice. Letting out a resigned sigh, he reached out and shut off the music, then flipped the acknowledge switch for the 'com.

  'Dallas here.'

  'Ash. I think you should have a look at Kane. Something's happened.'

  Dallas swung his legs off the lounge, sat up quickly. Ash didn't sound worried, which was encouraging. He did sound confused, which was not.

  'Serious?'

  'Interesting.'

  'I'll be right there.'

  He stood and threw the final cutoff on the tape machine, reluctantly saw the green light on its flank wink out. Ash had said 'interesting.' That could mean a host of things, not necessarily good, had occurred. He found some relief in the knowledge that Ash would have said something very different if Kane had already expired.

  Which meant that the exec was still alive . . . but in an 'interesting' condition.

  As it turned out, Ash wasn't even referring to Kane. His call had been prompted by the condition of something else.

  Dallas found the science officer in the corridor outside the infirmary, his nose pressed to the glass. He was staring in, looking around as the captain approached.

  'What's going on?' Ripley had suddenly appeared at the other end of the corridor. Her gaze switched rapidly from Ash to Dallas, back again. 'I heard over an open monitor.'

  'Listening in?' Dallas eyed her curiously.

  She made a face. 'Nothing else to do on this boat. Why? You object?'

  'No. Just curious.' He looked through the thick glass into the infirmary, spoke to Ash when no great revelation manifested itself.

  'Well?'

  'Kane.' The science officer pointed. 'Look closely at him. All of him.'

  Dallas stared, squinted, then noticed what Ash was talking about. Or rather, he didn't notice it.

  'It's gone.' A fast inspection of the infirmary showed no sign of the alien. Kane remained motionless on the medical platform. His chest rose and fell steadily. He seemed to be breathing normally and without effort despite the absence of the alien. Lingering inspection showed what looked to be tiny black dots scattered around the rim of his face.

  'Has it planted something on him?' Dallas tried to shy away from the repulsive thought.

  'No.' Ash spoke positively, and Dallas was willing to believe him. He had to believe him. Anyway, the personnel dossiers said that the science officer's vision was the sharpest on board.

  'They're indentations, not rises. I'd guess they're sucker marks.' Ash paused, added, 'Those aside, Kane appears undamaged by the experience.'

  'Which may not be over yet,' Ripley put in. 'The door is seal-tight. It must still be in there.' She sounded confident, but it was a cover for her real feelings. The thought of the spidery hand-shape with its glazed, unblinking eye scrabbling about underfoot frightened her more than she dared show.

  'We can't open the door,' Ash said thoughtfully. 'We don't want to let it out. The last thing we want to do is give it the run of the ship.'

  'I couldn't agree more.' Ripley was scanning the infirmary floor, saw only bright metal and paint. 'We can't grab it or kill it from a distance. So where does that leave us?'

  'When we tried to remove it from Kane's face,' Dallas said, 'we cut it, injured it. Maybe if we didn't threaten it too overtly, it wouldn't offer resistance. Maybe we can just pick it up.' Visions of spectacular Company commendations, perhaps a promotion, certainly a bonus, swirled through his head. Then he again noticed the unconscious form of Kane and felt guilty.

  Ripley was still shuddering at the thought. 'You can try picking it up. I'll watch the door.'

  'I think it's a worthwhile idea.' Ash was moving away from the glass. 'It's an invaluable specimen. We should certainly make an attempt to capture it alive and intact.'

  He touched the switch controlling the door. The infirmary was a good place to try to hunt down the intruder. It was double-walled, and save for the airlocks, it was the tightest compartment on the Nostromo.

  The door slid back slightly. Ash looked to Dallas, who nodded. Again the control was touched and the door moved another few centimetres. Now it was open enough for a man to slip through. Dallas went in first, fo
llowed cautiously by Ripley. Ash entered last, quickly hit the stud, shutting the door behind them.

  They stood close together in front of the door, scanning the room. Still no sign of the alien. Dallas pursed his lips, blew a sharp whistle. That failed to stir the creature, but it did make Ripley giggle a bit unsteadily.

  Keeping his eyes on the hidden places, Dallas started toward an open cabinet. It would make an excellent hiding place. But close inspection of the interior showed only medical supplies, neatly arranged and undisturbed.

  If they were going to try to trap the creature with something other than their hands, they needed something solid. Dallas chose the first suitably sized object he saw, a stainless-steel alloy tray. As he turned to continue the stalk, he was quite aware that if the creature felt sufficiently threatened, it could melt its way through the tray as easily and effortlessly as it could Dallas's hands. But the weight was comforting.