According to Dr. Galen, less than ten percent of the station was occupied, and that entirely by robots. The human supervision they required was provided by means of hypervision and the ships that called every two months.

Only because of the chance that those visiting crews might need its services had the hospital been kept staffed. But the managers on Nexon were realists. Dr. Galen was hospital administrator because his caseload was usually zero, while the only other medical robot on station, a nurse-orderly, had a full schedule of cleaning and maintenance.

No wonder the supervisor makes jokes at Dr.Galen’s expense, Derec thought.

“You seem disturbed by this information,” Dr. Galen said. “Is there a problem?”

Derec thought about the question for a moment. Hehad grown progressively unhappier as Dr. Galen’s explanation had proceeded. But did it matter so much that he apparently was still alone? At least Rockliffe Station was more or less familiar territory, unlike the asteroid colony or the raider ship. He should be able to have his own way more easily here.

“No. No problem,” Derec said. “Except I’d like to know a little more about what happened. How did I get here? You said something about paramedics-”

“I do not know all the details. The dispatcher or dock supervisor would be better sources of information.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“Apparently your ship was disabled following its Jump. Exactly what happened next is not clear. The dispatcher will no doubt want to inquire about the circumstances. However, it appeared as though your ship discarded or released a smaller vessel, a shuttle or lifeboat, before changing course and heading into the Q-zone.”

“They must have cut us loose after the explosion-” Derec said thoughtfully.

“The smaller vessel apparently was following an unacceptable approach vector and did not respond to the dispatcher’s commands. On the assumption that it was a derelict, a tug was dispatched to intercept it and bring it in. When the derelict was boarded you were found and brought here.”

“Did they bring the ship-our ship-in, then?”

“That is my understanding. Of course, my concern since that time has been with your care.”

“Of course,” Derec echoed. If Aranimas’s ship is here, maybe I didn’t lose the artifact after all, he thought joyously. “Listen, Dr. Galen, what would you say to my getting up and doing a little walking? Airbeds are as comfortable as beds get, but I’m tired of just lying here. Maybe I could go see what kind of shape the ship is in, answer any questions the dispatcher has.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Dr. Galen said. “Your injuries are not yet sufficiently healed to permit that.”

“What are my injuries?”

“You suffered flash burns over fifteen percent of your body, primarily over your arms, face, and neck. Three of your ribs were cracked-”

“I must have fallen on the tile I was lifting.”

“-one puncturing your right lung and causing it to collapse. Your right eardrum was perforated and had to be replaced.”

“Frost! How long have I been here?”

“The ship on which you were found was boarded six weeks ago.”

“Six weeks! Was I in a coma or something?”

“Burns are extremely painful, as is reconstructive epidermal surgery,” Dr. Galen said. “I kept you under chemical narcosis during treatment and the initial phase of recovery.”

“I guess I should be grateful. But six weeks-” Belatedly Derec remembered that he had not been alone on the raider ship. “Where’re the others? Wolruf-Alpha-the girl. What’ve they been doing while I was narc’d?”

“I am sorry. The only persons found were yourself and a female human.”

Feeling a sudden tightness in his chest, Derec looked away. It did not mean that Wolruf was dead and Alpha destroyed-there was a chance, perhaps even a good one, that they were on the larger portion of the ship still in space. But it did mean that while Derec had escaped and survived, he had not lived up to his promises to the caninoid. “I’m sorry, Wolruf,” he whispered.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Never mind,” Derec said. “Tell me about the girl.”

“She was found near you inside the ship-”

“That’s not what I mean. Tell me how she is.”

“Patient Katherine’s physical-”

“Katherine-is that her name?”

“Is there some error?”

“No-no, that’s her,” Derec said. “Where is she?”

Dr. Galen turned away to the right and gestured with his hand. “Orderly, draw the curtain back.”

Derec turned his head to the right. What appeared to be the wall of his room suddenly become transparent, allowing him to see a slight human figure floating in a halo of light. She was naked, and he looked away, faintly embarrassed. When he did, he realized that he was naked, too. It was very straightforward and practical for them to be naked in a hospital, but something of a surprise all the same.

“How is she?”

“Her integumentary injuries were more extensive than your own, but she is healing well. Of course, her chronic condition remains unchanged.”

“What condition is that?”

“I’m sorry.” The robot paused. “I see that I have made an error. Since you were traveling together, I did not think that I was betraying any secrets by discussing Katherine’s chart. I will have to report myself for this indiscretion.”

“I don’t care about that,” Derec said impatiently. “Has she been awake?”

“No. Nor would we have allowed you to awaken if we did not need your assistance.” Dr. Galen gestured with his right hand. “Close the curtain.”

“Assistance with what?” Derec asked as the wall became opaque again.

“Sir, in the course of your care certain services have been rendered on account. It has not only been our obligation but our pleasure to be able to help you. However, as hospital administrator I am obliged to determine whether this account is collectable or is to be charged against regular station operations.”

“You woke me up to ask me for my insurance card?”

“There is also the question of medical history. We can determine genetic endowment directly, but it is not always possible to determine all the synergistic outcomes of a particular gene complex. Without direct evidence, I have been obliged to follow more conservative parameters in your care, which in turn has had the effect of prolonging your recovery somewhat.”

“I don’t understand. What about her?” Derec demanded. “You said she was hurt more badly than I was. Wouldn’t it be even more important to find out who she is and get her medical history? Why me and not her?”

“Sir, while you were unconscious, we attempted to identify you by means of all the standard systems. We were not successful.”

“Standard systems-”

“Fingerprint, retinagraph, absolute blood protein typing, and twenty-third chromosome codon map. We were not able to establish a match.”

“Of course you weren’t. I’m not from here.”

“Sir, by hyperwave we have direct access to the records of all fifty Spacer worlds.”

“Did you check the records for Aurora?”

“Yes. We were not able to establish a match.”

“But I’m from there-I know I am.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. Aurora keeps scrupulous records on their citizens as part of their population-control program. If you were an Auroran, this conversation would not have been necessary.”

“But you found out who she is,” he said.

“That is correct. Katherine’s full records were made available to me.”

With sudden fury, Derec demanded, “Are you telling me that you searched the citizenship records of fifty planets and can’t find out who I am?”

“No,” Dr. Galen said. “We have searched the records of fifty-five worlds, including Earth and the four nearest Settler planets. We do have a right of request with most Settler worlds for access to their records. Unfortunately those records are not as complete as we are accustomed to dealing with, and in some cases are not even centralized. Also, certain worlds charge exorbitant fees to respond to data requests from Spacers and then are exceedingly slow to respond. For all these reasons, it seemed to us that a more straightforward inquiry was in order.