he patrol ship's lifeboats, with the
_Lancet_ in orbit a thousand miles above the surface. Unquestionably the
first job was diagnosis, discovering the exact nature of the illness and
studying the afflicted people. This responsibility rested squarely on
Jack's shoulders; he was the diagnostician, and Dal and Tiger willingly
yielded to him in organizing the program.

It was decided that Jack and Tiger would visit the planet's surface at
once, while Dal stayed on the ship and set up the reagents and
examining techniques that would be needed to measure the basic physical
and biochemical characteristics of the Bruckians.

Yet in all the excitement of planning, Dal could not throw off the
lingering shadow of doubt in his mind, some instinctive voice of caution
that seemed to say _watch out, be careful, go slowly! This may not be
what it seems to be; you may be walking into a trap...._

But it was only a faint voice, and easy to thrust aside as the planning
went ahead full speed.

* * * * *

It did not take very long for the crew of the _Lancet_ to realize that
there was something very odd indeed about the small, self-effacing
inhabitants of 31 Brucker VII.

In fact, "odd" was not really quite the proper word for these creatures
at all. No one knew better than the doctors of Hospital Earth that
oddness was the rule among the various members of the galactic
civilization. All sorts and varieties of life-forms had been discovered,
described and studied, each with its singular differences, each with
certain similarities, and each quite "odd" in reference to any of the
others.

In Dal this awareness of the oddness and difference of other races was
particularly acute. He knew that to Tiger and Jack he himself seemed
odd, both anatomically and in other ways. His fine gray fur and his
four-fingered hands set him apart from them--he would never be mistaken
for an Earthman, even in the densest fog. But these were comprehensible
differences. His close attachment to Fuzzy was something else, and still
seemed beyond their ability to understand.

He had spent one whole evening patiently trying to make Jack understand
just how his attachment to the little pink creature was more than just
the fondness of a man for his dog.

"Well, what would you call it, then?"

"Symbiosis is probably the best word for it," Dal had replied. "Two
life-forms live together, and each one helps the other--that's all
symb