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corpse of the luckless Kane.
They reached the infirmary, panting from the effort of running down
corridor and companionways. There was no cluster of replicated alien
hands crawling on the walls. No alien growth, fungoid or otherwise,
decorated the body of the executive officer. Ash had greatly understated
the matter when he'd reported a change in Kane's condition.
The exec was sitting up on the medical platform. His eyes were open and
clear, functioning in proper concert with his brain. Those eyes turned
to take in the knot of gaping arrivals.
?Kane??Lambert couldn't believe it. ?Are you all right??He looks fine,
she thought dazedly. As though nothing had ever happened.
?You want anything??asked Ripley, when he did not respond to Lambert's
query.
?Mouth's dry.? Dallas abruptly remembered what Kane, in his present
state, reminded him of: a man just coming out of amnesia. The exec
looked alert and fit, but puzzled for no particular reason, as though he
were still trying to organize his thoughts. ?Can I have some water??
Ash moved quickly to a dispenser, drew a plastic cupful, and handed it
to Kane. The exec downed it in a single long swallow. Dallas noted
absently that muscular co-ordination seemed normal. The hand-to-
165 mouth drinking movements had been performed instinctively, without
forethought.
While enormously gratifying, the situation was ridiculous. There had to
be something wrong with him.
?More,?was all Kane said, continuing to act like, a man in complete
control of himself. Ripley found a large container, filled it brim full,
and handed it to him. He downed the contents like a man who'd just spent
ten years wandering the deserts of Piolin, then sagged back on the
padded platform, panting.
?How do you feel??asked Dallas.
?Terrible. What happened to me??
?You don't remember??Ash said.
So, Dallas told himself with satisfaction, the amnesia analogy was
nearer the mark than he'd suspected.
Kane winced slightly, more from muscles cramping from disuse than
anything else, and took a deep breath. ?I don't remember a thing. I can
barely remember my name.?
?Just for the record ... and the medical report,?asked Ash
professionally, ?what is your name??
?Kane. Thomas Kane.?
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?That's all you remember??
?For the moment.?He let his gaze travel slowly over the assembly of
anxious faces. ?I remember all of you, though I can't put names to you yet.?
?You will,?Ash assured him confidently. ?You recall your own name and
you remember faces. That's a good start. Also a sign that your loss of
memory isn't absolute.?
?Do you hurt??Surprisingly, it was the stoic Parker who asked the first
sensitive question.
?All over. Feel like somebody's been beating me
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with a stick for about six years.?He sat up on the pallet again, swung
his legs over the side, and smiled. ?God, am I hungry. How long was I out??
Dallas continued to stare at the apparently unharmed man in disbelief.
?Couple of days. You sure you don't have any recollection of what
happened to you??
?Nope. Not a thing.?
?What's the last thing you remember??Ripley asked him.
?I don't know.?
?You were with Dallas and me on a strange planet, exploring. Do you
remember what happened there??
Kane's forehead wrinkled as he tried to battle through the mists
obscuring his memories. Real remembrances remained tantalizingly out of
reach, realisation a painful, incomplete process.
?Just some horrible dream about smothering. Where are we now? Still on
the planet??
Ripley shook her head. ?No, I'm delighted to say. We're in hyperspace,
on our way home.?
?Getting ready to go back in the freezers,?Brett added feelingly. He was
as anxious as the others to retire to the mindless protection of
hypersleep. Anxious for the nightmare that had forced itself on them to
be put in suspension along with their bodies.
Though looking at the revitalized Kane made it hard to reconcile their
memories with the image of the alien horror he'd brought aboard, the
petrified creature was there for anyone to inspect, motionless in its
stasis tube.
?I'm all for that,?Kane said readily. ?Feel dizzy and tired enough to go
into deep sleep without the freezers.?He looked around the infirmary wildly.
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?Right now, though, I'm starving. I want some food before we go under.?
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