* * * * *

The Moruan who escorted them across the city to the hospital was a huge
shaggy creature who left no question of the evolutionary line of his
people. Except for the flattened nose, the high forehead and the
fur-less hand with opposing thumb, he looked for all the world like a
mammoth edition of the Kodiak bears Dal had seen displayed at the
natural history museum in Hospital Philadelphia. Like all creatures with
oxygen-and-water based metabolisms, the Moruans could trace their
evolutionary line to minute one-celled salt-water creatures; but with
the bitter cold of the planet, the first land-creatures to emerge from
the primeval swamp of Morua VIII had developed the heavy furs and the
hibernation characteristics of bear-like mammals. They towered over Dal,
and even Tiger seemed dwarfed by their immense chest girth and powerful
shoulders.

As the surface car hurried toward the hospital, Dal probed for more
information. The Moruan's voice was a hoarse growl which nearly deafened
the Earthmen in the confined quarters of the car but Dal with the aid of
the translator could piece together what had happened.

More sophisticated in medical knowledge than most races in the galaxy,
the Moruans had learned a great deal from their contact with Hospital
Earth physicians. They actually did have a remarkable grasp of
physiology and biochemistry, and constantly sought to learn more. They
had already found ways to grow replacement organs from embryonic grafts,
the Moruan said, and by copying the techniques used by the surgeons of
Hospital Earth, their own surgeons had attempted the delicate job of
replacing a diseased organ with a new, healthy one in a young male