[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
could no more forget a past crime than one's own name.
"Lioren," Braithwaite said suddenly. "You are not eating and neither are you
talking to us. Would you prefer to return to the office?"
"No," Lioren said, "not immediately. It is clear to me that this visit to the
dining hall was a psychological test and that my words and behavior have been
closely observed. You have also, almost certainly as part of the test, been
answering questions about yourselves without my having to ask them, some of
them personal questions which I would have considered it most impolite to ask.
Now I
will ask one question directly of you. As a result of these observations, what
are your conclusions?"
Braithwaite remained silent, but with a small movement of its head indicated
that Cha Thrat was to answer.
"You have heard and will understand," the Sommaradvan said, "that I am a
warrior-surgeon forbidden to practice my true art and am not yet a fully-
qualified wizard. For this reason the spells that I cast lack subtlety, as
your words have already shown, and are quite transparent. There is a risk that
my
observations and conclusions, too, may be oversimplified and inaccurate. They
are that my spell aimed at bringing you out of the seclusion of the office and
your quarters to the dining hall was unsuccessful in that you reacted calmly
and with no apparent emotional distress to the entities who approached you. It
was unsuccessful in that it did not overcome your unwillingness to reveal
personal feelings, which was another and more important purpose of the test.
My conclusion is that any future visits to the dining hall should be
unaccompanied unless the accompaniment be for social rather than therapeutic
reasons."
Braithwaite nodded its head in the Earth-human gesture of silent agreement.
"As the subject of this partially successful test, Lioren, what are your own
conclusions about it? Express your feelings about that, at least, freely as
would a Kelgian, and do not spare ours."
Lioren was silent for a moment, then said, "I feel curious as to why, in this
age of advanced medicine and technology, Cha Thrat considers itself to be a
wizard, unqualified or otherwise. I also feel surprise and concern regarding
the personal information you have revealed to me. At the risk of being grossly
offensive, I can only conclude that ... Is the Psychology Department staffed
with insubordinate misfits and entities with a history of emotional
disturbance?''
Cha Thrat made an untranslatable sound and the Earth-human barked softly.
"Without exception," Braithwaite said.
Chapter 7
NEVER in all his long years as a student on Tarla and during his advanced
training at Sector General had Lioren been given such a woolly-minded and
imprecise set of instructions.
Surely Major O'Mara, who was reputed to possess one of the finest and most
analytical minds in the hospital, should not be capable of issuing such
instructions. Not for the first time Lioren wondered if the Chief
Psychologist, charged as it was with the heavy responsibility of maintaining
the mental health of close on ten thousand medical and maintenance staff
belonging to sixty-odd different species, had been affected by one of the non-
physical maladies it was expected to treat. Or was it simply that Lioren, as
the department's most recent and least knowledgeable recruit, had
misunderstood the other's words?
"For my own mental clarification and to reduce the possibility of
misunderstanding," Lioren said carefully, "may I repeat my instructions
aloud?''
"If you think it necessary," the Chief Psychologist replied. From Lioren's
growing experience of reading Earth-human voice sounds and the expressions on
Page 37
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
their flabby, yellow-pink faces, he knew that O'Mara was losing patience.
Ignoring the nonverbal content of the response, Lioren said, "I am to observe
Senior Physician Seldal, for as long and as often as the subject's duty
schedule and my other work allows, without drawing attention to the fact that
it is under observation. I am to look for evidence of abnormal or
uncharacteristic behavior even though you are aware that, to a Tarlan BRLH
like myself, normal and characteristic behavior in a Nallajim of physiological
classification LSVO would appear equally strange to me. I am to do this
without any prior indication of what it is that I am to look for or, indeed,
if there is anything to look for in
the first place. If I am able to detect such behavior, I should try, covertly,
to discover the reason for it, and my report should include suggestions for
remedial treatment.
"But what," he went on when it was clear that the other was not going to
speak, "if I cannot detect any abnormality?"
"Negative evidence," O'Mara said, "can also be valuable."
"Is it your intention that I proceed in complete ignorance," Lioren asked,
anger making him forget for a moment the deference due to a nominal superior,
"or will
I be allowed to study the subject's psych file?"
"You may study it to your heart's content," O'Mara said. "And if you have no
further questions, Charge Nurse Kursen-neth is waiting."
"I have an observation and a question," Lioren said quickly. "This seems to me
to be a particularly imprecise method of briefing a trainee on his first case.
Surely I should be given some indication of what is wrong with Seldal. I mean,
what did the Senior Physician do to arouse your suspicions in the first place?
O'Mara exhaled noisily. "You have been assigned the Seldal case, and you have
not been told what to do because I don't know what to do with it, either."
Lioren made a surprised sound which did not translate and said, "Does the
possibility exist that the most experienced other-species psychologist in the
hospital is faced with a case that it is incapable of solving?''
"Other possibilities you might consider," O'Mara said, leaning back into its
chair, "is that the problem does not exist. Or that it is a minor one and so
unimportant that no serious harm will result if it was to be mishandled by a
trainee. It is also possible that more urgent problems are claiming my
attention and this is the reason why you have been given this small and
nonurgent one.
"For the first time you are being given access to the psych file of a Senior
Physician," it went on before Lioren could reply. "It might also be that, as a
trainee, you are expected to discover for yourself what it was that aroused my
suspicions, and in the light of your subsequent investigation to decide
whether or not they were justified."
Embarrassed, Lioren allowed his four medial limbs to go limp so that the
fingertips touched the floor, the sign that he was defenseless before the just
criticism of a superior. O'Mara would understand the significance of the
gesture, but the Earth-human chose to ignore it and went on, "The most
important part of our work here is to be constantly on the lookout for
abnormal or uncharacteristic behavior in each and every member of the staff,
whatever the species or circumstances, and ultimately to develop an instinct
for detecting the cause of such trouble before it can seriously affect the
being concerned, other staff members or patients. Are your objections based on
an unwillingness to speak at length, rather than the necessarily brief
conversations held in the dining hall, because the subject of your past [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
could no more forget a past crime than one's own name.
"Lioren," Braithwaite said suddenly. "You are not eating and neither are you
talking to us. Would you prefer to return to the office?"
"No," Lioren said, "not immediately. It is clear to me that this visit to the
dining hall was a psychological test and that my words and behavior have been
closely observed. You have also, almost certainly as part of the test, been
answering questions about yourselves without my having to ask them, some of
them personal questions which I would have considered it most impolite to ask.
Now I
will ask one question directly of you. As a result of these observations, what
are your conclusions?"
Braithwaite remained silent, but with a small movement of its head indicated
that Cha Thrat was to answer.
"You have heard and will understand," the Sommaradvan said, "that I am a
warrior-surgeon forbidden to practice my true art and am not yet a fully-
qualified wizard. For this reason the spells that I cast lack subtlety, as
your words have already shown, and are quite transparent. There is a risk that
my
observations and conclusions, too, may be oversimplified and inaccurate. They
are that my spell aimed at bringing you out of the seclusion of the office and
your quarters to the dining hall was unsuccessful in that you reacted calmly
and with no apparent emotional distress to the entities who approached you. It
was unsuccessful in that it did not overcome your unwillingness to reveal
personal feelings, which was another and more important purpose of the test.
My conclusion is that any future visits to the dining hall should be
unaccompanied unless the accompaniment be for social rather than therapeutic
reasons."
Braithwaite nodded its head in the Earth-human gesture of silent agreement.
"As the subject of this partially successful test, Lioren, what are your own
conclusions about it? Express your feelings about that, at least, freely as
would a Kelgian, and do not spare ours."
Lioren was silent for a moment, then said, "I feel curious as to why, in this
age of advanced medicine and technology, Cha Thrat considers itself to be a
wizard, unqualified or otherwise. I also feel surprise and concern regarding
the personal information you have revealed to me. At the risk of being grossly
offensive, I can only conclude that ... Is the Psychology Department staffed
with insubordinate misfits and entities with a history of emotional
disturbance?''
Cha Thrat made an untranslatable sound and the Earth-human barked softly.
"Without exception," Braithwaite said.
Chapter 7
NEVER in all his long years as a student on Tarla and during his advanced
training at Sector General had Lioren been given such a woolly-minded and
imprecise set of instructions.
Surely Major O'Mara, who was reputed to possess one of the finest and most
analytical minds in the hospital, should not be capable of issuing such
instructions. Not for the first time Lioren wondered if the Chief
Psychologist, charged as it was with the heavy responsibility of maintaining
the mental health of close on ten thousand medical and maintenance staff
belonging to sixty-odd different species, had been affected by one of the non-
physical maladies it was expected to treat. Or was it simply that Lioren, as
the department's most recent and least knowledgeable recruit, had
misunderstood the other's words?
"For my own mental clarification and to reduce the possibility of
misunderstanding," Lioren said carefully, "may I repeat my instructions
aloud?''
"If you think it necessary," the Chief Psychologist replied. From Lioren's
growing experience of reading Earth-human voice sounds and the expressions on
Page 37
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
their flabby, yellow-pink faces, he knew that O'Mara was losing patience.
Ignoring the nonverbal content of the response, Lioren said, "I am to observe
Senior Physician Seldal, for as long and as often as the subject's duty
schedule and my other work allows, without drawing attention to the fact that
it is under observation. I am to look for evidence of abnormal or
uncharacteristic behavior even though you are aware that, to a Tarlan BRLH
like myself, normal and characteristic behavior in a Nallajim of physiological
classification LSVO would appear equally strange to me. I am to do this
without any prior indication of what it is that I am to look for or, indeed,
if there is anything to look for in
the first place. If I am able to detect such behavior, I should try, covertly,
to discover the reason for it, and my report should include suggestions for
remedial treatment.
"But what," he went on when it was clear that the other was not going to
speak, "if I cannot detect any abnormality?"
"Negative evidence," O'Mara said, "can also be valuable."
"Is it your intention that I proceed in complete ignorance," Lioren asked,
anger making him forget for a moment the deference due to a nominal superior,
"or will
I be allowed to study the subject's psych file?"
"You may study it to your heart's content," O'Mara said. "And if you have no
further questions, Charge Nurse Kursen-neth is waiting."
"I have an observation and a question," Lioren said quickly. "This seems to me
to be a particularly imprecise method of briefing a trainee on his first case.
Surely I should be given some indication of what is wrong with Seldal. I mean,
what did the Senior Physician do to arouse your suspicions in the first place?
O'Mara exhaled noisily. "You have been assigned the Seldal case, and you have
not been told what to do because I don't know what to do with it, either."
Lioren made a surprised sound which did not translate and said, "Does the
possibility exist that the most experienced other-species psychologist in the
hospital is faced with a case that it is incapable of solving?''
"Other possibilities you might consider," O'Mara said, leaning back into its
chair, "is that the problem does not exist. Or that it is a minor one and so
unimportant that no serious harm will result if it was to be mishandled by a
trainee. It is also possible that more urgent problems are claiming my
attention and this is the reason why you have been given this small and
nonurgent one.
"For the first time you are being given access to the psych file of a Senior
Physician," it went on before Lioren could reply. "It might also be that, as a
trainee, you are expected to discover for yourself what it was that aroused my
suspicions, and in the light of your subsequent investigation to decide
whether or not they were justified."
Embarrassed, Lioren allowed his four medial limbs to go limp so that the
fingertips touched the floor, the sign that he was defenseless before the just
criticism of a superior. O'Mara would understand the significance of the
gesture, but the Earth-human chose to ignore it and went on, "The most
important part of our work here is to be constantly on the lookout for
abnormal or uncharacteristic behavior in each and every member of the staff,
whatever the species or circumstances, and ultimately to develop an instinct
for detecting the cause of such trouble before it can seriously affect the
being concerned, other staff members or patients. Are your objections based on
an unwillingness to speak at length, rather than the necessarily brief
conversations held in the dining hall, because the subject of your past [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]