Chap. 255 The Smell

Chap. 255 The Smell

I wonder if I know what I’m doing, he thought.

The night raider, as he’d taken to calling the beast, lay splayed out in a very cold room. The cold kept the smell of the beast-which had been dead for several days, from being too annoying.

Not much of a biologist, am I, to be bothered by a little stink, he thought.

Siskin walked all around the animal, sniffing. He began to scratch at it. K’ndar reached out to gently push the fire lizard away.

Siskin evaded his hand and returned to scratching at the animal.

He’d never seen the fire lizard evince such interest. But then, he hadn’t done much in the way of describing odd beasts such as this!

“Siskin, you need to move out of the way, please? I need the room,” he said.

Siskin chittered and flew to a ledge high up on the wall. After a moment, he launched and disappeared.

He’s here with me. You’ve hurt his feelings Raventh said. He was in their quarters.

Really? Tell him not to be insulted, I didn’t want him clawing the specimen up.

He doesn’t understand that. He’s very interested in it.

I understand. But I don’t want him to claw it up. I’ll make it up to him when I am finished.

The scent was odd. It wasn’t just the smell of a dead animal, there was something else about it, a subtle, musky smell.

He stood, contemplating just what he was supposed to do. Do I cut it open? Weigh organs, dissect each one, try to examine stomach contents, intestines, slice up the brain into neat slices, suitable for a microscope?

I’m all at sea with this beast, he thought. If I butcher it, I’ll lose data.

Rather than destroy the only sample ever seen on Pern, he decided he was truly out of his depth. A taxonomist, someone skilled in physiology, is probably the better person for this.

Ah. Lefsa, Landing’s former biologist and now, taxonomist.

“Thank you, Lefsa, for coming. I need some help with this animal. I hope I didn’t interrupt your evening?”

“Not to worry, K’ndar, I don’t mind, especially when I get to see this most interesting beast!! What is it? I’ve never seen anything like it. Where did you get it?” the girl said.

“I haven’t the slightest idea WHAT it is,” he started out, and told her the whole story. “I know it’s not a dragon, or a fire lizard, or a wherry of any type. It’s not avian, of course, or a reptile. It’s saurian. That’s all I can see at the moment.”

“Interesting,” she said, stroking the animal. “It’s got an odd scent. Look at those muscles!! This thing is all steel and sinew, what?”

“No doubt!

They measured and weighed it, Lefsa dictating to the datalink K’ndar had set up. K’ndar took photos and wrote up the initial findings in his notebook.

“Whew,” she said, shivering, “I’d forgotten how cold it can get in here. I’m glad you’re the biologist now, K’ndar. I’ve no meat on my bones! My goodness, it’s an odd looking beast. Look at the mandibular muscles! And those claws! I can tell right off it’s something new.”

“Lefsa, I think it’s a new genus. Completely,” he said.

She bit her lip, running over the catalog in her mind. Nothing jumped up to disagree with the idea. Excitement lit up her eyes.

“Don’t hold me to it, K’ndar. We’ll know better after a complete DNA assay, but for the moment, yes, I think you’re right. Isn’t that exciting?”

“It is! I am expecting the insides to be fairly orthodox, but, Lefsa, how deep do you want me to go? Because, I’ll be honest, I know what the innards should be, but doing all the measuring, deciding what hormone affects what, that’s beyond my skill level,” K’ndar said.

The girl laughed.

“We’ll make a good team, then, K’ndar, because that stuff is what I’m learning to do, and I like it. I don’t mind if you do just the external exam, and I’ll take over from there. Take pictures, of course. I’ll access your datalink tomorrow, so continue dictating. I’ll come in tomorrow and dissect it down to the bones. I can take samples of skin, muscle, etc. I’ll work on that level, and the even finer stuff, I’ll pass on to Miklos. I don’t care for him, but he’s sharp as a razor on the microscopic work, especially the DNA, hormones, etc. I’m sure he won’t be bothered by the smell,” she said, with a wicked expression.

K’ndar laughed. Miklos, the staff microbiologist and geneticist, wasn’t known for his personal hygiene.

“So you don’t mind me passing this work on to you?”

“Oh, of course not, K’ndar! This is precisely what I had hoped would happen, you bring in the animals or plants, and I do the examining. I’m not a field biologist like you, K’ndar, I just don’t like staying out in the wilderness for weeks and weeks. And I don’t have a dragon to take me there! Take good notes, good dictation, and we’ll work together to create a proper scientific description. If we’re right, if it’s truly a new genus and species, we get to name it, so put your brain to finding a good descriptive name,” she said.

“Think Jansen will want it for her new museum?”

“I guarantee it. It’s really coming along, if you have time, go ask her for a tour. She’s done a fabulous job, although I have to buffer that by saying I’ve never been in a ‘museum’ before. She’s very proud of it and she deserves the credit.”

After she left, he set to work. He wrote his notes in his own crabbed hand, but also dictated to the datalink.

“Definitely saurian, but unlike any saurian in the literature. The hide is a deep dark green, with spots of creamy yellow, generally 1.5 to 1 cm, scattered over the entire body. Most of the spots are round, with ragged edges. This appears to be protective coloration or, more likely, camouflage. There are several yellow stripes, primarily over the scapulars. The stripes continue on up the neck, not completely circling it. They end at the poll. The backs of the ears are yellow. Above each eye is a vertical stripe of yellow, quite similar to the forehead stripes on a tabby cat. The tail is striped with”...he counted...”eight stripes, alternating between yellow and green. The hide itself is smooth and supple, not unlike that of a dragon.”

The beast looked at him, despite it’s eyes being closed and it being extremely dead. What ARE you, you handsome beast?

He spent several moments writing his notes and sketching the animals head.

“The head is angular. A thin crest runs along the top of the skull, probably could be called an occipital crest. It ends just between the ears. Two ears are pointed, and appear to be able to be swiveled.” He gently pried open the eyes. Two great orbs, now desiccated and lifeless in death, looked back at him.

“The large eyes lead me to believe it is nocturnal. They were probably bright yellow in life and have unusually shaped irises. The lower mandible is heavily muscled. The dentition is very obviously that of an obligate carnivore, with long upper and lower fangs. There are no molars, merely carnissals. Not counting the fangs, each side of the mandibles have six carnissals. They appear very similar to those of a feline.”

As he worked, he grew more intrigued.

“The mouth-there are no lips-is surrounded by bristles that probably serve as whiskers. A flat nose, just above the mouth, appears to be like most other saurian noses.

The neck is heavily muscled. That makes sense, being that Rand witnessed the animal lifting and carrying a full grown pig. The four shoulder blades are flat.”

Like most of Pern's animals, this animal had six limbs.

Why is it Terran animals and birds all have four limbs, and Pern's all have six? For that matter, why are there no Pernian mammals? It’s not as if they can’t live here, after all, we’re here, and doing fine, he thought. True, it took a bit of genetic tinkering for us mammals to adapt to living here. To include us humans, we had to be tweaked, just like any cow or cat.

He dragged his attention back to work.

“The back end, the caudal end of the animal ends in a pointed tail, rounded on the dorsal side and flat on the ventral. It is almost as long as the body of the animal. At the end of the tail, on the ventral side, is a yellow patch of rough, corrugated skin. It is 11 centimeters long and half that wide.”

He wondered if it was normal, or the result of an injury.

“The fore paws, padded on the underside, have three digits. The digits themselves are unpadded. They have ridges along the inside, probably to increase their traction on wriggling prey. They are almost finger like, ending in long, sharp talons that are retractable.

The middle set of legs end in paws that appeared to be claspers. The digits are long and narrow, with small claws more suited to securing a purchase than for capturing prey. The pads on the middle and end paws continue to the tips of the digits. I’m assuming it assists with grasping, or climbing.”

The hind legs were even more amazing. He didn’t realize it until he twisted one of the hind legs while struggling to turn it over.

“The hind legs have a rotating joint, one that allows the leg to be turned almost completely backwards. The paws are also clawed, similar to the middle ones.”

I want to see what this hip joint looks like when it’s just bare bone, he thought. How does it affect how you move, beast? Oh, wait, Rand told me.

“Rand described the animal as ‘running up the tree like a quorl’. Judging by its feet, I have to agree. I believe this animal to be arboreal. I would assume it can easily and quickly move up or down a vertical surface such as a tree, especially with hind legs that can rotate backwards.”

He rolled the animal over onto its back.

“The rib cage looks unremarkable, probably fenestrated, like other Pernese saurians.

However, there is a bulge behind the rib cage. It starts at the back side of the middle legs and ends before the hind ones.”

He ran his hands over the belly.

“I feel protuberances, one, two, three on either side of the axis of the belly, for a total of six. Each is about ten centimeters long and eight wide. I am pressing on one and there is some slight give to the pressure.”

He looked closer.

“It appears that there is a slit, an opening, to each protuberance. I am trying to fit my finger through it but I...just can’t..oh, this one allows...”

The body of the creature had passed through rigor mortis and was now limp again. The protuberance was firmly sealed, but he was just barely able to push a finger into the bump.

He felt something odd. Okay, I have to see what this is.

I should have had some sort of tool, something to spread it open. Healers have them but I can’t remember the name of the tool.

So he used two fingers to open it up. It gave after some resistance. He felt a small mass. It moved back from his pressure. Can it come out?

He reached in with his thumb and gently took hold of the thing. He pulled, gently, half expecting the dead animal to protest. This is like pulling a stuck calf out of cow, he thought.

He was astounded.at what emerged.

It was a tiny replica of the animal, complete with claws. It was an almost fully developed baby.

After several amazed moments, he sketched and photographed it. He felt a pang of guilt...this baby whatsithad died in its mother’s..womb?

But Pern’s animals are all egg layers!

He felt around in the opened protuberance for an eggshell.

Nothing. Not a bit of shell.

“Lefsa,” he said to the datalink’s recorder, “It’s female, and pregnant. I pulled an embryo out of one of the protuberances. I don’t see any indication of an eggshell. I see nothing that indicates it ever developed in an egg shell.

I think it’s a live bearer, I think it’s viviparous, just like mammals!” he added. “If it is, it will be the first Pernese creature to be viviparous!”

He half expected Lefsa to respond, but the datalink merely waited for his next comment. He straightened up, and glanced at the clock. She was probably getting ready for bed!

By the way, his stomach grumbled, you missed dinner.

Thankfully, he’d seen to Raventh and Siskin before setting to work.

I’ve done enough for one day, and I don’t feel like cooking. I think I’ll go get something at the dining hall. They always have something set out for people working late, he thought. I’ll cover this beast up and continue in the morning.

A viviparous Pernese creature would be an incredible find, and one that would put my name, Lefsa’s name in the science books forever. Like I need that? I don’t, but..still.

He pondered the animal on the table. I have to go back to Rand’s, see if we can find another like you, he thought.

“You’re an odd one,” he said to it, as he covered it with a small piece of canvas. No human would disturb it, but there were times when crawlers and other little creatures, or insects, would find their way into homes and offices. Who knew what they might do to the specimen?

The canvas wasn’t long enough to cover the tail. Thinking to tuck it under the canvas, he ran his hand down its length. His fingers stroked the odd pad of skin at its end.

With a slight ‘pfft’, a pungent cloud of scent erupted from the pad. The smell immediately filled the entire room.

Gagging, he jumped backwards, astounded at its potency. It wasn’t so much stink as it was overpowering. Gasping, he remembered to grab the datalink and camera and fled the room.

The door slid shut behind him. The cool night air was like a dash of cold water. He coughed, spit the taste out of his mouth, and took in several deep lungfuls, hoping he hadn’t inhaled the stuff. He felt better. Whew. That stuff has to be for defense, he thought, his eyes watering. He could smell it all over him. Maybe walking will dispel it, maybe evaporate it?

He started to walk towards the dining hall. A woman approached him from the opposite direction. When she came even to him she froze for a moment, her face shocked. Then, she covered her nose and mumbled, ’Scuse me!” and ran past.

Shards. I stink. I STINK! No way will I be allowed into the dining hall, smelling like this!! They’d run me out in a moment!

He hurried towards his quarters, hoping not to meet any others. What IS this stuff, how do I get it off me? Soap and water? Hydrogen peroxide? I don’t have any idea the chemistry of this stuff.

He made it to his quarters without seeing another soul.

He paused at the door into his home. Do I go into MY home smelling like this?

Um he said to Raventh, Do you mind if I come into your weyr, smelling like I do?

Raventh said, solemnly, I don’t think it will bother me.

K’ndar could hear just the slightest bit of amusement in Raventh’s tone.

I’ll strip in his bay. I hope most of the stuff is on the clothes. I have to get a shower, do SOMETHING.

He went around the corner of the building and pressed the pad to open the bay door into Raventh’s weyr.

His brown dragon, eyes whirling an amused green, was curled up on the couch he’d made for him. He inhaled deeply.

Oh, you definitely smell. It’s not bad, at least I don’t find it ….Raventh began.

They both heard Siskin emit the weirdest noise ever. The blue fire lizard darted down from his shelf and landed on K’ndar shoulder.

He began to rub his head along any part of K’ndar’s body he could reach. His eyes whirled a dozen different shades of green and blue. He began to send confusing images, none of which were more than swirling colors and odd sounds. He clawed gently at K’ndar’s sleeve...and began to purr. Purr!!

“Siskin, stop!” K’ndar said, dismayed at the fire lizard’s odd behavior. The lizard’s claws penetrated the shirt to just barely score his arm. He pushed the lizard away. Siskin paid him no attention whatsoever. His purring got louder. K’ndar tried to pry him loose, but the lizard’s talons were firmly set in the fabric of the shirt.

“What in the world is WRONG with you?” he shouted. Siskin was beyond hearing. He struggled out of the shirt and dropped it, not too gently. Siskin never let go.

Raventh began to laugh.

Dismayed, K’ndar watched as the fire lizard writhed in what could only be called ecstasy on his shirt. The fire lizard tore at the shirt, hissing and warbling.

You’re laughing, what is so funny? he snapped at Raventh. The brown dragon was so amused he could barely get the words out.

He is in mating frenzy. I’m sure in a few moments, he’ll mate with your shirt. It’s the smell...it’s making him crazy.

That’s...that’s..tell him to stop!

He’s beyond hearing, oh, there he goes!

Siskin proved Raventh correct. Raventh roared in laughter.

It’s not funny.

It is, it is so. Look at him, he’s like a bronze with a gold

Somehow it felt voyeuristic, seeing Siskin mating his shirt.

Shards...he’s tearing up my shirt!

It could be worse. It could be YOU he’s tearing up!