After getting Mary Vaughan set up in the genetics lab at Laurentian, Reuben Montego grabbed some lunch at a Taco Bell, then headed back to St. Josephs Health Centre. In the lobby he saw Louise Benoit, that beautiful French-Canadian postdoctoral student from SNO. She was arguing with someone who appeared to be from the hospitals security department.
But I saved his life! Reuben heard Louise exclaim. Hed certainly want to see me!
Reuben walked up to the young woman. Hello, he said. Whats the problem?
The woman turned her lovely face toward him, her brown eyes going wide with gratitude. Oh, Dr. Montego! she said. Thank God youre here. I came to see how our friend is doing, but they wont let me go up to his floor.
Im Reuben Montego, said Reuben to the security man, a muscular fellow with red hair. Im Mr. Ponters Well, why not? general practitioner; you can confirm that with Dr. Singh.
I know who you are, said the security man. And, yes, youre on the approved list.
Well, this young lady is with me. She did indeed save Ponters life at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.
Very well, said the man. Sorry to be a pain, but weve got reporters and curious members of the public trying to sneak in all the time, and
At that moment, Dr. Naonihal Singh walked by, sporting a dark brown turban. Dr. Singh! called Reuben.
Hello, said Singh, coming over and shaking Reubens hand. Escaping from the telephone, are we? Mine has been ringing off the hook.
Reuben smiled. Mine, too. Everybody wants to know about our Mr. Ponter, it seems.
You know Im delighted that he is well, said Singh, but, really, I would like to discharge him. We dont have enough hospital beds as it is, thanks to Mike Harris.
Reuben nodded sympathetically. The tightwad former premier of Ontario had closed or amalgamated many hospitals across the province.
And, continued Singh, not putting too fine a point on it, but if he could be gone from here, perhaps I would stop being pestered by the media.
Where should we take him? asked Reuben.
That I am not knowing, replied Singh. But if he is well, he does not belong in a hospital.
Reuben nodded. All right, okay. Well take him with us when we leave. Is there a way to sneak him out without the press seeing?
The whole idea, said Singh, is for the press to know he is gone.
Yes, yes, said Reuben. But wed like to get him somewhere safe before they realize.
I see, said Singh. Take him out via the underground garage. Park in there; take the staff elevator down to B2, and exit through the corridor there. As long as Ponter keeps his head down in your car, no one will see him departing.
Excellent, said Reuben.
Please to take him today, said Singh.
Reuben nodded. I will.
Thank you, said Singh.
Reuben and Louise headed upstairs.
Hello, Ponter, said Reuben, as he came into the hospital room. Ponter was sitting up on the bed, wearing the same clothes hed been found in.
At first Reuben thought Ponter had been watching TV, but then the doctor noticed the way he was holding up his left arm, with Haks glass eye faced toward the monitor. More likely, the Companion had been listening to further language samples, trying to pick up more words from context.
Hello, Reuben, said Hak, presumably on behalf of Ponter. Ponter turned to look at Louise. Reuben noted that he didnt react the way a normal human male might; there was no smile of delight at the unexpected visit from a gorgeous young woman.
Louise, said Reuben. Meet Ponter.
Louise stepped forward. Hello, Ponter! she said. Im Louise Benoit.
Louise pulled you out of the water, Reuben said.
Ponter now did smile warmly; perhaps everyone here looked the same to him, thought Reuben. Lou said Haks voice. Ponter shrugged apologetically.
He cant make the ee sound in your name, said Reuben.
Louise smiled. Thats fine. You can call me Lou; lots of my friends do.
Lou, repeated Ponter, speaking for himself in his deep voice. IyouI
Reuben looked at Louise. Were still building up his vocabulary. Im afraid we havent gotten to social niceties yet. Im sure hes trying to say thank you for saving his life.
My pleasure, said Louise. Im glad youre all right.
Reuben nodded. And speaking of being all right, he said, Ponter, you from here go.
Ponters one continuous eyebrow rolled up his browridge. Yes! said Hak, speaking again for him. Where? Where go?
Reuben scratched the side of his shaved head. Thats a good question.
Far, said Hak. Far.
You want to go far away? said Reuben. Why?
Thethe Hak trailed off, but Ponter moved a hand up, covering his giant noseperhaps the Neanderthal equivalent of pinching ones nostrils.
The smell? said Reuben. He nodded and turned to Louise. With a honker like that, Im not surprised that hes got a keen sense of smell. I hate the smell of hospitals myself, and I spend a lot of time in them.
Louise looked at Ponter, but spoke to Reuben. You still have no idea where hes from?
No.
Im thinking parallel world, said Louise, simply.
What? said Reuben. Oh, come on!
Louise shrugged. Where else could he be from?
Well, thats a good question, but
And if he is from a parallel world, said Louise, suppose that world doesnt have internal-combustion engines, or any of the other things that pollute our air. If you really did have a very sensitive nose, youd never adopt stinking technologies.
Perhaps, but that hardly means hes from another universe.
Either way, said Louise, brushing her long, brown hair out of her eyes, he probably wants to go somewhere away from civilization. Somewhere where it doesnt smell as bad.
Well, I can get a leave from Inco, said Reuben. The beauty of being the staff physician is that you get to write your own leave authorizations. Id really like to keep working with him.
Ive got nothing to do, either, said Louise, while theyre draining the SNO facility.
Reuben felt his heart pound. Damn, he was still a hound dog! But surely Louise was thinking of coming with them because of her scientific interest in Ponter. Still, it would be lovely to spend more time with her; her accent was incredibly sexy.
I wonder if the authorities will try to take him again, said Reuben.
Its only been a day since he got here, said Louise, and I bet no one in Ottawa is really taking it seriously yet. Its just another crazy National Enquirertype story. Federal agents and military types dont show up every time someone claims a UFO has been sighted. Im sure they havent even begun to think this might be real. The smells are indeed awful, thought Ponter, as he looked at Lou and Reuben. They made a stark contrast: him with dark skin and completely bald, and her with skin even paler than Ponters own, and with thick, brown hair cascading past her narrow shoulders.
Ponter was still frightened and confused, but Hak whispered soothing words into his cochlear implants whenever the Companion detected that Ponters vital signs were getting too agitated. Without Haks aid, Ponter felt sure he would have already gone mad.
So much had happened in such a short time! Just yesterday, he had awoken in his own bed with Adikor, had fed his dog, had gone to work
And now he was here, wherever here might be. Hak was right; this must be Earth. Ponter rather suspected there were other habitable planets in the infinite reaches of space, but he seemed to weigh the same here as he had at home, and the air was breathablebreathable, in the way that his beloved Adikors cooking might be said to be edible! There were foul aromas, gaseous smells, fruity smells, chemical smells, smells he couldnt even begin to identify. But, he had to admit, the air did sustain him, and the food they had given him was (mostly!) chemically compatible with his digestive system.