The interpretive bank explained, "He breathes the air so he'll have to
get to it some way."
The defeated speculative bank maintained a sulky silence.
Thus it was that the entire mind of the Rell rode into the interior of
the ship through the airlock while clustered around Brown.
The Rell had grasped that the man lived and traveled inside his ship and
the necessity for it to be airtight. But so desperate were the two
races' needs that the necessity for an airlock and the consequent slight
seepage each time it was used had not occurred to even the interpretive
bank.
Inside, many Rell, suddenly intoxicated by the heady moisture-laden air,
commenced uniting with each other then splitting away, each such union
resulting in another unit of Rell, naturally. The interpretive bank
again seized control.
"Stop it! Stop it this instant!" it snapped. "Reproduction must be kept
to the former minimum for now. That is a firm order."
Reluctantly the process was halted. The interpretive bank explained, "It
would not take long for us to use up the entire supply of water if we
indulged in uncontrolled reproduction. That might endanger the whole
trip."
"What do we do now?" the speculative bank finally asked.
"There is no way of knowing positively whether the man uses this same
atmosphere until he returns to his world or not. For our own safety it
would seem best, since Rell-like creatures already inhabit him, that we
join them. If any place is safe it will be his interior. And there is
plenty of moisture within to sustain us. But we must be good parasites,"
the interpretive bank warned. "Remember, no undue reproduction no matter
how many quarts of moisture seem to be going to waste inside this 'man'.
He may need it himself and if he does not survive the ship might not
complete its trip."
Brown was just emerging from his space suit so the Rell chose his
closest available body opening and flowed as a group into his mouth and
nostrils.
"Ahchoo!" sneezed Brown, violently evicting half the Rell.
They re-entered a bit more cautiously in order not to irritate the
sensitive membrane again.
"Dammit," said Brown, "don't tell me I've caught a cold clear out here
on Mars. Hope I didn't pick up any Martian germs."
But he needn't have worried. By the time he reached Earth he was far
less germ-ridden, even if considerably more itchy on the exterior, than
when he'd left. The Rell were good at self defense and a surprising
number of mindless but voracious creatures in Brown's interior had been
eliminated.
Brown dreaded having to give the news he carried but he needn't have. He
was a conquering hero.
So much fuss was made over the first flight to Mars that Congress
promptly voted twice the appropriation for the second ship that the Air
Force had requested, despite strong opposition from the Navy and
headlines which read: