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replied, adding glumly, “the only exam I’m going to get decent marks for.”
    The TravelTube door slid open. “You take this one,” said Emmie. “Professor Dibali’s office is at the other end of the ship from the medical wing, so I’ll just slow you down. I’ll see you in the library later. Give Kaal my love.”
    “Will do,” said John, forcing a smile. Even tired, Emmie looked pretty, he thought to himself. Her golden skin always looked radiant, but now it seemed to have an extra glow. A sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead. Nerves , John thought to himself. “Kaal’s going to be all right, Emmie,” he said gently.
    The Sillaran girl shook her head. “I wish I could believe that,” she replied.
    * * *
    Dr Kasaria spotted John as soon as he entered the medical wing. “John Riley,” she said, rising from her desk. “I’m glad you’re here. I was going to ask you to return later. I’ve had some interesting results back from the tests I ran on you this morning.”
    John glanced through the clear screen into the quarantine room where Kaal lay motionless, hooked up to scary-looking machines and monitors. “I just came to visit Kaal,” he said. “Would it be all right if I sat with him for a while?”
    “I’m afraid not. As I said this morning, Zhaldarian Flu is extremely contagious. We cannot risk the infection spreading.”
    “But you’ve been in there,” John blurted. “Please, Dr Kasaria. Just for a little while?”
    “It’s for your own safety,” the doctor said quietly. “Kaal’s symptoms have grown worse. He has lost control of his limbs and parts of his brain. Zhaldarian Flu affects its victim’s behaviour. During this stage of the disease, Kaal is prone to violence.”
    “He’ll be fine with me,” John protested. “I’m his friend. He’d never hurt me.”
    Dr Kasaria tilted her head on one side, regarding him with enormous black eyes. “For a few moments, then,” she said eventually. “But you’ll have to wear a protective suit and be accompanied by an Examiner. Afterwards I want to run a few more tests on you.”
    Wearing white all-in-one overalls that covered him from head to foot and a thicker facemask than the Examiners had handed out earlier, John followed an Examiner through the disinfectant field.
    “Kaal,” he said softly, moving towards the bed. “It’s me, John. I just came to see how you’re doing.”
    The Derrilian lay still, the only movement the rising and falling of his chest. John leaned over him. “Kaal. Can you hear me?”
    Kaal’s eyes blinked open.
    “Hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” John asked.
    His friend’s head turned. Eyes like red fire glared at John. “It was you . You did it,” Kaal hissed angrily.
    “What? What are you talking about?”
    “YOU PUT THE BRAINWEEVILS IN MY HEAD!” Kaal roared, leaping from the bed. Tubes and wires snapped away from his arms. “THEY MAKE ME THINK OF... GAAH! THEY’RE HERE AGAIN.”
    John stepped back, shocked, as Kaal clawed at his own head. From the corner of his eye, he saw Dr Kasaria rushing towards the disinfectant field. “Mate, you should get back into bed—” John began.
    “I’LL KILL YOU!” Kaal screamed, leaping towards John, his hands grabbing.
    “Easy, Kaal!” John shouted, leaping backward. But he was too slow. One of Kaal’s hands gripped his throat. The other tore the mask from his face.
    “YES, I CAN SEE YOU NOW EMPEROR TAVARR—”
    A green force field flung Kaal backward onto the bed. “Violence is prohibited,” the Examiner droned in its electronic voice.
    Dr Kasaria caught John’s arm as he staggered back. “Are you all right?” she asked.
    “I’m fine,” John gasped. “What about Kaal?”
    On the bed, Kaal thrashed and buckled, screaming what John knew must be Derrilian swear words at the Examiner, since those were the only words the ship’s computer did not translate. “There is nothing I can do for the poor boy until he calms down,” the