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longshoremen, other Port Forcemen. But you are more like us than any of them—you even look more like us.”
    “Do I?”
    “A little. But perhaps it’s just that you find us interesting, and that makes you interesting to us.”
    Jin-Li shrugged, smiling. “I don’t know, Director. But it’s true—your world appeals to me.”
    Hilel smiled again. “On behalf of Irustan,” he said with a light laugh, “I thank you!” He gestured with one hand to the stairs. “Now, I’ve a manifest for you, and a few special requests have come in from our medicants. If you don’t mind.”
    “Not a bit. Glad to be of service.”
    Jin-Li followed Hilel out of the lobby, looking back once at the great stone piece. It was an illustration, a material representation of the ecstasy of religious belief, and also of the inscrutable nature of Irustan. Jin-Li doubted Earth eyes could ever fully understand it.

four
    *   *   *
    The Maker chose to make man larger, stronger, and wiser than woman. Husbands must be responsible for their wives, for their sustenance, their clothing, their shelter, their well-being, and their discipline, according to the guidance of the One.
    —Third Homily, The Book of the Second Prophet
    Z ahra, not for the first time, slept on the spare bed in the large surgery, first sliding it close beside her patient. She wrapped herself in an extra blanket and drowsed through the small hours, alert to the mild buzz of the monitor. Once or twice she woke to address the medicator, and then toward dawn, certain that Maya was already mending, she fell into a heavy sleep.
    Lili came to wake her in the morning, bringing coffee on a tray. She touched Zahra’s shoulder, and Zahra woke immediately. Lili’s eyes flickered through her veil at the sight of Maya. The girl’s face was as white as the pillow, her cheeks so thin they seemed transparent.
    “Ruptured spleen,” Zahra grated, her voice thick with fatigue. She swung her long legs over the edge of the bed and reached for the steaming cup Lili held out. Her eyes swept the monitor before she took a grateful sip.
    Lili bent to the floor to retrieve Mayas veil, smoothing it with her fingers, shaking out the wrinkles. She cast a wary glance at the locked door to the dispensary.
    Zahra gave a short laugh. “Oh, yes, Lili,” she said. “The husband, B’Neeli, spent the night there. No coffee for him, mind you! We’ll just leave him on his own for a while.” She felt her mouth pull down, her lips thinning, and she supposed it made her look just like Nura, her teacher. Nura had never spoken of her feelings, but Zahra had read her teacher’s emotions as clearly as she interpreted the swiftly changing digits on the monitor. A brief, familiar surge of grief filled Zahra’s breast. She suppressed it, sighing and rubbing her tired eyes.
    Quietly, hoping her patient might sleep a bit longer, she asked, “Has the director had his breakfast?”
    “He’s having it now, Medicant.”
    “Ah.” Zahra stood, straightened slowly and massaged her back where it had grown stiff against the thin cushion of the bed. Lili handed her veil to her. Zahra pulled it carelessly over her tumbled hair, but Lili clucked and tugged at it, tucking in errant strands, straightening the cap. Zahra buttoned the drape, but left rill and verge dangling. “I’m going to talk to Qadir,” she said. “At least wash your face,” the anah murmured.
    Zahra glanced in the reflection of the monitor and saw that, indeed, she needed a wash, an entire shower for all that, but there was no time now. Qadir would be leaving any moment. She splashed a little water over her eyes, and drops flew across her veil, leaving a trail of spots. Impatiently, she twitched it out of the way. “Damn thing,” she muttered.
    “Medicant!” Lili hissed.
    “Yes, I know, Lili, sorry. Listen, will you stay with—um, her name’s Maya B’Neeli. We’ll need to transfer this family to my list. Will you sit with her until I come