Return of the Prodigals
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THEY BROUGHT THE FREAKS to Earth on shuttles from the Space Station. They were lying on long gurneys, encased in clear plastic domes. The medical staff that wheeled them into hospital looked like midgets in comparison. The beds were nine or ten feet long, yet only just long enough. The freaks were naked beneath their white sheets and you could see areas of skin—a deep, dull red, like the planet they had come from. Oxygen masks covered their faces, but I remember noticing their long, black hair.
At the time, I was angry. Who wouldn't be? It was only natural.
Three of them were DOA, the news report said.
My rota included the ward set aside for them. I got there early, about five a.m. They were sound asleep despite the beep-beep-beep of the monitoring equ
