Page 139 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Sorting the Sexes on Dulup

but the idea would not leave him alone. Had exobiology truly purged
itself of any reason to doubt the independent origin of life? By now
the PKU had data from thousands of inhabited planets on file.
Perhaps there was a deeper common structure that had not been
looked for after the obvious differences had been recognized.
Captain Kaga had set to work, gathering and analyzing genetic
characteristics from every source. The Academy began to complain
that his gigantic reiterative self-correcting search program was chewing
up computer cycles at an alarming rate. He replied that the
unmonitored processing was necessary for him to pay sufficient
attention to his teaching duties rather than spend time guiding the
analysis personally.
The director, Limil Oorj, had called Kaga in to reprimand him. But
no sooner had he entered the office than the program finally halted,
and the results flashed onto the Director’s screen at Kaga’s request.
He ignored his superior officer’s remonstrance while he studied the
output. Then he turned to the Klavian and shook his head.
“The theory is not disproved.”
Oorj’s diagonally-slitted eyes bulged. “What do you mean?” he
fluted.
“The computer found seventeen points of profound structural
similarity in transgalactic cell nuclei that might not be the result of
chance.”
“Oh, no!” groaned the director, in a vox humana diminuendo “Now
we’ll have to rewrite all the CompTutor texts.”
“Not necessarily,” said Kaga quickly. “The evidence must be
examined through a smaller frame of analysis than is possible using
the data gathered by obsolete instruments centuries ago. If our new
wavicle aminoscope were transported to a sample of inhabited worlds,
the increased resolution of electrochemical morpho-topology would
probably give us a clear answer.”
Oorj’s eyeslits narrowed. “But you’re the only one here who knows
how to use that hypersensitive hunk of supercooled circuitry.”
“Ah, yes, what a coincidence,” replied Kaga airily. “Well, in the
interests of science and the sanctity of our reputation, I’d be willing to
undertake the necessary field research. Professor Mola can fill in for
me; I’ve noticed he has little more to do than hang around the
ionization tanks in town.”

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