Page 170 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Investigating the Mystery of the Talking Plant
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4: On the Scene of a Crime

After passing through the connecting door to the aliens’ quarters,
Kaga and Lugo stopped at the reception desk to sign in. A dull brown
feathery quadruped was on duty, and Kaga took the opportunity to
ask it a few questions.
“Do you ever work the night shift?”
“Oh, I used to,” came the reply through a Languex mounted on the
desk top. “But since Miss Woswoot started two months ago, my
seniority enabled me to transfer to the early day shift.”
Kaga noticed an array of signal lights and switches on the desk’s
elaborate ComSet. “Did you normally get a lot of calls from your
guests during the night?’’
“Sometimes,” replied the avian. “It really depends on whether an
individual is nocturnal, and, of course, on its own personality. There’s
always some ill-at-ease creature who has nothing better to do than
pester the desk all night—” a buzzer rang loudly— “or day,” it added,
turning to answer the call. The Languex switched from Galactic
Standard English to a stream of clicks and whistles as the avian
handled the call. Lugo motioned to Kaga and they went further into
the housing structure.
“Over here we keep all the life-support equipment and materials like
imported foods for our guests. Their rooms are along the outer wall;
special energy needs are supplied by cables and hoses under the floor.
The doors to the rooms are not locked, in case of emergencies;
nevertheless, the habitats we create inside may be sealed up in any
number of ways by the creatures themselves. Here, let’s have a look at
Bulakko’s room, since it’s unoccupied now.”
Lugo touched a large knob on the wall, and a wide door slid open.
They entered a small anteroom which had a similar portal on its far
side. There was a panel of display meters beside this second entry,
surmounted by a row of lights.
“This is like the airlock on a ship,” explained Lugo. “The inner
chamber is maintained constantly in a physical state closely
approximating that of its resident’s home planet. When it is necessary
to cross from that into the Pontengan biosphere—or vice versa— the
transition is made here. The lights up there indicate when the door
may be opened. Once we get the habitat set up, we generally stay out

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