Page 181 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Investigating the Mystery of the Talking Plant
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‘‘Eh? Why, I’m not sure. I think I dozed off for a bit after all that
mincing about and protocol nonsense.”
“Well, thank you, General,” said Kaga, gasping. “You didn’t happen
to notice anyone else out there last night while you were hunting, did
you?”
“No, no, I didn’t. You humans will have to go now. I feel like lying
down for a while; must conserve my strength, you know.”
“Farewell, great warrior,” said Lugo, and the two PKU officers
retreated to the environment lock. After the air cleared, they left the
anteroom, still coughing sporadically.

7: A member of the Hive

“The next chamber is occupied by the emissary of Jaleeka,” said
Lugo. “Shall we go in?”
“Wait a minute,” said Captain Kaga, with a cough. “I don’t want any
more surprises like General Sleeth. Why don’t you brief me a little
first?”
“Sure. Kortokox is a hive-dweller, so she’s a bit lonely here. Being
exoskeletal and having a very low rate of respiration, she has probably
the fewest problems of all our guests in adapting to the Pontengan
environment. The PKU has been doing business with Jaleeka for a
long time; the gar weed which is harvested by Kortokox’s race for
lining their hives is the key commodity. It has very interesting
acoustical properties, a high sound absorption-to-weight ratio, I
believe.”
Kaga stopped in mid-cough and asked, “How does it compare to
sonopor in that respect?’’
“Well, now that you mention it, Farnitt did show me a preliminary
analysis that he had received from the PKU Science Center. They’re
still studying the fungus, but it already looks like it’s far superior to the
Jaleekan plant. After all, the Tzigians did breed it specifically for that
purpose.”
“Who else knows of that finding?” asked Kaga.
“Could be general knowledge by now,” replied Lugo, shrugging. “I
don’t think it’s classified information, and news travels fast in this
place.”

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