Read Online The Legacy of Lehr by Katherine Kurtz - Free Book Online

restlessly in the plasteel cages that were now reconnected into one long run. But their screams were almost deafening, running a shrill, three-plus octave range that grated even beyond hearing.
    â€œGood God!” Mather said, drawing the Ranger named Perelli into the relative haven of the adjoining security room, while Wallis went to the scanners with Shannon. “How long have they been doing this?”
    Perelli grimaced. “Long enough, sir. They started right after we reconnected the cages, and they haven’t really stopped since.”
    â€œWell, did someone pinch their tails or something? They sound like they’re in pain.”
    â€œIf they are, it isn’t from anything that shows on a medscan,” the man replied glumly. “They’re together, they’ve got fresh food and water, the cages are clean. We’ve about decided they just like to hear themselves scream. Peterson even tried singing to them.”
    Even Mather had to laugh at that, for Peterson’s voice was notably deficient in any quality that might soothe the savage beast. While Wallis ran repeated medscans on each cat, Mather reviewed the security tapes, looking for some anomaly that might account for the change in the cats’ behavior—such as some outside visitor who might have stirred them up. But after nearly half an hour, they were forced to conclude that, for want of a better explanation, the cats simply preferred screaming, just now. And whatever had caused Muon’s most recent distress, the cats seemed to have had no part in it, at least directly.
    â€œWell, I’m sure I haven’t any idea what it all means,” Shannon said when it became apparent they were not going to find an easy answer. “Give me human patients, any day—speaking of which, I suppose I ought to get back and see whether any new crises have arisen in the last hour, before I turn in. I’ll also look in on Muon. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
    After a last inspection of the security arrangements in the hold, Mather and Wallis, too, returned to their cabin. Mather was almost fidgeting as he sat down in front of the library console and began tapping in a query, pausing only to open the stiff collar of his dress tunic.
    â€œMather, we’ve already read everything in print about Lehr cats,” Wallis said, coming to read over his shoulder as she began taking down her hair. “If it wasn’t in the Menkar Banks, I doubt we’re going to find it in a starliner’s library.”
    Mather only nodded and kept on typing. “Maybe not. But we haven’t talked to this particular computer before. Maybe it will be able to suggest a new logic pattern for us. The whole thing might be so simple that we’re not seeing it.”
    â€œYou really think so?”
    â€œNo.”
    Wallis shook out her hair and began brushing it, watching as the green letters of Mather’s query crawled across the screen.
    Reference: dominant life forms of Eta Canis Majoris II. Cross-reference parapsychic makeup of principal humanoid species, commonly called Aludrans, with that of dominant life forms of Beta Geminorum III (Il Nuadi), especially species known as Lehr cats. Respond .
    The library’s response was almost immediate.
    Humanoids of planet Eta Canis Majoris II, hereafter called Aludrans, reported possessed of limited telepathic abilities within own species. A spoken version of the written language persists from pre-telepathic days and has been revived since the advent of contact with other races. (See “Aludran language.”)
    Dominant life form of planet Beta Geminorum III (Il Nuadi) is homo sapiens, inhabitants descended from human stock seeded on planet during earth expansion period preceding Cruaxi Sweep. (See “Cruaxi Sweep”; Alien encounters; etc.) Extensive evidence remains of a pre-Cruaxi native race, briefly coexistent with the first human colonists,