"All right." Neelsen seemed to curl up into himself still further. "The specimen was stomach."
"Human stomach?"
"Human stomach."
"But the only human on this ship that doesn't have a stomach is Hrunta," said Jenkins.
"So the hlorg ate him."
"Most of him. Not quite all. It threw out the one part of him it couldn't eat. The part containing a substance that inactivated its enzyme system. Dilute hydrochloric acid, to be specific. We used the entire ship's supply, and cut the hlorg down to three-quarters size, but we need a continuous supply to keep it whittled down until we get home. And there's only one good, permanent, reliable source of dilute hydrochloric acid on board this ship—"
The Black Doctor's face was purple. "I said no," he choked. "My answer stands."
The Red Doctor sighed and turned to Green Doctor Stone. "All right, Wally," he said.
(From the files of the Medical Disciplinary Board, Hospital Earth, op. cit.)