There were viruses, too, and he had been afraid when he had discovered this fact that he had arrived too late. But the first attempts at establishing communication had relieved the Triomed of his fears. The indigenous viruses were primitive; not at all like his own illustrious ancestors of ancient Triom.
The sleeping biped relaxed and the Triomed inched forward again, a flat, almost two dimensional smear of glistening matter on the floor in front of the biped.
From high above the planet's night side, the Triomed had sensed the city. He had absorbed its shape and size and meaning while his craft settled through the heavy, oxygen-rich air. It was not enough that his instruments told of suitable hosts. He was a scientist and believed in absolute proof. Also, he had been in space long—without the satisfaction of a host—and he yearned for the rapport, the domination of a warm-blooded creature.
There had been a dark segment in the brilliant pattern of the city. An island of solitude amid the myriad confluences. It was there that he had landed his tiny probe ship and hidden it among the thickly wooded glades. Almost immediately he had sensed the nearness of many creatures. Insects, plants, warm-blooded quadrupeds and bipeds. There had been machines and buildings and winding roadways among the trees. Darkness had covered his progress until at last he found himself near the sleeping creature, ready to infiltrate and take command.
The glistening shape elongated, became a thread-like tendril of almost gossamer thickness. It touched the flesh of the sleeper and thrilled with pleasure. Cautiously, the Triomed moved up the hairy leg, an invisible strand of alien life close to the warm skin. Presently, the strand found the opening it sought. It slithered imperceptibly into the moist warmth of the sleeper's nostril, moved through the tear-duct into the space behind the eyeball. Here it probed through muscle and membrane along the base of the brain, seeking the pineal gland.
And found it, penetrated it, coiling like a microscopic serpent within the gland. A surge of pleasure went through the Triomed. Here was safety. The host was large, powerful and vibrant with life. Quickly, the Triomed established dominance. It was shockingly easy. The creature's mind was immature, primitive. Briefly it struggled and then died as the alien poisoned the identity centers of the brain.
New sensations poured in through unfamiliar sense organs. Sounds of the faraway city, small sounds from the many living creatures in the darkness. Smells and sights and pressures from all about him presented themselves—were evaluated and recorded in the atomic structure of the Triomed.
He was now equipped, he reflected with satisfaction, to carry out further exploration. In the guise of the indigenous biped he could roam among the natives at will. He remained in a sitting position, however, while he familiarized himself with his host.
He had two articulated appendages fixed to the trunk at a point near and below the skull-case. These ended in complex extremities consisting of five jointed fingers. The same pattern was repeated at the lower end of the trunk, but the extremities were suited there for the carrying of the creature's considerable weight. Within the trunk were the customary viscera generally associated with warm-blooded beings: lungs, intestines, stomach, liver, bladder, reproductive organs and assorted ducted and ductless glands. It was apparent to the Triomed that his present body was in excellent health. He was greatly pleased.