Kennon winced at the cliche It was so ancient that it had lost all meaning. Most Betans didn’t know what a horse was, let alone whether it was healthy or not. From what Kennon could remember of veterinary history, the horse wasn’t too healthy an animal. It was rather delicate, in fact.
“How is the child?” Kennon asked. It took a little courage to ask this question. The baby could be anything from normal to a monstrosity.
“Perfectly normal,” Brainard said. “A true Betan type even down to the vestigial tail. We amputated that, of course.”
“Thank Ochsner!” Kennon breathed. “I was afraid.”
“Of course you were,” Brainard said. “Do you want to see them now? When I left, Copper was asking for you.”
Kennon sighed. Leaving, he realized, wasn’t going to be as easy as he had thought.
“We’ll have to keep them here for a couple of months,” Brainard said. “We must take exhaustive tests if we expect the court to reverse its prior decision.”
“I expected that,” Kennon said. He shrugged, “It’s probably best,” he said. “Now show me where Copper is.”
“She’s back in the same room. You don’t need a guide.”
Kennon didn’t. In fact, he behaved quite admirably.