"I don't know," Dr. Bowen replied, "but I'll make some tests." He dropped the hair into his bag. "If I find out anything, I'll let you know," he called as he started for the door, "and I advise you, Thurwinker, to stay out of trouble."
Thurwinker nearly wore a groove in the floor with his pacing. He was a nervous wreck by the time Dr. Bowen arrived. He practically jumped on him as he came in the door. "Now, doctor! What have you been doing? What kind of tests were you talking about and why all this mystery?"
"Calm down, Thurwinker," Dr. Bowen soothed. "There isn't any mystery—at least, not any more."
"What do you mean?" Thurwinker demanded.
"I mean, you've been misled by the appearance of the natives. They look like us except for that light orange color, but they've got at least one fundamental difference. That stuff on their heads isn't exactly hair."
"What!" Thurwinker exploded. "What is it, then? It looks like hair!"
"Under the microscope, there's quite a difference," Dr. Bowen explained. "It has a hard covering just like our hair, the center is hollow and contains a little fluid, but floating in this fluid is a nerve."
"A what!"
"A nerve," the doctor answered, "just like in our teeth. I rather imagine their hair is some kind of a sensory organ. I don't know what kind, but I'm sending a sample back home and maybe they can find out."
Thurwinker was stunned. "You mean—it hurts—to have their hair cut?"