They had to wait half an hour. Then Eakins' voice came, sharp and shrill over the walkie-talkie.
"Sorensen? Drake?"
"We're here," Drake said. "What did that damned bug do to you?"
"Nothing," Eakins said. "You are talking to that bug now. My name is the Quedak."
"My God," Drake said to Sorensen, "that bug must have hypnotized him!"
"No. You are not speaking to a hypnotized Eakins. Nor are you speaking to a creature who is simply using Eakins as a mouthpiece. Nor are you speaking to the Eakins who was. You are speaking to many individuals who are one."
"I don't get that," Drake said.
"It's very simple," Eakins' voice replied. "I am the Quedak, the totality. But my totality is made up of separate parts, which are Eakins, several rats, a dog named Oro, a pig, an anteater, a cassowary—"
"Hold on," Sorensen said. "Let me get this straight. This is not Eakins I'm speaking to. This is the—the Quedak?"