The interpretive bank explained, “He breathes the air so he’ll have to get to it some way.”
The defeated speculative bank maintained a sulky silence.
Thus it was that the entire mind of the Rell rode into the interior of the ship through the airlock while clustered around Brown.
The Rell had grasped that the man lived and traveled inside his ship and the necessity for it to be airtight
. But so desperate were the two races’ needs that the necessity for an airlock and the consequent slight seepage each time it was used had not occurred
to even the interpretive bank.
Inside, many Rell, suddenly intoxicated by the heady moisture-laden air, commenced uniting with each other then splitting away, each such union resulting in another unit of Rell, naturally. The interpretive bank again seized control.
“Stop it! Stop it this instant!” it snapped. “Reproduction must be kept to the former minimum for now. That is a firm order.”
Reluctantly the process was halted. The interpretive bank explained, “It would not take long for us to use up the entire supply of water if we indulged in uncontrolled reproduction. That might endanger the whole trip.”
“What do we do now?” the speculative bank finally asked.