STAR SURGEON

by

ALAN E. NOURSE

DAVID McKAY COMPANY, Inc.
NEW YORK

Copyright © 1959, 1960 by Alan E. Nourse

All rights reserved

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NO. 60-7199

Manufactured in the United States of America
VAN REES PRESS · NEW YORK

Typography by Charles M. Todd

Sixth Printing, April 1973

Part of this book was published in
Amazing Science Fiction Stories

Transcriber's note:
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the copyright on this publication was renewed.

CONTENTS

STAR SURGEON

CHAPTER 1

THE INTRUDER

The shuttle plane from the port of Philadelphia to Hospital Seattle had already gone when Dal Timgar arrived at the loading platform, even though he had taken great pains to be at least thirty minutes early for the boarding.

"You'll just have to wait for the next one," the clerk at the dispatcher's desk told him unsympathetically. "There's nothing else you can do."

"But I can't wait," Dal said. "I have to be in Hospital Seattle by morning." He pulled out the flight schedule and held it under the clerk's nose. "Look there! The shuttle wasn't supposed to leave for another forty-five minutes!"

The clerk blinked at the schedule, and shrugged. "The seats were full, so it left," he said. "Graduation time, you know. Everybody has to be somewhere else, right away. The next shuttle goes in three hours."

"But I had a reservation on this one," Dal insisted.

"Don't be silly," the clerk said sharply. "Only graduates can get reservations this time of year—" He broke off to stare at Dal Timgar, a puzzled frown on his face. "Let me see that reservation."

Dal fumbled in his pants pocket for the yellow reservation slip. He was wishing now that he'd kept his mouth shut. He was acutely conscious of the clerk's suspicious stare, and suddenly he felt extremely awkward. The Earth-cut