Med Service

Med Service by Murray Leinster

A Med Ship crewed by a medical officer and his companion, a small alien creature, embarks on a routine health inspection mission to a newly colonized planet. Upon arrival, they encounter unexpected hostility from the planet's inhabitants, who attempt to prevent the Med Ship from landing. The crew experiences a violent disruption caused by a landing grid that seems to have been activated with malicious intent, leading to a near disaster. After managing to regain control, the medical officer discovers that the planet is largely deserted, with signs of a previous colony that has either failed or been abandoned. He finds a dead man in a field, suggesting that the inhabitants may have faced dire circumstances. As he investigates further, he learns of a mysterious illness affecting the population, characterized by lethargy and a lack of will to act, which ultimately leads to death. The officer encounters a group of survivors who have fled the city, revealing that they are being hunted by those who remain. The survivors explain that the city was once populated but has become a place of fear and death due to the plague. The Med Ship officer realizes that the disease is not a typical contagion but rather a result of a combination of factors that render the inhabitants unable to act, leading to their demise. As the officer works to understand the nature of the illness, he devises a plan to confront the invaders who have taken over the city. He uses his medical knowledge to create a serum from the blood of the survivors, which he hopes will counteract the effects of the disease. He also prepares to confront the invaders directly, using tactics that involve deception and subterfuge. In a series of confrontations, the officer and the survivors manage to incapacitate the invaders, using a combination of medical knowledge and strategic planning. They ultimately aim to prevent further colonization of the planet by outsiders who would exploit the situation. The narrative explores themes of survival, ethics in medicine, and the consequences of human actions in the face of adversity. The officer's journey reflects the complexities of human conduct and the unpredictable nature of chance, as he navigates a world where the line between life and death is perilously thin. The story concludes with the officer successfully returning to his ship, having thwarted the immediate threat and set the stage for a potential resolution to the plight of the planet's inhabitants.

By Murray Leinster · First published 1950 · Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Speculative Fiction · 6 chapters · 30,188 words

First lines

"The probability of unfavorable consequences cannot be zero in any action of common life, but the probability increases by a very high power as a series of actions is lengthened. The effect of moral considerations, in conduct, may be stated to be a mathematically verifiable reduction in the number of unfavorable possible chance happenings. Of course, whether this process is termed the intelligent use of probability, or ethics, or piety, makes no difference in the fact. It is the method by which unfavorable chance happenings are made least probable. Arbitrary actions such as we call criminal cannot ever be justified by mathematics. For example. " _Probability and Human Conduct_ Fitzgerald

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Med Service is listed on Textopian as a novel by Murray Leinster, dated 1950 CE.

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Science Fiction · Space Opera · Military Science Fiction · Adventure · Action · Thriller · Pulp Fiction · Classic Literature · Vintage Science Fiction · Early Space Exploration · Interstellar Travel · Alien Invasion

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