The guldman smiled faintly. “No, and I have very little strength. But the doctors tell me I have stabilized for the moment. They do not know if I will next become much better or much worse, but they expect no change at all for a day or two.”

Nolan sank more slowly into the chair assigned to him. “I would think it is a good sign to have arrested the development of the disease,” he said. “Are they hopeful?”

“They do not want me to die,” Chay said, turning that smile on Nolan. “Therefore, they seem very hopeful indeed. They were interested in your information about the possible length of the recovery period.”

Nolan shook his head. “As far as I know, no one has recovered from the infection before. So I don’t have any idea.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought you had said before.”

“What about the others? Who else has fallen ill, and who else is taking the drugs?”

“As far as we know, about forty others have caught the infection. None became as sick as I did, and most of them seem to have recovered already.”

“Excellent!” Nolan exclaimed. “And the vaccine? It has been distributed?”

Chay nodded. “Here and in the city. I am a little concerned about the population in the city, in fact. So many of the gulden there have divorced themselves from utter fealty to me. They will listen to the news, but perhaps not act upon it quickly. And our system of disseminating information among the city gulden is not as good as it is on Gold Mountain.”

Nolan’s hands tightened on the arms of his chair. “Possible epidemic,” he said.

Chay nodded. “We have alerted the gulden news media. The hospitals. The health-care workers. But we are worried.”

“Surely, if someone falls ill and seeks out a doctor, the doctor will recognize the symptoms—” Kit said.

Chay nodded. “We hope so. If the person seeks a doctor in time. He might not realize he is at risk.”

“Every gulden in the city is at risk!” she protested.

Chay nodded again, but his eyes were on Nolan. “Tell me, Nolan Adelpho,” he said. “Does an individual have to be a full-blooded gulden to be affected by this disease? If a child is half-indigo, for instance, or even one-quarter, might that keep him safe from infection?”

Nolan frowned. Beside him, Kit grew very still. “I’m not sure,” he said cautiously. “I wouldn’t think it would be a major problem. There are so few interracial couples that mixed-breed children are almost nonexistent.”

“But there are some,” Chay said. “And if they can catch the disease, or spread it—”