‘Now don’t be ungracious, dearie,’ the Matron sang in a lilting voice. ‘The health service on Sanitalis is for everyone, even dogs. A dog or cat can give hours of comfort so they must be looked after or stuffed. Isn’t that right, my fine fellow?’ she trilled to the dog, who looked on with an anxious flutter of his brown eyes.

‘But what’s wrong with him?’

‘Oh, nothing. He’s a stray, so we thought we’d give him a quick check-up. He’s called Kasbek.’ She went over to pat his head. ‘If nothing else you can be stuffed, can’t you, my fine friend? A friend for life, that’s what you’ll be.’

‘Amazing, even dogs are looked after. I prefer living dogs, personally,’ replied Tancredi.

‘Yes, well, I’ll have to pass that on to the Chief Psychiatrist for analysis. Interesting comment, dearie. Stuffed they’re less bother and easier to carry around. Practical. That’s what you need to be, sweetie. Now let’s have a good look at you.’

Tancredi expected the Matron to attend to his wound but she just stood and observed him. She brought a fleshy hand up to her chin, and a note of thoughtful reflection emanated from deep within her throat. Feeling awkward, Tancredi sought to change the object of her attention.

‘What’s going on outside the hospital?’

‘We’re just extending it,’ said the Matron looking out of the window. ‘We’re always extending it. Extend life. Extend care. Extend medicine. That’s our motto.’

With this she turned and trotted off down the ward, practising a can-can kick as she went.

A terrible noise sounded outside the window. Tancredi wanted to see what was going on. He got out of bed, suddenly aware that he was dressed in a funny back-to-front robe which exposed his posterior.

‘You coming along?’ he said to his neighbour.

Kasbek bounded out of bed, revealing himself to be an Irish wolfhound with a magnificent silver coat. He wagged his tail with excitement. Tancredi buried his face in Kasbek’s fur, breathing in his dog smell. He stroked his head, bending back his ears, then kissed his snout. He knew they’d be friends.

Kasbek pawed at the covers of his bed. It seemed empty to Tancredi. Then the sheets folded back to reveal Tamany. He had rolled himself into a little ball and hidden in the bed with Kasbek to escape the Matron’s ministrations.

‘She wanted me to do this funny kicking thing,’ he said.

Now he mounted Kasbek like a horse, and they trotted off down the ward. Tancredi limped beside them, clutching his bandaged wound.

Presently they found their way to the hospital roof, which gave a panoramic view of Hippocratopolis. The area around the hospital was a hive of activity. Workers were smashing houses, shops, offices, trees, fountains: anything that could be flattened was a target for destruction. Tancredi had never seen demolition on such a large scale.

‘I wonder what it’s all for?’ Tamany asked Tancredi, who climbed up onto an empty plinth and assumed a heroic pose.