- Star Surgeon
Infobox Book |
name = Star Surgeon
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption = First Edition Cover
author = James White
cover_artist =
country =
language = English
series =Sector General
genre =Science-fiction
publisher =Ballantine Books
release_date = 1963
media_type = Print (Hardback &Paperback )
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by =Hospital Station
followed_by =Major Operation "Star Surgeon" is a 1963 science-fiction book by author James White, and it is part of the
Sector General series.There exists another S.F. novel by the same title, a juvenile book by a different author, and probably published in a different English-speaking country.
ynopsis
Dr. Conway must deal with an unconscious patient, classification ELPH, who may be a
cannibal or ademigod , or both. It came from the "other galaxy", and the species is well known, almost infamous, to the Ians, who are also from another galaxy. It is extremely long-lived, and regularly takes complete rejuvenation treatments, including the brain and memory, to keep itself young. By doing this, it is practically immortal. It, although unconscious, appeared to have the ability to negate the most powerful drugs and resist surgery to cure its skin condition. This later turned out to be the work of the entity's "doctor", who is an intelligent, organized collection of microscopic, virus-type cells. Once Doctor Conway realizes this, he uses a wooden stake to make the ELPH's doctor focus itself in one small location, at which time it is removed from the ELPH, informed regarding thephysiology -problems of its patient, and put back in. The patient, whose name is Lonvellin, quickly makes a full recovery, and it leaves to do what it does best: "bona fide" missions that involve taking backwards planetary cultures and pulling them up "by their bootstraps". His particular mission, this time, is to cure a diseased planet called Etla, and he recruits Dr. Conway and the "Monitor Corps" to help him. When The Empire that controls the Planet of Etla misinterprets Lonvellin's efforts as an Act of War, the Empire declares war on the Sector General space hospital.Characters
*Dr. Conway- The Doctor at Sector General who is in charge of the Lonvellin Case.
*Nurse Murchison- A Nurse at Sector General who has a romantic relationship with Conway.
*Lonvellin- Long lived and Benevolent alien. He is treated by Conway, and becomes a friend and ally of Sector General.
*O'Mara- Chief Psychologist at Sector General. He gives the commands and orders to all the Doctors.
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