“Watson, I can’t see what you’re looking at!” “Shirley, the trouble with vaporising the evidence tends to be that there isn’t any!” “Stop calling me Shirley. Oh, hang on: that’s my name. What are you saying: ‘tends to be’?” “When you vaporise something the size of a Pseudobear, you should expect an amount of residue. My first doctorate concerned the Zardaran Pseudobear, as it happens.” “‘First’?” “Yes, Shirley. I have four (thank you for asking). Now, the male Pseudobear has blood which really isn’t hugely different from ours, as does the female, except after giving birth. I still don’t know why, but female Pseudobear blood turns indigo, in the immediate aftermath of giving birth - to live offspring. What colour does that look like to you?” “We still have company?” “Potentially, lots of it. The young Pseudobear aims to double her weight every few hours. A Pseudobear can deliver up to ten offspring at a time. The males, as it happens, are less aggressive, but we could be facing several females. I’ve known litters where every new-born has been female. I’d keep that raygun handy, if I were you. I’m certainly not planning to put mine down.”