Golden age short story. Space Explorers absorbed by amoeba.

[RogerRichard]

Space crew/explorers visit planet. Local amoeba absorbs them all in one conglomerate amoeba. all body parts dissolved except their brains. They fight each other within the amoeba. Gradually they die until there is only three left- the heroine, the hero and the military commander. The heroine survives by developing a bony skull to protect her brain. Both hero and heroine create new bodies from the amoeba, and story ends with with promise of next stage evolution.

 

[monkeypooper]

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?253857 in this gollancz anthology it was called " four in one" by Damon knight.

 

[RogerRichard]

Space crew/explorers visit planet. Local amoeba absorbs them all in one conglomerate amoeba. all body parts dissolved except their brains. They fight each other within the amoeba. Gradually they die until there is only three left- the heroine, the hero and the military commander. The heroine survives by developing a bony skull to protect her brain. Both hero and heroine create new bodies from the amoeba, and story ends with with promise of next stage evolution.

Many Thanks