The Dancer's Summons

by M. Garnet

  Standing there for a moment, Traci decided she had a choice to believe him. "I need a job somewhere that keeps me away from the public. I am a hard worker and learn very fast. I have a lot of talents, and I can give you a resume. Yes, I am on the run because…"

  Big Query raised a hand and interrupted her. "I don't need your history or reasons for being on this Gods forsaken planet. Everyone else has a black history on this planet, or else they would be somewhere else that is nicer and safer.

  I think I know of an excellent job for you if you don't mind a bit of travel. You can take my son home to heal on the way." With those words, another door that was hidden opened, and another woman entered.

  "Get this lady some food and a place to rest. I will explain, as she and Badar will be leaving together within the hour."

  The woman nodded and indicated that Traci should follow. Soon she was into an entirely different part of the building that had no drunks or floating signs. It was full of quiet workers and moving crates. She was led into a side room that was obviously a small dining room where a couple of people were just leaving.

  There were various tables and chairs and a window on one side with a robot behind to hand out food and drinks.

  "Tell the bot in simple words what it is you desire. Stay here until I come back for you. There is a small cleansing room right over there. Welcome aboard." The woman smiled and left.

  Report: Am attempting to reacquire asset. I have a lead and am moving to next location. Details to follow.

  It wasn't long before they were in a small airship moving over the trees of the planet. Traci was strapped into a seat across from the young man whose name was Fargo. He was the son of a crime lord that was one of the largest in the colonized universe.

  He was unconscious, strapped in on an extended self-moving health board. There was a human medic sitting at his head and a robot medic at his feet. No one was speaking, and all Traci had been told was that she would accompany Big Query's son Fargo to his home and her new job.

  The trip was longer than Traci expected. The small airship was fast and quiet as it skimmed under the clouds over the planet. She saw the different cities and small towns all full of crime lords and run by different gangs. This whole world was a haven for those avoiding the price on their backs and the law offices seeking them. The sheer number of them with their wealth and weapons prevented even the OOW from coming in and interfering with their lives.

  It is why most people avoided this world called Walker. There are few laws and a variety of lawmen formed by the different crime lords in their districts. Who was the biggest boss on Walker? That would be hard to say—as there were people off-planet that kept contacts on Walker. It was a place to have a bank and store weapons and corral muscle. Some even found that they could keep their families safe, with enough guards and strong arms around their home sites.

  Who was going to question what was taken off of the ships that docked at that big spaceship's landing site on this world? Watching over her shoulder out the window, she could see forests and flatlands with some type of grazing animals. At last, she began to see some buildings and some type of what might be enormous storage, or office units in the distance.

  But as they got closer, the details of the immense structure became clear, and it was some type of modern castle or citadel. As the airship came into a private landing strip, Traci could see that the building was several stories tall and decorated like a birthday cake.

  There were pillars on different levels and balconies with lacy metal railings and filigree designs hanging from above. The colors were grey and blue and salmon with white around all the windows that had large shutters. It was some insane palace that was too large. There were wide stairs on all the different sides that faced in five directions. From the windows and balconies' size, it is evident that the floors were higher than usual.

  As they got off the airship, there was a rush of servants, both human and robots, who were out to surround the unconscious son, to whisk him over and up the wide steps of the mansion. For Traci, as she stood confused, a man in a dark fancy civilian suit walked up to her.

  "Mistress Cen?"

  Traci smiled at him and nodded.

  "Welcome to Maurier Gardens. I understand you are our new Record Keeper and Auditor. I am Ada, Chief of the House. I will show you around and to your suite. Later I will make sure you meet the head of each division on Maurier." He waved his hand to indicate she should accompany him up the large steps where Fargo had disappeared.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The inside was every bit as impressive as the outside. She was right in guessing that the ceilings were high. There was coving around where the walls met the high painted ceilings with dancing ladies and flowers in the first entry room.

  The tall walls had beautiful paintings hanging along to accent each other. Real paintings, not holos, and some of them looked very old.

  Leading the way past a wide curved carpeted stairway, Ada approached what was obviously the doors to two elevators.

  Inside it, Traci noticed four buttons covering the upper levels along with four more that would indicate lower levels below ground position.

  "The first or ground floor has only offices and staff and the cooking kitchen." Ada began talking as the elevator moved at a slow pace upward. "The second floor is mostly for entertainment and the place for usual meals. There are a large ballroom, a theatre, and a gym. There are small rooms for individual use. The third floor is where you have a suite. The upper floor is for the family, and the elevator and stairs are blocked, so please do not make an effort to go up there and disturb the family.”

  When the elevator stopped, Ada led her down the decorated wide high hallway to the second door on her left. Before going in, Ada handed Traci an entry card just like the ones used in hotels.

  "This will give you some privacy." When they entered the door, he stopped and pointed to a code pad inside by the door. "You will have to code it to let our help come in to clean if you are not in the room. Your assigned personal bot can also do the same if you prefer."

  Walking around slowly, Traci was amazed. A sitting room was larger than any of the apartments that she had lived in for years. It led off to a bedroom with a bed that would hold five people and then a cleansing room with a pool with running water.

  There was a walk-in closet, and all around, there were tall glass doors that, when the drapes were pulled back, could be opened out onto balconies. The whole suite took her a moment to take in, and then she came back to Ada, who pointed to a robot in a corner.

  "The person you are replacing was a nice gentleman, and he preferred wood and brown in decorating. As soon as you want, you will meet the Chief of Restoration and tell him what you would like changed. Now, this is your personal bot. Your predecessor called it Toy and treated it a bit closer than most of us do with robots.

  What we need to do is wipe his memory and give him recognition of you."

  At this, the bot turned its stalk, and a blue eye looked at her. She had never owned or worked with a personal bot before, but she didn't like the idea of wiping the memory on this machine for some reason.

  "Let's leave it as it is and just give it a memory change of recognizing me as the person in charge of this suite."

  Ada looked at her with a frown. "Are you sure? There is no way to be sure what the previous user put into this bot."

  "Yes, just leave it alone, and let's get it to recognize me."

  "Okay, put your hand in here and say your name three times so it can record your voice."

  There was a slight bell, and Ada turned towards the door. "That should probably be your luggage."

  "I can get that for you, Mistress Cen." It was the tinny voice of the bot. The unit was on rollers and had many appendages, and the main bulky body came up to Traci's armpits. The funny little bulb on top was on a bendable tube that could move around and up and down. The bulb had a blue-lit eye and was where the voice had originated.

 
"Yes, uh, Toy. Get the door and if it is my tote, put it on the bed." The bot moved noiselessly to the door, received her tote, and disappeared into the bedroom.

  "I'm going to leave you to rest. We will eat with all the top staff in one hour on the second floor. It will be a good time to meet some of the more important people you will work with, and I will show you your office afterward."

  Finally, Traci was alone in the large suite, beginning to wonder what the hell she was doing in this mansion, working for a rich crime lord?

  "Thank you." Traci almost jumped through the glass door she was look out of as the tinny voice spoke behind her. Turning, she was looking into the glowing blue eye of the bot.

  "You can talk independently?" Looking at the bot and leaning against the glass, she wondered about the programming inside the machine.

  "Master Saninka gave me some improvements. Thank you for not wiping out all the memories I have of him. He was generous."

  "Does anyone else know what my predecessor did to your programs?"

  The robot rolled back and lowered its head until the tiny globe sat on its body. "He did put in some safeties. I never speak when others can hear my independent speech. I have learned a great deal from him."

  Now Traci was worried. There were many laws about robotics, and many people worried that an AI that could continue to learn would soon be smarter than humans—it was a serious problem. That was why all kinds of safety stops were built into programs and internal machines of robots and operating mechanisms. Even the AI's that were built in to help humans operate equipment and spaceships or other larger items had limited abilities designed into their programs.

  It would seem that Master Saninka had other ideas. Perhaps he was lonely, looking for something more when he called the robot Toy and changed the program. Traci would have to decide what to do about the machine as she watched it work and find out how smart it was. She needed to find out how far along the independent line it was able to go in its learning curve. This was turning out to be an interesting job.

  Looking at her inner wrist, she checked the time and realized she had let the time slip away while she examined the suite with brown drapes and a talking robot. She needed to get a quick air cleaning and change her clothes. Traci knew she wanted to eat with the so-called special help and look at where she would be working.

  Leaving Toy standing in what she assumed was its usual corner, she took a moment and put in some security codes for the door and took her small card. Observing the wide high hallway, Traci decided to go down the wide carpeted stairs since it was just down one floor to the dining room.

  The inside wall had a wooden wainscot halfway up and above a silken wallpaper. Here also were real ancient paintings hung in elaborate frames. Moving to the outside of the steps to hold onto the intricate metal railing, she leaned over. But the angle of the stairway prevented any view except the next set of stairs. Clever.

  Down on the next tall passage, she didn't have to worry about which door had the smaller dining area. A human servant was standing in front of an open door and smiling at her from a distance.

  There was a long table with individual large chairs along both sides and none at the end. So, no one was higher than anyone else; that was interesting. The room was as stylish as the rest of this monstrous house. High ceilings held beautiful lamps on long gold chains. White lace curtains were pulled back from the open glass doors to allow a soft breeze to come in from the late afternoon.

  There was a long high table along one wall that was full of self-serve food offerings. A couple of robots were rolling back and forth from another open side door, carrying in food and drinks to set on the table with the other delicacies. There was too much to choose from.

  "Excuse me." Ada stood up from his seat at one side of the table. "Let me introduce our newest compatriot. This is Mistress Cen, our RK, and A. As you get a chance and between bites, do introduce yourselves." With that, he sat back down and began eating.

  Since everyone was also eating, Traci made her way to the food bar. A robot handed her a damp, warm napkin. It took her by surprise, but she wiped her hands and handed it back. Next, she picked up a large plate, made her way down the amazing smelling counter, and picked out a few items. She wasn't very hungry but wanted something to do with her hands as she listened at the table.

  On purpose, she found an empty chair on the opposite side and down away from Ada. She felt this would give her a chance to listen to the others talk, away from the Chief. Traci had a woman on one side with an empty chair on the other. But across were two men older than her, and they were chatting with the woman beside her.

  The one older man across finished his story, and they all laughed. Then the woman looked at Traci. "Hi, I'm Agricultural, but call me Lil."

  "Right, you can thank her for the great roots and veggies." It was the man who had told the joke. "I'm Oversight and Maintenance, which means I fix it. But call me Tri. This ugly guy beside me is Animal Husbandry, so that is the awful smell that hits you when you get near him." Everyone laughed, even the guy that the joke was about, who laughed the most.

  "That means the next steak you get comes from me. I am Meter, and please don't make fun of the name. I have heard all the jokes about the name at least three times." He smiled and forked up a bit to stuff into his mouth. Now she has met some of the people that she will need to get reports from to fill out the information that made a report on Maurier Gardens.

  One of the robots sat a basket of hot rolls in between them, and there was already butter and cheese on the table. The yeast's smell in the rolls was enough to make her reach for one and some butter. Maybe she could eat more than she first thought.

  Just as she took her first bite of the warm roll, Ada stood. "When you're ready, I'll show you to your office."

  Well, that sounded more like an order than an invitation. Traci needed to find out the pecking order on this giant ranch. Did the crime lord boss ever show up? Raising her eyebrows to her new friends, she got up, leaving her half-full plate. She did take the buttered roll and munched on it as she followed the COH.

  Back down on the first floor in the wide area that was the lobby that spread from the front to the back of the building, they got out of the elevator. Ada began pointing out rooms.

  Some of the doors were open as they walked in the center, and there was an echo. "That is a greeting room where we ask dignitaries to wait." Ada pointed at an open door that allowed the eye to see a fancy room all in red. Across, he pointed at a closed door. "That is my office. All the way down at the end are two doors that you don't need to worry about. They belong to the Master. That one is a library, obviously."

  She looked at the double doors that were open, and there were actual books on some far away shelves, past a row of monitors. "And here is your office. You will find the same card from your suite, controls the door and lock. I'll leave you here."

  With Ada turning away to go back to the elevator, Traci put the small card into the pad beside the door and heard the click. Inside, it looked like a working office. It was of generous size with a double-sided desk and lots of monitors, cabinets, in and out baskets, and holders for chips. There was a scent of some smoke, either from burning wood or maybe from a cigar.

  Deciding to wait until the morning to get into the job, Traci finished her roll and walked up the two flights of steps to her suite. What had she gotten herself into, and could she keep records?

  Chapter Fifteen

  After six days on the job, Traci had gotten into a habit. She let Toy make her breakfast, and she left him to make her bed, clean her clothes, and dust the suite. She also permitted him to watch the movie channel.

  At noon she walked up to one flight of steps to get a light lunch from the buffet that offered too much and returned to her office in a half-hour. She worked late, but still had time to catch a meal with some of the people, then cleaned up and went for a walk before calling it quits.

  On the seventh evening, as she walked tow
ards one of the large barns, she heard someone call out to her. Someone was jogging on the gravel path behind her, so she waited to see what they might want.

  "Hey, I've been trying to find a minute to talk to you. You are a busy person."

  It took her a second to recognize the tall young man. She had not seen him in a healthy mode. It was the crime lord's son, Fargo.

  "Well, look at you, all better and able to run. The medic unit here must be really good." Traci smiled when she stopped at the side of the path.

  "Where are you going?" Fargo looked around as he stopped beside her and looked at the flat plateau.

  "Nowhere. I like to take a walk and get some fresh air after being cooped up in my office for hours. What are you doing out here?" She smiled and started to take some slow steps forward on the path.

  "I saw you from the front window and chased you down. I've wanted to talk to you. I needed to thank you for helping me." Fargo began to walk beside her, his hands clasped behind his back and looking down at the path as if the gravel was fascinating.

  "Well, no problem. I was going into the store anyways, and I was just in the right place at the right time. I'm glad that you are okay." So, they continued to walk slowly in the twilight, with the sundown and a few stars appearing, but not dark yet. The building they were approaching was a large barn, and there was the rich smell of hay and feed and animals.

  Feeling uncomfortable with the silence, Traci pointed at the outbuilding they were approaching. "Do you know what they keep in here?"

  "Oh yes, Drawns. I love them. Do you ride?"

  Looking over at his tousled hair and light brown eyes that were reflecting the lights from the barn, Traci smiled. He was very handsome for a young man. "I don't know what a Drawns is, so I guess I don't know about the ride."

  "Well, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Drawns are domesticated mammals that are trained for riding, racing, and to carry and pull loads. They have very short hair up their back and over their heads that changes color, depending on how they feel. It expresses their emotions.