Peterman frowned and he tapped his chin with his screwdriver.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, so, yeah, sure.” He paused. He looked at Philip and opened his mouth to speak. Then he let the breath out and turned back to me. “No, okay, sure, so, Sparks, listen, long story short. As much as I would like to say I had the starring role in this little escapade, I must admit that my own involvement came more towards the third act. So while I undoubtedly saved your life with my considerable skills—”
At this Philip barked a laugh. Peterman sighed then continued.
“It was Philip who got you out of Esmerelda.”
I sat up. I was operational, damaged chest unit aside. I felt around my head but there was no outward sign of any damage from the ray gun, although my fingers came away covered in more black soot.
“You were lucky,” said Philip, turning around to give us his full attention. “Thornton didn’t design the destabilizer—the gun—to cause permanent damage.” He waved the pipe around again. “It merely causes an overload—well, a substantial overload . . . leading to short circuits, voltage irregularities, and associated minor overheating . . . well, more like burning . . . okay, call it a fire, explosive circuit overload—”
“The point being,” said Peterman, “that it wasn’t fatal.”
“I was getting to that, Mr. Peterman.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you were, Grandpa.”
“The point being,” said Philip, “that your attempted self-sacrifice was successful in that the circuit overload caused by the destabilizer was sufficient to erase Thornton’s template and burn out the connection between you and the transfer device.”
I pursed my lips. It felt good. It helped me think.
“So I got the job done,” I said.
Peterman grinned. “You sure did, buddy. Raymond Electromatic saves the world. Hey, that would make a great picture!”
“What about IA?”
Peterman frowned. “Hey, Sparks, you did good, buddy. IA is history.”
“Well,” said Philip. “That may be a little premature.”
“Oh, here we go again.”
“But,” said Philip, lifting his screwdriver in emphasis, “they have had a serious setback. They’ve lost their most valuable member, along with everything she was working on, and all her notes and research.”
I looked at him. “What happened to the lab?”
“I set fire to it.”
“Oh.”
“Also, you are a very heavy robot and your car needs air in the rear left tire.”
“Noted.” I looked at Peterman. “So we sent IA running. And without Thornton, Touch Daley—all the Touch Daleys—are running on limited time. Once they expire, they won’t be replaced. The Department of Robot Labor will be free of the infiltrators.”
“That’s the idea,” said Peterman. “I’ve got enough evidence with Philip to make Touch Daley public enemy number one, but there’s more than one of him, and he’s going to be around for a while. We’ll all have to be careful.”
I turned to Philip. “And what about you? Without Thornton, you’ll expire as well.”
Philip waved his screwdriver in the air. “That’s true, but I have a few ideas. I may not be Professor Thornton, but I was her assistant for many years, and I am a roboticist in my own right—indeed, I was second only to her. So, yes, I have a few ideas. And with Mr. Peterman’s help—”
Peterman jumped to his feet. “Oh, yeah, so now you want some help? Well, listen, buddy, I’m going to be pretty busy at the department and—”
A telephone started ringing.
Peterman and Philip looked at each other, and then the two of them looked at me. Philip took the pipe from his mouth and smiled, and Peterman jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
“Hey, buddy, I think that’s for you.”
I pulled myself to my feet and I wound the cables around one hand and I lifted the memory machine and the trolley down onto the studio floor, and then I pushed it toward the sound.
* * *
The telephone was still ringing when I walked into the old dressing room. I closed the door behind me. I turned on the light. There was a single bulb but it worked and that was good enough for me.
I picked up the telephone receiver and put it against the side of my head. There was a click, and then the roar of the ocean, and then I heard someone lighting a cigarette and taking a good, long draw.
“Hi, chief,” said Ada. “Boy, you wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had. Say, you got a minute? I think we got a lot we need to fill each other in on.”
I adjusted my grip on the telephone.
“Sure thing, boss.”
Ada began to speak and while she spoke I listened and I smiled.
On the inside, anyway.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s the end . . . but the moment has been prepared for.
Y’know, I spent hours thinking about how I was going to begin this, the acknowledgments section on the last Ray Electromatic Mystery, and I just kept coming back to that quote—not Raymond Chandler this time, but the Fourth Doctor, having just saved the entire universe. It’s one of my favorite lines, so I hope you’ll indulge me, just this once.
The Ray Electromatic Mysteries has been a very special series for me, a whole storytelling universe that spawned not so much from a big bang, but a tiny little spark, one that almost went unnoticed, all those years ago. Three novels, one novelette, one novella. Goodness. That was fun, right? And believe me, I’m grateful. Ray and Ada will always hold a special place in my heart, and I have a lot of people to thank for making this journey possible.
To everyone at Tor Books, thank you! Paul Stevens started it all, Miriam Weinberg picked up the baton, and Diana Gill saw it through. Three of the best editors in the business. It was a pleasure to work with each of you. Irene Gallo, the best art director in the business (you’ll see a theme here), thank you, and, Will Staehle, you genius designer you, thank you. To Patty Garcia, who went above and beyond the call of duty, you rock, and I will never not be in awe of your talents. To Theresa Delucci, thanks for the support, and thanks for being a friend!
To everyone at Tor.com Publishing, thank you! Lee Harris, Mordicai Knode, Katharine Duckett, and the whole crew. Thanks for helping Ray get his bronzed titanium feet wet in the world of your award-winning novellas.
Thanks to my UK publisher, Titan Books—Natalie Laverick, Ella Bowman, Lydia Gittins, Miranda Jewess.
Over the course of these books, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the friendship and support of so many authors and creatives, each of whom have wholeheartedly supported the series. Kelly Braffet, Peter Clines, Paul Cornell, Kim Curran, Delilah S. Dawson, Max Gladstone, Daryl Gregory, Jason M. Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mur Lafferty, Emma Newman, John Scalzi, Cavan Scott, Adam Sternbergh, Anne Tibbets, Chuck Wendig, Jen Williams. Thank you, all. If I’ve left anyone out, and I’m sure I have, I can only apologize. Hit me up at the next con for a drink.
Thank you to you, the reader! Because of you, the Ray Electromatic Mysteries really became something, and I’m thankful for all the support, the reviews, the comments. I’m glad you enjoyed this foray into an alternative version of 1960s Hollywood.
To my agent, Stacia Decker, of the Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency—well, I don’t even know where to begin. You are the best agent in the world, and a great friend. Thank you for everything you do. I’m so glad we’re on this adventure together.
And finally, to my wife, Sandra. Through thick and thin, ups and downs, nights and weekends lost to the work, you are always there for me, and you have my back no matter what. I love you!
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I Only Killed Him Once Page 16