To THE LAND OF THE ELECTRIC ANGEL: Hugo and Nebula Award Finalist Author (The Frontiers Saga)

by William Rotsler

  "Everybody, sit down and strap in," Blake ordered. "Kapuki, take us to Riot Central, wherever that is."

  "City Hall," she answered. She stood in the middle of the three-meter sphere, grinning at him. "When in doubt, attack!" she said.

  "I'm in doubt, all right," Blake admitted, "but I think we should strike while the iron is hot, hit 'em where it hurts, and lop off the head." He looked at Rio. "Did I miss anything?"

  "An apple a day keeps the robot away."

  "I'll have you excommunicated for that," he said.

  He saw Bennett's curious look and quickly explained about becoming pope.

  Kapuki laughed, carefully stepping over the wreckage of two Riotmaster robots. "They told me it took all kinds to make a revolution, but I never thought it might take a pope like you."

  "Just watch where you are going, lotus flower, and don't let any of those baddies hamstring us," Blake said to her.

  An aircar dropped down into the narrow canyon between the huge arks and Kapuki swung her sword at it. It dodged, but caromed off a building and fell a dozen floors to crash in the street. A roadblock had been set up a block further on, but Kapuki insolently swept it aside.

  "Uh-oh," Bennett said, peering into a screen. He ran up the magnification and groaned. "Trouble ahead. There's a barrier up ahead and I think that's a Jupiter they have. They'll hurt us with that one."

  "Turn left here," Blake said.

  "That's Powell," Kapuki said. "It dead-ends into the old Francis Drake. We can't squeeze through where the street goes into it!"

  "We're not going in. Put down the sword a moment -and rip out a chunk of that wall. Then step out quickly and throw it at the barrier."

  Kapuki grinned and set down the surrogate sword she used within the sphere. She stepped to the side of the nearest arcolog, plunged her armored hands right into the walls. She gripped the reinforced wall and tugged. There was a terrible rending sound, an ascending groan, then a snap. The samurai robot staggered back, holding a massive block of concrete with a broken window near the center.

  "It must weigh five tons," the oriental girl gasped as she waddled toward the corner. She raised it over her head, stepped out suddenly, and heaved the huge missile toward the next intersection.

  The police laser was firing, swinging toward the middle of the seventeen-meter robot. Just as the Jupiter's ruby beam touched the samurai armor it swung violently away, slicing into the side of a building, jiggling upward, carving a deep gash in the ferroconcrete, then lancing through windows and slicing the side of the ark open. It stopped abruptly, and Blake could hear distant screams.

  "Your sword!" Bennett snapped, and Kapuki stepped back to retrieve it.

  They backed out, then ran as fast as the samurai robot could move, rupturing the street with heavy footfalls. At the street barricade, they saw the police and their big Riotmaster robbies crushed beneath the huge concrete block. Kapuki struck at an undamaged robot, spitting it on her sword and raising it into the air. She threw it at a small oncoming tank with the snout of a massive laser pointed at them, overturning it and causing it to explode.

  "City Hall this way!" Marta said, and Kapuki swung the big robot around and headed up the street.

  A police aircar dropped some gas grenades but they were too high in the robot's chest for the gas to get to them. Another aircar tried a laser on the head and chest of the samurai but was too far away. It caused disfiguring gouges but no structural damage.

  "We certainly are obvious," Rio said.

  Blake thought for a moment, then spoke. "Kapuki, stop in front of City Hall, if you can. Rio, Marta, and I will get out and go see what hell we can raise."

  "Hey, what about me?" Bennett said. "I've been copilot long enough."

  "I'll stay," Marta said. "I know how to run this machine. They are all mostly alike."

  "All right," Blake said. "Kapuki, don't bang around. Drop us, then keep on going. Do what damage you can."

  "You don't want me to wait for you?" she asked.

  Blake shook his head. "No. If we are successful, there will be no need. If we're not..." He looked at Rio and saw her gaze on him. "Well, in that case there is no reason to tie you down for target practice. Keep moving, keep fighting!"

  "City Hall is just straight ahead," Marta said.

  "Get down in the feet and be ready to disembark," Blake ordered. "Let's not make them stand still and be targets."

  Bennett dropped down the ladder, followed by Rio. Marta stopped Blake with a gesture. "Your blessing?" she asked.

  "Oh, come on, Marta, I..." He stopped, looking at the expression on her face. Then he raised his hand and made the Sign of the Cross. "Bless you both," he said solemnly. Then he dropped down the ladder.

  He joined Rio and Bennett in the right foot, and held on desperately as the huge thing thumped and swayed, each step a jolting shock much more jarring than any they had felt in the cushioned control room. Finally the foot was still, and Bennett sprung the door and leaped out. Rio followed, then Blake.

  They were on some wide steps leading up from a plaza. The huge structure loomed over them, capped by an enormous dome so high they could only see it reflected in the glass front of a building across the square. Bennett was already taking the steps three at a time, sword in one hand, laser in the other. Rio and Blake followed, jumping the remnants of a police crowd control fence.

  A single black-shirted policeman ran out and Bennett's laser was bearing down on him when the man shouted, "No, no! Don't shoot!" His hands were in the air, his laser in its holster.

  Bennett ran up to him, disarmed him, and tossed the weapon to Rio.

  "Don't kill me," the policeman said shakily. He looked in awe at the departing figure of the samurai robot, now lumbering across the plaza, scattering pigeons and benches. "Look, I'm on your side!"

  "Sure you are," Bennett sneered, dragging the man up the steps into the protection of the entrance.

  "No, I am, I am! Not all the police are against you! They rebelled over in Greater Berkeley, and the Oakland boys haven't been straight since '49." He looked at Bennett's laser with apprehension. "Really, it's true."

  "Don't kill him," Blake ordered. "Remember, it takes all kinds." He grabbed the policeman and fired questions at him. "Where are the defense forces here? Is Riot Control upstairs? Is the Army coming in?"

  The black-clad officer answered quickly. "The ones that were left ran when they saw that coming in," he said, pointing at the samurai, which had just thrown a Riotmaster through the glass wall of a building. "The others, they went down Montgomery to some big fight that was going on. Yeah, yeah, Control is up there, and they have lots of protection."

  "What about the Army?" Bennett insisted.

  "I don't know. I heard there was trouble down in Fort Fremont and over in the Presidio. Riots and things. Some said one of the commanders turned out to be a Jew, or perhaps a Catholic. Something like that. I don't think the Army will be much help, or much hindrance either."

  "Have you seen a lean man in black? He may have a redhead with him in a torn dress?" Blake asked.

  "Yeah, he was here, but he left. I remember, because he was one of the first bigshots to run, and the girl didn't look like she wanted to go with him. He ... uh ... he killed her."

  Blake felt sick and Rio's eyes filled without her uttering a sound.

  "Where's the body?" Blake demanded.

  The guard pointed toward the entrance. "Uh, I don't think you want to look at it, sir. She hit the guy pretty good and started to run, and he ... well, he kept cutting her up even after it wasn't necessary, if you know what I mean."

  "Which way did he go?" Blake asked angrily.

  Before the policeman could answer, a large group of revolutionaries came running out of a nearby slidewalk exit. They shouted when they saw the group on the City Hall steps. Someone fired at the four, but the shot was off-target. When Bennett stepped forward, they stopped, seeing his gladiator costume. He waved them forward, and they came, shouting gleeful
ly.

  Blake grabbed the policeman and shook him. "Where did he go?"

  "Bibleland, I think. At least that's what it sounded like when he gave the order to the aircar driver."

  Bennett tugged at Blake's arm. "Look, I'll take these zongos up and knock out the Control. You go rescue your friend." Then he grinned at Blake. "Hero!" he said, and laughed.

  "I'm coming, too," Rio said.

  Blake started to protest, when a flight of aircars came over the nearby arktops and settled into the plaza. More revolutionaries piled out and Bennett stood high on the steps and waved, shouting. As the surge of people spread out, Blake saw Granville Franklin, wearing a jumpsuit and looking fit. Blake waved at him and grabbed Rio's arm to point him out.

  Granville ran up the steps to them and hugged them both. "Ah, my reluctant hero, my ravishing heroine! Together again!" He waved his hand at the growing numbers of men and women forming up for battle. "Isn't this fascinating? And they said 'You can't fight City Hall.' " He snorted. "Most interesting, watching humans exchange one oppressor for another."

  "Granville!" Rio cried. "Surely you think we're going to get rid of these holy dictators?"

  "Oh, yes, yes," he said with irritation. "Their minds have stagnated. They didn't want science – or anything else – to advance, unless discoveries were made they could use. Why, do you know they have virtually stopped any sort of basic research? For that alone I could destroy them."

  Granville made a face and blew out a long sigh. 'Well, I had best get on with it. I was working on some very interesting data that suggested we have experienced interstellar contact when Voss decided to get rid of me. It seemed I asked the wrong sort of questions and said the wrong sort of things to be a friend of one in high places. I was an embarrassment to him. I got out fast."

  Granville squinted up at the buildings around him, "I want to get back to that as soon as I can. Some interesting discoveries have been made by scientists working on the physical way we think, too. Then there is some black-hole data I want to look over." He bared his teeth in a savage grin up at the building in front of him. "Mr. Voss, here I come!"

  "Voss isn't up there," Blake explained.

  Granville grunted in annoyance. "Damn! And I was looking forward to meeting him again: I wanted to thank him in person for making me go underground. But do you know there isn't a safe computer terminal in all of Yerba Buena? I was having the most delicious time playing chess with a computer in Huntsville until Voss turned my name in."

  Bennett ran up to Blake, breathing hard. "He's definitely gone. We'd better go after him. He could make a lot of trouble. I'll get an aircar."

  Blake stopped him. "Voss is my business. They can probably use you here." He hesitated, then said, “Besides, you know he killed Doreen."

  "You're going after Voss?" Granville asked, his eyes bright.

  "Yes, but you'd better stay here. Isn't this operation yours?"

  Granville looked annoyed once again. "Yes, dammit. This is more important. 'Seize control centers as soon as possible' is the motto. We can get dear Jean-Michel anytime. Too bad, though. I had the idea of dropping him down one of those waste chutes and letting a little of him wear off against the sides."

  Rio took Blake's arm as Granville moved off. "Blake, he's dangerous. Let him go. Don't risk it."

  Blake's face was grim as he said, "No. I must. He's caused us a lot of pain, endangered your life. No. He doesn't care about us, about anyone. He stuck us into that Arena jungle. He's feeling invulnerable now, kind of sacred and superior. He knows that somewhere down here people die and are tortured and in pain, but he doesn't care. He thinks the blood won't splatter on him, that no one can really get' to hin because he's the great, immortal Jean-Michel Voss. I want to show that bastard he's not as untouchable as he thinks."

  "And you want to kill him?" Rio said, her eyes luminous.

  Blake took a deep breath. "I don't know. I really don't know." He looked deep into Rio's eyes. "If I have to ... I won't hesitate, I won't regret it."

  They looked at each other a long time, then Rio said, "Do you want to remove him from ... from between us?"

  Blake took another deep breath. "Probably. I can't say I like the way he has treated you, just abandoning you because it might be politically too delicate to save your life. And there's the matter of Doreen."

  Rio looked satisfied, and took Blake's hand. They pushed through the mob as they ran to where the aircars were parked. Most were empty, but they found one with a driver nursing a bloody arm in a sling.

  "Take us to Bibleland!" Blake ordered.

  "Can you fly this machine?" Rio asked, pointing at the man's arm.

  The pilot nodded and they jumped in. When the ship rose straight up, Blake caught a glimpse of the samurai robot standing in the middle of a street nearby, blocking it with its bulk and with its long, slashing sword. In front of the fighting robot lay several wrecked Riotmasters, a litter of body parts, and a police personnel aircar on its side.

  Chapter 34

  Bibleland Park was on the other side of the Oakland hills, past the biggest of the arcologs and not far from one of the faults of the San Andreas, now rendered relatively safe by forced water lubrication – one of the methods used by modern seismologists. The park took up the entire roof of the highest arcolog in the area, a building more than half a kilometer square, and its most obvious landmark was a huge revolving, illuminated cross atop an artificial hill.

  "It's deserted," Rio said, looking down.

  "Everyone probably ran for cover when this started," the pilot said. "Where do you want to sit down? Landing pads? St. Carol's Square?" He looked back at Blake quizzically.

  Blake studied the park and pointed down. "There, by that patch of green."

  "That's the 'Garden of Eden,' " the pilot said. " 'The Creation' is right next door, in that building there. Quite a show, too. Starts out in black with this deep voice, and you see everything taking place. Damn near makes a believer out of you – except I heard the same actor do a commercial."

  "Come back for us in an hour," Blake said.

  The aircar set down on a grassy lawn near a waterfall. Timid animatronic deer sipped water warily, and after the aircar had lifted away, Blake and Rio could hear birds.

  "So peaceful," Rio sighed.

  "It's all phoney," Blake said, fingering a green plastic leaf.

  There was motion beyond some bushes, and Blake pulled Rio down. They crouched warily. Blake's laser was aimed at the flicker of movement.

  Out walked an almost nude man and woman, flanked by a lion, rubbing his mane against Adam's thigh, and a unicorn, prancing prettily next to Eve. The two humanoids wore fig leaves, and Eve's long blond hair concealed her breasts.

  Blake made a snort of disgust as he and Rio moved on, the quartet of robots paying them no attention at all as they strolled happily through the garden. Blake and Rio walked by a towering tree in which a glittering snake moved sinuously, his forked tongue slithering in and out. He hissed absently at them as he waited.

  "Let's not go out the main gate to the garden," Blake said, pulling Rio toward a side exit.

  They pushed open the door marked NO ADMITTANCE and walked past a fierce-looking St. Michael standing with blackened sword just behind an opening. Blake could see tiny holes in the sword that emitted the gas. The fine wires that held the archangel figure off the ground had not been camouflaged in this instance.

  Blake and Rio passed through another door and emerged cautiously into the public street. Across it was what seemed to be the entrance to an ancient city. They could hear music and shouts of laughter coming from it, so they ran, crouched, across the street and flattened themselves against the wall, then peered in through an arch.

  The street inside was twisted and narrow, with many branches. Blake could see animatronic robots hanging out of the windows and standing beneath arches. They were all human figures, so gross and overstated as to border on the unrealistic. The men were coarse and lecherous-looking
, the women over-endowed and bawdy. They all had one expression: a leer. The costumes were vaguely Biblical, the jewelry heavy and barbaric. The music was throbbingly suggestive.

  "Where's Lot?" Rio asked.

  They moved into the tiny city-within-a-city cautiously, hoping to find a real human in the midst of the hundreds of fakes who populated the reconstructed Sodom. They caught glimpses of people through small arches and windows, but no actual orgy scenes. Everything was hinted at but not graphic. But the figures were so real as to give Blake and Rio the jumps whenever one happened to look anything like Voss.

  "Why do you think Voss switched sides?" Blake asked Rio as they exited the electronically controlled pageant.

  "He didn't. He was always on that side, the side of power. He simply went where the power structure was." She touched Blake's arm. "He was unconventional, but never a revolutionary. He simply chose to make the best of it within the existing power structure."

  Blake nodded as they moved toward the entrance of a big building. "A lot of people make that choice."

  "I don't suppose Jean-Michel thought he had a choice. I know him. He wouldn't have cared to hide out in the underground for the next four or five hundred years."

  Blake smiled at her. "You know I keep forgetting that part. I can't quite believe it, I guess. I mean, I feel okay. But maybe ... well, maybe I thought I'd feel like a superman or something."

  The building was empty and almost dark. They grew quiet and made no sound as they crept along inside.

  Blake was suddenly aware of a glow to his left. He pulled Rio down and they watched as light grew upon a mountainside.

  They were high up, along a cliff path. Far below lay fertile valleys, and sheep grazed. An ordinary bush now burst into flames and a tall, impressive figure strode out from a crevice. The bearded, robed humanoid began a conversation with the bush as Blake and Rio relaxed and started moving on, bent over and alert. At the exit, they turned a last time to see bolts of holographic fire leap from the bush to carve out symbols in rock.