by Corey Ostman
Wragg reached for Grace’s hand to get her attention, then pointed. She squeezed an affirmation and they moved forward, leaning into the wind.
He decided to pull Mazz away first. The ancient robot was lighter and more compact than the modern twofer. When they reached the two machines, Wragg grabbed Mazz around the waist and pulled. Its gyro systems were apparently operational: instead of tipping, Mazz slowly slid away from the other twofer.
“Well that’s a blessing,” Grace said, her voice echoing his thoughts.
Mazz twitched, arms dropping to its sides.
Its voice rang in Wragg’s helmet. “I’m sorry, sir. Touching the other robot disrupted me.”
“Can you move yourself, Mazz?” Grace asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Wragg allowed himself a sigh of relief. “Ok, Mazz,” he said, “go back aboard the Scout. We’ll follow with the twofer.”
“Acknowledged,” Mazz said, already moving to the airlock.
The other twofer loomed in front of them, partially covered in sand.
Wragg looked back at Grace.
“You push, I’ll pull.”
She nodded, though he could barely hear himself. The wind howled louder than the buffers in his helmet.
They had some luck. Like Mazz, the twofer’s inertial guidance was still operational. It did not speak, but moved forward partially under its own power, while Wragg guided its arms and Grace pushed the shoulders from behind. They made steady progress until they encountered escarpment two meters from the Scout.
Mazz was suddenly there, reaching out a hand to help.
“Dammit, Mazz. I said get aboard,” Wragg said. He put his arm between the two robots. “Move!”
Mazz said nothing, but followed them as they maneuvered the twofer around the escarpment. Wragg wondered if Brown’s shot had damaged Mazz in some subtle way. He’d have to tell Chanho.
Soon enough they were at the airlock. Wragg waited until Mazz had entered, then considered the behemoth twofer. It was going to be a tight squeeze.
“Push or pull, Captain?”
Wragg considered. “Pull.”
He and Grace climbed aboard, and as one, they grabbed the twofer by its arms.
“Ok, on my count,” he said. “One, two, three—now!”
The two of them hoisted the twofer past the lip and into the airlock. Wragg landed on the floor and Grace crashed against the other wall as the inertia carried them backward. Grace tapped the airlock control and the outer door sealed.
Wragg got up, dusting sand off his pressure suit. “Good work, Grace. He’s a heavy brute.”
She smiled at him through her helmet. “Yes, you may.”
Wragg blinked. “May what?”
“Call me Grace. Not that you needed permission.”
“Ah,” Wragg realized his slip now. “Right.”
“After all, we braved a covert operation together.”
“Indeed.”
“Do you like your first name?”
“What?”
“Do you like the name Harmon?”
“Not really.”
“I’ll stick with Wragg, then.”
Wragg laughed. “Thanks.”
They both looked at the twofer, enormous in the airlock.
“Behold our prize,” smirked Grace, hitting the pressurization control.
“We still have to move it inside,” noted Wragg.
“Sir,” Mazz said, “now that we’re aboard, I could try—”
“No,” Wragg said. “We can’t take the chance.”
He saw the pressure panel glow green, and reached up to unclip his helmet.
“All right, Mazz. Open ‘er up.”
The inner door opened smoothly. As Mazz moved out, Wragg was surprised to see Doctor Chanho standing on the other side.
“Raj, help us move this twofer to the storage locker,” Grace said. She didn’t seem surprised he was there, so Wragg followed her lead.
“And you’d better have a look at Mazz,” Wragg added. “He’s acting a little strange.”
Chanho gave them a big smile.
“Two robots? But it’s not even my birthday.”
Chapter 26
“What happened to you, big guy?”
Raj stood on his tiptoes as he inspected the captured twofer. The robot was fifteen centimeters taller than he, and he strained to get a closer view of its head. The face stared forward, almond-shaped and lifeless. Raj marveled at the musculature of the twofer. He had operated on a few human steelbacks with hydraulic exoskeletons, but had never been close to their robotic counterpart. This guy was made for heavy labor, he thought. But why has it been mistreated?
He ran his hands over the torso, brushing away the sand. Some of its green paint had been blasted away by exposure to Martian weather, but other areas were worn deeper than the paint line. Raj fingered a savage diagonal gash down the front of the chest. Even the metarm beneath had been scratched.
“What have you been fighting?” he asked aloud.
He stepped back and put his hands on the twofer’s shoulders, then gave a gentle push. Just like Wragg had reported, the twofer’s inertial guidance was still operational. Maybe he could coax it back—
“Ahem.”
He turned around. There was Tim, staring up at him.
“You haven’t heard a thing I’ve said.”
Raj hastily surveyed the room and was relieved to find only Mazz with them. He wished Tim wouldn’t speak aloud. With all of the speculation about haywire robots going around, the last thing he needed to do was explain his AI dog.
“Sorry, Tim. What was it?” He tapped the graft at his temple, hoping Tim would get the hint.
Tim didn’t. “I was saying that I don’t like it. You should have someone here with a phasewave. I know the twofers haven’t moved in over a week, but remember how some of them went berserk?”
“I share your concern, Tim, but it’s not like we had a vote. It’s here now, and I’m going to take a look at it,” Raj said, turning his attention to two dents on the right ulna.
“I’m just saying that it could do a world of hurt aboard.”
Raj looked up. “Odd of you, Tim. I’m usually the cautious one. What’s got you worked up?”
Tim hopped up on the examination table, displacing some of the tools.
“I’m worried about them talking.”
“What do you mean, talking?” asked Raj incredulously. “Have there been any messages between the twofers? On that frequency you found?”
“No,” said Tim, “but I hear them when I dream.”
Raj sighed. “Oh, that again.” He bent close to the PodPooch and stroked his head. “I told you not to worry. It’s just the way your blue gel is organizing new data.”
Tim jerked his head up. “That’s my point. Where is this new data coming from? Or are you saying my mind is creating it?”
“Easy, Tim.” Raj considered, then looked at Mazz.
“Mazz?”
“Sir.”
“Do you know what Tim is talking about? Do the twofers talk?”
Mazz clicked for several seconds.
“Was that an answer?” Raj asked.
“I am unsure, sir. Tim Trouncer seems distressed by the robot communications network, though I do not understand how he is accessing it.”
“Can you access it?”
“I can register that transmission happens. But I cannot access it, sir.”
Or else Mazz would have gone south with the rest, Raj supposed. Did that mean Tim was in danger? Was it some kind of siren call?
“Do you feel compelled to go where the others are, Tim?”
Tim snorted. “No.”
Raj threw up his hands. “Then I suggest you just don’t sleep. You don’t need to, you know.”
He went back to working on the twofer. Tim sullenly lowered his head between his paws.
“There doesn’t seem to be any real damage,” Raj said, to himself more than anyone else. “I
wonder if I can reset it. Maybe a restart would—”
Tim emitted a scratchy bark. “Restart it? We don’t know what it was doing before it stopped. It could wake up and—”
“Did you see any robots out there? Did you see any people? What was it doing there? At most, it was walking,” Raj said angrily.
The PodPooch wriggled. “Well, that’s true, but—”
“But? But what? Why are you here, Tim? Is there a reason? Or are you just here to say ‘no’?”
“I’m here to talk to you! You know, talk—that thing you only do with Anna?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m getting feedback that this robot is in stasis,” said Mazz.
“Of course it’s in stasis—that’s why it’s not…” Raj trailed off as he turned and saw Mazz. Mazz was touching the twofer. Touching, without any disruption to Mazz’s function.
“You can touch it?” Raj said.
“Touch it, sir? Of course. This robot is no longer transmitting. Inside the ship, there is no disruption.”
“So this ship acts like a Faraday cage,” Raj said.
“Yes.”
“And you said stasis? What kind of stasis?”
“Stasis as an operating mode when new engrams can be loaded,” said Mazz.
“Oh,” Tim said, sitting on his haunches. “Perhaps what I was hearing was not the robots talking, but somebody talking to them.”
“So this brute is waiting for its next message?” Raj asked.
“No,” Tim’s words came slow and deliberate. “It’s waiting for its next self. An upgrade.”
• • •
Grace followed Wragg onto the bridge. The captain took his usual seat. Grace sat down beside him and called up the environmental display.
He leaned over and looked at the telemetry, then lifted the Scout into the air.
“Easy, sweetheart. Just a bit of wind,” Wragg said. Grace chuckled softly. The captain reserved endearments for his ship.
The Scout responded, picking up speed with vigor. Grace leaned back, smiling.
“Not a bad detour.”
“Not bad at all.” Wragg laughed, then reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “You did good work out there, Grace.”
“You too, Captain.”
“Can you take her from here? My watch is in a few hours.”
“Get some sleep.” She smiled.
He nodded. “I will. Hopefully when I wake up, Doctor Chanho will have a few things to say about that twofer.”
“What twofer?”
Grace swiveled to see Richard framed by the bulkhead, his face flushed crimson and his eyes dazzling as he stared at Wragg.
Grace stood. “It was my idea. Don’t be upset with Wragg.”
Wragg stood beside her. “Don’t be upset with anybody, Richard.” His voice was deep, soothing and powerful.
Richard’s voice snapped. “Are you telling me that despite my request—my orders—”
“We needed to gather additional data before we reached the south pole,” said Wragg softly. “And please remember, that while you are the owner of this vessel, I am its captain.”
Richard ran a hand through his hair and looked at them.
“I’m still angry.”
“Just get some sleep, Richard,” Wragg said. “Let’s leave the twofer in Doctor Chanho’s hands. Then you can decide if it was the wrong move.”
“For you, Wragg, I’ll reserve judgment,” said Richard. He looked at Grace. “But I’m not happy with this.”
They left Grace at the helm. Wragg ushered Richard through the bulkhead, but turned around before stepping through himself.
“Grace—”
“Yes, Captain?”
He seemed about to speak, his blue eyes intent. In the end he said nothing, shaking his head on the way out.
Chapter 27
Grace raced up the ladder. When she reached the top, she held on tight, pushed off the rung with her feet, and extended her legs. For a moment, her body went horizontal and she faced the deck. She twisted her arms, rotating midair, her biceps and triceps complaining. Then she pushed off with her hands, arched her back and landed on her feet.
Grace stood for a moment, panting, pleased with herself. She’d practiced this maneuver all morning long. Wragg had showed her the trick: something he’d learned years ago. She didn’t know if it was a faster way to dismount the ladder, but it was definitely more fun.
She walked down the hall to her cabin and opened the door. The PodPooch was on her bed, asleep. Grace frowned. Tim had been spending too much time sleeping. She’d tried to talk to Raj about it, but Tim and Raj had some sort of argument. Raj didn’t want to discuss Tim’s sleep.
Grace decided not to disturb Tim yet. She closed the door and went to the bridge. Wragg was alone, hunched over the nav display. He looked up as she entered.
“Progress report from Raj and Anna,” she said. “They’ve disassembled the twofer. They should have something for us later today.”
“Excellent,” said the captain. “Grabbing that twofer was a good call. I wish Richard would see it that way.”
Grace noted the worry on Wragg’s face. Richard had been distant at breakfast.
“It will get better,” she said, sitting next to Wragg. “We’ve had a lot of close calls, and he’s retreating—” Grace stopped as she heard boot steps in the hall.
Richard entered the bridge.
“Where are we now?” he asked.
Wragg swiveled the nav display. “On course. Passing east of Ariadnes Colles.”
“Good. See that we remain on course, Captain.”
Wragg’s jaw clenched. Grace put a hand on his shoulder.
“Did you know, Grace, that I chartered a trip to study Ariadnes Colles?” said Richard. “It’s a sight well worth seeing.”
“Is it?” she asked. She wasn’t particularly interested.
“Thirty thousand square kilometers, and we mapped all of it,” he said. “Some of the larger blocks were several kilometers long and hundreds of meters high.”
Wragg pointed out the viewscreen. “Take a look, Grace. I’ll magnify it for you.”
Grace saw umber titan blocks, strewn randomly and stretching to the horizon, all of them half submerged under eons of sand. She hoped that on the way back she would see them again. How strange, the way chaos sometimes worked for the better. If all had gone as planned, she would have been on a transport to Ceres so fast, she’d have never seen Mars. She liked this planet. The views were breathtaking and desolate. The domes were like cloisters, without the strangling technological restrictions.
“Back then, we first imaged Ariadnes at an altitude of eight kilometers,” Richard said, “then we spent the rest of the time doing a detailed surface map.”
“I remember the aborted landing,” Wragg said.
“You were there?” Grace asked.
Wragg nodded. “Yep. Ariadnes is beautiful, but its beauty can sometimes distract even the most experienced travelers.”
“He means me,” Richard said. “Wragg kept me from making a bad decision.”
“What?” said Grace.
“No big deal,” Wragg said. “Richard wanted to set down on a particularly beautiful block. He had been watching it from our overhead data, and didn’t notice it was at a sharp angle.”
Richard swallowed. “If we’d landed on it—like I wanted—the ship might have slid and crashed. Wragg’s saved my backside more than once.”
He nodded to Wragg and left the bridge. Wragg’s shoulders relaxed. He swung the map away from Ariadnes.
“What’s this?” Grace asked, pointing to a dark spot on the map. The Scout was passing it.
“The Suess Crater,” Wragg said. “Which means Richardson isn’t far from here. That’s the last outpost before we make our final push to the pole. Nice little place, settled by astronomers fleeing the increasing atmosphere and sandstorms of the north. They appreciate visitors. We can get the best geyser foreca
sts there, too.”
“Is there a weather station?” said Grace.
“No weather station.” Wragg chuckled. “Its nickname is Richardson Shack. Barely any people. The stargazers keep their eyes on geyser plumes only because they can obstruct the view.” He popped up an infodoc on one of the displays. “The current population is twelve.”
Grace watched the tactical display. Contour lines showed a crater filled with an intricate network of sand dunes. She saw a pulsating dot near its center. Grace touched the display and zoomed in. The settlement was located on a tiny plateau in an ocean of sand.
Wragg maneuvered the Scout across the dunes and landed the ship a hundred meters from a cluster of buildings.
“Just you and me, Grace,” he said. “Get what you need. I’ll meet you at the airlock.”
Grace nodded and went to her cabin. Tim was on the bed. He raised his head as she walked through the door.
“We’re at Richardson, Tim. Wragg and I are heading out.”
She opened the desk drawer and took out Marty.
“Grace—before you go.”
“What, Tim?”
“I wanted to tell you something.”
She frowned. The captain was waiting for her.
“Can’t it wait?”
“I guess. I wanted to talk to Raj, but he’s never around. He’s always with Anna.”
She wanted to joke about him being jealous, but he sounded worried. When had she learned to interpret PodPooch emotions? She sat down on the bed.
“What is it?”
Tim stood and tilted his head up to meet her eyes.
“About a week ago, I started dreaming,” he said. “Well, I call it dreaming. Normally, I experience information like I’m floating on a fast-moving river, but when I dream I can dive under the water and see a whole other world. I call it Wonderland.”
“Isn’t Wonderland supposed to be treacherous?”
“Yes.” He paused, and his mimic face flickered. “I am not certain if I am malfunctioning. In Wonderland, I hear things. A lot of things. Things I shouldn’t be able to hear.”
“Well, maybe your blue gel is absorbing more than you can process.”
Tim lowered his head, ears drooping. “No. That’s not what I mean. It’s not just things I can normally see or hear. It’s things I shouldn’t be able to see or hear. Like Mazz.”