Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe

by Asprin, Robert

  “If you're so sure of yourself, James, why haven't you reported your suspicions to someone?”

  James made a face“First of all, they'd probably just laugh it off as some kid whining about losing a fightBut more important, because I'm hoping you'll take me with you when you finally leave this rock-​pile.”

  Hosato shook his head“I don't understand you, JamesYou want to take off with someone you don't know, someone you think is a criminalWhat kind of future is thatWhat are you expecting?”

  “What kind of future do I have here?” the boy countered“Whatever or whoever you are, you're liv-​ing outside the structure outside the accepted rulesThat's what I want, but I can't do it by myselfI don't have the money or the knowledge to try it on my own, and when you're playing for keeps, you can't afford to learn by trial and errorI need a teacher or a protector and so far, you're the best candidate I've found.”

  “What's so bad about life here?” Hosato pressed“Your father-”

  “My father!” The boy sneered“My father can't comprehend that anyone might not want to work for the corporations, the same corporations that have shelved himThey've decided he's too volatile and outspoken to be promoted, but too talented to let goSo they've set him up as a big man in a little slot, given him a staff to order around and a product fam-​ily so stable even an idiot couldn't mess it up, and then they forget him.”

  “Maybe your father doesn't see it that way.”

  “Sure he doesHe's a lot of things, but he isn't stupidHe knows he's been shelved, but instead of walking out and trying it on his own, he's fighting itSecurity robotsA revolutionary new productDid you know he's been ordered to drop the projectAnd he's still spending fourteen hours a day working on itFor whatSo he can get slapped down again when he finally makes his proposal?”

  “Why is everyone against the project?”

  “They say it can't be doneRobots can't handle Security, and it's a waste of company time pursuing it.”

  “Surely he has something that makes him believe it's possible.”

  “All I know is he keeps saying.”

  James suddenly broke off his oration in mid-​sentenceHis eyes searched Hosato's with a new in-​tensity.

  “Is that it?” he asked.

  “Is what what?”

  “The security robotsIs that what you're doing hereIs that why you're pumping me for informa-​tion?”

  Hosato heaved a great sigh and stood up“James, I think this has gone far enoughI don't know what problems there are between you and your father, and I don't want to knowWhat I do know is that it's highly improbable you'll convince me to be an ac-​complice if you want to run away from here.”

  “But-”

  Hosato halted the interruption with an upraised hand.

  “I've listened to you, now it's my turnYesYou're rightI know karateI usually don't admit it because I'm sick of everybody assuming anyone with yellow skin is a karate expertI used it on you that first day for the same reason Suzi gimmicked the tapesI needed the jobI was hungry, and the only other way I could get money was killing people, and I'm sick of it.”

  He fixed James with a hard stare.

  “Now, if you want to report that to Sasha and get me tossed out of a job, go aheadI don't want it bad enough to put up with being called a thief and a liar.”

  He started for the door, with Suzi floating at his heelsAt the last moment, another thought occurred to him.

  “Remember this conversation, JamesRemember what I have to do, what I have to put up with just to eatThen think long and hard before you make any serious moves toward an independent life.”

  “But what if one of the units breaks down?”

  Hosato interjected the question casually as he or-​dered another round of drinks through the keyboard mounted on the tableAt this time of day the bar was empty and they could talk uninterrupted.

  “Not much chance of that.” His companion gri-​maced“And even if it did, nothing much would hap-​pen.”

  There was a soft warning gong, and the square in the center of the table sank slowly from sightA few moments later, it sighed back into position, the empty glasses gone and fresh drinks standing in their place.

  “Nothing much?” Hosato prompted“With no one monitoring the manufacturing area, I should think it would have major problems, if not a permanent work stoppage.”

  The little bearded maintenance man shook his head slightly, but not enough to interrupt his drinking.

  “That's what I'm telling you, Hayama,” he said, putting down his glass at last“The new system's modularized with parallel units and flow monitorsIf anything goes wrong, anything at all, the damn ma-​chines pull the entire unit and slap another one in placeDown time would only be about fifteen min-​utes thirty at the max.”

  Hosato shook his head, setting his glass down with-​out drinking.

  "I don't know, RickIt still sounds to me like you could get yourself in a lot of troubleYou've got a Mexican standoff between Maintenance and Security over who's responsible for watching the manufactur-

  ing areaIf anything goes wrong, someone's going to get blamed, and from where I sit, that'll be Main-​tenance."

  “Don't worry about it,” his friend insisted“Nothing major can go wrong, not the way it's set up nowAt best, a mechanical failure would be a nuisanceWe're just hoping there'll be enough nuisances to prove our point.”

  “How can you be that sureI mean, surely there's some point of vulnerability that could send things in-​to a tailspin.”

  “Let me tell you, HayamaI've been working here for twelve yearsI've seen almost everything imagina-​ble go wrong at one time or another-​the plumbing, the machines, the life-​support systems everythingBut I haven't seen anything yet break down that couldn't be fixed or replaced in minimal time, and that was before the modular systemI remember one time-”

  A high beeping interrupted his orationWith a sigh he thumbed a button on the side of his belt pager and stood up.

  “No rest for the wicked, I guess,” he grumbled, tossing down the last of his drinkThen he reached forward and punched the keyboard with practiced ease“I'll get this tabHave one more on me, okayI've got to run.”

  Hosato smiled and waved as the maintenance man departedAs soon as he was out of sight, however, the smile dropped from his face like a mask.

  The table bonged again as his fresh drink rose into view, but he didn't even look at itInstead, he stared intently at the far wall as he tried to organize his thoughts.

  Well, Suzi, he thought, there's good news and bad newsThe good news is that no one's watching the manufacturing areasThe bad news is that, according to the maintenance crew, the production lines can't be gimmicked.

  That was their opinionHosato would have to be convincedThere was a big difference between coin- cidental machine failure and deliberate sabotage.

  Unfortunately, that also meant he was going to have to scout it himselfHe had hoped that wouldn't be necessaryThat's why he had sought out the talka-​tive little mechanic, sprawled in his favorite barThe right words would have saved him a lot of trouble“If the Z units go, we're all out of workIf you look sideways at the W runners, they stop dead. I keep telling them there's no backup for the four-​wheels, but no one listens” Any phrase like that would have given him a targetInstead, he was going to have to do his own dirty work.

  Well, he hadn't really expected the answer to fall into his lapHe had hoped, but he hadn't really counted on itThat's why he was wearing his Ninja suit.

  He stood up and reached for his employee card, then remembered Handel had already paid for the drinksRick was a nice guyIt was a shame he was going to have to put him out of work, along with the rest of McCrae Enterprises.

  Hosato paused for a moment after emerging from the bar's dimness to let his eyes adjust to the lightOne of Sasha's guards was walking past and swept him with an impersonal gazeHosato smiled and nodded a greeting, which was ignored.

  He wasn't worried about detection, yetAt the
mo-​ment, his Ninja suit looked like an ordinary turtleneck jumpsuit with wide turnback cuffsThis was no acci-​dentPart of invisibility was being able to blend with the general populace before and after the job, and the suit was designed to enable him to do precisely that.

  Setting his legs for a purposeful stride, he left the mall and living quarters and headed into the tunnels leading to the other buildings of the complexThere were occasional security guards about, but none paid him particular attention.

  The boldness of a daytime scouting mission had its advantagesIf seen, he would be assumed to be going about normal businessAt night, the only ones mov-​ing about would be him and the guards, which would immediately arouse suspicions.

  As he navigated the tunnels, he debated trying for one of the buildings housing a product family other than Turner'sIt would be better if he practiced his trade in another area to avoid throwing immediate suspicion on himself as a member of Turner's staffAs quickly as the thought occurred to him, he re-​jected itBefore he could make his penetration, he first had to traverse the corridorsIf he were seen in a building other than where the guards were used to seeing him, the balloon would go up and he'd have a great deal of difficulty explaining his presenceNo, it would have to be Turner's building.

  That decision made, he turned up the flight of stairs leading to his chosen targetWhen he reached the second landing, instead of continuing up to the office levels, he paused in front of a small metal door in the wall marked “Maintenance Access.”

  He shot a quick glance up and down the stairs, but for the moment he was aloneActually, even if he were observed at this point, he was relatively safeThis was a scouting mission only, and as such he had no incriminating equipment or explosives on his per-​son that would betray his true intent if seen or searched.

  Working quickly, but with careful precision, he pulled out the winding stem of his wristwatch and swept it over the door and frameThe second hand, now still, showed no new movement.

  Apparently the door was what it seemed, a plain metal door with no lockThere were no indications of electric currents to betray a hidden alarm system.

  Hosato stared at the door for a momentThe big question was, what was on the other side of the doorA guardA cameraIt was ludicrous to believe an outfit as security-​conscious as McCrae would leave this vital passage vulnerableWell, there was only one way to find outFixing an expression of mild curiosity on his face, he opened the door and looked inside.

  A low, dimly lit corridor stretched away before him for some thirty feet before terminating in an abrupt right turnCurious.

  He stretched his arm in and swept the floor, walls, and ceiling immediately inside the door with his wrist-​watchNothing.

  Gritting his teeth, he stepped inside and let the door shut behind himNothing happened.

  He waited impatiently for his eyes to adjust to the gloomIt was here somewhereHe could feel it instinc-​tivelySomewhere nearby was an alarm waiting to be triggeredThe question was, could he find and iden-​tify it before it alerted the guards to his presence?

  Cautiously he edged forwardHe studied the walls, ceiling, and floor for telltale openings or holes, while at the same time he swept the same surfaces with his wristwatchIt was here somewhere.

  Ten feet down the corridor, he found itUncon-​sciously he nodded to himself with professional ad-​miration and satisfactionVery neat.

  The second hand on his watch jumped, indicating the presence of electrical currents under the 'floorProbably pressure plates set to trigger an alarm if anyone walked across that portion of the corridorShort of tearing up the floor, there was no way of deactivating the trap or telling how far down the cor-​ridor it extended, so he probably couldn't jump over itIt was a very effective system, which would catch the average intruder before he detected it, and stop him coldFortunately, Hosato didn't fit into that category.

  He scanned the walls with his watchAs he sus-​pected, they were free of alarms.

  He sighed inwardlyWell, this was itBeyond this point he could no longer claim to be lost or curious if caughtThere was no way in which someone could casually or accidentally bypass this trapPenetration beyond this point could only be calculated and delib-​erate.

  Squatting down, he pressed the bottoms of his pants legs against the sides of his boots, taking care to be sure the proper electrical contacts were madeStanding again, he unrolled the turtleneckIt was longer than it appeared, coming up over his head and sealing with the same type of fitting that attached his pants to his boots, leaving him peering out two narrow eye slits in the resulting hoodFinally he folded the wide sleeve cuffs down over his hands and sealed themAs the final connection was made, sealing him in com-​pletely, the Ninja suit activated itselfHe was ready.

  Stepping to the wall, he pressed his palms against it, then one kneeThen he picked up his other leg, and, suspended in midair, pressed the knee against the wall.

  He hesitated for a moment, then pulled one hand free and pressed it against the wall a foot farther down the corridor; then he pulled his other hand free and repeated the process.

  This feature was one of the minor advantages a Ninja suit gave him-​wall-​walkingIn the palms and knees of the suit were wafer-​thin suction units that were activated when pressure was appliedThey were not very strong, but powerful enough that if he main-​tained three-​point contact with a surface, they would hold-​provided he did not shift his weight too sud-​denly.

  Though he could not see his watch, he had similar units built into the suit, which he used periodically to check the floor as he made his way along the wallAfter fifteen feet, he failed to get the warning tingle from his sensors and knew it was safe to use the floor again.

  He was sweating profusely as he eased himself back down to a standing positionThe ventilation in a Ninja suit was not good, and wall-​walking required considerable exertionHe considered turning off the suit, but decided against itFrom this point on, he was committed, and the suit was his best protection against detection.

  Trusting his sensors to warn him of any additional alarms, he stepped boldly forward and turned the corner.

  There, confronting him, was the unblinking eye of a security camera.

  Cursing his carelessness, he lowered his head to hide the eye slits and hurried past the camera.

  Very, very neat!

  Anyone successfully bypassing the floor trap would be so swollen with self-​confidence he would blunder right into the backup system-​as he just had.

  Invisibility had fringe benefitsNot only was it an invaluable aid for infiltration, it also hid embarrassing mistakes, like the one he had just madeThe fact he had escaped detection had nothing to do with his skill and trainingThis time, the credit belonged to the Ninja suit.

  Hosato breathed a silent prayer of thanks for this new addition to a Ninja's arsenal of weapons and equipmentHis ancestors in Japan had worn baggy suits of black, white, and charcoal gray when under-​taking a missionThe black or gray would blend with the shadows, and the white would vanish against snow, while the baggy fit would break up the telltale silhou-​ette of the Ninja.

  As technology progressed, so had the Ninja's gearThe current apex of that evolution was suits such as the one Hosato was wearingWhile not actually rendering him invisible, it was certainly the ultimate in camouflaging.

  The cloth, which appeared at first glance to be a brightly colored velvet, actually was covered with mil-​lions of light relays, each paired with a twin on the exact opposite side of the suitWhen activated, each relay would pick up whatever light reached it and display it on the opposite side of the suitThat is, whatever was behind him would be displayed on the front of his suit, and whatever was in front of him would be displayed on the back.

  The suit was effective to the point that he could pass in front of a lamp without casting a shadowHe could still be detected by the human eye if he moved, but if he remained motionless, a casual gaze would sweep right past himFortunately, security cameras were easy to foolT
he most someone monitoring a camera would see if he walked past would be a slight rippling of the picture, which would be disregarded as an electronic disturbance in the equipment.

  Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe

  The corridor ended abruptlySet in the right-​hand wall was another metal door identical to the one he had first passed throughHis scanners again gave no indication of alarms, so he cautiously opened the door a crack and peeked through.

  Yes, this was itThe manufacturing area.

  He slipped through the door and let it close behind him, standing silently in momentary awe at the spec-​tacle before himUntil this moment, he had never truly comprehended the size of McCrae Enterprises or the epic proportions of the job before him.

  The room was huge, easily as large as a spaceport hangarPacked into the room, wall to wall, floor to ceiling, were the assembly linesThe place seemed to be one solid mass of machines, bins, conveyor belts, catwalks, and laddersIt was a study in perpetual mo-​tion, with bits of partially assembled robots appearing and disappearing as the various pulleys ferried them along their destined course of completionThe din was unbelievable.

  Hosato experienced a flash of despairIt was so big, so complicatedAnd it was only one of many such areas he would have to sabotage to halt productionHow could he possibly hope to stop it all by himself?

  Angrily he halted that train of thoughtHis family had not failed to fulfill a contract in more than two centuries, and he wasn't going to be the one to ruin that recordSo it was complexComplexity meant vulnerabilityThere was a weak link here somewhere, but he wasn't going to find it standing here staring.

  Steeling himself to the task, he began his circuitous tour of the facility.

  An hour and a half later he paused on one of the high catwalks to take a breatherLeaning against the saftey railing, he surveyed the area as he tried to col-​lect his thoughts.