Chimera (isaac asimov's robot mystery)

by Mark W. Tiedemann

  The interior looked no different from any brightly-lit warren on Earth. The debarkation lounge resembled the foyer of a hostel. Derec had dozed during the last half-hour of the flight and felt slightly muddled. He searched for signs directing him to the Spacer section, which should be nearby. He noticed a pair of women off to his right who seemed to be waiting for someone.

  Then he saw a station security officer to the left, also watching for someone. Anxious, he increased his pace.

  "Mr. Avery?" a man called from behind him.

  A sickly warm sensation erupted within him, spreading out from his stomach.

  "Sir," Hofton called.

  "Mr. Avery-" the man repeated.

  "Derec, wait," a woman said.

  Derec hesitated at the familiar voice, almost turned to look, and stumbled a few steps. A passerby caught his arm, steadying him. Derec jerked away. "Sorry," he muttered. "Thank you. "

  "Derec, " Hofton said, coming around to block his path.

  "Derec," came the familiar-sounding voice again. Female. Where?

  One of the two women he had noticed grinned at him. Thick mahogany hair haloed her rounded face. She wore a loose-fitting shift and pants, Auroran-style. Derec stared at her, sure he should know her and unable to name her.

  Standing beside her was the second woman-taller, dark-skinned, athletic, dressed in a suit that suggested a uniform. She radiated authority and he wondered what trick or bluff Hofton could do now to get them to the Spacer embassy. He swallowed hard and made himself stay put.

  "Sir," Hofton said. "I believe our contact is here."

  "Hi, boss, " the familiar woman said.

  Derec stared, recognizing her now. "Rana…? Rana Duvan…?"

  Her grin widened.

  "Mr. Avery?" the dark woman asked quietly, stopping within arm's length.

  "Y-yes?"

  "I'm Sipha Palen," she said, extending a hand. "Coren told me to expect you. I apologize for being late."

  Tentatively, Derec clasped her hand. The grip was dry and strong. Abruptly, he felt very foolish.

  "Ms. Palen, yes. I-" He looked past her at Rana. "Would you excuse me?"

  He set his briefcase down at Hofton's feet and embraced Rana. Her arms came around his back and squeezed him.

  "I don't-" he began.

  "It's good to see-"

  "-what are you-?"

  "-too long-" she commented.

  "-can't believe it, you look-"

  Derec's breath escaped in a heavy sigh, simultaneously with Rana 's sharp laugh. He stepped back. Her eyes glistened and she wiped at them impatiently.

  "What are you doing here?" Derec asked.

  Rana smiled. "I'm your embassy contact."

  "Embassy…?"

  "Long story," she said. "Later." She nodded in Sipha Palen's direction. "Business."

  Palen watched with a bemused gleam in her eyes, hands clasped behind her back.

  "Sorry," Derec said. "Rana and I used to work together. It's been a while since we saw each other."

  "Of course," Palen said.

  "Um…yes, Mr. Lanra said you'd meet us. You're chief of security?"

  "Every bit of it, " she said, smiling. "Welcome to Kopernik. "

  "Thank you. I believe I'm supposed to oversee an excavation on a positronic brain?" He looked at Rana, who shrugged.

  "We haven't let it out of our lockup yet, " Palen said. "Now that you're here, we can get started."

  "Rana is more than qualified-"

  "Coren and I have agreed to a certain protocol in this case. You are part of it."

  "I see. Well, then, let's get started. I understand there's a time limit?"

  "There is. I'll take you to the robot directly and we'll all escort it to the Auroran embassy, if that's acceptable to you, Ms. Duvan. "

  "I'm not in charge of the embassy," Rana said. She glanced at Hofton. "If it's been cleared with Yart, then…"

  "I've already secured the appropriate clearances," Hofton said. "Ambassador Leri is aware that certain unusual circumstances prevail. We have his cooperation."

  "Good," Sipha Palen said. "Then…?" She made a gesture for them all to proceed.

  Derec retrieved his briefcase and they fell into a group, he and Palen in the lead, Hofton and Rana following. As they passed beneath the arch leading to the main concourse, Derec glanced to the left and saw a tall man in a knee-length ivory coat. His face was almost as pale as his coat, but mottled, as if from scarring. The faintest trails of hair traced across his scalp above a high forehead, and sharp, golden-green eyes shifted slowly, intently. He stood facing the customs aisles, as if waiting for someone, but as they walked by, he turned to watch Derec and his companions. It seemed to Derec, just for a moment, that the man smiled. Too brief to get a firm sense about it, but Derec thought he recognized a sign of familiarity and satisfaction in that expression.

  Then Derec was through the archway and out of sight. He had never seen the man before. He knew he did not want to meet him. The reaction was irrational and after several steps he dismissed the entire episode as a leftover of his anxiety.

  Must be Palen's man, he thought. It made sense. By the time they reached the embassy branch, Derec had forgotten all about him. Palen's section looked cramped. The doors were narrow and the passageways claustrophobic. The main desk nearly filled the front office, the bulkheads behind it filled with communications equipment that appeared constantly active. As they' entered, two uniformed officers looked up from where they sat behind the long, heavy counter.

  "Chief-" one started.

  "Not now," Palen said. "Where's Oler?"

  "Back in the lockup," the other officer said.

  "Chief," the first one said again, "you've got a message here from an Agent Harwol, TBI. He says it's urgent, would you-"

  "Later, " Palen cut him off.

  Without another word, Palen led the way around the end of the desk and into a corridor. At the other end, they emerged into a wide, low-ceilinged chamber lined with cells. Derec counted three people behind the transparent doors, none of whom bothered to look up as Palen's group filed through. One, though, caught Derec's eye-a Spacer, judging by the clothes.

  Adjacent to the cell block was another chamber about the same size, but without the cells; instead, tables, chairs, and a few couches littered the floor. Against one wall stood an autochef and a samovar.

  A short woman with no hair sat at one table, bent over a reader, one hand wrapped around a tall cup. She looked up.

  "We're here to get the tinhead, Oler," Palen said. "Get us a gurney, will you?"

  The woman nodded, paused to finish reading something, then walked out. Palen went to a plain door opposite the auto chef. With a passkey, she opened it and stepped inside.

  Derec followed Palen into the storage locker. Shelves stacked against the left wall to the ceiling, boxes and canisters piled on the floor to the right. At the far end lay a robot, legs bent up in the small space.

  "You stored it here?" Derec asked.

  "It hasn't moved since we found it," Palen said. "What would you have me do, put it in a cell where it could be seen? Most of our guests don't stay very long. I thought it best to keep rumor to a minimum."

  "I understand, but I thought you'd have it in your forensic pathology lab or something."

  "I repeat: I wanted to keep rumor down. I already have the people who were there when we found it assigned exclusively to the crime scene and a communications block around that bay." Palen frowned. "Besides, my people were a little nervous about it."

  "I thought you were used to dealing with robots," Derec said. "That's what Lanra implied anyway."

  "More used to it than the average Terran, but considering the possibility that this one committed murder, that was more faith than I was willing to ask of my people."

  "You don't believe that, do you?"

  "No. But it wasn't me I was concerned with. Now, do you want to look at this thing or criticize my methods some more?"

  Ch
astised, Derec stepped past her and knelt down. As he expected, it was a DW-12-a very versatile laborer, basically. In the inadequate light of the closet, it seemed physically in reasonably good condition, but it was hard to tell. He lifted one heavy arm and pulled it straight. Relieved, he set it down-at least it had not locked up.

  "It should be easy to move." He stood. "What have you done to it?"

  "I had my chief pathologist go over it for physical evidence, but honestly not much beyond that. It was in his lab for about an hour, then we put it in here. I thought it best to just wait for you. "

  "Fine. Let's get it to the Spacer embassy, then."

  "Mr. Avery." Palen stepped closer to him. In the tight space she seemed to tower over him. It was an effort not to back away. "What are the chances of recovering anything from it?"

  "There's no way I can give you an estimate yet. I have to see how badly collapsed it is first."

  "But statistically-"

  "Any numbers I give you would be meaningless. You'll just have to wait till we can start the excavation." He waited, but she continued to stare at him. He shrugged. "I'm sorry."

  "Fine. Then let's get you situated." Yart Leri looked very much an Auroran: slim, face smoothly ageless, large, clear eyes, and a politely attentive demeanor that nonetheless discouraged intimacy.

  "Welcome, Mr. Avery," he said, meeting them in the embassy reception area. A robot occupied the desk. "We've arranged quarters for you and Mr. Hofton. I've been instructed to lend every assistance. The resources of the embassy are, within certain limits, at your disposal."

  "Thank you. I'd like first off to see your positronics lab."

  "Certainly. I'll have Rotij show you around. That's Rotij Polifos. He's our chief roboticist. He'll be assisting you, should you require it."

  "With all due respect, " Derec said, "might I be allowed to choose my own lab assistant?"

  Leri blinked. "Of course."

  "I'd like Rana."

  The ambassador almost frowned. "She is not, I believe, fully credited-"

  "Nor is she Auroran. I understand that. But we worked together before. I found her most adequate. "

  "I see no objection," Leri said.

  "In that case, I'd like to see the lab as soon as possible."

  "I understood this would be a priority situation. I've had Rotij prep an area just for your use."

  "Shall I wait for you?" Palen asked.

  "Yes, if you could," Derec said. "This won't take that long. Then I'd like to get the robot here as quickly as possible."

  "May I ask," Leri said, "what robot?"

  "You haven't been briefed?"

  "Not in all the particulars…"

  Derec did not know what orders Leri might have had from Sen Setaris. Best to say nothing, he decided, and sort out the protocols later.

  "I'll leave it to higher authority, then," he said. "I'm sure Ambassador Setaris will update you as needed. "

  "But-"

  The lab, sir?" Derec prompted.

  Leri frowned. "This way. "

  Derec caught a look from Rana. She rolled her eyes as if to say now there's going to be trouble, then nodded for Derec to follow Leri.

  The small reception area gave no indication of the volume the embassy occupied. Leri led Derec, Hofton, and Rana down a hallway to an elevator. Four levels down, it opened onto a lab area Derec guessed at about five hundred square meters.

  Derec took a few tentative steps forward, surveying the equipment neatly arrayed across the room. He recognized most of it, but a few pieces looked unfamiliar.

  "We finished a complete overhaul six months ago," Rana offered.

  Derec whistled appreciatively, Terran fashion, then saw Leri's puzzled look. "I'm very impressed, sir. It doesn't look like you want for anything. "

  "This is a working lab, Mr. Avery," Leri said with a mixture of pride and contempt. "Kopernik hosts a large population of robots in the Spacer sections. We service the positronics of all the incoming and outgoing Spacer ships."

  "Including the Solarian?"

  "The Solarians do not possess such a lab. They contract us to do their service and repair work."

  A small cluster of people huddled together in a far corner, talking among themselves. Derec counted five and wondered which among them was head of the lab.

  "Rotij," Leri called.

  One of the group looked toward them, raised a hand, then excused himself from the discussion. He approached with long strides; he was typically tall, with a Spacer's indeterminate age.

  "Yes?" he said, stopping before them.

  "Rotij Polifos," Leri intoned, "this is Derec Avery and his aide, Hofton…" Leri blinked at Hofton uncertainly.

  "That's correct," Hofton said. "Hofton, from the groundside mission. The people I spoke to you about, from Ambassador Burgess's office…?"

  "Yes, of course," Rotij said. He seemed distracted and mildly put out. "Honored, Mr. Avery. I know your work."

  "Thank you."

  "Rotij," Leri continued, "is chief roboticist and director of this positronics lab." He looked between them for a few moments, then nodded, satisfied. "According to my instructions, you 're to be accorded every service of the facility. Should you require anything else, please feel free to see me."

  "Thank you, Ambassador," Derec said. "You're very kind."

  "If I may, I'll leave you to Director Polifos-"

  "I need a minute, Yart," Polifos said.

  Leri blinked. "I'm sure we can get together later and-"

  "Now. If you please."

  "Mr. Avery requires immediate attention. Afterward, of course." With that, Leri spun around and returned to the elevator.

  Polifos glared after Leri for several seconds, then laughed caustically. "Busy man." He turned toward Derec with a sigh. "Well. How can I help you? Ambassador Burgess's instructions were vague except on the point that you're to have the run of the place. I'm afraid I'll have to ask that you leave us some area to do our regular work-"

  "I need a single station," Derec said. "For one robot, full range diagnostic ensemble, and a large memory cache for an RI direct link. "

  The Director's face lost expression. "Well…I don't see a problem…did you say an RI direct link?"

  "Yes," Hofton said. "And it's quite heavy." Polifos wanted very much to watch while Derec set up the link to Thales, but his attention was divided by the work he had been supervising when Derec and Hofton first arrived. He was both relieved and disappointed when Derec made it clear that he wanted to work with Rana.

  The instant Polifos returned to the huddle on the other side of the lab, Rana began reconfiguring a commlink station for Thales' requirements.

  "I assume nothing's changed," she said, fingers moving deftly over the board.

  "Thales' configurations? No, only location and peripheral memory cache. Here are the numbers." He scribbled out the address and the current parameters.

  Rana frowned. "How did you get all of it into that small of a buffer? Thales must feel absolutely claustrophobic."

  "Daily complaints. I didn't have much choice. The move into the embassy was rather hasty. I'm lucky it wasn't confiscated."

  "I was going to say, I'm surprised you still have him."

  "'Him'? That's very Spacer of you."

  "I'm working on it. " She flashed him a smile. "I never expected to see you again. "

  "Ever?"

  "Well, not this soon, anyway. " She glanced over her shoulder, across the lab. "I'll see about having this area shielded. Then you can tell me what the hell is going on."

  Derec followed her gaze. Hofton had left with Palen to fetch the robot. For the moment it was only Rana and himself and a couple of technicians on the far side of the room, intent on their own work.

  "Is there a problem?" Derec asked quietly.

  "Nothing overt. Rotij can be a pain sometimes." She shook her head.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked.

  "Qualifying for Auroran citizenship."

  "
Seriously?"

  "Perfectly. This is what I salvaged. Frankly, it's more than I ever expected. The TBI was really upset with us, you know. I have a chance to go to Aurora and maybe study at the Calvin Institute. It would have helped if…" Rana shrugged.

  "If Ariel had retained some cachet?"

  "To put it mildly."

  "We're working on recovering some. That's part of what this is all about. "

  Rana finished configuring the board. She pulled a cable from the case containing Derec's link and connected it to the console. She pressed a contact and waited. After a few seconds, she entered more commands.

  "You're very good," Derec said.

  "I should be. You trained me."

  "I think you were a better student than I was a teacher."

  Rana initiated a long encryption sequence, then turned to another, smaller board. She watched it briefly, touched one button, and sighed.

  "All right," she announced, clapping her hands dramatically. "Unless someone is trying very, very hard, we're secure from eavesdropping. "

  "Do you think anyone would?"

  Rana gave him a wry look. "Our Ambassador Yart Leri is a jealous little god and is not at all happy at being kept ignorant about your mission. He wouldn't do it out of malice, just vanity."

  "What about Rotij Polifos? He seemed unhappy about all this."

  "This? Maybe. But one of our interns was arrested yesterday and he's naturally upset about it. I don't consider Rotij the jealous type. Not that way."

  "I saw a Spacer in Palen's lockup. What was the charge?"

  "Disorderly conduct. It doesn't mean anything, it's just an excuse for Palen to haul someone in for questioning. What her questions might be, who knows? Just have to wait for Masid to be released and find out."

  "Polifos. Is he good?"

  "Competent. Secretive. I don't know a lot about him-he never talks about himself."

  "Anyone else I should be concerned with?" Derec asked.

  "No one comes immediately to mind, but this is Kopernik. I doubt your presence is even known on the rest of the station, but I don't like taking chances." She glanced at her encryption, then sat down. "So. What is this all about?"

  "We're doing a favor for Rega Looms."

  He waited while Rana digested this. A smile worked at her face. "You are joking."