by Speer, Flora
“The repairs … are suitable.” Rolli continued to speak in an oddly hesitant way. “The anomaly lies in…a recently inserted program.”
“Do you mean the information implanted by the Chief Hierarch’s technicians?” Perri cried, horrified by the possibility Rolli had just suggested. “If that program isn’t working properly, you may not be able to pilot the Space Dragon any longer. Without the new program, you will revert to a nurse companion.”
“Admiral Halvo is … an excellent pilot. If required, he can take over for me. Ah,” Rolli said, the spherical head moving back and forth on its metal neck, “the malfunction has repaired itself. Apparently, it was only a minor glitch.”
“When you are in space, there is no such thing as a minor glitch.” Halvo regarded the robot with questioning eyes. “Tell me about the new programming you were given back on Regula.”
“The Chief Hierarch assured me it was only knowledge that would enable Rolli to pilot the Space Dragon,” Perri said.
“Don’t you know by now that you cannot trust anything that man told you? I want to hear everything he said to you on the subject, Perri, and all you know, too, Rolli, about what was done to you.”
It did not take long, only a few sentences, because, in truth, they had not been given much information.
“I intend no insult to either of you,” Halvo said when they were finished, “but I think I ought to take over as sole pilot until we have landed safely. Perri, change seats with me.”
Perri would have protested, preferring to leave the ship under control of a robot that was bound to have a reaction time quicker than that of a man who was not in the best of health. But when she turned to Rolli she saw that the eyelights were no longer blinking. If they had been real eyes, Perri would have said they were staring at the navigator’s screen without seeing it. Furthermore, the robot was slowly wheeling backward, away from the control panel. When Rolli spoke again, the robot’s metallic voice took on a strained quality and an urgency that Perri had never heard in it before. She began to rise from her seat as Halvo had ordered, but her attention was on her robot.
“Admiral.” Rolli continued to move away from the controls. “Immediate action … is required.”
“Explain.” Halvo shoved Perri out of the way, putting himself between her and Rolli.
“Search …circuitry,” Rolli said in that strange, new voice. “I regret… have only now become aware …Use great caution …Pern’s life …primary programming …Protect Perri at all costs.”
“Rolli!” Perri cried, trying to get past Halvo’s firmly planted form. “Rolli, what’s wrong with you?”
“Stay away from it.” Halvo pushed Perri down into her seat again before he advanced to the robot, which was standing next to the exit hatch. Rolli fumbled at the exit button with one metal hand.
Perri knew perfectly well that Rolli never fumbled. The robot’s fingers were deft at every task. If she had seen or heard no other evidence of malfunction, Rolli’s awkwardness would have alerted her.
“Disconnect,” Rolli said. “Disconnect! Cannot …must not—”
“It’s all right, Rolli.” Halvo caught at the metal shoulders. “Hold still. I can do it in just a second.”
“Perri! Danger! Dang -” The robot stopped in mid-word as Halvo hit the disconnect switch.
“Halvo?” Warned by Halvo’s tense stance and by Rolli’s last words, Perri stayed where she was. Halvo pulled open the metal grate on Rolli’s chest and began to work on the circuitry there. “Halvo, did we do something wrong when we fixed Rolli before?”
“No, we aren’t the ones who interfered with Rolli’s programming. There, that should do it.”
“Will you please tell me what just happened?”
“You don’t want to know.” Halvo spoke somewhat absently, because he was unfastening the screws that held Rolli’s head in place.
“Don’t you dare tell me what I want to know!” Perri shouted at him. “I have been denied information all my life and constantly warned to stop asking questions. Just look where my obedience has brought me!”
Then, she said in a quieter voice, “Rolli has been my closest companion, my only true friend. I have a right to know what you just did to my robot.”
Halvo did not respond at once. Instead, he lifted Rolli’s head from the neck with what seemed to Perri to be exaggerated care. With equal caution he placed the head into the air lock of the entrance hatch. Then, still moving slowly, he wheeled the body right up to the hatch.
“Perri, I need your help to lift Rolli’s body over the ridge and into the air lock so we can store it there. I will explain why later. For now, please just trust me. And be careful. Don’t drop it.”
“Of course, I won’t drop Rolli.” Perri came forward to give Halvo an accusing look and ask more questions. She closed her mouth on further discussion when she saw how serious he was. Without another word she took hold of Rolli and helped Halvo to get the robot into the air lock. Halvo sealed the hatch. Then he stood with one hand on it while he released a long breath.
“I want to know why that was necessary,” Perri said in what she hoped was a reasonable tone.
“The Chief Hierarch lied to you about what was done to Rolli, as well as about everything else to do with your mission to kidnap me,” Halvo said. “And his technicians lied to Rolli.” He swung away from the hatch to confront Perri as he continued.
“You heard what Rolli said. There was something dangerous to you in that robot’s programming. Fortunately, Rolli’s primary program contains a directive to protect you at all costs and it was able to override the new instructions. That is why Rolli insisted on being disconnected. If I hadn’t said at once that I could do it, I believe Rolli would have tried to get into the air lock and then eject from the air lock into space in the hope of saving you.”
“Rolli would have died to protect me.” Perri took a moment to digest what Halvo had said. She did not think it any more peculiar that she should think of death in connection with her dear friend, than that Halvo should speak of Rolli hoping to save her. “What do you think the danger was?”
“Is,” Halvo said, correcting her. “The new instructions are still in there, planted in Rolli’s memory banks. To find out what those instructions are, we will have to take Rolli apart for a complete examination and discover where in the main circuitry the tampering was done. Only then will we know exactly what Rolli was trying to warn us against.”
“On Regula, it is a crime to change the primary programming that protects all owners of robots,” Perri said. “What the Chief Hierarch’s technicians did was illegal.”
“That shouldn’t surprise you. After everything else he has done, ordering a change in Rolli’s programming can have been no more than a trivial detail to the Chief Hierarch,” Halvo said, but Perri had already moved on to a more immediate concern.
“You will try to repair Rolli, won’t you?” she asked. “You won’t just find out what the problem is and then eject Rolli from the air lock, or leave my dear old friend in pieces?”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Halvo said. “We need Rolli to help us fix the ship. After we land, we will start repair work, and I promise you we will get Rolli into functioning condition again.”
“Thank you.” Perri blinked away the moisture that had risen to her eyes at the thought of Rolli’s unwavering loyalty.
“It’s a funny thing,” Halvo said, moving toward the ship’s controls. “I usually don’t care one way or the other about Artificial Life Forms, but Rolli is the most likable robot I have ever met. I would be very unhappy if we had to jettison that collection of metal parts.”
“There is good reason for your feelings,” Perri said.
But Halvo was no longer thinking about the robot. He ordered Perri to the navigator’s position and began giving her instructions on what to do as they approached and then moved into orbit around the planet they had chosen as their temporary base. Once more Perri postponed telling him
what she knew about Rolli.
Chapter Eight
“It wasn’t the smoothest landing I have ever made,” Halvo said, shutting down the engines, “but not too shameful for a pilot who is badly out of practice.”
“Who has only a completely inexperienced navigator to help him.” Perri was feeling remarkably pleased with herself. She had followed Halvo’s directions to the letter and he had made no complaints about the navigational information she had provided.
“First, we repair Rolli,” Perri said, leaning back in her chair.
“No, first we find shelter,” Halvo said.
“Why can’t we just stay aboard the Space Dragon?” Perri asked.
“Because thanks to our damaged heating system, it is already too cold for comfort in here. Where we have landed it is late afternoon. In a few hours it will be night and the temperature will drop so low that we will freeze to death well before morning.”
“Are you sure?” She knew he would not make such a claim if he were not sure but, as usual, Perri was compelled to ask questions. “Couldn’t we put all the remaining power into the heating system and survive the night?”
“We might, but if we did, we would literally stew in our own juices after the sun rises tomorrow morning. That is what happens on a world where the atmosphere is too thin to moderate the temperature by more than a few degrees. We discussed this with Rolli before we chose this planet, but there is one positive factor we did not mention. If the Regulans are close on our trail, they may overlook this little world for the very reasons that made you regard it as unwelcoming. If our pursuers think the way you do, this unfriendly chunk of rock may prove to be the safe haven we need.”
“How clever you are. Very well.” Perri straightened her shoulders, standing as tall as she could. “Give me your orders, Halvo, and I will carry them out.”
“The only space suit on this ship fits you,” he said. “I am too big to squeeze into it. You are going to have to locate the shelter we must have before nightfall.”
“You want me to go out there alone?”
“We will be in constant contact. There is a comm system built into the suit.”
“Yes, there is.” She could not add that she was afraid. She knew if the suit had fit him, Halvo would not have hesitated to step onto the alien soil outside their ship. And she understood how urgent their need was. The Space Dragon’s sensors could not provide information about areas below ground or in deep clefts within rocks. Using a portable, hand-held sensor, someone would have to search out a place where they could shelter. And it needed to be done quickly before the heating system in the space suit became as ineffective against the terrible cold as the ship’s system was.
When Halvo opened the locker next to the exit hatch and pulled out the familiar silver suit, Perri took it from him without comment and began to put it on. He knew how to help her and soon the closures were fastened, the gloves and boots sealed tightly, and Halvo stood with the helmet in his hands.
“Which way shall I go?” Perri asked. “We don’t have a map of the cliffs.”
“We have something better. Look here.” Tucking the helmet under his arm, Halvo reached over to the cockpit to call up on the large, main view-screen an image of the terrain just outside the ship. As he manipulated a dial to change the view, Perri could even see the swept-back glider wing that kept the ship steady during landings and takeoffs. Halvo pointed toward a row of cliffs in the background. “This area isn’t as far away as it looks on the screen and our sensors indicate some deep folds in the rock. All you have to do is shine your light into those folds. You ought to be able to tell pretty quickly where there are caves.”
“If there are caves.” Perri hoped he could not discern from her voice how apprehensive she was.
“There will be. Rolli agreed with me on that.” He handed her the light she was to carry and she slipped the strap over her left forearm, fastening it securely. “Just point in the direction in which you want to see. There is one other thing, Perri. The sensors have shown no evidence of any life-forms on the surface of this planet. You don’t have to worry about wild beasts.”
“You will be tracking me?” Perri took up the hand-held sensor.
“Every step of the way. Ready?” Halvo lifted the helmet to set it over her head.
“Halvo?”
“Yes?” He paused, holding the helmet in the air, ready to lower it to her shoulders.
“If I find a suitable place, how will you reach it?”
“I will run fast,” he said and secured the helmet with a gesture that suggested to Perri a reluctance to answer any more questions.
Perri went out the air lock, stepping over Rolli’s disjointed form on the way. Then the outer hatch closed and she was alone. Panic assailed her. Taking a deep breath, pulling her shoulders straight, she made herself look around. Immediately, she became so fascinated by the view that she forgot to be afraid.
The sky above her was the darkest blue she had ever seen and in spite of the daylight she noticed a few stars. The soil beneath her feet was a dull reddish brown and appeared to be loose and dusty. The land sloped upward to the tall cliffs Halvo had pointed out to her as her destination. The distant, pale yellow sun was setting behind these cliffs, and the lengthening shadows the cliffs cast were an ominous pitch-black.
“Head straight for the cliffs,” Halvo’s voice said in her ear. “Walking shouldn’t be too difficult for you. The gravity is a little less here than on Regula.”
Perri stepped away from the Space Dragon, then turned around to look at the ship.
“I can see some damage to the hull,” she said.
“Never mind that now,” Halvo said. “We can worry about the ship tomorrow.”
“Did you realize we have landed in a huge crater? I was too busy to notice while we were still in the air.” Perri’s gaze traveled over the line of jagged, red-brown cliffs that bounded the horizon. All she could see of the planet was contained within the bowl of the crater. “I wonder what lies beyond the rim?”
“More of the same kind of terrain. I was not too busy to notice. Head for those cliffs,” Halvo said. “Stop wasting time.”
“I have never before set foot on a world outside Regula,” she said. “You must allow me a few moments of explorer’s license.” She thought she heard a smothered chuckle before Halvo told her once more to get moving.
“You were right,” she said as she went along. “The walking is easy. I am at the beginning of the shadows.” Refusing to divulge to Halvo just how uninviting she found that opaque darkness, Perri switched on the lamp attached to her arm. The bright, sharp-edged beam shone out, lighting the way directly ahead of her. By it she discovered that the ground within the shadows was the same red-brown shade as out on the plain. However, a different substance, packed tightly against the cliffs in several places, reflected her light.
“Halvo! There is ice! I can’t tell how thick it is.”
“Good,” Halvo’s voice said. “Keep looking for caves.”
Within a few minutes she had found five promising folds in the face of the cliff. Two of them proved to be little more than indentations. Two others were deeper, but on further investigation, she found that they were not deep enough to offer adequate protection from bitter cold or scorching heat. Perri headed toward the fifth opening.
“Keep looking.” Halvo did not sound at all discouraged by the unhelpful discoveries she had made so far. “You will find something.”
“You are a good officer, Admiral. You know how to keep the spirits of your troops high.” Perri halted for a moment at the last opening, shining her light into it. “Just in front of me there is a very narrow crack in the ice at the base of the cliff. It looks as if it leads back into the cliff itself. I am going to try to slip inside it.”
“Be careful. We can’t have you injuring yourself. And keep talking so I know you are safe.”
Halvo’s own voice faded as Perri moved along a twisting fissure, through a layer of ice
and into the solid rock. There, inside the cliff, a rock corridor opened, sloping gently downward. Crystals imbedded in the rock glittered when she shone the beam of her lamp on the walls. A trickle of water coursed downward to a half-frozen puddle. The sensor in her hand told her the water was pure and the air was acceptable for humans to breathe. Perri could not tell how deep the cave was, but she knew she had found the shelter she sought.
She also knew how valuable time was. Well aware that there was still a lot of work to be done before she and Halvo could rest in this rocky haven, she at once began her return journey to the outside world.
“Perri!” Halvo’s shout nearly broke her eardrums as she emerged into the open. “If you do not respond in ten seconds, I am coming after you!”
“You needn’t bother. I am safe. I’m sorry you were worried about me,” she said, though privately she was touched by his concern. “I think the thickness of the rock cut off the transmissions between us. Halvo, I have found a place for us.”
“Describe it.” There was a definite note of relief in his voice. Perri smiled to herself as she complied with his order.
“It sounds fine. We don’t have much time left before the temperature drops well below zero,” Halvo said. “I want you to stand outside the cave entrance and point your lamp toward the ship. Don’t ask questions. Just do it.”
Perri obeyed. Since she was facing away from the cliffs and toward the flat plain at the center of the crater, she could see how far outward the shadows had advanced while she had been exploring. The sun was sinking rapidly and the Space Dragon, which on landing had stopped just outside the edge of the shadows, was so completely enveloped in darkness that Perri could barely make out its location. She lifted her left arm, directing the beam, and the light shone on a swirl of orange flames being belched out by the dragon painted on the side of the ship.
Through her feet she could feel the vibration of the Space Dragon’s thrusters starting. Slowly the ship began to move toward her, skimming just above the surface of the ground. It stopped with the exit hatch facing Perri, just a short distance away from her, in a spot where it would be well concealed both day and night within the shadows cast by the cliffs.
