Accidental Flight
Page 7
we came for. Ithink he'll be ready to surrender. The ship's temporarily disabled;he'll consider that damage enough."
* * * * *
Jordan found the doctor in the forward section of the ship. Cameronknew better than to argue with a toaster. In a matter of minutes hewas in the control room.
"Now that you've got me, what are you going to do with me?" he asked.
Docchi swiveled away from the instrument panel. "I don't expect activecooperation, of course, but I like to think you'll give your word notto hinder us hereafter."
Cameron glared. "I promise nothing of the kind."
"We can chain him to Anti," suggested Jordan. "That will keep him outof trouble."
"Like leading a poodle on a leash? Nope," said Anti indignantly. "Agirl has to have some privacy."
"Don't wince, Cameron," objected Docchi. "She really was a girl once,an attractive one."
"We can put him in a spacesuit and lock his hands behind his back,"said Jordan. "Something like an ancient straitjacket."
Cameron laughed.
"No, that's inhuman," said Docchi.
Jordan juggled the toaster. "I can weld with this. Let's put him in acabin and weld the door closed. We can cut a slot to shove food in. Avery narrow slot."
"Excellent. I think you have the solution. That is, unless Dr. Cameronwill reconsider his decision."
Cameron shrugged. "They'll pick you up in a day or less anyway. Isuppose I'm not compromising myself by agreeing to your terms."
"Good."
"A doctor's word is as good as his oath," observed Anti. "Hippocraticor hypocritic."
"Now, Anti, don't be cynical. Doctors have an economic sense as wellas the next person," said Docchi gravely. He turned to Cameron. "Yousee, after Anti grew too massive for her skeletal structure, doctorsreasoned she'd be most comfortable in the absence of gravity. That wasin the early days, before successful ship gravital units weredeveloped. They put her on an interplanetary ship and kepttransferring her before each landing.
"But that grew troublesome and--expensive. They devised a newtreatment; the asteroid and the tank of acid. Not being aquatic bynature, Anti resented the change. She still does."
"I knew nothing about that," Cameron pointed out defensively.
"It was before your time." Docchi frowned at the doctor. "Tell me, whydid you laugh when Jordan mentioned a spacesuit?"
Cameron grinned. "That was my project while you were busy with therobot."
"To do what? Jordan--"
But Jordan was already on his way. He was gone for some time.
"Well?" asked Docchi on his return. It really wasn't necessary;Jordan's gloomy face told the story.
"Cut to ribbons."
"All of them?"
"Every one. Beyond repair."
"What's the excitement about?" rumbled Anti. "We don't need spacesuitsunless something happens to the ship and we have to go outside."
"Exactly, Anti. How do you suppose we go about replacing the defectivetubes? From the outside, of course. By destroying the spacesuits,Cameron made sure we can't."
Anti opened her mouth with surprise and closed it in anger. Sheglowered at the doctor.
"We're still in the asteroid zone," said Cameron. "In itself, that'snot dangerous. Without power to avoid stray rocks, it is. I advise youto contact the Medicouncil. They'll send a ship to pick us up and towus in."
"No, thanks. I don't like Handicap Haven as well as you do," Anti saidbrusquely. She turned to Docchi. "Maybe I'm stupid for asking, butexactly what is it that's deadly about being out in space without aspacesuit?"
"Cold. Lack of air pressure. Lack of oxygen."
"Is that all? Nothing else?"
His laugh was too loud. "Isn't that enough?"
"I wanted to be sure," she said.
She beckoned to Nona, who was standing near. Together they wentforward, where the spacesuits were kept.
Cameron scowled puzzledly and started to follow. Jordan waved thetoaster around.
"All right," said the doctor, stopping. He rubbed his chin. "What isshe thinking about?"
"I wouldn't know," said Docchi. "She's not scientifically trained, ifthat's what you mean. But she has a good mind, as good as her bodyonce was."
"And how good was that?"
"We don't talk about it," said Jordan shortly.
* * * * *
It was a long time before the women came back--if the weird creaturethat floated into the control compartment with Nona _was_ Anti.
Cameron stared at her and saw shudderingly that it was. "You need asession with the psycho-computer," he said. "When we get back, that'sthe first thing we do. Can't you understand...."
"Be quiet," growled Jordan. "Now, Anti, explain what you've riggedup."
"Any kind of pressure is good enough as far as the outside of the bodyis concerned," answered Anti, flipping back the helmet. "Mechanicalpressure will do as well as air pressure. I had Nona cut thespacesuits into strips and wind them around me--hard. Then I found ahelmet that would fit over my head when the damaged part was cut away.It won't hold much air pressure, even taped very tight to my skin. Butas long as it's pure oxygen--"
"It might be satisfactory," admitted Docchi. "But the temperature?"
"Do you think I'm going to worry about cold?" asked Anti. "Me? Waydown below all this flesh?"
"Listen to me," said Cameron through his teeth. "You've alreadyseriously threatened my career with all this childish nonsense. Iwon't permit you to ruin it altogether by a deliberate suicide."
"You and your stinking career," retorted Jordan tiredly. "We're notasking your permission to do anything." He turned away from thedoctor. "You understand the risk, Anti? It's possible that it won'twork at all."
"I've thought about it," Anti replied soberly. "On the other hand,I've thought about the asteroid."
"All right," said Jordan. Docchi nodded. Nona bobbed her head; it wasdoubtful that she knew what she was agreeing to.
"Let's have some telecom viewers outside," said Docchi. "One directlyin back, one on each side. We've got to know what's happening."
Jordan went to the control panel and flipped levers. "They're out andworking," he said, gazing at the screen. "Now, Anti, go to the freightlock. Close your helmet and wait. I'll let the air out slowly. Thepressure change will be gradual. If anything seems wrong, let me knowover the helmet radio and I'll yank you in immediately. Once you'reoutside I'll give you further instructions. Tools and equipment are ina compartment that opens into space."
Anti waddled away.
Jordan looked down at his legless body. "I suppose we have to berealistic about it--"
"We do," answered Docchi. "Anti is the only one of us who has a chanceof doing the job and surviving."
Jordan adjusted a dial. "It was Cameron who was responsible for it.If Anti doesn't come back, you can be damn sure he'll join her."
"No threats, please," said Docchi. "When are you going to let herout?"
"She's out," said Jordan. Deliberately, he had diverted theirattention while he had taken the burden of emotional strain.
Docchi glanced hastily at the telecom. Anti was hanging free in space,wrapped and strapped in strips torn from the useless spacesuits--that,and more flesh than any human had ever borne. The helmet sat jauntilyon her head; the oxygen cylinder was strapped to her back. She wasstill intact.
"How is she?" he asked anxiously, unaware that the microphone wasopen.
"Fine," came Anti's reply, faint and ready. "The air's thin, but it'spure oxygen."
"Cold?" asked Docchi.
"It hasn't penetrated yet. No worse than the acid, at any rate. Whatdo I do?"
Jordan gave her directions. The others watched. It was work to findthe tools and examine the tubes for defectives, to loosen the tubes inthe sockets and pull them out and push them spinning into space. Itwas still harder to replace them, though there was no gravity and Antiwas held to the hull by magneslippers.
But it seemed more than work. To Cameron, who was watching, an oddthought occurred: In her remote past, of which he knew nothing, Antihad done something like this before. Ridiculous, of course. Yet therewas a rhythm to her motions, this shapeless giant creature whose boneswould break with her weight