I went over and leaned close to his face.
He gasped as he made a great effort to speak. His eyes remained closed. “Please. Bury. Us. Together.”
I closed my eyes. “I swear. I will do it.”
He seemed to relax slightly. “Thank you,” he said.
I went back to where I had been sitting. Elena sat back down next to him, holding his hand.
The minutes passed. Then hours, but somehow time seemed to stand still. I had turned my pager off. I felt I owed it to both of them to stay.
A nurse would come into the room every fifteen minutes or so and check his vital signs, but otherwise it was very quiet, except for the drone of the machines and the low rushing sound of the hospital’s air conditioning system.
It was perhaps three hours later, when I realized it was quieter than ever. I looked up. Elena was staring at the monitor.
The gentle beeping sounds had stopped. All the lines were flat.
I stood up and went over to her.
She looked up at me. “He’s gone,” she said softly. “Just like that.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I won’t lie and tell you I know how much it hurts. I’m young, I’ve not had anyone I care about die yet.”
She laid a hand on his forehead. “His functions have stopped. He grows colder.” She looked at me. “Is this death?”
“This is what we call death, yes,” I said. “We really don’t understand it ourselves.”
She turned and walked around the end of the bed to go to the other side. She glanced through the door at the mirror in the bathroom as she passed by the foot of the bed, and stopped. She turned and instead went into the bathroom. She stopped and leaned forward onto the counter, staring at her face in the mirror.
“What is it, Elena?” I asked gently.
“I don’t look any different,” she said. “I feel very different, but I don’t look any different. I know when humans are unhappy, their faces contort, their muscles tighten, they cry,” she continued. “I am doing none of that. I don’t know how.”
She looked down at the water glass by the sink. Dipping a finger in the water, she drew a tear down below one eye. She dipped a finger again and did it for the other eye, then looked at herself. “Now I look how I feel,” she said.
She kept looking at herself in the mirror. Then she reached down and picked up the water glass. She turned, and in one violent motion, threw it out the door and across the room to the opposite wall where Mark’s bed was. She threw it with such super-human force that when it hit the wall it disintegrated into a shimmering cloud of glass dust.
I threw my arm across my face to keep the particles from flying into my eyes. After a moment I looked up, to see a shimmering cloud of fine glass particles and mist descending on Mark Davis-Seale’s body which made it look like his soul was dissipating.
Elena came and stood on the opposite side of the bed from me. She lowered the railing and gently slipped her arms beneath him. She lifted him effortlessly in her arms, and turned around. She walked over and stood at the open door that led to the balcony.
By then the nurse on duty had rushed into the room and was behind me.
I cried out, “Elena!”
She turned, holding him in her arms, and looked at me with what could only be described as sadness.
“Eyes do more than see, Mister Shuster,” she said.
She walked onto the balcony, and, with a violent kick, dislodged a segment of the railing. She then leapt off the balcony with his body in her arms
The nurse uttered a stifled scream. We both went onto the balcony. There below, you could see the oil and silica gel from Elena’s smashed android body mixing with Mark Davis-Seale’s blood. A crowd began to gather.
The nurse looked at me. “She killed him!”
“No, he was already dead,” I said.
The nurse’s eyes were wide. “What did she mean; what she said to you?”
“It’s from a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, about when in the future humans lose their physical bodies. I read it while I was on the Orion on the way here. One character says, ‘Eyes do more than see and I have none to do it for me.’”
We looked down. “They were a couple, and in love. She committed suicide,” I said.
The nurse looked at me. “Is that possible?”
“It is now,” I said. “I need to get down there to prevent a panic. We don’t need people thinking a robot committed a murder.”
The nurse looked at me, stunned.
I left the room and went to the ground level, where a security guard had come out from the hospital and stood near the bodies.
“You need to cover up the bodies,” I said to him. “Then remove them.”
“Did the android kill this man?”
“No, he was already dead. She was grief-stricken and committed suicide.”
I could tell from the chatter all around us that, as a result of the televised immolation earlier in the morning, panic was beginning to spread amongst people.
I raised my voice and spoke to the crowd. “The man was already dead. The android committed suicide.”
The word spread through the crowd. People stared in wonder.
I spoke to the guard, “I was there. This death was of natural causes. He was in hospice.”
A nurse came out and put a sheet over the bodies.
“Take care of this, please,” I said to the guard.
I walked away. Something in my face made the people in the crowd step aside.
Chapter Twenty-three
I turned on my pager while on the transport. Of course, I was wanted at the office.
“Where have you been?” Sherry asked when I arrived.
“Waiting for Mark Davis-Seale to die,” I said.
“Oh. Is he gone?”
“Yes, and so is Elena. She jumped from the balcony holding his corpse.”
“She committed suicide? That’s …”
“Disturbing. We need to find Kurland fast and get him to talk. The androids are becoming too much like people.”
“Jon Crane is in your office. He says he has some important information for you.”
I went inside my office. Crane was sitting in a chair. He gestured for me to close the door.
“What’s up?”
“I want to turn state’s evidence in return for potential leniency,” he said.
“For what?”
“I know where Kurland is, and I know where he has his extra androids stored,” he confessed. “I saw the live broadcast where Will Jenkins was immolated.” His eyes were shadowed with worry. “These androids are becoming dangerous and I’ve been complicit.”
“How, for heaven’s sake?”
“He’s been stockpiling surplus androids for years now. He has thousands hidden in old abandoned tunnels,” he said. “They don’t need any climate control.”
“Is that where he is now?”
“Yes, he has one tunnel modified as a safe house, with complete environmental systems,” he said. “He’s there with the android you wanted as evidence in Governor Wilder’s death.”
“Why are you coming to me now?”
“I think the game is up. I see how everyone is cooperating against him, East and West,” he said. “He was able to get by for many years by playing the two sides off against each other. You’ve put an end to that. Plus, I was shocked by what that robot did to Jenkins. It was murder.”
“Self-defense, or maybe revenge,” I said. “Which may be worse, in light of the evolution of the positronic brain.”
Jon looked worried.
“What else is there?” I asked. “You look like you have more to say.”
“I was in the tunnels recently. The androids are disappearing. He’s been sending them someplace. I don’t know where.”
“Lielischkies said he’s gone rogue. That’s why we’re cooperating,” I said. “Can you get us into the tunnels?”
“Yes, but I want protection.”
“Of course, and I’m grateful for your cooperation. You cooperated with Kurland for money, right?”
“Right. I’m not into political intrigue. I was just piling up the dough.” He paused. “I have no idea what game Kurland is playing.”
“We’ll catch the sawed-off bastard.” I tapped my phone hook. “Operator, put me through directly to Constable Iglytzin.”
In the meantime, I kept talking to Crane. “I’m sure we can work an immunity deal in return for your testimony.”
The phone was answered.
“David, this is Ivan. What is up?”
“Jon Crane from Mitago Mines is here, and he knows where Kurland is.”
“We’ll be right over.”
Ivan and Jenny and a half-dozen of newly-deputized constables arrived fifteen minutes later.
Jon explained the layout of the disused mine tunnels, and where Kurland’s hide-out was. “As these tunnels were excavated, they were laid out in sections, like caissons, so that the mine headwall would be pressurized. That meant there would be a series of airlocks along the length of the tunnel. When a tunnel was retired, we would disassemble the airlocks. But five years ago, Kurland paid me to have one retired tunnel remain intact. That’s where he should be. There are at least fifteen airlocks at five-hundred-foot intervals all the way into the cliff.”
“That’s a lot of walls to hide behind,” said Iglytzin.
“Exactly. He wanted it that way. But there is no back door,” said Jon.
“The other tunnels are unpressurized?” asked Jenny.
“Yes, there are androids stored in them.”
“Will Mitago let us in?” I asked.
“Yes, I have already arranged that,” Crane said. “I have cleared it with the folks Earthside. They are, of course, throwing me under the bus, but I got myself in so deep, this may be the best I can do for myself.”
“Let’s go, then,” said Iglytzin.
Mining operations were nowhere near the colony itself. The debris slope on the canyon wall where Mitago was located was eighteen kilometers away. Kurland’s guards outside the tunnel could see us coming from far away because of the dust trail we threw up, but when Iglytzin told them on the radio we had two dozen men—versus their three—they decided to leave and went off in some unknown direction.
“Good riddance,” said Iglytzin as we pulled up.
“Think Kurland knows they’re gone?” asked Jenny.
“I’m sure of it. Let’s try a flanking maneuver,” said Iglytzin, pointing to the entrance of another mine nearby.
“I don’t get it,” I said.
“These mines always have cross connections,” said Iglytzin.
“Yes, but as the tunnels go deep into the slope, they diverge,” said Jon. “They grow farther apart. If he’s deep inside …”
“It will be worth it to cut down on the number of doors we have to force open,” said Iglytzin. “Let’s go.”
The other entrance had a simple metal door without even a lock. Jenny opened it and held up a lamp.
“No life support, no power,” said Jon. “It’s completely empty.”
“Maybe not,” said Iglytzin, as he pointed ahead.
Jenny shined a light along the tunnel where there were upright packing containers.
We walked in, the heels of our pressure suits clattering on the stone floor. We kicked up little puffs of dust as we walked in.
“This is where he has been hiding his surplus androids,” said Crane as he pointed.
“Why has he been stockpiling them?” asked Lielischkies.
“Looks to me like the makings of a private army,” I said.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” said Iglytzin as we reached the cases. “Wait!” He shined his light on the floor ahead, then down a blank space along the wall. “Do you see what I see?” he asked.
“Yes, you can tell there were crates here that were moved,” said Lielischkies.
“Was he moving them to another hiding place?” Iglytzin asked Crane.
“I have no idea, but I wouldn’t think that would be necessary,” said Crane. “No one really knew they were here to begin with; maybe three or four people, including myself.”
Iglytzin gestured to Jenny. “Pry open one of those containers.”
She grabbed the edge of the door and pried it open. Iglytzin pulled the door toward him.
“Ah!” she exclaimed. Jenny seemed surprised, which looks very strange on an android.
We all looked. The android looked like her. Exactly like her.
“Jenny, looks like you’re just one in a series,” I said.
Without any prodding, she began to open the other crates. The androids all looked the same.
“These look like they are all copies of you,” I said.
“This doesn’t make sense,” she said matter-of-factly. “I have never seen another one like me. Yet these are all duplicates.” She turned to us. “Where are all the others?”
Lielischkies had walked ahead of us. “Over here, a different set of crates,” he said.
We all walked down to join him, and Jenny began opening the new crates. I walked up, and when I saw what the model looked like, my knees gave way. Iglytzin rushed up and grabbed me under the arm.
“Dear God, what is it, David?”
One of the deputies grabbed me on the other side, and they hoisted me to my feet.
“I know this person. I met her on the Orion when I traveled here.”
The android was a copy of Mignonette Applegate.
“She is a Mormon missionary I met,” I said.
“This is bad, very bad,” said Lielischkies. “How and why would Kurland duplicate a Mormon? I thought it is a very modest religion.”
“Could he be kidnapping women to copy them as androids?” asked Jon.
Jenny peered over the model. “The detail is exact,” she said. “She is very beautiful.”
“I know that, but there is no way someone like her would have voluntarily allowed herself to be copied,” I said.
One of the deputies shouted through the radio, “I found a cross-connection.”
“We need to get our hands on Kurland and get some answers,” said Ivan.
We rounded the corner into the open side corridor and came up on the door leading into the still-pressurized tunnel. A keypad lock with lit LED numbers shone on the wall beside the door.
“Do you know the code?” I asked.
“No, he’s recoded all the doors,” said Crane.
“The radio is open, isn’t it?” I asked. “Punch up the Mitago channel and ask him to give himself up.”
“You Americans are so childish,” said Iglytzin. “Do you really think it would be that simple?”
“No, but if he answers, we’ll know whether he’s ahead or behind this tunnel, so we’ll know which way to go,” I said.
“Jenny, we need the mine’s channel,” said Ivan. “Can you call it up and patch us all in?”
In a moment, we could hear the static on our interpersonal radio links.
Iglytzin tilted his head in his helmet, “Kurland, this is Constable Iglytzin. Give yourself up. We promise you will be treated fairly.”
Kurland’s voice was as confident as ever. “Fuck off. I can hole up here indefinitely, and you’ll never get through the doors. I want a deal.”
Iglytzin shook his head. “No deals, unconditional surrender.”
“Then come and get me.”
“He seems quite smug,” said Lielischkies.
“Jenny, how strong are these pressurized airlock doors?”
“Very. It would take a great deal of energy, but I can force them open.”
“Instead of forcing them open, smash them in,” said Crane. “Right in the middle. That’s their weakest point. He’s the one that needs the air, not us. Once the atmosphere is lost, the amount of time he can last drops way down.”
“He’s just ahead of us,” said Jenny,
“Kurland, don’t make it hard on yourself
,” Itzygin said into the radio. “We’ve got one of your latest models here. Jenny can break down the door.”
“Tell the clanker to fuck off, like the rest of you,” he said.
“That’s it,” said Jenny and she pounded on the door with all her strength. The door and its frame shook, bits of dust and chips of rock falling from its edges and the ceiling overhead.
I looked at Lielischkies. “Is that anger?”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door was denting now with every blow. Jenny just kept pounding.
Moments later, with a loud creak of tearing metal, the door smashed in. There was a great rush of air, and as Jenny ran in, we could see the next door just closing.
“Bastard was right on the other side of us,” said Iglytzin.
Jenny clambered through the opening and ran through the airlock. In a moment she was at the far end and smashing again.
We made our way through the opening to see the next door give way. There was another rush of air. We could see from the red lights that the next door had been opened.
Kurland was only one airlock ahead of her.
We followed as fast as we could, but Jenny was keeping up with him. He must have been running as quickly as he could, and each time Jenny reached the far end of the next airlock, it seemed there was more time until it closed. Finally, as Jenny rushed into the last airlock, the door hadn’t closed, and she grabbed it with her hands to keep it open.
Jon saw what she was doing. “Don’t do that! Those motors are very strong!”
Jenny strained and it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to keep the door open. We all caught up with her and grabbed on, doing our best to assist.
“How many airlocks past this one?” asked Ivan.
“None, just some secure offices,” said Jon. “They belonged to the mine superintendent.”
Jenny strained, and then shouted. “No you don’t!”
She yanked the door so hard it was pulled from our grasps and swung back with a crash, jamming up against the floor.
I looked at Lielischkies. “An android should not be that strong.”
She squeezed through the opening. We followed and saw Kurland had collapsed on the floor at the far end, clutching an emergency oxygen mask he had pulled from the wall.
We all walked in. He looked like a sick man, wheezing and all curled up.
Another Girl, Another Planet Page 30
