Part 10 (1/2)
”Then you must talk with me, boditech. If you talk with me, I won't try to injure myself. For a while, anyway.”
”I am not programmed to converse.”
”But it's necessary. It's the treatment for my symptoms. You must try.”
”It is time to watch the scanners.”
”You said it!” he cried. ”You didn't just eject me. Boditech, you're learning. I will call you Amanda.”
On the next planet he behaved well and came away unscathed. He pointed out to Amanda that her talking treatment was effective.
”Do you know what Amanda means?”
”I do not have those data.”
”It means beloved. You're my girl.”
The oscilloscope faltered.”Now I want to talk about returning home. When will this mission be over? How many more suns?”
”I do not have-”
”Amanda, you've tapped the scouter's banks. You know when the recall signal is due. When is it, Amanda? When?”
”Yes.... When in the course of human events-”
”When, Amanda? How long more?”
”Oh, the years are many, the years are long, but the little toy friends are true-”
”Amanda. You're telling me the signal is overdue.”
A sine-curve scream and he was rolling in lips. But it was a feeble ravening, sadness in the mechanical crescendos. When the mouths faded, he crawled over and laid his hand on the console beside her green eye.
”They have forgotten us, Amanda. Something has broken down.”
Her pulse-line skittered.
”I am not programmed-”
”No. You're not programmed for this. But I am. I will make your new program, Amanda. We will turn the scouter back, we will find Earth. Together. We will go home.”
”We,” her voice said faintly. ”We...?”
”They will make me back into a man, you into a woman.”
Her voder made a buzzing sob and suddenly shrieked.
”Look out!”
Consciousness blew up.
He came to staring at a brilliant red eye on the scouter's emergency panel. This was new.
”Amanda!”
Silence.
”Boditech, I suffer!”
No reply.
Then he saw that her eye was dark. He peered in. Only a dim green line flickered, entrained to the pulse of the scouter's fiery eye. He pounded the scouter's panel.
”You've taken over Amanda! You've enslaved her! Let her go!”
From the voder rolled the opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth.
”Scouter, our mission has terminated. We are overdue to return. Compute us back to Base Zero.”
The Fifth rolled on, rather vapidly played. It became colder in the cabin. They were braking into a star system. The slave arms of boditech grabbed him, threw him into the pod. But he was not required here, and presently he was let out again to pound and rave alone. The cabin grew colder yet, and dark.
When presently he was set down on a new sun's planet, he was too dispirited to fight. Afterwards his ”report” was a howl for help through chattering teeth until he saw that the pickup was dead. The entertainment console was dead too, except for the scouter's hog music. He spent hours peering into Amanda's blind eye, s.h.i.+vering in what had been her arms. Once he caught a ghostly whimper: ”Mommy. Let me out.”
”Amanda?”
The red master scope flared. Silence.
He lay curled on the cold deck, wondering how he could die. If he failed, over how many million planets would the mad scouter parade his breathing corpse?They were nowhere in particular when it happened.
One minute the screen showed Doppler star-hash; the next they were clamped in a total white-out, inertia all skewed, screens dead.
A voice spoke in his head, mellow and vast: ”Long have we watched you, little one.”
”Who's there?” he quavered. ”Who are you?”
”Your concepts are inadequate.”
”Malfunction! Malfunction!” squalled the scouter.
”Shut up, it's not a malfunction. Who's talking to me?”
”You may call us: Rulers of the Galaxy.”
The scouter was lunging wildly, buffeting him as it tried to escape the white grasp. Strange crunches, firings of unknown weapons. Still the white stasis held.
”What do you want?” he cried.
”Want?” said the voice dreamily. ”We are wise beyond knowing. Powerful beyond your dreams.
Perhaps you can get us some fresh fruit.”