Part 17 (2/2)

”Why bother?” Derec said wearily.

”Maybe I can divert it somehow. And if they get me first, I'm probably in the least danger from Avery. He doesn't have any business with me.”

”He's crazy,” Ariel said sharply. ”You can't expect rational behavior from him.”

”Well, maybe not. But splitting up is the best chance to keep Derec away from him a little longer. Maybe Avery will show himself in that extra time.”

Derec looked up to study his face. ”You sure you want to take this much risk?”

Jeff grinned at him and shrugged. ”Hey, I said lowed you a favor, didn't I?”

Derec gripped his arm for a moment in thanks, then turned and started up the slope. Ariel threw her arms around Jeff in a brief hug and then hurried after Derec. Jeff moved a few meters down the slope and then got down on all fours to crawl through the low bushes of the adjacent crop field.

Derec leaned on Ariel for support as they plodded slowly up the furrow between the fields. In a moment, the tall green Auroran-bred wheat had hidden them from immediate view of the Hunter, but it would have noted the trio's movements and communicated them to the other Hunters, wherever they were.

Mandelbrot stood at the opening of one of the pa.s.ses into the valley, looking out over the agricultural park. It was dimly lit and he could just barely see, with his superior robot vision, tiny figures moving in the distance. He paused to study the entire valley.

Some of the taller and thicker crops blocked his sight, but he could see a couple of humanoid robots moving straight up a row on the far slope. They were not behaving like Hunters, and he suspected that they were migrating. Down in the valley floor, he saw two large robots moving systematically among the rows of the crops and was sure that they were Hunters.

Then, at another spot on the opposite slope, he saw a human figure crawling through one of the fields. As he watched helplessly, a lone Hunter ran up behind him and lifted the human off the ground. From the lively struggle he saw he knew the human was not Derec and he judged that Ariel was smaller.

Above the struggle a short distance, he located Derec and Ariel moving painfully and slowly as they wove their way among some short trees.

Mandelbrot's programming and his understanding of the dangers posed by Dr. Avery placed Derec at the highest of his priorities. While the Hunters were programmed with a narrow definition of duty that allowed them to detain humans without harming them, Mandelbrot had a larger perspective and saw detention by the Hunters as a first step toward virtually certain harm. At the moment, he would have to ignore Jeff's capture and help Derec and Ariel if he could. He noted the positions and current movements of the Hunters he could see, and started quickly down the slope.

Derec and Ariel stumbled out of the far side of the fruit orchard onto a well-traveled footpath headed straight up and down the slope.

”I'm totally lost,” Derec wheezed. He stopped, bending forward to lean on his knees. ”But this must be the migration route again. Look at all the robot footprints. This valley can't have very much foot traffic. And if it did, they would have paved this.”

Ariel nodded and prodded him up the slope, where the soft mud had been churned unevenly with the heavy use. The irrigation was obviously turned on at regular intervals. ”C'mon,” she muttered breathlessly.

They had just started up the incline when a large figure stepped out of the crops above them. It threw a ma.s.sive shadow as it started down the slope toward them. Derec looked up at the great bulk of a Hunter as it moved toward them carefully, watching its precarious balance on the poor footing.

”Come on!” Ariel yanked him sideways back into the fruit orchard. ”Hurry.”

”I can't,” he whispered apologetically. ”I'm too weak to hurry.” He followed her, though, until she halted abruptly a moment later.

Another Hunter was waiting for them in the trees ahead, a dark silhouette against the glow of light behind him.

They turned again and found two more Hunters pus.h.i.+ng through the trees, breaking branches and shaking leaves as they did so, coming right up the slope without bothering to follow any rows and furrows. Their very silence and dispa.s.sionate demeanor discouraged rebellion.

Derec leaned wearily on Ariel's shoulders, unable to struggle. She wrapped her amts around him, more for his sake, he guessed, than because she was scared. He glared helplessly at the nearest Hunter.

As he watched the Hunter reaching for them he saw a weirdly flexible robot amt curl around the Hunter's neck from behind. It made a couple of quick motions and the Hunter froze, completely shut down.

Derec blinked at it, too surprised to react.

”Run!” Mandelbrot shouted, emerging from behind the Hunter. His cellular arm, which Derec had long ago installed and ordered him to disguise as a normal robotic arm of the time, was just now stiffening back to normal.

”Come on!” Ariel shoved Derec past Mandelbrot to put their protector between them and the Hunters.

They began stumbling through the trees again, their hope renewed by Mandelbrot. Ariel led him through a crooked trail, turning and twisting through the fruit trees in a clumsy, cras.h.i.+ng route that ignored stealth entirely. At one point Derec got caught in a leafy branch and had to pause to get out. He took the moment to peer back at Mandelbrot.

Four Hunters had originally closed in on them. Mandelbrot had apparently pushed the controls on that first one to neutralize it and then had attacked the other three. By attacking them, he brought the Third Law into effect, forcing the Hunters to protect themselves. This imperative overrode even the strongest programming, so that they could not continue their pursuit until they had subdued Mandelbrot.

Mandelbrot was outnumbered, but had the advantage of instructions to use his cellular arm. Further, in the close quarters among the trees, the greater size of the Hunters impeded them. The struggle continued, buying Derec and Ariel more time as they hurried on.

Ariel led the way until finally he reached out and grabbed her, too out of breath to speak up. She waited anxiously until he could, looking around fearfully.

”Where are we going?” He panted.

”I don't know. Anywhere. Just away.”

”Mandelbrot can't win that fight. He can only slow them down. Then it'll start allover again the same way.”

”Have you got a better idea?” She demanded.

He nodded and got down on the ground among the trees. ”I've been thinking about this park. The way that robot path is chewed up by the footprints and all. It means this park normally doesn't have an erosion problem.”

”Yeah, so?”

”So these crops still need water, and it's obviously managed with their usual efficiency. If this valley is irrigated by underground pipes or something, we've had it. But I don't think the robots would do that, because leaves need external moisture, too.”

”Get to the point, will you? Or let's go.”

”Irrigation outlets. This valley has to have them in some form. If we turn them on, they'll eliminate our heat trail.”

”Well....” She knelt down beside him. ”They could be anywhere. And it's dark. Besides, Derec, this is a high-alt.i.tude valley. Maybe the natural fog and rain take care of all that.”

”That would be leaving too much to chance. We have to figure this out.”

”How?”

He sat back and looked at her. His legs no longer hurt; they were nearly numb. ”All right. Instead of looking at random, we have to work it out logically, like the robots would. Where would you place irrigation outlets for the greatest efficiency?”

”How do I know?”

”Well, I can hardly think at all!”

”All right, all right. Concentrate. We're on a slope.... Derec, come on. This way.”

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