[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.But at least there was something to work with, and an outside chance, atleast, of success.Derec stepped back from the lockers and turned to look upat Aranimas. So what do you have in the way of an engineering lab around here? he askedwith a breeziness that was more show than real. I m ready to get to work. Aranimas nodded gravely. I will give you that opportunity. Answering Derec s query about a place to work meant going deeper into theconfusing maze of the raider ship.Unlike when he had been inside theasteroid, Derec found it impossible to retain any sense of direction.Therewere too many turns, too short sight lines, and too few absolute references.Once he lost track of where he was in relation to the command center, it wasover.Despite being lost, Derec was still collecting useful information with everystep.He learned that different parts of the ship had slightly differentatmospheres, and the storage corridors acted as interlocks between them.Inone section, something in the air made Derec feel as though a furry ball werecaught in his throat.In another, yellowish tears ran from Aranimas s eyes.Only the caninoid seemed at home in all the atmospheres.The ship was not only a maze, but a zoo as well, featuring at least fourspecies.Derec sawfivefile:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt (31 of 91) [2/9/03 10:57:09 AM]file:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt of Aranimas s kin, all of high rank to judge by the activities Derec sawthem engaged in.Curiously, the caninoid seemed to be the only one of his kind aboard.Most numerous were the gaunt-faced Narwe, several of whom had been recruitedby Aranimas to carry the robot parts.The Narwe were short bald-headed bipedswith gnarled skull ridges like false horns, which made them look fierce andformidable.But it was clearly only protective coloring, for Aranimas and thePage 41 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcaninoid alike cuffed and bullied the Narwe without fear.The fourth species was the most interesting and the most elusive.Inside thecompartment whereAranimas s eyes began to tear, Derec caught a glimpse of a strange five-limbedwall-clinging creature not unlike a giant sea star.It retreated as theyapproached, and was gone from sight by the time they reached the spot.Fascinated as Derec was by the parade of alien biologies, he was alsoconcerned about having so casual a contact with them.He knew that his ownbody was host to a rich biotic community:bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.He did not know just how differentthe aliens were from him.He hoped they were wildly different.The moresimilar their fundamental structure was to his, the greater the risk that hissymbiotes could endanger them or theirs endanger him.He could only hope that Aranimas had either taken precautions or determinedthat no precautions were necessary.He based that hope on the fact that theraiders had evidently had some previous contact with humans.The scavengedrobots and the aliens command of Standard proved that.But that was another mystery for his lengthening list.Derec was positive thathuman beings had never crossed paths with even one intelligent alien lifeform,much less with four of them.To understand interplanetary politics, he had toknow history and economics, but not xenobiology.Did the raiders presence mean that he was far out on the fringes of humanspace? Or had knowledge of the contacts been made a state secret, meant onlyfor those with a need to know? Were the raiders pirates, prospectors, orpioneers? Had they perhaps come looking for the same thing the robots had beenlooking for? And having found it, were they carrying him toward their home,or his?They were questions with serious consequences.Tensions were high enoughbetween Earth and theSpacers without any random factors to jumble the picture.An attack of thesort Derec had already witnessed, directed against one of the many humanworlds with no planetary defense net, could bring on war.Which brought Derec back to the silver artifact.If it was as important as therobots search for it implied, if it was powerful enough or important enoughfor the raiders to come after it, then it was too important and too powerfulto be left in the raiders hands.As much as he hated to be thinking aboutanyone s problems but his own, Derec had an obligation to try to reclaim itfor humanity.Mercifully, the lab was located in a section with a normal atmosphere, thoughthe air was a bit warm and dry.While Aranimas settled into a chair andsupervised the Narwe s arrangement of the robot parts on the open areas of thefloor, Derec browsed the workbench and wall racks with the caninoid at hiselbow to answer questions.By the time he finished, the Narwe were gone. Explain each step as you perform it, Aranimas said, crossing his arms asthough settling in. Do you intend to sit there and watch? I intend to learn what you know. Then I hope you re a patient sort, Derec said. According to your story, it took you only a short time to convert an articleof clothing into an escape propulsion system, Aranimas said. This shouldrequire even less time, since you only need to turn a robot into a robot. You ve got to be kidding, Derec said, throwing his hands in the air. I mnot sure I m going to be able to do it at all, much less in an hour or two. Explain the problem, Aranimas said.Derec bit back a laugh.In the hopes of loosening the noose Aranimas hadaround his neck, Derec had been rehearsing complaints that the equipment inthe lab was ill suited, too crude, anything to lower Aranimas s expectations.But his dismay was real, not manufactured.He had prepared himself forinstruments designed for nonhuman hands, to having to have one of the raidersat his elbow coaching him.But he had not been prepared to do without what hePage 42 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthought of as the basics. The problem is you don t have the right tools, Derec said. I need adiagnostic bench, an etcher, micromanipulators There s nothing in here thatwould even pass for a chip mask or circuit tracer Even as he spoke, he realized that he should not have been surprised.Aranimaswould not be so curious about robots, would not need to have Derec repairthem, if the culture which hefile:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt (32 of 91) [2/9/03 10:57:09 AM]file:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt represented were capable of making them.The fact that the raidersemployed gunners instead of autotargeting systems should have tipped him offthat their computer technology was deficient.Aranimas stood. Such tools as are available will be brought to you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.But at least there was something to work with, and an outside chance, atleast, of success.Derec stepped back from the lockers and turned to look upat Aranimas. So what do you have in the way of an engineering lab around here? he askedwith a breeziness that was more show than real. I m ready to get to work. Aranimas nodded gravely. I will give you that opportunity. Answering Derec s query about a place to work meant going deeper into theconfusing maze of the raider ship.Unlike when he had been inside theasteroid, Derec found it impossible to retain any sense of direction.Therewere too many turns, too short sight lines, and too few absolute references.Once he lost track of where he was in relation to the command center, it wasover.Despite being lost, Derec was still collecting useful information with everystep.He learned that different parts of the ship had slightly differentatmospheres, and the storage corridors acted as interlocks between them.Inone section, something in the air made Derec feel as though a furry ball werecaught in his throat.In another, yellowish tears ran from Aranimas s eyes.Only the caninoid seemed at home in all the atmospheres.The ship was not only a maze, but a zoo as well, featuring at least fourspecies.Derec sawfivefile:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt (31 of 91) [2/9/03 10:57:09 AM]file:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt of Aranimas s kin, all of high rank to judge by the activities Derec sawthem engaged in.Curiously, the caninoid seemed to be the only one of his kind aboard.Most numerous were the gaunt-faced Narwe, several of whom had been recruitedby Aranimas to carry the robot parts.The Narwe were short bald-headed bipedswith gnarled skull ridges like false horns, which made them look fierce andformidable.But it was clearly only protective coloring, for Aranimas and thePage 41 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcaninoid alike cuffed and bullied the Narwe without fear.The fourth species was the most interesting and the most elusive.Inside thecompartment whereAranimas s eyes began to tear, Derec caught a glimpse of a strange five-limbedwall-clinging creature not unlike a giant sea star.It retreated as theyapproached, and was gone from sight by the time they reached the spot.Fascinated as Derec was by the parade of alien biologies, he was alsoconcerned about having so casual a contact with them.He knew that his ownbody was host to a rich biotic community:bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.He did not know just how differentthe aliens were from him.He hoped they were wildly different.The moresimilar their fundamental structure was to his, the greater the risk that hissymbiotes could endanger them or theirs endanger him.He could only hope that Aranimas had either taken precautions or determinedthat no precautions were necessary.He based that hope on the fact that theraiders had evidently had some previous contact with humans.The scavengedrobots and the aliens command of Standard proved that.But that was another mystery for his lengthening list.Derec was positive thathuman beings had never crossed paths with even one intelligent alien lifeform,much less with four of them.To understand interplanetary politics, he had toknow history and economics, but not xenobiology.Did the raiders presence mean that he was far out on the fringes of humanspace? Or had knowledge of the contacts been made a state secret, meant onlyfor those with a need to know? Were the raiders pirates, prospectors, orpioneers? Had they perhaps come looking for the same thing the robots had beenlooking for? And having found it, were they carrying him toward their home,or his?They were questions with serious consequences.Tensions were high enoughbetween Earth and theSpacers without any random factors to jumble the picture.An attack of thesort Derec had already witnessed, directed against one of the many humanworlds with no planetary defense net, could bring on war.Which brought Derec back to the silver artifact.If it was as important as therobots search for it implied, if it was powerful enough or important enoughfor the raiders to come after it, then it was too important and too powerfulto be left in the raiders hands.As much as he hated to be thinking aboutanyone s problems but his own, Derec had an obligation to try to reclaim itfor humanity.Mercifully, the lab was located in a section with a normal atmosphere, thoughthe air was a bit warm and dry.While Aranimas settled into a chair andsupervised the Narwe s arrangement of the robot parts on the open areas of thefloor, Derec browsed the workbench and wall racks with the caninoid at hiselbow to answer questions.By the time he finished, the Narwe were gone. Explain each step as you perform it, Aranimas said, crossing his arms asthough settling in. Do you intend to sit there and watch? I intend to learn what you know. Then I hope you re a patient sort, Derec said. According to your story, it took you only a short time to convert an articleof clothing into an escape propulsion system, Aranimas said. This shouldrequire even less time, since you only need to turn a robot into a robot. You ve got to be kidding, Derec said, throwing his hands in the air. I mnot sure I m going to be able to do it at all, much less in an hour or two. Explain the problem, Aranimas said.Derec bit back a laugh.In the hopes of loosening the noose Aranimas hadaround his neck, Derec had been rehearsing complaints that the equipment inthe lab was ill suited, too crude, anything to lower Aranimas s expectations.But his dismay was real, not manufactured.He had prepared himself forinstruments designed for nonhuman hands, to having to have one of the raidersat his elbow coaching him.But he had not been prepared to do without what hePage 42 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthought of as the basics. The problem is you don t have the right tools, Derec said. I need adiagnostic bench, an etcher, micromanipulators There s nothing in here thatwould even pass for a chip mask or circuit tracer Even as he spoke, he realized that he should not have been surprised.Aranimaswould not be so curious about robots, would not need to have Derec repairthem, if the culture which hefile:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt (32 of 91) [2/9/03 10:57:09 AM]file:///D|/Isaac%20Asimov/Asimov,%20Isaac%20-%20Robot%20City%201%20-%20Odyssey.txt represented were capable of making them.The fact that the raidersemployed gunners instead of autotargeting systems should have tipped him offthat their computer technology was deficient.Aranimas stood. Such tools as are available will be brought to you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]