[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
I could dismiss that. Others laughed at me. That I could ignore, with justifiable contempt. The worst,
though, were those who conspired against me and what I was attempting to do. In such cases it was
necessary to
He caught himself, looked down at his food. When he gazed at the reporter again, he had regained
control of himself. Left to men like you, Mr. Booth, we would still be living in the dark times of the
second millennium. I promise you, I will be victorious.
For a man who likes to think of himself as an edu-cator, you talk an awful lot of conquest, Holland
ob-served.
Reinhardt stared at him. You would accuse me of militancy, Captain Holland? Very well. I accept the
la-bel. But I am a soldier only in the cause of science. I do not think victorious too strong a claim for the
triumph I shall experience. And when I have done what I say I shall do, others will try to follow. There
was no hu-mor in his smile now, nor did he try to temper the edge in his voice. And if successful in such
attempts, they will then have to deal with me.
And what role would such people play in this newly discovered Universe of yours? McCrae was
watching him closely.
But Reinhardt no longer seemed to care about ap-pearing tactful or diplomatic. The moment of triumph
over his enemies and scoffers was at hand. There was no longer any need to hide his zealousness from
these few visitors.
Perhaps none. I have created on board this ship the beginnings of an entirely self-sustaining mechanical
civ-ilization which responds to my orders and discipline and which
Holland wanted to hear more about Reinhardt s plans for his machines, but the commander broke off his
speech as Maximillian re-entered the room.
Again, only Reinhardt was able to interpret the series of electronic sounds and lights put forth by the
huge mechanical. When Maximillian had finished, Reinhardt turned back to them. The interruption had
sparked a by now familiar transformation. Reinhardt again was at his gracious best.
Good news? Holland inquired.
Indeed. See for yourselves. He pointed to the viewport. An approaching brightness was now clearly
visible against the farther stars: sunlight glinting off an incoming ship.
The probe I have referred to is about to dock. There are things I must do. I will see you again soon.
He pushed back his chair, rose. Please. Continue your meal. He smiled tightly.
There is nothing you can do to assist, and the docking procedure is dull and familiar. Excuse me. He
followed Maximillian out of the room.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Well, Doctor, Booth said as Reinhardt was leav-ing, no matter how foolhardy I think you are win,
lose or draw, it s one heckuva story. The commander of theCygnus disappeared without replying.
The door closed behind him. Holland had thoughts of trying the closed door to see if they had been
locked in. Reinhardt s cool warning about straying unescorted around the ship still burned in the captain s
mind. But there was no reason yet to force anything. If the door was locked, there wasn t anything they
could do about it.
Better to do as Reinhardt had suggested and enjoy the rest of the dinner. There was a chance their
regular dining schedule might be interrupted in the near future.
Booth looked around the table, uncertain to what extent his companions shared his analysis of Reinhardt
and the man s absurd proposal. Eventually his gaze came to rest on the first officer.
Pizer stared back at him for a long moment. Then the younger man spoke while glancing toward the now
closed doorway. Cuckoo as a Swiss clock. He turned to his own meal, downing food as if the devil
himself were after him.
Holland s thoughts were on the problem that might be raised by disciples of another type. He was
watching Durant worriedly. ThePalomino s elder scientist was not eating. He was standing by the
viewport, staring silently at the approaching probe ship.
Vincent touched a sensor plate. When the door obediently slid aside, he drifted into the dimly
illumi-nated Maintenance room. As he had hoped, a familiar shape was waiting for him: the battered but
still talka-tive pool player he had substituted for.
My name s Bob Twenty-six Bio-Sanitation Bat-talion.
Of course it is, said Vincent agreeably. But since you re the only unit of your type aboard, you can
leave off the series numbers.
I couldn t talk freely before. Those other machines, the ones built or altered by Reinhardt? They
would ve had me disassembled. I have a lot to tell you. His ill-lubed repellers whining faintly, he moved
to the door and carefully scanned the corridor.
If Maximillian knew you were here, unescorted, it would be the end for both of us.
Vincent hoped his words sounded as contemptuous as he intended they should. You ve no need to
worry about that clumsy dirt-mover. I can t understand why you re all so intimidated by him. If you go
well prepared into the jungle, the drunken elephant can t fall on you.
What s an elephant? Bob asked.
Never mind. We ll have your memory tripled when we get home. He was hunting about the desk area,
reasoning that the items they needed would be where the supervising robot could keep close watch on
them. Do you have lasers?
Old Bob moved to a counter. A thin, irregular-shaped metal bar extended forward from one of his arms.
It fitted neatly into a socket in the countertop. There was a click. Several drawers popped open.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Vincent gave the weapons thus revealed a profes-sional once-over. All were slightly archaic, but quite
sufficiently lethal. Not that he had a choice.
He chose a pair, checked to make sure they were fully charged, and turned to leave. Bob called for him
to wait.
Listen ... I don t know exactly what you have in mind, Vincent, but I m with you. I ve had enough of
serving as negative pole for every thersitical machine on this ship. And I don t like Reinhardt, though it s
against my programming to do anything about it. Not that anyone could, with Maximillian always hovering
around him. Whatever you re planning, I d like to help in any way I can.
I was counting on that, Bob. Again Vincent moved to depart, and once more he was held back.
Something else?
There are a few other things you d better know about this ship, the robot began. Your friends could
be in grave danger.
I have confidence in Captain Holland and First Officer Pizer, Vincent informed him. In my opinion
they often err on the side of caution, but for humans they can move decisively when events require. I m
cer-tain they are amply suspicious of Commander Rein-hardt s intentions and will treat any suggestions of
his with due care. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
I could dismiss that. Others laughed at me. That I could ignore, with justifiable contempt. The worst,
though, were those who conspired against me and what I was attempting to do. In such cases it was
necessary to
He caught himself, looked down at his food. When he gazed at the reporter again, he had regained
control of himself. Left to men like you, Mr. Booth, we would still be living in the dark times of the
second millennium. I promise you, I will be victorious.
For a man who likes to think of himself as an edu-cator, you talk an awful lot of conquest, Holland
ob-served.
Reinhardt stared at him. You would accuse me of militancy, Captain Holland? Very well. I accept the
la-bel. But I am a soldier only in the cause of science. I do not think victorious too strong a claim for the
triumph I shall experience. And when I have done what I say I shall do, others will try to follow. There
was no hu-mor in his smile now, nor did he try to temper the edge in his voice. And if successful in such
attempts, they will then have to deal with me.
And what role would such people play in this newly discovered Universe of yours? McCrae was
watching him closely.
But Reinhardt no longer seemed to care about ap-pearing tactful or diplomatic. The moment of triumph
over his enemies and scoffers was at hand. There was no longer any need to hide his zealousness from
these few visitors.
Perhaps none. I have created on board this ship the beginnings of an entirely self-sustaining mechanical
civ-ilization which responds to my orders and discipline and which
Holland wanted to hear more about Reinhardt s plans for his machines, but the commander broke off his
speech as Maximillian re-entered the room.
Again, only Reinhardt was able to interpret the series of electronic sounds and lights put forth by the
huge mechanical. When Maximillian had finished, Reinhardt turned back to them. The interruption had
sparked a by now familiar transformation. Reinhardt again was at his gracious best.
Good news? Holland inquired.
Indeed. See for yourselves. He pointed to the viewport. An approaching brightness was now clearly
visible against the farther stars: sunlight glinting off an incoming ship.
The probe I have referred to is about to dock. There are things I must do. I will see you again soon.
He pushed back his chair, rose. Please. Continue your meal. He smiled tightly.
There is nothing you can do to assist, and the docking procedure is dull and familiar. Excuse me. He
followed Maximillian out of the room.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Well, Doctor, Booth said as Reinhardt was leav-ing, no matter how foolhardy I think you are win,
lose or draw, it s one heckuva story. The commander of theCygnus disappeared without replying.
The door closed behind him. Holland had thoughts of trying the closed door to see if they had been
locked in. Reinhardt s cool warning about straying unescorted around the ship still burned in the captain s
mind. But there was no reason yet to force anything. If the door was locked, there wasn t anything they
could do about it.
Better to do as Reinhardt had suggested and enjoy the rest of the dinner. There was a chance their
regular dining schedule might be interrupted in the near future.
Booth looked around the table, uncertain to what extent his companions shared his analysis of Reinhardt
and the man s absurd proposal. Eventually his gaze came to rest on the first officer.
Pizer stared back at him for a long moment. Then the younger man spoke while glancing toward the now
closed doorway. Cuckoo as a Swiss clock. He turned to his own meal, downing food as if the devil
himself were after him.
Holland s thoughts were on the problem that might be raised by disciples of another type. He was
watching Durant worriedly. ThePalomino s elder scientist was not eating. He was standing by the
viewport, staring silently at the approaching probe ship.
Vincent touched a sensor plate. When the door obediently slid aside, he drifted into the dimly
illumi-nated Maintenance room. As he had hoped, a familiar shape was waiting for him: the battered but
still talka-tive pool player he had substituted for.
My name s Bob Twenty-six Bio-Sanitation Bat-talion.
Of course it is, said Vincent agreeably. But since you re the only unit of your type aboard, you can
leave off the series numbers.
I couldn t talk freely before. Those other machines, the ones built or altered by Reinhardt? They
would ve had me disassembled. I have a lot to tell you. His ill-lubed repellers whining faintly, he moved
to the door and carefully scanned the corridor.
If Maximillian knew you were here, unescorted, it would be the end for both of us.
Vincent hoped his words sounded as contemptuous as he intended they should. You ve no need to
worry about that clumsy dirt-mover. I can t understand why you re all so intimidated by him. If you go
well prepared into the jungle, the drunken elephant can t fall on you.
What s an elephant? Bob asked.
Never mind. We ll have your memory tripled when we get home. He was hunting about the desk area,
reasoning that the items they needed would be where the supervising robot could keep close watch on
them. Do you have lasers?
Old Bob moved to a counter. A thin, irregular-shaped metal bar extended forward from one of his arms.
It fitted neatly into a socket in the countertop. There was a click. Several drawers popped open.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Vincent gave the weapons thus revealed a profes-sional once-over. All were slightly archaic, but quite
sufficiently lethal. Not that he had a choice.
He chose a pair, checked to make sure they were fully charged, and turned to leave. Bob called for him
to wait.
Listen ... I don t know exactly what you have in mind, Vincent, but I m with you. I ve had enough of
serving as negative pole for every thersitical machine on this ship. And I don t like Reinhardt, though it s
against my programming to do anything about it. Not that anyone could, with Maximillian always hovering
around him. Whatever you re planning, I d like to help in any way I can.
I was counting on that, Bob. Again Vincent moved to depart, and once more he was held back.
Something else?
There are a few other things you d better know about this ship, the robot began. Your friends could
be in grave danger.
I have confidence in Captain Holland and First Officer Pizer, Vincent informed him. In my opinion
they often err on the side of caution, but for humans they can move decisively when events require. I m
cer-tain they are amply suspicious of Commander Rein-hardt s intentions and will treat any suggestions of
his with due care. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]