The machine did not immediately reply. Gene caught sight of something moving among the shadows at the base of a tower off to the right. He watched out of the corner of his eye.
He couldn’t make it out. Whatever it was, it made no sound. The silence seemed about to explode.
“You say you are a god?” the city finally said in a worried tone.
“That’s right. With powers far beyond those of mortal … whatever, people. Even Umoi. Able to leap tall buildings, and all that sort of stuff. I came here in good faith, seeking help. You have rebuffed me, and I’m starting to get really pissed off.”
“I do not wish,” the city said, “to incur the wrath of the supernatural.” The voice was hushed, fearful. “I hear the spirits, oftentimes. They wail their pain and remorse. At night, I weep. I am alone, so alone.”
Gene spoke to Vaya out of the side of his mouth. “Uh-oh, the thing’s gone off the deep end. Totally bonkers.” In full voice he said, “Look here, no one wants any trouble. I come in search of the interdimensional machine. I have need for it.”
“Interdimensional machine. I have heard you speak of this.”
“I gathered. Do you know where it is?”
There was a pause. Then: “I know of no such device.”
“Oh. Well, do you mind if we look around?”
Again, a pause, this one longer. Finally: “I have made a decision. You are not a god. You are not a Master, nor are you of domestic servant stock, if my genetic scan has yielded accurate data. However, your genetic pattern, though strange, is similar to that of a yalim. Therefore, you must be a mutation.”
Gene’s eye was on the thing in the lengthening shadows. The day had nearly ended, and light was fading fast. “Hey, it’s not nice to call someone that.”
“Therefore,” the machine went on, “you must be considered an undesirable life form and will be dealt with accordingly.”
“Duck!” Gene pulled Vaya down.
An energy beam sizzled over their heads. Its point of origin was near the base of the dark tower.
“Move back,” he ordered her. “And keep low!”
She needed no coaching. Together they retreated through the maze of debris that had greeted them on entering the city.
Annau was laid out in an open plan, with no gates or defensive barriers, but a low wall outlined the outer perimeter. This they had easily scaled coming in, but now it presented an impenetrable barrier. To climb it was to risk getting fried alive. And any thought of chancing it was ruled out, Gene saw, because a squat, tanklike robot sentry was rounding the curve of the wall, hugging its base. Gene raised his head and looked back toward the tower. A similar machine, the one that had fired, was pursuing them.
They moved off to one side and hid between the hulks of two overturned vehicles. Much of the debris looked the result of a battle, or perhaps a long series of skirmishes. In the back of his mind Gene wondered who had fought whom.
“Hell of a pickle,” Gene murmured. Vaya huddled close to him. For the moment, he could think of nothing to do except to keep moving and hiding.
They did this for the next quarter hour, dodging in and among the ruins. But more security machines clanked out from the shadows of the city, and they became hunted fugitives.
With the robots hemming them in on all sides, they sought refuge in the funnel-shaped mouth of a huge air vent. At the back of the funnel, a circular shaft descended at a steep angle, almost vertically.
“Looks like our only chance,” Gene said.
“We will descend to the underworld together, my husband. I am not afraid.”
“You’re braver than I am. Anything could be down there.”
Gene peeked out of the vent. One of the little tanklike security robots looked about ready to unleash another energy bolt. Gene urged Vaya farther back.
“Let’s do it, babe,” Gene said.
They sat on the edge of the incline and joined hands. Then they pushed off, sliding down the shaft and into darkness.
The angle of descent flattened out a little, but the metal tube was slippery. It was difficult to keep control. They tried braking with their feet, but soon they were sliding uncontrollably, plummeting deep into the bowels of the city.
The shaft finally leveled off, and Gene skidded to a stop. He got up, then went tumbling backward as Vaya slid into his legs.
They helped each other up. It was utterly dark. Gene felt his way around and found that they were still inside a large, circular metal tube. A deep humming sound throbbed in the darkness. This part of the city seemed alive and active.
They walked on, feeling their way. They encountered one crossing tunnel, then another. Gene decided to turn right, the direction he thought the throbbing was coming from.
“I think what we came down was a fresh-air return, not an exhaust vent,” Gene said. “If so, we should be able to get out of this pipe.”
He had said it to convince himself. He was not sure. For all he knew they could wander a week inside this maze.
But his reasoning had been correct. There was light ahead, and soon they came across a metal-mesh grate. Gene peered out through it. He could see some machinery and a tangle of pipes. Down here lay the guts of the city, the physical plant that at one time had kept Annau alive and functioning.
There was no bolt on the grate, so Gene tried kicking it out. To his surprise, he succeeded in doing just that. The grate fell off and clattered to the floor, which lay some fifteen feet below.
“Got that cord, Vaya?”
Vaya unbelted a sizable length of braided leather cord from around her waist.
“Trouble is, there’s nothing to tie it to,” Gene said, wrapping one end of the cord around his waist, “except me. You get down there, then I’ll jump.”
Vaya slithered down the thin cord and dangled.
“Make sure there’s nothing under you!” Gene warned, bracing his knees against the side of the tube.
She dropped and landed, unhurt.
“Take care, my husband!”
Fifteen feet can be a nasty drop, potentially leg-breaking, worse with an awkward landing. Gene hung as low as he could, reducing the height to about seven feet, still a tricky proposition. Then he let go. He hit and rolled, his shoulder coming up hard against an exhaust stack.
He got up rubbing his shoulder but otherwise undamaged. Vaya hugged him, then they walked off into the gloom.
The place had the look of a basement. It was very dry, though, and the temperature was just right. The place was unending, a labyrinth of technical wonders. There seemed to be whole factories down here, and now Gene knew how Zond had manufactured clothing and other amenities for him. Most of this equipment was shut down. It had been a while since this plant saw any production. There was no dust, however, and everything looked in good repair.
They kept quiet and kept low. Gene did not think they had escaped. It seemed logical to assume that the city was in control down here as well. No security robots showed themselves, however, and Gene hoped the reason was that they did not ordinarily patrol the lower regions of the city.
So far, so good. But where were they to go? There was no sign of a warehouse area or anyplace where miraculous devices would be kept. In fact, the whole notion of finding the interdimensional traveler seemed absurd now, the wildest of wild-goose chases, and Gene felt very stupid.
He felt even more stupid, if only for a second, when the voice of the city spoke to them again.
“Hello,” it said simply. “How can I be of service?”
The voice sounded basically the same, but both Gene and Vaya immediately sensed that a different personality lay behind it.
“Who are you?” Gene said. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Not at all. I am the city of Annau. You may call me Dis, for this means ‘survivor.’ Welcome, stranger.”