“Hey, where is everybody? What’s going on?”
He glanced around, puzzled. Everywhere else in the city, humanoid robots had been more or less everywhere. He could see a few in the distance now, but none were coming past him.
“Ho, ho, Jeffrey ol’ boy. Time to get smart, maybe, eh? Something isn’t quite normal. No sense just standing out here to frost. Let’s just take a little trip, visit the tunnel again, see the sights.”
Now leery of a trap, he turned and fled back down the tunnel stop. Moments later, he was shooting through the underground system again in one of the booths, looking at the robots in other booths all around him. What if they were part of the trap? Maybe he was being escorted, herded, to wherever they wanted him to go.
“Calmly, calmly,” he said aloud in the booth. “Maybe they don’t know anything for sure. Maybe they’re trying to smoke you out. Look like everybody else, remember?” He started giggling to himself. “That’s it. Stay calm and look like all the others.”
He did so, secretly looking over the other robots traveling in the tunnels. None of them seemed to pay any attention to him.
“Shaken the pursuit again, have you?” he said out loud. “Very good, very good. This will work. This project will work. Now, let’s get on with it.”
Still, some time passed before he decided that he could safely return to the surface again. Then he picked another stop at random and reemerged into the sunlight. Now he was once more in an area of the city with a fair amount of humanoid traffic on the slidewalks, as he had been used to seeing. In the distance, the tall pyramid glinted in the sunlight, giving him a reference point.
He flagged down the first humanoid robot who came riding by, and identified himself as human. Like the last robot he had approached this way, Energy Pack Maintenance Foreman 3928 verified his claim with the central computer.
“I am satisfied that you are Jeffrey Leong, a human,” said E Pack Foreman 3928.
“Good. Then under the Second Law, you know-,-”
“As a positronic robot, I am familiar with the Laws of Robotics.”
“All right!” Jeff shouted. “Then get this! Don’t ever interrupt me again! You understand, you slag heap?”
“I understand,” the robot said blandly.
“You’d better. Come to think of it, that moniker of yours is too long. From now on, you answer to Can Head. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Energy Pack Maintenance Foreman 3928. I will also answer to Can Head.”
“Well…good enough, I guess.” Jeff laughed. “Now listen to this. I want to contact the two humans living here in Robot City. I’ve met them, and I think they’re the only ones here. You use your comlink or whatever it is to get a hold of them. That’s an order,” he added, leaning close and staring into Can Head’s eyeslit.
“I have just checked with the central computer. I can go through it to a computer console in their dwelling. However, I lack the capacity to transmit your voice directly.”
“Yeah? You aren’t lying to me, are you, Can Head?”
“I lack that capacity, as well.”
“Hmm-maybe. You should. Unless things aren’t as they seem around here. Nothing in this town is right, if you ask me. Only, how can I trust you to pass on what I say? What if you play around a little with the content? Or don’t report what they say back to me just like they say it? What about that?”
“I lack the capacity for deceit.”
“What do you need to transmit my voice directly? A microphone and some other equipment, I guess, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go find some. You get it and arrange for me to contact them directly. Get going.”
Chapter 14. The Transplant
Ariel sat at the console, trying to think up other subjects that might tell her something about Jeff or his whereabouts. Derec was out with the medical team, making plans to catch him. The search for Jeff had given Derec and Ariel a new focus for their attempt to get off the planet, and the fact that they had actually seen him made their chances seem more tangible. Her spirits were up again, even if Jeff’s spacecraft had been destroyed on impact.
She had just left the console to take a break when a voice came through the speaker.
“Hello! Hey, you! Answer me.”
She slid back into the seat, puzzled by the odd greeting. That wasn’t the kind of courtesy one received from robots. “Identify,” she answered cautiously.
“I don’t have to identify unless I feel like it. This is the robot that knocked you two down. The Laws don’t apply to me.” He paused. “You know what I’m talking about?”
“Jeff,” said Ariel excitedly. “Uh, hi. Where are you?”
Weird robot laughter buzzed through the speaker. “You can’t fool me that easy. Say, how did you know my name? What’s your name: You’re pretty, as I recall.”
“I’m Ariel.” She wanted to keep him talking and see if she could persuade him into coming in. If not, maybe he would slip up and say something that would give away his location. “Can I help you? What are you calling about?”
“If you know my name, you must have talked to those robot doctors, huh? So you know how I got this way.”
“Yes, and they told us you need to come in for your health. They didn’t finish the tests, and you don’t know how to take care of yourself yet. You left before they could explain.” She eyed the keyboard, wondering if she could have the central computer contact the medical team while she kept Jeff in conversation.
“Oh, sure; I have to come in for my own good, right? Frost, I’m not that stupid.”
“Jeff, what are you afraid of? They’re robots. They can’t do anything to harm you.” She started tapping the keys carefully, not wanting to make any noise he might hear.
“Don’t let them fool you, kid. If they’re so helpful, why don’t they transplant you? You’d like it this way. So would your friend. What’s his name, anyhow?”
“His name is Derec. What do you mean, why don’t they transplant me? They were trying to help you because you were injured in the crash when you landed. Why would I want to have my brain transplanted?” She continued on the keyboard.
“They helped me, all right. Don’t you get it, Ariel? I like this. I’m better this way.”
“Better? You mean you like having a robot body?” She stopped typing, shocked. “I thought you might be mad at them for doing this. You sound angry about something.”
“Angry? Frost, what for? I’m the most powerful individual on this entire planet.”
“What do you mean?” She completed entering the instruction for Derec and the medical team to return as fast as they could, and why. If they could intercept Jeff’s broadcast and eavesdrop, they should attempt that in the meantime. Triangulating on his beam and trapping him would be best of all.
“What do I mean? Are you crazy? It’s obvious! I’m stronger than you or any other human, and I’m free of the Laws. Completely free of them! I have every physical advantage of a robot and every privilege of being human. I can do anything I want. Anything! Don’t you understand?” He was screaming now.
She hesitated, surprised by the sound of a robot voice yelling at her in frustration. “I understand,” she said calmly. “It’s okay, Jeff. I understand.”
“Do you?” He demanded suspiciously.
“Sure. It makes sense. You’re unique. No one has ever lived the way you’re living now. You’re the very first. Uh, tell me what it’s like. It must be interesting.” Since she had no idea where Derec and the medical team were, she couldn’t estimate their time of arrival. All she could do was keep talking.
“What it’s like?” He sounded surprised. “Well…it’s different. Very different. Everybody thinks I’m a robot, for one thing. You look like everybody else. No one knows who you are. Your body can do different things, too. For instance, you can see better and hear better and smell better. And you can sleep standing up.”