"Hi. I was just thinking of you," he managed to say, the catch in his voice painfully obvious, at least to him.
"Liar," she said with combined sarcasm and warmth. "But that's all right. I wanted to see you, too."
"Have you noticed that building?"
"Of course. I've been standing here for the last few moments, while you've been zoned out. Amazing, isn't it? I bet you're already trying to figure out how to analyze it."
"Oh, of course. How did you find me?" he asked.
"Wolruf sniffed you out. She and Mandelbrot are waiting downstairs."
"What's Wolruf doing down there?"
"She doesn't like the cold air up here. Says it makes her too nostalgic for the wild fields during those cold autumn nights." Ariel sat down beside him. She leaned back and supported herself on her palms. The fingers of her right hand almost touched his.
Derec was acutely aware of her fingers' warmth. He wanted to stretch out his hand the half-inch it would take to touch them, but instead he leaned back on his elbows and scrunched his hands close to his sides.
"What are you doing up here in the first placer' she asked.
"Making a pit stop.”
“Huh?"
The moment's silence between them was decidedly awkward. She blinked, then stared at the rotating building.
During that moment, Derec's thoughts shuffled like cards, and he was on the verge of blurting many things. But in the end he finally decided on the noncommittal, "I've just been taking a break from things."
"That's good. It's healthy to stop thinking about worrisome things for a while. Have you come up with a way out of here yet?"
"No, but you must admit the here-and-now isn't a bad place to be in, compared to some of our predicaments."
"Please, I don't want to think about hospitals now. If I never see another diagnostic robot again, it'll be too soon for me."
"But you'll be better off when you do!" Derec exclaimed, immediately regretting the words.
Ariel's face darkened with anger. "Why? Just because I've got a disease that's slowly driving me insane?"
"Uh, well, yes. For a beginning."
"Very funny, Mr. Normal. Hasn't it occurred to you that I might like the disease, that I might prefer the way my mind is working now to how it worked during the time when I was 'sane'?"
"Uh, no, it hasn't, and I don't think it has occurred to you, either. Listen, Ariel, I was attempting to make a joke. I didn't mean to offend you, or even to bring the subject up. The words just stumbled out. "
"Why am I not surprised?" Ariel turned away from him with a shrug.
"I want you to be well. I'm concerned for you."
She wiped her face and forehead. Was she perspiring?
Derec couldn't tell in the dark. "Listen, you've got to understand that lately I've been experiencing serious difficulty in keeping my thoughts straight," she said. "It's not always bad. It comes and it goes. Even so, sometimes I feel like someone is pulling my brain out of my head with a pair of pliers. I just got over one of those moments."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Derec suddenly felt like his heart had been caught in pliers, too. The inches between them seemed like a gulf. He wondered if he was insane, too, to think of crossing that gulf and taking her in his arms. He wondered if she would relax when he glided her head to his chest.
He decided to change the subject, in the hopes of changing the unspoken subject, too. "You know, even though I still don't know my identity, I think I've managed to find out a lot of things about myself since I awoke on that mining complex. I've discovered I've got pretty good instincts. Especially about being able to tell who my friends are."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And upon due consideration, I've come to the conclusion that you just might be one of them."
Ariel smiled. "Yeah? You really think so?"
Derec smiled in return. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."
"Well, I can live with that." She pursed her lips. "So tell me, Mr. Genius, how does that building fit in with the city's programming?"
"I don't know. It's an anomaly.”
“What do you call that shape?”
“A tetragonal pyramid."
"Looks like two pyramids stuck together to me.”
“That's why it's called tetragonal."
"Look how it shines, how the colors glitter. Do you think Dr. Avery is responsible? He's responsible for everything else."
"If you mean did he plan something like that, I'm not sure I know."
"That's a straight answer," she said sarcastically.
"Excuse me, I'm not trying to be obtuse. I mean, the structure could be implicit in the programming, to some degree anyway, but whether or not Avery knew it when he set Robot City in motion, I can't say.”
“If you had to make a guess-"
“I'd say not. I've studied the programming of the central computer system pretty closely, not to mention cell specimens taken both from the city and from various robots, and I certainly hadn't suspected anything that. "that breathtaking was possible."
"Have you noticed how the hues in the crimson plane give the illusion of depth, as if it were made of crystallized lava? And' how the blue plane most resembles the Auroran sky?"
"Sorry, but I can't remember having seen lava, and I've only vague memories of the Auroran sky."
"Oh. I'm the one who should be sorry now.”
“Forget it. Come on. The building's probably even more beautiful close up."
"Absolutely! But what about Wolruf and Mandelbrot? Wolruf might be impressed, but I don't see how a robot like Mandelbrot is going to have his reinforced curiosity integral aroused by something his programming hasn't prepared him to appreciate. "
Derec shook his head. "Don't bet on it. If my suspicions are correct, it's a robot who's personally responsible. I'm interested in finding out which one. And if I'm interested, Mandelbrot will be interested."
"I see. You'll doubtlessly spend hours with him trying to pinpoint some obscure, insignificant detail, instead of trying to get us out of here," Ariel observed sneeringly. "Don't you ever get tired of robots?"
Derec realized her sudden mood swing wasn't her fault, but couldn't help saying what he did. "I see you're 'not forward but modest as the dove-not hot but temperate as the mom."'
Much to his surprise, Ariel burst out laughing.
And much to his chagrin, Derec felt insulted. He had wanted the joke to be his own private one. "What's so funny?"
"That's from The Taming of the Shrew. I read that play last night, and when I reached those lines, I happened to wonder aloud if you'd ever say them to me."
Now Derec felt inexplicably crestfallen. "You mean you've been reading Shakespeare, too?"
"Can I help it? You've been leaving printouts of the plays allover the place. Most untidy. Come on. Let's go downstairs. I know where a couple of fast scooters are sitting, just waiting for us to hop on."
Chapter 2. Becalmed Motion
Ariel and Derec found Mandelbrot and Wolruf in the lobby, standing before one of the automats that Derec had programmed via the central computer to appear in at least ten percent of the buildings. He had done this to insure that the three on this planet who did require sustenance would have more or less convenient access to it.
Indeed, as he and Ariel stepped off the lift, Derec couldn't help but notice that Wolruf was down on all fours, hunched over a plate of synthetic roughage. It looked like it was red cabbage disappearing down that mighty maw. Mandelbrot was punching the automat buttons at a steady pace, ensuring a steady supply. Both seemed so intent on their respective tasks that neither seemed to have noticed the creaking of the lift, or the hissing of its opening doors.