When Sloan had his crew set up, I approached Marvin slowly, warily. I noted most of my men were keeping their distance from him. He hovered a few feet above the deck. No one tried to take away any of the pieces he’d purloined.
I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to order him to land and have my marines begin stripping him down. But I forced myself into a welcoming frame of mind. Sometimes, a kind word could make difficult events glide by.
“Welcome home, Marvin!” I said, walking up to the front section. I didn’t see his brainbox or his camera.
I didn’t get any response, so I walked calmly along the length of the structure. Nanite-controlled propulsion dishes twitched as I came near. I gazed up and down, then along the length of him. Then I saw it. A small camera, lifted up over the rest. It was between the second and third bricks in the structure. I snorted and walked toward it at an even pace.
“There you are,” I said. “It’s good to see you, and we owe you our thanks for helping out.”
The camera lowered until it was barely peeping out from between the bricks. As I continued approaching, Marvin must have realized I’d spotted his single eye and the camera rose higher. It tilted and focused, tracking me.
“This visual input device is damaged,” Marvin complained.
I snorted. His personality hadn’t changed, just his structure. Thinking back, I realized that none of my statements of friendly greeting had really required a response. I had given no commands, made no requests and asked no questions. So Marvin hadn’t said anything. Now apparently, he identified me with serving a need of his, so he was talking.
“Let’s talk about that, Marvin,” I said. “I can provide you with a brand new, undamaged visual unit. In fact, I’d like to give you two of them so you can see in stereo and get a better perception of depth.”
The camera twitched, sliding to one side, perhaps to get a different perspective on me. “My sensor array includes scanners with multiple inputs. My regional spatial projections are more accurate-”
“Yes, yes,” I said, putting up a gloved hand. “I know you can perceive a three dimensional environment. But those are active systems. The cameras are passive systems. Wouldn’t it be nice to observe without having to send out any telltale emissions?”
Marvin thought this one over for awhile. I was working on his paranoia. If Marvin had one weakness, it was his slightly fearful nature. He wasn’t like the Macros or the herds of Centauri that way-he always looked out for number one. A passive system of sensory input was very important in any hostile environment. Space warfare was comparable to submarine warfare, and while active sonar was effective, passive systems were always preferable if you were trying to hide. Active detection systems such as radar or sonar operated by transmitting signals out and analyzing the signal that bounced back. The problem with such systems came when someone else was listening to your active pinging. They could then pinpoint your location with precision. Passive systems were more like human senses such as hearing. They did not give away the listener.
“I would like to have multiple cameras,” Marvin said at last, taking the bait.
“Great. Let’s make a deal then, Marvin. I’ll provide you with two-no, make that four new cameras. That way you can look in every direction at once. I know they have a limited field of vision, you’ve complained about that before. No more worrying about what is approaching from behind. I think it is an ample reward for the retrieval and return of our equipment.”
“I have not returned your equipment,” Marvin pointed out.
“The cameras will be provided the moment you do,” I said. “And I think you should be able to keep a piece of that junk you assembled. How about one of those dishes to provide you with mobility and flight? You can sit your brainbox in the dish and keep a few nanite arms for manipulation of objects and cameras.”
Marvin hesitated. “The collective mass of the equipment you list is far less than that which I possess now.”
I pursed my lips in annoyance. I wanted to shout at him even more now than when I’d first seen him. I wanted to order him to let go of my stuff, and get back to the lab. He reminded me of a child in some ways-a dangerous, alien child. It was my turn to pause, thinking of different ways to manipulate him. I could threaten, or force him to comply. He didn’t have any armament on his flying junk pile that I could see. We could shoot him down if we had to. But what would that teach him? To arm himself next time? I could imprison him, I supposed. Stripping him down to a single thin arm with a camera and some audio I/O would do it. He’d be down to talking then. But these were last resorts. I didn’t want to make a hostile out of Marvin. He had a wealth of information inside that brainbox of his and I had to get out everything I could.
At last, I figured I had an angle on the problem. “Marvin, do you enjoy exploring ships?”
“Yes.”
“This is a new ship, with new chambers you’ve never seen. Remember the laboratory on Jolly Rodger? Remember the microbials?”
“Yes.”
“There are different discoveries to be made on this ship.”
“What discoveries?”
I laughed. “If I knew, they would have already been discovered. Who knows? Mysteries are here. New things none of us have ever seen. Would you like to find them?”
“Yes.”
“Well then,” I said. “Take my offer for a reward, and get yourself down to a size that will allow you to explore every inch of this ship. If you keep the bricks, you will have to sit here in the hold alone and you won’t get to see anything.”
Marvin was quiet for a while. “I will take your offer,” he said at last.
I waved back Warrant Officer Sloan’s the assault squad. They had been very ready to take down Marvin. They’d been waiting in the corridors quietly while we had our little chat. I sent them out to find me four undamaged cameras instead. The baffled look on Sloan’s face was priceless.
42
I headed back toward the bridge, but didn’t make it half-way before I heard someone behind me. I turned sharply, and blinked in surprise. It was Sandra.
“Where’d you come from?” I asked.
“What’s this?” she asked. She held up something in front of my faceplate.
I took it from her and examined it. “Ning’s ID card? Where did you get that?”
She stared at me, and looked sick. Her mouth was open, her eyes stared into the distance. “Who’s Ning?” she asked.
“A med tech. I left her in charge of your coffin-ah your medical pod.”
“You were right the first time,” she said. “It was a coffin.”
“What are you talking about? Where is Ning?”
Sandra looked at me strangely. She came closer and hugged me. I thought she might cry. I lifted my arms, but didn’t quite dare to hug her back at first. I didn’t want to mess this up somehow.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in a soft voice.
“Just tell me how you left me. Tell me why I’m alive again.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. Things had been so wild for so long I’d never had time to tell her about the biotic soup I’d bathed her in to rejuvenate her. I gently put my arms around her, but was careful not to get too friendly. I organized my thoughts, knowing I had to tell her how things went in the most positive way possible.
“You were in that box for a long time,” I said. “It really upset me. I visited you all the time, tried to come up with solutions. The nanites had kept you alive, but you were too far gone from vacuum exposure to recover. You were in an indefinite coma.”
“Did you think about unplugging me?” she asked, lifting her head. Before I could answer, she buried her face against my breastplate. “Don’t tell me about that. Just tell me how you did it.”
“Well, I didn’t think there was a way. But I didn’t give up. Over time I learned about this new microbial species aboard Jolly Rodger, in the Macro labs.”