He thought about it, shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think those were just the monitor trying to open contact. Once the channel is opened, it won’t be worked unless they have something to say.”
“How about if you have something to say to them?” Ariel asked, with a flash of anger.
“I suppose…if I learn how to work the monitor,” he said dubiously.
“And tell them to get out of your body because they’re killing you! First Law,” she said.
Then: “I hope they’re programmed with the Three Laws.” Frightened, she looked at him.
Strength and purpose seemed to have flowed back into him: knowledge of what was going on, a drop in the subtle pressure the monitor had been putting on him, relief, a good meal. It was something merely to know what the problem was.
“We’ve got to get back to Robot City,” he said with determination. “I now know that part of my feeling on that was due to the pressure of the monitor. The chemfets want me back there for some reason. But we have our own reason for going back. We’ve got to confront Dr. Avery and make him reverse this -infestation. “
Ariel nodded in angry agreement. “Yes! Dr. Avery has played his games with us, and especially with you, for too long.”
He stood up, and though he leaned on the table, he seemed much stronger. “But how do we get off Earth?”
“We’ll have to consult with R. David. If we can get back to the apartment without a lot of…”
“Where’s R. Jennie?”
“She’s gone for help. You had-convulsions.”
“No wonder my muscles are sore. She’s gone for-doctors? I can’t let them examine me-”
Ariel grunted in understanding. “We’d never get away-they’d hospitalize you.” She looked at him. “They might even be able to cure you.”
Derec said, “I’ve come to have a lot of respect for Earth ‘s doctors, but this is a matter of robotics. I think we’d better go back to the source. I’d like to know what reason Dr. Avery had for this-what did he hope to accomplish?”
Ariel could only shake her head. “Just using you as a guinea pig, I suppose.”
“Yes, but that shows that he has some reason for developing chemfets, even if he doesn’t care about me. There must be some use for them.” As he spoke, Derec was groping in his pockets. He produced the Key to Perihelion. “At least, with R. Jennie gone, we can vanish without any questions being asked.”
“Questions will be asked,” she warned him.
“Yes,” Derec said, pressing the corners and taking her hand. “But not of us.”
Perihelion’s gray nothingness surrounded them. “They’ll assume some sensible explanation, involving the imaginary institute that sent us to Earth,” Derec added, looking around in the gray fog.
“I guess so,” she said dubiously. “As long as we aren’t spotted in the City. “
“Or any other City.”
The apartment appeared around them, and Derec sagged with the return to gravity. Alarmed, Ariel threw her arm around him and instantly R. David was there, supporting him from the other side.
“Mr. Avery! What is the matter?”
Derec obviously hadn’t prepared an answer.
“Derec is sick,” said Ariel swiftly. “We must get him to Aurora for treatment. The spaceship is at New York City Port. How can we get there the soonest?”
“The fastest means of travel on Earth is by air,” said R. David. The robot hesitated, bending over to assure itself that Derec wasn’t dying at that moment.
“I’ll be okay,” said Derec, his voice low but firm.
“What’s the fastest means of travel that our rating will permit us to use?” Ariel asked.
“Air travel,” said the robot. “Isn’t it rationed?”
“No,” said the robot. “You see, on Earth, necessities are rationed on an as-needed basis. Scarce luxuries, such as real meat and fish, or larger and better quarters, are rationed mostly on a basis of social standing. Some of the less-scarce luxuries, such as candy and birthday cards, are available partly on a rationing basis and partly on a cash basis. These are the so-called ‘discretionary luxuries,’ minor items not everyone wants.
“Finally, luxuries in large supply are distributed purely on a monetary basis, and this includes air travel. The air system was designed for emergencies. Since Earth people hate to travel by air, the excess is freely available. It is expensive, but your bank account cards are amply charged.”
Ariel fumbled through her wallet for the window with the cash card. Was it a real memory, or did she dream that she had dropped her purse on the expressway? A dream; or else R. David had replaced the ID. “Will our use of cash be monitored?” she asked.
“That is not possible. The privacy laws of Earth forbid scrutiny or oversight of these monetary transfers, so the provision doesn’t exist.”
Since money could only be used for “minor luxuries,” no wonder. “How do we get to an airport?”
R. David gave minute directions for taking the expressway to something he called Lambert Field, and after Derec had rested for a few minutes they went out to the communo and called for reservations on the next flight to New York. After two hours of fearful waiting for the knock of the TBI on the door, they ventured out for what Ariel devoutly hoped would be the last time through the corridors and ways of the City.
Each step of that passage brought back memories from just before the crisis of the amnemonic plague. This time they rode the way only to the north-south junction, changed ways, and rode north for longer than they had ridden east on their previous excursion: BRENTWOOD, RICHMOND HEIGHTS, CLAYTON, UNIVERSITY CITY, VINITA PARK, CHARLACK, the forgotten political divisions of a simpler time. ST. JOHN, COOL VALLEY, KINLOCH.
And then, after thirty minutes of standing and holding on, fearing every moment that Derec would collapse, they saw LAMBERT FIELD AIRPORT, EXIT LEFT.
The airport was a sleepy place, considering St. Louis City’s seven million people. There was but one ticket window, the clerk there seemed subdued, and the few people in the waiting rooms never spoke or smiled. Presently their plane was announced.
Not only was the passage to the place covered, but the runway it took off from was also roofed over! There were no windows in the place, so they had a choice of sleeping or of watching the continuous news and entertainment feed in front of each seat. Earthers scheduled most flights for night, and the five other passengers-only five! Ariel remembered the crowded millions on the ways-the other passengers elected to sleep, those who could. Most were too nervous to try. Derec slept all the way to New York, to Ariel’s intense satisfaction. She slept most of the way herself. Best of all, in the air and the airports, nobody spoke to them or even looked at them.
Chapter 14. Stars Again
Derec looked up at the ship in relief and wonder. “I can’t believe we made it,” he said.
“We haven’t gotten in yet,” said Ariel, edgily.
He approached and inserted his ID tab into the slot. After a moment, it opened. “Of course,” he murmured. “R. David gave us compatible IDs.”
The ship was a Star Seeker, identical, or nearly so, to the one they’d left in orbit around Kappa Whale. On the ground, it was clumsy getting around inside it, but that was normal. They climbed slowly to the bow control room.
Ariel climbed easily-like Derec, not pushing it-and he was relieved to see that she was gaining strength day by day. He himself felt better after last night’s sleep than he had in weeks, but knew that his reserves were still very low. The acceleration seat was a relief after the climb.
“Checklist, please,” he said, depressing the Ship key and speaking to the air. The ship obediently displayed a checklist on a visor, and they went over it carefully. Some items had to be checked personally, most importantly, food. Ariel reported with concern that that was a low item.
“Only a few imperishables,” she said, “a few packages of radiation-preserved foods and some cans.”
Derec hesitated. That could be serious.