“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.
“What do you think?”
“I’d say take the chance,” Ariel said. “The TBI must be going mad over our disappearance. If they do a computer check, they may wonder about this Spacer ship. Don’t tell me they don’t watch carefully every takeoff and landing.
“Of course they wouldn’t be able to interfere; Earthers had little control over their own port, as they owned few ships. Still, if he and Ariel started shopping for food-
“Right. We’ll go.”
When they requested clearance it was readily given, and Derec primed the jets and goosed the micropile. The tubes burst into muffled thunder. He switched to air-breathing mode as soon as they had a little speed, and took an economical high-G trajectory into space. In minutes, the great blue world was off to one side.
“Which way?” Ariel asked.
There was a slight technical advantage in aiming one’s ship toward one’s objective, since intrinsic velocity was unaltered by passage through hyperspace. But the adjustment could be made at the other end.
“Straight out,” he said. “I’m not exactly afraid of pursuit, but-”
“Right. “
“Straight out” was in the direction Earth was traveling. Ariel calculated their fuel and Derec elected to use twenty percent. He liked a lot of maneuvering reserve. The bum wasn’t long, and when it was over, Earth had not altered much. It was more aft of them, and only a bit smaller. Now, though, there was a wall of delta-V between them and it: in order to catch them, any ship would have to match their change of velocity -their delta-V.
“We’ve got time to kill,” Derec said, feeling tired. Reaction weighed him down even in the absence of gravity.
“Think we should rig the condenser?” Ariel asked.
The thought of the excursion in a space-suit made him feel even more tired. Then he thought: Of course, Ariel can do it. She’s not sick any more.
She was still weak, though, despite her rapid recovery. And he himself was not up to it.
“It’s only for a week or two,” he said. “I think the ship can handle it. It’s only for two people, also.”
Ariel nodded. “Listen,” she said. “How do you feel? You seem better after your sleep, but you’re still sick. Just knowing what’s going on inside hasn’t cured you.”
That was true. “I feel tired at the moment. Why?”
“I want to talk about Robot City. I want to talk to you about everything we went through together, right back to the control room of Aranimas’s ship, before Rockliffe Station.”
She looked at him, her eyes big and intent. “I want all the help you can give me to recover my memory.”
That he could understand. “Of course, I’llbe glad to help. I just wish I could be more helpful.”
Ariel opened her mouth, closed it, her face pink. “Derec…” she said. “I…Derec, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more about yourself-about us. But I couldn’t! I couldn’t tell you I had amnemonic plague. And I-I can’t talk about us-from before. I’m not sure of my memories-I’ve lost so much, and I don’t know how much I can trust of what I have now. I’m sorry-but it’s just too uncertain-and too painful.”