The Jacob imprint would help, but it was still not clear exactly how she could best serve Miss Ariel. The physics Neuronius had expounded had only confused her, offering information that conflicted with her earlier knowledge of space and time. He had not clarified the physics, but had instead muddied it and left SilverSide worse off than she had been before. The new information was useless, and worse than useless in the confusion it created about the physics she had once known.
As she sat there in the quiet heat of the afternoon studying the dome and trying to make sense of the aborted discussion with Neuronius, she gradually became aware of a faint humming off to her left, nearer the dome but deeper in the forest. When the sound finally broke through her reverie, she rose and trotted along an animal path that led in the general direction of the hum.
The path led past the hum, and when SilverSide recognized that she had passed the point of closest approach, she started through the vegetation, heading directly for the sound. Although the ground was covered in that area, the cover was not dense, and she had no difficulty weaving through the shrubbery. As the hum grew steadily louder, she almost ran into its source as she came around a tall bush covered with pink blossoms.
She recognized the source instantly. It was a two-meter sphere, just as hers had been, and the duodecahedral structure of the coarse silvery cells of its skin, dulled by the heat of passage through Oyster World's atmosphere, told her instantly it was an egg similar to her own.
It lay atop the crushed base of two bushes, framed by pink flowers, set in green foliage which, in close proximity to the foreign surface, was now seared and wilted by the heat the egg had exuded earlier. It was now almost cool to the touch, almost ready for hatching. And it came to her then what she must do.
She kept the KeenEye form to speed her dash through the thin shrubbery of the forest, but when she came to the plain, she began the transformation to the Jacob imprint, stopping only long enough to fashion the heavy muscular legs that would take her the three kilometers to the dome's opening in the shortest length of time. As she ran along the wall of the dome, she completed the transformation to the masculine Jacob form well before he reached the opening on the north side.
As SilverSide approached the opening, Wohler-9 called to him from a small runabout parked near the west edge.
“I get no response from you on the comlink, Jacob.”
“I am SilverSide,” he said as he hopped into the passenger seat. “Take me to Miss Ariel Welsh.”
Wohler-9 started the runabout, turned into the near southbound lane of Main Street, and proceeded rapidly down the street in the direction of the Compass Tower.
“I have instructions to take you to Master Derec at once, SilverSide. “
“Where is Miss Ariel?” SilverSide asked.
“At the apartment.”
“Good. Then we are proceeding in the right direction.”
“Yes. Master Derec is working at the mainframe, which is currently on the second underground level of the Compass Tower.”
When they came abreast of the apartment, SilverSide jumped out. Wohler-9 braked the runabout to a halt but remained seated.
“I must take you to Master Derec,” Wohler-9 called to SilverSide's back.
“Later,” SilverSide called over his shoulder as he ran into the building.
He took the stairs three at a time and burst into the apartment.
Ariel was sitting at the dining table reading a computer printout. The table was strewn with piles of computer output. Jacob was thumbing through the piles, apparently hunting for the next printout she would need.
SilverSide took in the scene, picked Ariel up, cradling her in his arms like a fragile baby, dashed out the door, down the stairs, and past Wohler-9, who was walking toward the apartment from the runabout.
Ariel had time to scream only once before she was deposited in the runabout. As she was being gently scooped up, she had screamed, “Jaaaacobbbb,” with a Doppler modulation that trailed off like the whistle of a passing train.
Jacob Winterson had responded with the millisecond speed characteristic of Dr. Han Fastolfe's humaniform robots. But that speed was no match for the microseconds it took for all of SilverSide's motions, save for the brisk but gentle acceleration when he had picked up Ariel and started toward the door.
He and Ariel were speeding away from the apartment building in the runabout as Jacob came pounding out of the apartment past Wohler-9.
Ariel's first scream had ended as she was being deposited in the runabout. Her next scream was delivered in the interrogative mode as they pulled away from the apartment.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked with an intensity that rattled SilverSide's auricular diaphragms-akin to eardrums.
“There was no time to explain, Miss Ariel,” SilverSide shouted about the wind noise. “I need your presence urgently.”
Jacob raced after them down Main Street but was soon left behind as SilverSide accelerated the small runabout to its maximum speed, weaving in and out of the traffic and avoiding an accident by the adeptness of the city central computer.
“Stop, you maniac,” Ariel screamed. “Stop now.”
SilverSide slowed the runabout noticeably and then promptly speeded up again. Consideration of his new knowledge of the Law of Humanics-humans were compelled to please themselves-overrode his own Second Law output-robots must obey human orders. He knew when Ariel had finally considered all the facts-after the fact-she would be pleased and would approve what he was doing.
“You are in no danger, Miss Ariel, but I cannot obey that order because of the overriding nature of the present situation which demands your presence at the birthing of…of…” and he added lamely, still shouting, “Of what I cannot be sure.” And the shout died away as he said, “I can only hope.”
Then Ariel, sobbing and screaming incoherently, beat on him with her hands clenched into small hard fists, beat on his shoulder first, and then finally, in desperation, beat on his head. But he felt nothing in the intensity of his purpose.
“You must stop that, Miss Ariel,” he shouted. “You will hurt yourself. “
And the calm way he shouted that above the sound of the rushing air and the obvious lack of effect her effort was having, must have calmed her, for she finally stopped and slumped down on the seat, seemingly exhausted, her hysteria spent.
They emerged from the opening, and SilverSide skidded the runabout in a sharp left turn to take them down the side of the dome.
“You must understand what is taking place,” he shouted. “It is very important to me, to the new foundling, even to you, Miss Ariel, for I wish her to serve you well.”
Ariel said nothing. She sat beside him like a limp doll.
“Another like me is being born. The egg lies in the forest even now, ready to hatch. She must have a proper model, a human female, so that she does not come into being confused, her imprint misguided as mine was. You must be there to guide her into this strange world. Do you understand what I am saying, Miss Ariel?”
Ariel still said nothing, but she had straightened a little in the seat, perhaps because to slump in the bouncing runabout was more uncomfortable than to sit up straight.
“You will not be harmed, Miss Ariel. After it's allover, when you think back on it, you will be glad you came. I know you will. You will be pleased with me. The Law of Humanics will guide you.”
That seemed to comfort SilverSide. The Law of Humanics was working on the effect of his own Laws, regulating their relative potential to something that was less uncomfortable. He was doing something that he knew was going to please Ariel even though she was, perhaps, not pleased at the moment.