“Sure.”
Adam unlatched, and was going to let down, a small ramp formed from a hinged section of the meter-high sidewall of the cargo space, but just as he unlatched it, Eve belly-rolled over the wall.
“And what are you up to?” Adam asked as he latched the ramp back in place.
“Looking for you.”
Adam directed the cargo robot back into the Main Street traffic and then said, “You found me. Now what?”
“Whipping down the street in a cargo robot isn't the best place for a quiet conversation.”
“It's not likely to get much better this morning.”
“I'll take my chances. It can hardly get worse.”
“How did you get away from Miss Ariel?” Adam asked. “I'm here in her service.”
“Oh?”
Neither said anything more until they had left the city, crossed the plain, and were at the edge of the forest near where SilverSide had watched the minillamas the day before. The herd was now grazing farther out on the plain. He directed the cargo robot to park beside the entrance of a well-worn trail the minillamas had made through the forest to a small brook and then he led Eve SilverSide to that quiet place.
Adam had brought along the photo-sensitive switch, the MP lamp, and one of the MP motors. He sat down on a large rock beside the brook, placed the electrical parts on the ground in front of him, and began to wire them together with the long electrical leads that were attached to each.
“Now what has Miss Ariel got you up to this morning?” Adam asked as he began hooking the parts together.
“Neuronius,” Eve said. “What was the nature of your dealings with Neuronius?”
“That's a private matter, Eve. Both Miss Ariel and Master Derec recognized that and waived the Second Law when I claimed hardship under the Third Law.”
“Can't you tell me? I'm a robot. I can sympathize more closely with you than they can. Miss Ariel thinks you may have suffered positronic trauma which needs airing to be properly cleared away.”
“It doesn't need airing, and something like that doesn't need clearing away if it is viewed and contained in an orderly manner. I have succeeded in doing that.”
“How can you be sure? You can be no more objective in that regard than a human suffering psychological trauma.”
“The human brain and the positronic brain work on completely different principles. It's futile to try to draw analogies between them.”
“Is it, now!”
“Yes. You have no more basis for comparing the two than I do.”
“If that's so, why are you so secretive about it? That seems to take on a certain psychological twist.”
“Well, it doesn't. It's merely a positronic twist which humans aren't capable of understanding.”
“But I should be?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I'm not!”
“This isn't getting anywhere.” Adam stood up. “I've got to get on with my project.”
He picked up the wired parts and strode away down the path.
Eve emerged from the forest as he walked down the ramp of the cargo robot with the laser saw swinging from one hand. She followed him into the forest and watched as he cut through the ten-centimeter bole of a tall, slender hardwood species that seemed to thrive in the dense shade of the predominately conifer canopy.
“Get the hatchet,” he requested after the tree fell.
When she returned, he was cutting off the large branches.
“Trim off the small branches,” he said. “I'll take the big ones.”
They worked together silently, cutting down and trimming the slender hardwoods, spacing their selections throughout the forest so as to minimize the effect in anyone area, and dragging the long slender logs to a pile they created on the plain near the cargo robot.
When they had delivered the last log to the pile, Eve sat down on the ramp of the cargo robot.
“You'll not tell me then about your interaction with Neuronius?” she said, making it more a statement than a question.
“No,” Adam replied.
“I'll have to talk to Neuronius then.”
“That would be a bad idea, Eve.”
“You and Miss Ariel agree on that, at least.”
“For good reason. She's given you some idea what Neuronius is like then?”
“The viewpoint of the other Ceremyons. They're naturally prejudiced. Hardly an objective assessment. Since you won't talk to me about your experience, I'll have to get it from Neuronius himself.”
If she thought that was going to pressure him into discussing a painful experience that he had successfully put in a can, she was wrong. That was not something he was going to talk about.
“I guess you will, but I'm telling you again, it's a bad idea, which you'll regret.”
He had been attaching the motor to the post-hole digger while they talked. Now he began digging post-holes four meters apart in a large rectangle that enclosed several paths trodden through the grass by the minillamas, which all converged on the entrance of the forest path to the brook.
While he worked, he listened to Eve contact Neuronius by radio. Adam had taught her the Ceremyon language and the calling codes that identified and solicited responses from Synapo and Sarco. He had not told her about Neuronius, and so had given her no radio identification for him. However, he had explained the way a general hailing channel worked on their frequency-modulated band, and that was what she used now to quickly establish communication with Neuronius.
The Cerebron agreed to meet with her at noon at the base of The Cliff of Time, where it intersected The Forest of Repose and The Plain of Serenity. She set off at a leisurely jog in the direction of The Cliff of Time.
That was going to be an interesting learning experience for Eve, but hardly a dangerous one. Adam did not think she was as mixed up about humans as he had been. He had started her out right with Ariel as an imprint. Neuronius's warped ideas were not likely to have the effect on her that they had had on him. His only regret was that Eve would now likely hear how Neuronius had momentarily deluded him. It was not something Adam remembered with serenity.
Chapter 25. Neuronius Strikes Again
Eve arrived at the escarpment well before noon. She sat down on a plate of granite that angled into the ground below a dammed talus of black gravel, and braced herself from sliding by digging her heels into the soft turf where the stone disappeared into the grass.
She arrived early to give herself time to think about Miss Ariel's strange request-that she probe Adam for information about Neuronius-and to ponder Adam's equally strange reluctance to talk about his experience with Neuronius. It was all quite fascinating to someone with as little experience as Eve. She had a good education-Adam had led her along the electronic pathways through the city library-but she thirsted for the real-life experiences that lay behind all that academic lore.
She was going to get it that morning, for Neuronius arrived early also, giving her little time to ruminate on the words of Adam and Miss Ariel.
He came in with that black engulfing swoop and stall that-according to Adam-the Ceremyons used to intimidate alien visitors to their planet. It certainly impressed the experience-thirsty Eve. She drank it up, exhilarating in a feeling of surprise in spite of Adam's forewarning, a surprise that would likely have been fear in Miss Ariel's case. The Ceremyons were indeed quite impressive seen close at hand.
She got to her feet as he folded his wings.
“I am Neuronius,” the alien said haughtily. “You are Eve?”
“Yes,” Eve replied.
“What purpose is served by our meeting this morning?”
“What was the nature of your conversations with Adam SilverSide?”