The Simulacra used in pursuit team training were modeled on Livia Morgan’s design, as re-interpreted through the work of Phoebe Willard. But they had been designed and built by the Margrave of Fujitsu. Inevitably, he had woven into their mental make-up some of his own aesthetics.
The habitat and lifestyle of the Simmie Artefact on Barchan suggested the Margrave’s sensibilities and appreciation of beauty. The Simmie had chosen a relatively exposed position on the shore of Dreamsea, a place where it could obtain the best views of Barchan’s long winter sunsets. Every evening Eta Cass-A shone golden-red through the dusty atmosphere, and the later setting of Eta Cass-B threw patterns of amber, garnet, and jet across the dark basaltic rocks.
According to Angel’s interpretation of data from the Tinker sub-assemblies who flew their sorties of the Dreamsea shore, the Simmie moved little from its preferred hiding place. It rested, half-hidden by a shallow ledge of rock that jutted out over Dreamsea’s bitter water, and gazed out across the tideless shore.
The attack plan would be Chan’s. It had to be. He was still skeptical of his abilities, but the others gave him no choice. They admitted human superiority in just one area; fighting.
But on every other issue, each one was more than ready to give him advice.
“It will be watchful, and suspicious, without a doubt,” said Angel, while the others gathered round and listened closely. Angel had been experimenting with more runs of Simmie thought processes, and was now convinced that the emulation was as good as it could be without actual contact. “However, its penchant for destruction is undetermined. The Simulacrum certainly does not destroy every life form that it encounters. It did injure a few Shellbacks, when it was first placed on Barchan and was establishing itself here; but we judge those to have been accidents. The Simulacrum shows little curiosity in small living things, and no fear of them. Shikari’s component flights near its hideout caused no action, and stirred no apparent interest. We do not believe that it will move from its hideout, solely to make an unprovoked attack.”
“For food, then?” S’greela had folded and re-folded her flexible body to form a compact mass. The Pipe-Rilla appeared as an isolated head, poking out from the dark surrounding mound of Tinker components.
“It does not need to move for food. Its requirements are few, and there is ample sustenance close to where it is living.”
“Are these things important?” said Shikari dreamily. As usual when it was clustered around one of the others, the Tinker was almost dormant. Scarcely a component was moving.
“We don’t know what’s important,” said Chan. “All I know is, you won’t let me attack the Simmie where it is.
“Certainly not!” S’greela’s head jerked a couple of feet higher, dislodging several hundred Tinker components. “That was already agreed.”
“So we have no choice, we have to find a way to lure the Simmie out from Dreamsea. Angel, you’ve been giving me nothing but negatives. What does interest or alarm it?”
“We do not know. If you suggest alternatives, we can test them against the thought-process model. But so far we have found nothing that provides a strong stimulant, either positive or negative.”
“Hmmm.” Shikari was stirring now, aroused by S’greela’s sudden movement. The Tinker was close to maximum size. “Hmmm.”
The others waited. They were used to Shikari’s long integration time when all the components were clustered.
“We feel stupid to suggest this,” said the Tinker at last. “But we know how the Simmie chooses to spend most of its time. It watches the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. One of its interests must be astronomy. Would it possibly be willing to move for some extraordinary sight of them?”
Chan felt they were clutching at straws. But it was something to have the others at least participate. He turned to the immobile hulk of the Angel. “Can you run that?”
“We are already doing so. A few moments more.” A twenty second silence was broken only by the clucking of Angel’s communicator. Chan had learned to associate those chirps and clicks with massive computation within the Singer’s crystalline matrix. “Shikari’s hypothesis can be sustained,” said Angel at last. “The Simulacrum is certainly an observer of celestial events. At a 0.88 probability level, it would move for a sight of something unprecedented in its astronomical experience. We have discovered no other stimulus that has better than 0.35 correlation with the observed Simulacrum movements.” There was a shorter silence, ended by a wiggle of Angel’s lower fronds and a very human-sounding sigh from its computer communicator. “Unfortunately, this conclusion appears to be of theoretical value only. We have checked the ephemeris relevant to Barchan. No sidereal events of an unusual nature can be expected for another half year.”
Chan nodded.
“You do not seem surprised, or dispirited,” said Shikari. “Perhaps you have it in mind to pray for a supernova?”
“Not quite. I find that prayers don’t work when you need them most. Unless you answer them for yourself.” While the others stared at him, Chan turned to S’greela. “You understand the mechanics of the aircar better than any of us. Can it be made to hover with no one on board, under automatic control and at a pre-determined height?”
“Certainly. That is trivial.”
“And could it be made to move with the stars, so that to an observer on the surface of Barchan it would appear to be far beyond the atmosphere?”
“Probably.” A speculative buzz came from the Pipe-Rilla. “With careful programming of the onboard control computer to refer movement to a sidereal reference frame, I think it can be done.”
“And it could be shielded, or illuminated from within, in such a way that it would appear as a natural stellar or planetary phenomenon in the observing wavelengths employed by the Simmie?”
“Possibly. For that, I must consult Angel.” S’greela was staring at Chan questioningly. “But to what avail, all this effort?”
“As a lure. We already know the terrain around the Simmie habitat, thanks to Shikari’s component flights. That gives us the topography, too, which tells us what will be visible from a particular location. If we were to plan for movement of the aircar, over several nights, so that a continued view of it would call for a particular ground path to be followed, leading away from the shore of Dreamsea — ”
“ — a difficult problem of inverse computation,” said Angel. “Given the terrain, to define an aircar movement that would lead the Simulacrum to follow a prescribed path, one that ensures continued ground visibility.”
“Difficult, maybe. But exactly the sort of thing that you know how to do, Angel. We tease the Simmie away from its hiding-place, away from Dreamsea. Then once it’s well away from all the Shellback habitats, we can go in and we can — we can subdue it.”
Subdue. Chan knew better than to say the words that were really in his mind. Kill. Destroy. Annihilate. Murder. Those were the right words, and all uniquely human.
It was not a fact likely to make any human feel proud.
Chan’s “plan” was so simple-minded and fallible that he had hesitated even to suggest it. The instant acceptance by all the others gave him a new insight into the members of the Stellar Group. Even Angel, with its great intellect, found certain thought patterns quite inaccessible. If humanity’s worst fear ever came true and an aggressive species appeared from beyond the Perimeter, then defense would have to rely on humans alone. Intelligent as they were, the others would be no more than cannon fodder. It was no criticism of them; they simply could not think in the necessary terms.
But in every other area that Chan could imagine, the alien members of the team functioned outstandingly. S’greela and Shikari had done an unbelievable job on the aircar. Hovering under automatic control, high above Barchan, the car seemed a brilliant celestial phenomenon, a comet that streamed its tail (How had the two of them ever managed that effect?) halfway across the night sky. Every evening the apparition shone brighter and more colorful. But every evening, moving like a true cometary orbit, its appearance became visible farther to the north. A good view of it from the shores of Dreamsea became more and more difficult.