He hit the box, and was so startled by the red line that shot out of it to touch the tree limbs above his head, he immediately dropped it to the ground. As soon as he had let go, however, the red line disappeared. He stared at the box now, unwilling to touch it again, but knew he would. He had managed to stun a tree. He would get the box to speak, too.
He picked it up again and carefully pointed the coned hole, which the red line had come out of, away from him. Then he began touching the gray shapes to see which one had made the line when he hit it. The first shape did not depress, but slid up and down, moving no more than an inch. Nothing happened in either direction. The second shape depressed and brought the line back. He played with that for a moment, intrigued because the line stayed on only while the round shape was depressed. The next shape was round with a line on it that pointed to markings. This turned, but did nothing that he could see. The next shape also depressed, and the noise that then came out of the box was so loud, Challen was again startled into dropping it.
“Where the hell have you been?!” the woman’s voice screeched up at him from the ground, and then there was silence.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Challen knew the woman inside the box was waiting for him to answer her question. But the question had not been meant for him, surely, so he said nothing. And also, he was not so sure now that he wanted to speak with her. What could she tell him, after all, that could assuage his guilt or aid him in making amends for what he had done?
And then the voice came again, in a much calmer tone.
“I retrieved your belt. I don’t have to tell you how disturbed I was that you weren’t in it.” Again there was the waiting silence, then, “Tedra, can’t you talk?”
The next silence worried him, being much longer. If he didn’t speak, the voice might go away, and he wasn’t sure if it had come by itself or if he had brought it.
“Tedra is not here.”
Immediately he was asked, “Who are you?”
“Challen Ly-San-Ter.”
“A lot that tells me,” the voice grumbled. “Look, fella, be a good sport, why don’t you, and give the unit back to Tedra. You do know who she is, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“And you know where she is?”
“Certainly.”
“Certainly? Why do I get the feeling that word has a wealth of meaning in it?”
“Are you Martha?”
“Ah, I thought so. So you know Tedra well enough for her to tell you about me. That’s good. That will make things much easier. But why don’t you pick up the unit and turn it around now? The grass on your world is interesting, but I’d rather see whom I’m talking to.”
“Are you inside the box?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. At least a small part of me is inside the box, which lets me speak to you and see you. If you’ll just turn the unit over, you’ll see what I mean. Go ahead, it won’t bite you- not if you don’t touch any of the buttons and switches.” After a long moment of nothing happening, Martha gave her best imitation of a sigh. “That was a joke, kiddo. What was Tedra thinking of to let you have the unit without telling you how it works?”
“She did not. I took it from her.”
“I see. Well, that certainly explains a lot, and tells me who you likely are. So pick up the unit and let’s see if my deductions are as accurate as always. It doesn’t bite. The worst it does is stun, but I think you already know all about that, don’t you?” The sound of chuckling was unmistakable-and challenging.
Challen picked up the box and turned it over so the flat side with the colored things was facing him-and almost dropped it again. The small black square was no longer black. There were tiny, needle-point lights flashing from it in what looked like another box in what looked like a miniature room. Inside the small box-unit? Impossible. But a voice inside it was also impossible, yet he heard it, spoke to it, and had it answer him.
“I knew it was you, warrior,” the voice said smugly now. “Probables is my forte, after all.”
“You can see me?”
“Quite clearly.”
“Then why do I not see you as well, woman?”
“That’s rich, doll. Don’t you know you’re talking to a computer? Computers don’t have gender in anything but voice. And you are seeing me. I’m the gorgeous machine with all the flashing lights you’re frowning at. No, don’t turn the unit away again. You haven’t told me where Tedra is, or how she is, for that matter.”
Challen’s expression turned inscrutable. He didn’t answer. He was wondering himself how Tedra was now, if she was still in need, if she would let him see to that need when he returned. He wanted to explain it all to the-the voice, or whatever it was, to tell it what he had done. Probables? Deductions? It could tell him if he would be forgiven or not.
“Come on, warrior, I want some reassurances here.” The voice came out sounding impatient. “Fair is fair. I let you have Tedra for the month of service she owes you. I didn’t have to do that, you know. I could have brought her back to the ship that day, and there wouldn’t have been anything you could have done about it.”
That possibility enraged him, that he might have no control over keeping the woman or not, but there was no indication of it when he asked, “How do you know of her service to me?”
“I was there, remember? She turned me off so I couldn’t see or comment on what was going on, but I still had a fix on you both and could hear everything that was said and done. And hearing for a computer that is expert in probables is just as good as seeing is for you humans. Did you breach her?”
He almost took insult at the impropriety of that question, until he recalled what Tedra had told him of the need to have her breaching proved. “Are you the one who will record that it was done?”
“Yes.”
“It was done.”
“Did she like it?”
“Yes.”
“I figured she would. She’d been waiting a long time for someone like you to come along, but you never did. She had to go to another world to find you. So tell me, are you willing to return with us?”
“Return?”
“To Kystran,” Martha clarified. “To wrest control back from those Sha-Ka’ari warriors you people bred about three hundred years ago.”
“I know nothing of which you speak.”
“Hasn’t Tedra told you anything?”
“I cared not to discuss the reason for her being here.”
“Well, don’t get all out of joint about it. I suppose that’s your privilege. And you’re just what she’s needed, so her stay with you isn’t a waste of time as far as I’m concerned, though I doubt she’ll see it that way. The woman takes life too serious. Work, and train so she can work better, that’s all she’s known. And now she’s set herself up to be the salvation of Kystran… but that’s not your problem. As long as she’s enjoying herself with you, I’m satisfied I made the right decision.”
“And if she is not?”
“Now why would you ask that, unless she was not? What’s happened, warrior, to have you looking so guilty?”
Challen flushed, startled that the voice could read him when he was being so careful to school his features to blandness. Deductions and probables again. He would have to watch his words as well as his reactions if he did not want the thing inside his head, knowing his every thought. And he did not. Answers were all he wanted from it, but he would not get them unless he was honest now.
“The woman disregarded certain rules, a matter demanding punishment. This she was given by me.”
There was a short silence, then, “I think I’m going into what you humans call shock. I’ve made a mistake, but I’m not programmed to make mistakes. How the hell could I have been so wrong about you, warrior? I thought you wanted her!”