Half Past Human (S.F. MASTERWORKS) by T.J. Bass

Author:T.J. Bass [Bass, T.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780575129764
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2014-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

6

Dundas Incident

Tinker moved eastward ahead of the villagers. As they left their mountain retreat he searched out the buckeye sensors and disabled them. He worked carefully – subtly – a loose fitting, a pile of kale leaves, mud on a lens: enough to protect the villagers; not enough to alert Hunter Control.

Two spearchuckers stood by Mu Ren and Junior while Tinker smeared himself with mud and leaves. He peeked through the rhubarb toward the next ridge. Two hundred yards of freshly plowed synthesoil separated him from the tower of a buckeye detector.

‘I recognize that BD model. Its optics ought to be pretty senile by now. If I crawl slowly it shouldn’t be able to pick me out of the dirt.’

Mu Ren clutched her child. They watched him crawl almost casually toward the tower. The ball of neurocircuitry and sensors continued its monotonous rotation at the top. His muddy camouflage seemed to be working. A Tiller worked the soil at the base of the tower. The bulky machine politely moved out of the way while he studied the cable. Pulling the plug, he smeared the contacts with mud. Then he replaced the plug – waving at Tiller as he left.

‘That should fog up reception enough to protect us,’ he said, waving the first villagers over the ridge.

Moses followed the Harvester’s tracks up to the blank face of the shaft cap – ten yards of wall broken only by baleful optics and the huge doors of the Agromeck garage. The grill above was dark. Toothpick spoke silently to the door – exerting his class six authority. Nothing happened. Moses tightened his grip on the cyber.

‘Are they suspicious?’ he whispered.

‘Just sluggish,’ said Toothpick. ‘We’re just items in their memory banks until we cause loss of life or materials.’

The door opened. Moses stepped into the nest of machines.

‘Try to find a door to the spiral along the inner wall,’ said Toothpick. ‘Watch out for those little service robots. Some are blind. This isn’t the safest place for a soft-skinned human.’

Powerful Agromecks slept in their bays while small Servomecks worked. Some dangled from ceiling cables while others sat on the floor surrounded by new and used components. The outer wall was piled high with broken parts and vegetable debris. Moses picked his way carefully until he came to an inactive bay he could cross safely.

On the spiral Moses melted into the apathetic crowd and softened his face to match the surrounding lethargy. He matched their sluggish gait. Toothpick remained silent until they reached the first dispenser.

‘Let me handle this,’ hissed Toothpick. ‘Your Au-grams were confiscated long ago.’

The dispenser issued one item in each food category and one issue tissue garment. Moses staggered away under the load.

‘Caution,’ whispered Toothpick. ‘The lighting is changing. Shorter wavelengths have been added. The Watcher optics must be searching for your melanin and carotenoids – they fluoresce. If they get a fix on you they’ll know you’re from the Outside.’

Moses continued to walk casually with the clots of listless citizens.

‘Did the dispenser report us?’

‘No,’ explained Toothpick.

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