Isaac Asimov's Robot City Volume 1 by Isaac Asimov & Mike McQuay

Author:Isaac Asimov & Mike McQuay
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780671038939
Publisher: Ibooks
Published: 1999-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

THE KEY TO PERIHELION

Derec huddled in pitch blackness in the corner of the room and waited. He could not say how long he had been alone there, except that it seemed an eternity. He held the artifact tightly in both hands and sat, rigid and silent.

Then without warning, he was not alone. Since the corridor outside was as dark as the room inside, Derec could not see when the door opened. But he heard it slide back, and rustling steps as someone entered. His heart began to beat faster and his nerves jangled.

"Derec?"

He sighed, and the tension flowed out ofhim. It was Katherine's voice. "Here," he said. "In the corner."

She thumbed her torch on and swung it in his direction, and the polished surface of the object he held in his hands sent an answering beam of light back at her and Wolruf. "You did it!" she exulted. "Let me see."

Derec crossed his arms protectively over the artifact. "No. Don't come near me."

"What's going on? What's happening to you?" Katherine demanded. "We did it. We've got it."

"So we do. It's confessions time, that's all," Derec said, sliding up the wall to a standing position. "I've had some time to sit here and think about things. It's amazing how being scared will focus your thoughts."

"What are you talking about?" Katherine demanded.

He waggled the key above his head. "It's real simple. Which one of you is going to stop playing dumb and tell me just what it is we've got?"Katherine stared at him. "If you're trying to say that I've been holding out on you--"

"Haven't you been?" Derec interrupted. "You and Wolruf both. I'm tired of being the one in the dark, the one who's always one step behind. I want to know everything you know. I'd rather give it back to the robots than have it and not know what it is."

"Derec, I don't know anything more than I already told you," Katherine said pleadingly, taking a step forward.

Derec stiffened and gripped the artifact even more tightly. "Don't try it. Talk to me."

Katherine retreated a step. "Derec, I don't want to fight you. But this is crazy. We're all part of a team. I'm not keeping any secrets from you. I never saw or heard of that thing before Aranimas asked me about it. I couldn't tell him anything and he didn't tell me anything."

She turned and looked into the half-shadowwhere Wolruf stood. "But Wolruf was Aranimas's top aide. And when the robots took the key from the spacecraft, she thought it was worth the risk to follow and find out where it was taken. How about it, Wolruf?"

"I was 'ungry. I thought there would be food."

"Really? How hungry? Not six weeks' worth. Three days, that's all. Is that hungry enough to send you out where the robots were and take the chance of being caught by them? Especially considering how you feel about robots."

"If anyone's keeping secrets, p'rhaps iss 'u, Derec," Wolruf said challengingly. "The key was found on the asteroid 'u claim 'u were shipwrecked on.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.