Steelheart by William C. Dietz

Author:William C. Dietz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 1997-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Ned had responsibilities, or believed that he did, and took them seriously. That's why he left the comparative comfort of his cave every eighth day to conduct his tour.

There were ruins to visit, where voices spoke from within solid walls; the cache, where Annie left food; and what he thought of as the bug farm, where his daughter appeared to him. Not every time he went there, but often enough that he continued to go back, listening should she care to speak.

The hermit scanned the clearing ahead, saw no reason for concern, and moved to the right. By staying with the trees and following them around, he would avoid the open space.

"It takes longer that way—but the long way is the safe way—and the safe way is the best way—and the best way is my way." The words made a ditty, a nice little ditty, and the hermit hummed it under his breath.

Ned was tall and thin. Each time he acquired a new set of clothes, he put them next to his eternally filthy skin, moved the next garments to the middle position, and allowed the outer layer to rot. The effect was to leave him dressed in layers of dark gray rags, which, though something less than attractive, made for excellent camouflage.

Moving carefully, like mist in human form, the hermit ghosted along the edge of the forest, found the robots' trail, and followed it toward their subterranean complex. They knew him by now, and never interfered. Not unless he ventured onto the flat area. That's when the machines would turn Ned back. Annie swore she'd been there, and Becka too, but he didn't believe them.

No one made use of the footpath except Ned, so it was hard to see, especially when covered by newly fallen snow, but the hermit had acquainted himself with each rock and tree, and knew when to turn.

The slope led to the top of a small knoll that offered a view of the area below. It was unnaturally flat and punctuated by cylindrical air shafts. Ned had no more than arrived, and settled onto his favorite rock, when the ground started to boil. That's the way it looked, anyway, as Mothri robots ate their way up and out of the repository. It was an amazing sight— and the human watched with slack-jawed fascination as an enormous hole appeared.

There was a pause as three insectoid heads appeared and scanned the area for anything that could threaten their five-ton mistress. Then, with servos whining and antennae waving, an entire squad of the creatures scuttled up out of the tunnel and assumed defensive postures.

Ned blinked and wondered if the machines were real or one of the dreams that were woven into his days. He was still watching, still wondering, when a pearly gray head appeared at the exact center of the newly created hole. It was huge, easily as large as the machines assigned to protect it, and equipped with equally massive mandibles. The head turned from side to side, paused, and withdrew.

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