three for south wall, and four for west wall. We are on the south wall, Sir. If you hear three blasts of that whistle, you can expect a Gonta soldier or two up on those rocks with you."
At that moment a thought occurred to me. "Frost, walk out on that field and bring us back a Fergie who is injured, but still alert. I have something I want to try."
After several minutes of searching, Frost returned with a live Fergie soldier. His back had been broken by the concussion of a nearby ion bolt strike. Frost held him up by the fur on the back of his neck.
Frost spoke as the Fergie soldier snarled and flailed his partially working arms. "Got this one, Chief. I don't know what you have in mind; his back's broke, so he can't do much except try to bite us or maybe call us bad names."
I looked at the Fergie. "You, my friend, are going to give us a little information."
Frost spoke. "I don't think he is going to talk much, Sir. Remember that one last night? They would rather die than tell you anything."
I lifted up my arm pad and programmed its speaker to emit an audible tone. "He won't have to say anything to us, Frost. Let's just follow his reactions."
I set the tone to begin at a low frequency and slowly work its way up. At five kilohertz the Fergie continued with the same snarl that it had come with. By fifteen kilohertz the tone was almost imperceptible to us. Then, when the frequency hit almost forty-two kilohertz, I got the reaction I was looking for. The Fergie began to squirm uncomfortably. As the tone continued to increase, in an audible range that was beyond our ability to hear, the Fergie began to shake as if in severe pain or shock.
Frost spoke. "That is creepy, Sir. How did you know to look for that?"
I replied, "When I was a kid, one of my neighbors had a pet montag. This was before they were outlawed due to being flagrant disease carriers. It was a little animal like these, only it was hairless and lumpy. It made a purring sound when you massaged its belly. Well, one of my friends—he was kind of a nasty kid—he figured out that high-pitched sounds drove that montag nuts. He used to torment it every chance he got. I wanted to kick his ass over it a few times, but he was twice my size. Anyway, that kind of stuck with me, and the talk about a whistle for a signal made it pop into my head."
York spoke. "I don't remember any such animal."
I replied, "It was a fad that came and went in a couple months. We had just begun trading with a new world, and an importer brought them onto the Grid. They were expensive, so only the affluent sections could afford them. We lived in one such section before my father was betrayed. Anyway, only about a thousand made it on the Grid before they shut the imports down and confiscated those that were already there."
York shook her head. "Hairless pets just seem a little disturbing to me. Everybody loves fur, but lumpy skin, that is creepy, Sir."
I shook my head as well. "I agree that it was a hideous-looking creature. But when you rubbed its belly and it began to purr, it got this stupid, happy expression on its face that just made you smile. You are right, though; it was kind of creepy, but irresistible at the same time."
Frost nodded as she held up the Fergie. "OK, so what do I do with this guy now?"
I replied, "About all we can do is put him back. Just go—"
Before I had a chance to continue, Frost had bashed the Fergie against a rock and flung him back out into the field. When she turned back towards me, I had a blank stare on my face.
Frost spoke. "What? Were you expecting me to go out there and lay him down gently, Mr. Grange?"
I sighed. "No, it's still a little shocking to me, that's all. Let's pass this info on to the captain and see if he can make use of it."
Goddard spoke. "Sir, as a precaution, why don't we set that frequency on our arm pads. If the Fergie break through, it might be all we have to hold them off."
I looked at Goddard and replied, "Awesome,
At that moment a thought occurred to me. "Frost, walk out on that field and bring us back a Fergie who is injured, but still alert. I have something I want to try."
After several minutes of searching, Frost returned with a live Fergie soldier. His back had been broken by the concussion of a nearby ion bolt strike. Frost held him up by the fur on the back of his neck.
Frost spoke as the Fergie soldier snarled and flailed his partially working arms. "Got this one, Chief. I don't know what you have in mind; his back's broke, so he can't do much except try to bite us or maybe call us bad names."
I looked at the Fergie. "You, my friend, are going to give us a little information."
Frost spoke. "I don't think he is going to talk much, Sir. Remember that one last night? They would rather die than tell you anything."
I lifted up my arm pad and programmed its speaker to emit an audible tone. "He won't have to say anything to us, Frost. Let's just follow his reactions."
I set the tone to begin at a low frequency and slowly work its way up. At five kilohertz the Fergie continued with the same snarl that it had come with. By fifteen kilohertz the tone was almost imperceptible to us. Then, when the frequency hit almost forty-two kilohertz, I got the reaction I was looking for. The Fergie began to squirm uncomfortably. As the tone continued to increase, in an audible range that was beyond our ability to hear, the Fergie began to shake as if in severe pain or shock.
Frost spoke. "That is creepy, Sir. How did you know to look for that?"
I replied, "When I was a kid, one of my neighbors had a pet montag. This was before they were outlawed due to being flagrant disease carriers. It was a little animal like these, only it was hairless and lumpy. It made a purring sound when you massaged its belly. Well, one of my friends—he was kind of a nasty kid—he figured out that high-pitched sounds drove that montag nuts. He used to torment it every chance he got. I wanted to kick his ass over it a few times, but he was twice my size. Anyway, that kind of stuck with me, and the talk about a whistle for a signal made it pop into my head."
York spoke. "I don't remember any such animal."
I replied, "It was a fad that came and went in a couple months. We had just begun trading with a new world, and an importer brought them onto the Grid. They were expensive, so only the affluent sections could afford them. We lived in one such section before my father was betrayed. Anyway, only about a thousand made it on the Grid before they shut the imports down and confiscated those that were already there."
York shook her head. "Hairless pets just seem a little disturbing to me. Everybody loves fur, but lumpy skin, that is creepy, Sir."
I shook my head as well. "I agree that it was a hideous-looking creature. But when you rubbed its belly and it began to purr, it got this stupid, happy expression on its face that just made you smile. You are right, though; it was kind of creepy, but irresistible at the same time."
Frost nodded as she held up the Fergie. "OK, so what do I do with this guy now?"
I replied, "About all we can do is put him back. Just go—"
Before I had a chance to continue, Frost had bashed the Fergie against a rock and flung him back out into the field. When she turned back towards me, I had a blank stare on my face.
Frost spoke. "What? Were you expecting me to go out there and lay him down gently, Mr. Grange?"
I sighed. "No, it's still a little shocking to me, that's all. Let's pass this info on to the captain and see if he can make use of it."
Goddard spoke. "Sir, as a precaution, why don't we set that frequency on our arm pads. If the Fergie break through, it might be all we have to hold them off."
I looked at Goddard and replied, "Awesome,
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