understand. How could SIS know where he was and what he was doing? It couldn't, not without surveillance cameras, so what the hell was going on? A bluff? But computers don't bluff, do they? Or do they? Some played poker, he knew that, so maybe they could bluff too. The babble of many voices filled his mind. Muscles twitched as neural impulses were sent to various parts of the body and subsequently cancelled. Frank could be heard above all the rest.
"They know where we are! Run, Uncle Otis, run!"
"Shut up," Norma said testily. "Otis knows what he's doing."
"Who died and left you in charge?" Morey asked. "What a jerk."
"Now Morey," Susy started, "that's no way to talk to-"
"Stop it." The words came from Kathy and were instantly obeyed. "Otis, finish what you were doing, then head for the chamber. Something has gone wrong."
Otis remembered something Kathy had learned a long time ago and started to break Rosemary's neck. He was in the process of twisting her head around when the robo cam hit him between the shoulder blades. The blow was hard enough to knock the air out of the body's lungs and push him forward. He hit a bulkhead and bounced off.
Martin gave the electronic equivalent of a rebel yell. The fact that he had access to a video camera, and could bring it into play, had been an afterthought.
The computer entity repositioned Corvan's robo cam for a medium shot. It was something less than satisfying. The killer, and there was little doubt in Martin's processor that this was the same individual that had killed Havlik, wore a hood and an over-sized ship-suit.
Rosemary was free-floating now, trying to suck oxygen in through a badly bruised throat and kicking with her feet.
SIS picked that moment to come over the public address system again. "Hold it right there. Place your hands on top of your head. Wait for further instructions."
The body could breath again. Otis turned his back to the wall. The woman drifted free. Some sort of video camera hovered in front of her. Thank God for the hood. The odds had shifted. His eyes went to the hatch. It was filled top to bottom and side to side with robots. They came in all shapes and sizes and blocked the compartment's only exit. Frank began to cry and Otis didnât know what to do.
"Tackle them straight on," Kathy advised. "Push them out of the way."
The words made sense. The robots could slow him down but that was all. Otis felt a renewed sense of self-confidence. He placed both feet against the bulkhead and pushed. He hit the wall of robots with both hands extended. Two of the robots gave slightly then stopped. Norma swore.
Otis couldn't believe his eyes. The first wall of robots had been reinforced with a second, and beyond that, a third! All of them had their propulsion systems on and were resisting his attack. The body was trapped!
Otis grabbed hold of a robot and pulled. It gave a little, fired reverse thrusters, and held.
Martin felt a sense of grim satisfaction. His quarry was trapped. Now to close in.
"HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE WITH A HUMAN?"
The thought-voice seemed to reverberate through Martin's circuits. Big Dan was powerful, much more powerful than he'd realized, and the force of his presence-personality was almost numbing. Martin tried to say something, tried to respond, but found that he had been isolated from the rest of the ship. He no longer had the ability to control the robo cam, interact with the other computers, or even speak.
SIS, LES, and MOMS were similarly affected. The robots seemed to lose interest in guarding the hatch, created a momentary traffic jam as they tried to leave, and returned to their normal assignments.
Otis saw the confusion, pulled a dart gun from an inside breast pocket, and shot Rosemary twice through the throat. Blood sprayed into the air, made millions of droplets, and formed a curtain of red. It was not the way that he wanted to kill her, not the way that he needed to kill her, but there was very little choice.
After
"They know where we are! Run, Uncle Otis, run!"
"Shut up," Norma said testily. "Otis knows what he's doing."
"Who died and left you in charge?" Morey asked. "What a jerk."
"Now Morey," Susy started, "that's no way to talk to-"
"Stop it." The words came from Kathy and were instantly obeyed. "Otis, finish what you were doing, then head for the chamber. Something has gone wrong."
Otis remembered something Kathy had learned a long time ago and started to break Rosemary's neck. He was in the process of twisting her head around when the robo cam hit him between the shoulder blades. The blow was hard enough to knock the air out of the body's lungs and push him forward. He hit a bulkhead and bounced off.
Martin gave the electronic equivalent of a rebel yell. The fact that he had access to a video camera, and could bring it into play, had been an afterthought.
The computer entity repositioned Corvan's robo cam for a medium shot. It was something less than satisfying. The killer, and there was little doubt in Martin's processor that this was the same individual that had killed Havlik, wore a hood and an over-sized ship-suit.
Rosemary was free-floating now, trying to suck oxygen in through a badly bruised throat and kicking with her feet.
SIS picked that moment to come over the public address system again. "Hold it right there. Place your hands on top of your head. Wait for further instructions."
The body could breath again. Otis turned his back to the wall. The woman drifted free. Some sort of video camera hovered in front of her. Thank God for the hood. The odds had shifted. His eyes went to the hatch. It was filled top to bottom and side to side with robots. They came in all shapes and sizes and blocked the compartment's only exit. Frank began to cry and Otis didnât know what to do.
"Tackle them straight on," Kathy advised. "Push them out of the way."
The words made sense. The robots could slow him down but that was all. Otis felt a renewed sense of self-confidence. He placed both feet against the bulkhead and pushed. He hit the wall of robots with both hands extended. Two of the robots gave slightly then stopped. Norma swore.
Otis couldn't believe his eyes. The first wall of robots had been reinforced with a second, and beyond that, a third! All of them had their propulsion systems on and were resisting his attack. The body was trapped!
Otis grabbed hold of a robot and pulled. It gave a little, fired reverse thrusters, and held.
Martin felt a sense of grim satisfaction. His quarry was trapped. Now to close in.
"HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE WITH A HUMAN?"
The thought-voice seemed to reverberate through Martin's circuits. Big Dan was powerful, much more powerful than he'd realized, and the force of his presence-personality was almost numbing. Martin tried to say something, tried to respond, but found that he had been isolated from the rest of the ship. He no longer had the ability to control the robo cam, interact with the other computers, or even speak.
SIS, LES, and MOMS were similarly affected. The robots seemed to lose interest in guarding the hatch, created a momentary traffic jam as they tried to leave, and returned to their normal assignments.
Otis saw the confusion, pulled a dart gun from an inside breast pocket, and shot Rosemary twice through the throat. Blood sprayed into the air, made millions of droplets, and formed a curtain of red. It was not the way that he wanted to kill her, not the way that he needed to kill her, but there was very little choice.
After
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