McCade's Bounty by William C. Dietz Page A

gestured Rico forward. The tube featured some tight turns and if Maggie made a mistake she'd do so privately.
    Rico shrugged and walked away. Within seconds he disappeared around a curve.
    Maggie followed, watching the turns, increasingly confident the farther she went. Then the tube straightened out and she saw Rico up ahead. By applying some additional power she was able to reach the main lock only seconds after he did.
    The lock opened, they moved inside, and it closed again. A wall screen came to life. On it Maggie saw a softly rounded something with a head and shoulders but no face. It was silver and slightly reflective.
    Where a human face would have eyes it had shallow depressions, and where there should be a nose, the thing had a bump. The black background gave it a dramatic look.
    This was a new development. Whatever it was hadn't been there during Maggie's previous visit.
    Her first impulse was to classify the thing as a robot, an intermediate step between the functional-looking machines used for most tasks and the more humanoid forms favored for domestic applications. But as Maggie was about to learn, this machine was different.
    The machine's silvery face was motionless as it spoke, and its voice was neutral, sounding neither male nor female.
    "Greetings, and welcome to Nexus. I am a remote, one of four hundred and sixty-three remotes scattered around the habitat, and the direct embodiment of the intelligence known as Nexus.
    "I was created to answer your questions, to solve your problems, to make your visit to Nexus as pleasant and productive as possible. Please approach me whenever you need help.
    "Before venturing forth, please listen to and memorize my laws: First, no one shall contemplate or take any action that could harm, damage, or incapacitate Nexus, its employees, remotes, or other representatives.
    "Secondly," the remote continued, "no one shall possess or use projectile weapons while visiting Nexus."
    "Kinda understandable," Rico observed. "Don't mess with the boss . . . and don't punch any unauthorized holes in the habitat."
    "Violation of my laws," the remote added, "is punishable by death. Have a nice visit."
    "Thanks, ol' sport," Rico said sarcastically, "let the fun begin."
    The picture faded to black and the lock cycled open. Clever, Maggie thought to herself. You step into the lock, and presto! A captive audience.
    "Come on," Rico said, "let's see the sights."
    As Rico stepped out of the lock Maggie heard a tone, and a soft voice that said, "You are leaving lock seventy-seven. Please retain that number for future reference. Should you forget the number, or need other assistance, please approach a remote and ask. I will be happy to help. Have a nice visit."
    Maggie floated out of the lock and spun the hover box around. A huge super-graphic of the number seventy-seven covered the entire area around the lock. It should be visible from quite a distance away. Had that been there during her last visit? Maggie couldn't remember.
    Rico touched her arm. "Come on, chief . . . the kids, remember? We're supposed ta find out if they're here."
    Maggie nodded and whirred along beside him. The hall was huge, and seemed to run straight ahead for a long way, before taking a gentle curve to the right.
    The habitat was enormous. And that raised questions larger than the origins of Nexus itself. Who constructed the habitat for Nexus? And why? There was no way to tell.
    Except for a path that wound its way down the center of the hall, the corridor was crammed with a bewildering array of cargo modules, vending stands, miscellaneous equipment, and just plain junk.
    Moving in and around these objects were humans, robots, aliens, auto loaders, pet animals, silvery remotes, power pallets, cyborgs, androids, and things Maggie wasn't sure of. This at least was as it had been during her previous visit.
    Although there were formal venues for selling certain kinds of merchandise, they were in heavy demand and cost a lot