Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (6 page)

"It's set some
coordinates, and I don't know what or where. I can't figure its
logic system."

"Show me a
three-dimensional scopic holograph."

TR lit up the
main holoscreen with the projection.

"It's straight
line. There's no way that thing can get fancy now, and I doubt it
could change coordinates in flight. It had to set a straight path
in the direction it wants to go, but hasn't figured the N E S W
coordinates, so is heading in the direction. It must plan to go a
pretty long way before stopping to end up in a likely place for us
NOT to look. Just give me an overall graphic plot on my
internals."

TR can send
that straight to my internals, where I see it as though it's on a
full holovid projection. The straight line was heading for the
center of a globular cluster.

"This doesn't
make any damned sense!" TR protested. "There's no life on the
planets around any of those stars! 'Way too much radiation in those
clusters for life to develop.

"What's going
on? Where's the logic in any of that?"

"It only knows
there seem to be a lot of identified coordinate settings in a
relatively small area in that cluster. It's one a lot of traders
have explored because there's a small deposit of psiltripium on one
of the dead planets that were first explored there. It has no
experience in exploration, so it can't cross-reference types of
planets and doesn't know the area rating for the cluster is HXR--
for no life high radiational constants.

"It's a machine
and may not be aware the fact the radiation isn't of dangerous
levels to advanced lifeforms generally still precludes the
development of life because of cumulative damage to genetic chains.
Nothing evolves when every generation is subject to extreme
mutation.

"It thinks it's
heading for an area where it can hide on any number of worlds and
can infiltrate its robots on a number of societies at once. It'll
reason we'll think it'll use the same tactics as on Flimt and will
sit in one spot to direct one set of robots, so it'll do the
opposite.

"Maita's
experiences with it, and our own, agree with Z. It's very clever
and cunning, but not very intelligent.

"Clever but
stupid."

"We do still
have one or two little problems," TR pointed out. "Number one,
it'll have room to elude us in that cluster, so we should go
directly to the center of the cluster so we can move fast when it
comes into N space. I'd like to get that thing here and not have to
chase it all over the galaxy. I don't want it to land on a planet –
even an unoccupied one."

"And two?"

"It will be
able to figure what HXR means and won't make the same mistake
again. We won't get another chance like this," TR answered dryly
(HOW does it do that?).

We jumped to
the approximate center of the cluster and figured where the ship
would go. It might be coming directly toward the center, so we
waited half a plazsi off of exact center.

It was six
hours later when the ship passed us.

"What's going
on?" TR asked.

"I'd say it's
being clever. If we know which direction it started we'll be able
to figure this cluster, and we'd logically think the center. It'll
just go another twenty plazsis to the other side.

"So very
clever, and so easy to figure."

TR jumped to
the far side of the cluster and we waited another six minutes –
until it again passed us.

"Okay, clever,"
TR snapped sarcastically (?). "What now?"

"It's going to
a near system on this side?"

TR figured,
then we jumped.

"It's got to be
here or it's going to have to go more than three thousand plazsis
before it comes to another one on this direct route."

The damned
thing passed us again.

"It can't know
where it's going! Can you bring that thing out of TTH somehow?"

"I can stassify
its moder and it'll come out, but we'll be defenseless for four
point two seconds, which is plenty for that thing. Is it worth the
risk?"

"I don't think
there IS any risk. That ship was given a direction but no
destination I'd say."

"Oh. It sent us
off after those robots, then actually did change ships. Clever, and
we're stupid not to have figured it!"

TR matched
PPF045 in TTH4 and sent the stasis field out. We popped into N
space together. TR could hold the shield for less than five
minutes, so I immediately went across on a floater and into the
emergency hatch. I shut off the drive, called TR, and searched the
ship. I found nothing, reset the ship to return to orbit in the
Flimt system, had TR reset the stasis field until I got off, and
returned to TR.

"We have to get
to Flimt, and fast."

"Yo!" TR
snapped back. "I hope we can find where that thing went!"

"Find which
ship was stolen, get its fastcom code, and trace it down. Either
that or trace every ship that left since we did. It may've just
gotten aboard and waited for the crew, then left normally. It could
take over the ship after it was in TTH drive and no one on Flimt
would know about it."

We took little
time to reach Flimt “moving” in TTH14 and screamed onto the
spaceport demanding spaceport records. Hedda called us back quickly
to say she and Gorg were on their way to the pad, but the records
were being sent by computer directly.

"No stolen
ships," TR reported. "We were gone no more than twenty nine hours,
in which time only one ship left the system. I've given orders
under Maita's seal that no ship is to leave the system until
further notice. I've sent a fastcom call to LRT nine oh two CCT,
and am waiting for a reply – it's coming in now. I'll put it on the
screen.

"Hedda and Gorg
are coming up the ramp now."

The script from
the fastcom came onto the holovid screen.

~Re: Inquiry
Maita AG/TRD-60

We are
commercial trader. There are no passengers and no outside machines
or servos aboard. Cargo taken and sealed 3+ days ago. Please give
description of suspected stowaway.

Quarl Kep,
Feach, Captain~

Reply
^LRT902

Please use
only non-translated Feach language. Suspected criminal machine
undetermined shape or size or robot of Flimt (Probable) aspect.
Anyone who entered crew on or from Flimt – any race – in past 1-1/2
year MGS.

Maita
AG/TRD-60^

"Why Feach?"
Gorg, who had entered the room, asked.

"The machine
won't know it," I answered. "TR and I have been on Feach several
times and speak the language as well as we do Flimt."

The screen
showed the reply in Feach:

~TRD-60

Same crew
unchanged 4 years MGS. No Flimt. 1 Mome, 1 Feach, 1 Eacheron, and 2
Searian. Nothing entered ship except self and Mome past day
MGS.

Kep~

Reply
^LRT902

Thank you for
cooperation.

TRD-60^

"You know what
that means, Boss?" TR asked.

"It means that
machine is still on Flimt?" Gorg asked. "How will we ever find it?
We haven't any idea of what it looks like!"

"If it's built
a robot to house it it's not going to be easy," I agreed. "We'll
have to find some way to detect it. I'm also going to call Maita
after we make a plan and have a long talk. I think the whole bunch
are off on the little case we gave them. T Six is with them."

"Maita'll tell
us to try to handle it and to call if we run into trouble, I
think," TR said. "We got into this mess, acted stupid, and will
have to get out of it ourselves – if we can."

We discussed
some things and I suggested the teams don't stop seeking the robots
in the society, as this machine may have saved some back in
reserve. I didn't think it knew how we found the robots before. We
certainly wouldn't let up on detection on any of the stations.

Gorg and Hedda
left after awhile, so I plugged directly into the fastcom and
relayed Maita's secret code for the unbreachable line. I explained
what we had and what had happened.

*I think maybe
you have overlooked something. It could be very important. I am not
familiar with the planetary system there. Ah. Few asteroids, but
they are there. That machine, as your personal experience should
have shown you, likes to hide among asteroids. Seek there. I doubt
it's still on Flimt. What? Oh, yes. It has a penchant for hiding on
satellites and outbases, too. You'll have a wide area to look over.
Thing says it likes to get close to a massive object and to cut
almost all power use so it isn't easy to detect. You know that.
What? Yes. Z says it hides on bases where its own power use is lost
in the normal background. It's out there somewhere.*

"There are no
missing ships!" TR interjected.

*It didn't
arrive in one of those trader ships, so will leave as it came. I
think it won't be housed in a robot as its brain is far too large
for that. Its builders didn't have the same types of
miniaturizations you do. It simply sent a servo to send that ship
out and used the time you were gone to make its own escape on STL
drive. It may head outsystem. It has all the time in the universe.
It's insane, and we have each and together added to its paranoia.
It's what Z calls a berserker machine and is now insane on top of
that. If you can't find that thing or if you believe it to be a
danger I will come and will bring the fleet, though I don't really
believe the fleet will be of much real help. It can outmaneuver any
military approach.*

We talked for
awhile, then TR asked me, "Well?" as soon as Maita signed off.

"I guess we do
a floater search of the other worlds and their moons, then the
asteroid belt. It likes moons, too. Energy use seekers.

"Agreed?"

"Yo!" TR
replied, and I called Hedda to say we were going to do a search and
would report back.

We headed
sunward to start when I had an idea. Every now and again on
extremely rare occasions I can think of a logical thing to do in
these little matters.

"TR, go back
along Flimt's orbital path to the point it was thirty hours ago,
then seek residue from STL drive. It should be easy enough to find
where it left the planet and we can then follow the residue path to
it.

"We'll also
know that if we don't find any infra-red traces it hasn't left the
planet. You should know from your check earlier which ships left
the planet for in-system travel and can pretty much eliminate
those."

"Hmm. Unless it
was able to leave as one of them. There were only six from or to
Flimt, so that should be easy enough. Those things are always on
automatic recording trackers in case of emergency and to keep the
routes from crossing."

We did the scan
and didn't find any traces not on the records.

"So logically,
which one would it be?" I asked.

"Not logically,
cleverly. With great cunning. We're going to trace each one to its
destination. The one that diverges out of followup sensor beam
range will be it."

This time I
grinned to myself, but TR can feel that.

"Awright!
What?" it snapped shortly (How DOES it DO that?). "What's so damned
funny? You radiate that stupid smugness like a nova radiates
light!"

"You just got
through telling me we can't use logic, we have to use clever," I
replied dryly (I'M programmed for all kinds of intonation). "Then
you tell me you're going to follow the most logical search
pattern."

"So stick it!
What do you suggest?"

"That it'll go
to the obvious destination, then leave again. It would be safest to
assume it left very soon after we went after the gimmick. It knows
we're an empire ship and it's paranoid, so would fear we'd have
another ship secreted somewhere close to aid us. It would have to
hope we'd get a ways outsystem before we simply destroyed the ship.
It was definitely on that spaceport where PPF oh forty five was
sent, so we can concentrate on those leaving there soon after we
left first."

"Only two. One
went to the satellite base with a load of supplies and one went to
the next planet outward to the base there."

"Both of which
have the ... Tr! How can we be so stupid?"

"We get a lot
of practice. What did we do now?"

"TR, we went
out to get that robot ship. We returned to find PPF oh forty five
gone and traced it through the beacon. We then returned here to
seek this very clever ship and have been looking for ships that
left AFTER oh forty five!"

"Well, it WAS
here to send oh forty five. Forget I said that! How damned obvious!
It looks like we'd learn after a century or two of making the same
mistakes over and over and over again! Surely it'll weaken in some
way or another."

"It's getting
low on servos, and can't afford to throw any away. The minute I
found there wasn't a servo on oh forty five I should've known. It
simply put the takeoff on timer. It may have been gone ever since
we chased the robot ship.

"We keep saying
how clever the damned thing is and we keep letting it outsmart us
because we insist on putting things into OUR system of chronology.
I wish Z were here because he can just turn his logic off, where we
have to consciously try to think illogically.

"NOW how do we
find the thing? It could be anywhere by now."

"By going
through exactly the process we almost started before we thought of
this. We do what Maita suggested. Z was right there on Maita and
was probably asked what the brain might do.

"Z said it has
a preconditioned response to these situations. It hid among
asteroids several times and on moons and out-bases. That's the
military programming. Z said at the time it wanted to take the high
ground and dig in there.

"He uses these
expressions that don't mean anything and we tend to skip over them.
I think I'm beginning to finally see what he was talking about.
Thing obviously did, because it threw in the point about massive
objects."