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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2637271 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66351 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66351) diff --git a/old/66351-0.txt b/old/66351-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 082d66e..0000000 --- a/old/66351-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3661 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Slaves to the Metal Horde, by Milton Lesser - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Slaves to the Metal Horde - -Author: Milton Lesser - -Release Date: September 20, 2021 [eBook #66351] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVES TO THE METAL HORDE *** - - - - - Johnny Hope knew the robot armies had - been created to serve Man. But war and a plague - had destroyed civilization, leaving humans as-- - - Slaves To The Metal Horde - - By Milton Lesser - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - June 1954 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Johnny Hope backed off warily, retreating toward the sun-dried creek -bed, a jagged brown scar across the parched grassland. He carried -no weapon and as the others closed in about him in a tightening -semi-circle his eyes darted furtively in all directions. But all the -faces were stamped, as from a mold, with uncompromising hostility. - -Johnny licked his lips and said, "I want to bury them. Let me bury them -and then I'll go. I promise." - -DeReggio, the mayor, brandished his club--which was an old rifle stock -with half the jagged, corroded barrel forming a handle. "Go," he said. -He took a long stride toward Johnny, then changed his mind when the -youth held his ground. "They cannot be buried, Johnny Hope. You know -your parents must be burned as the law dictates." - -Blinking sweat from his eyes, Johnny felt the sun scorching down -through the glaring midsummer heat-haze. "It was the last wish of my -father," he said softly, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "That I -should take them forth from the village and bury them with a prayer for -their Christian souls." - -"No!" DeReggio bellowed. He was a great-chested man with sloping -shoulders and almost no neck. "We cannot deliver their bodies to you. -We cannot let you come back into Hamilton Village and take them, for -you comforted them in their last hours and are therefore a victim of -the Plague yourself." He pointed with the rifle stock toward the far -hills, purple with distance. "Go." - -Johnny shook his head, planting his feet firmly, wiping sweat-dampened -hands on the worn fabric of his denim trousers. Then he held his palms -up and said, "Where? Where is the Plague?" - -"You've been contaminated." - -Nearly the entire village had gathered behind their mayor now, and the -mutterings were angry. When Johnny began to walk toward them, his -hands outstretched to show no plague scars marked their skin, someone -hurled a stone. Instinctively, Johnny hunched his shoulder and caught -the missile on his collar bone. It jarred him and left an angry red -mark where the capillaries had burst beneath the skin. - -Staggering back toward the creek bed, Johnny was felled by a fusillade -of stones. He crouched on all fours at the edge of the dry brown earth, -head spinning, vision blurring with pain. He expected more stones to -usher in the final blackness, but when he could again see clearly, -DeReggio's muscle-corded legs straddled him and the mayor cried, -"Enough! Let Johnny Hope depart with his life." It was a brave gesture -DeReggio had made, approaching within inches of Johnny, whose parents -had been slain by the Plague. But DeReggio and Johnny's father had been -close friends all their lives and had fought together in the last days -of World War III before the Plague brought warfare--and civilization to -an abrupt halt. - -Johnny forced himself upright on trembling legs. "I thank you for my -life," he said, "but not for how you treat your dead companion-in-arms." - -The color drained from DeReggio's olive-skinned face. "Think what you -will, Johnny. Think it but go while you still can. And remember that -our first concern is with the living. The dead are beyond recall and -the Plague victims can spread carnage in their wake. You know I loved -your father like a brother, and your mother...." - -DeReggio and Johnny's dead mother were cousins, had been raised -together under the same roof in the long-gone days before the War. -Except for Johnny himself, the death of his parents could have -disturbed no one more than DeReggio. - -"All right," said Johnny. "I'll go." There was a loud sucking in of -breaths--relief--from the crowd. "But first I have this to say. I have -visited the old, ruined cities. I have seen Philadelphia on its river -and once I went north as far as New York, the great stumps of its -buildings coming right down to the water's edge on the island called -Manhattan. I have seen these things and although I am young I tell you -this: we will not return to our greatness unless we strike out boldly -instead of sitting, huddled in fear, at the thought of the Plague." - -"It is what his father always said," someone whispered from the edge of -the crowd. - -"The Robots will cure the Plague," someone else, a woman, declared. - -Johnny laughed and had never heard such a sound before, from his lips -or any others. "The Robots will cure nothing," he said. "Has anyone -here ever seen the Robots?" - -The faltering wave of sound from the crowd was in the negative. - -"I have seen them," Johnny told his people, with whom he could no -longer live. "My father wanted it that way. He sent me to the cities -and to the mysterious places between the cities, the gleaming, -white-surfaced roads which we use no longer, to see the Robots. And -I tell you this: they will not cure the Plague. If anything they'll -spread it." - - * * * * * - -A hushed silence fell, like a pall, on the assembly. None of them had -ever seen the Robots, but that was because it is not proper for a -mortal to see a deity. "This was the truth my father could not tell you -in his lifetime," Johnny went on. "He knew you would have laughed and -mocked--or worse. In his death I tell it to you for him. Along with his -wish to be interred in the ground, it was his final thought." - -DeReggio did not look Johnny squarely in the eye. "I think you had -better go, lad. You have no right to talk like that." - -Johnny shrugged, feeling the weight of a knowledge and wisdom beyond -his years. "I am twenty-three," he said. "I was an infant when the War -ended. Yet my father could teach me certain things and other things -I could see for myself because he taught me to be curious and take -nothing for granted. You could learn the same. Someday, perhaps...." - -"By the Robots!" DeReggio swore softly, hissing the words almost in -Johnny's ears. "Go before you antagonize them. If they start throwing -things again, I won't be able to save you." - -Johnny turned his back and squared his shoulders in a gesture -compounded as much of defiance as contempt. He told DeReggio, "At least -do one thing for me." - -"If I can." - -"When they are burned, say a prayer. One of the old prayers, if you -remember." Johnny did not wait for an answer. He set forth in long -strides, his sandal-shod feet powdering the sun-baked ridges on the dry -creek bed. He did not once look back over his shoulder, but now, with -the people gone and his pride no longer a barrier, he sobbed softly, -thinking of his parents who had died because they had to venture forth -from Hamilton Village to learn some of the truths which were hidden -from their people, and so had come down with the Plague. Hours later, -as the sun sank toward the western horizon and the heat of the day -became less intense, Johnny heard the distant baying of dogs as the -village hounds picked up his spoor and followed it. As prescribed by -law, Mayor DeReggio was making certain Johnny did not double back to -Hamilton Village. - -He was alone in a hostile world which, in twenty years, had seen -civilization come tumbling down like a house of cards in a hurricane. - - * * * * * - -That night, he slept uneasily on the bare ground, the soft-footed -padding of foraging animals all around him under the dark moonless sky. -He awoke with a tremendous hunger and a parching thirst. The latter he -slaked in a swift-gushing stream which flowed clean and cool even in -the heat of midsummer. Presently he came upon a huge black hawk, its -pinions flapping, its talons sunk into the flesh of a dead cottontail -rabbit as it prepared to fly off. Johnny waved his arms and shouted, -frightening the bird of prey which rose without its breakfast, circled -uncertainly, and then wheeled off to the east, a soaring black ghost -graceful as a feather. - -Johnny built a fire with brush and dry twigs and ate his meal in -silence, feeling like a scavenger. He drank again from the stream and -began to fashion himself a spear by uprooting a sapling and ripping -off its branches and rubbing its tapering top to a fine point on the -edge of a small flat boulder. He hardened the point in the embers of -his dying fire, hefted the makeshift weapon experimentally, and headed -north in the general direction of New York. - -Two days later the joints of his knees and elbows began to stiffen. It -came upon him slowly and he thought it was from too much walking and -not enough food, but when the stiffness spread to ankles, wrist and -neck and giddiness struck him suddenly, he began to suspect the Plague. - -It was early afternoon and he sat down at the base of a thick-trunked -oak tree, propping himself against the bole. He hurled his useless -spear away and wondered how long it would take before he sank into -the final coma and death. He ran swollen fingers across his knees and -realized they had puffed to twice their normal size. He could now feel -nothing from his knees down, and it was an effort to move his hands. -A faint purple color suffused his limbs and any doubt he may have -harbored about the Plague vanished. - -DeReggio was right. Johnny tried to rise and failed, rolling over -helplessly to lie half in and half out of the cooling shade shed by -the oak. The chills rushed up from his feet, and engulfed him, followed -at once by fever. By the time he began mumbling in delirium, the sun -was going down in the west, casting long red cloud fingers into the -darkening sky. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -Diane darted from the stream with a glad little cry, shaking the water -from her long, tawny hair, the droplets of water sparkling on her -bronzed skin like diamonds, the long, lithe lines of her body clothed -only in the moisture until she found her buckskin shorts and halter -and dressed. Life was comparatively simple and uncomplicated among the -Shining Ones, and she, of all their encampment, remembered no other -way. The others might look back with bitter longing or curse softly and -futilely at the silver patches of skin at elbow and knee which marked -them as survivors of the Plague, but not Diane. - -So what if they were shunned by others, by the non-afflicted people -who clung so doggedly to their mean existence in the small villages? -She had but to hunt and fish and evade the bands of roving Robots lest -they conscript her in their services. The only other bane in her life -was Harry Starbuck and she could take care of herself where he was -concerned. She could.... - -Something stirred in the undergrowth to her left and Diane could barely -make out the flash of skin which said it was a man and not an animal. -She finished fastening her halter as if she had seen or heard nothing, -then abruptly picked up her hunting knife and said, "I hear you in -there. I'll count three and then come in after you." - -She did not have to count. The bushes parted and Harry Starbuck -emerged, his skin scratched by brambles, his boyish face ridiculously -out of place atop an over-muscled body, his knees and elbows covered by -buckskin guards, an affectation common among the Shining Ones but which -Diane had always thought as silly as wearing eye patches because you -did not like the color of your eyes. - -"You were watching me," Diane said angrily. "I warned you before, -Harry." - -"There's no law," he boomed sullenly, his deep voice belonging to the -over-developed body and not the boyish face. "I can go where I want to." - -Diane slapped the flat of her knife against her palm slowly. "Someday," -she predicted, "this blade is going to feast on Starbuck. I mean that." - -Starbuck roared his laughter. "Then I'll be careful," he promised. -"But meanwhile, you realize you can't marry anyone but a Shining One, -and who of our people suits you more than...." - -"None of them suit me." - -"You're young. You have no family, no close friends to protect you. I -should take you...." - -Diane shrugged, then regretted it as Starbuck's small eyes feasted -hungrily on the smooth play of muscle beneath the taut, bronzed skin. -"Then go ahead, Harry. But you won't sleep nights, because I'll be -waiting and if you do sleep you can forget all about waking up. I mean -that, too." - -Starbuck was still laughing. "I've half a mind to turn you over to the -Robots and let them tame you a little before I claim what I want." - -Diane let her voice do the shrugging. "You can always try." - -"Must we always argue?" Starbuck demanded abruptly, petulance drawing -down the corners of his lips. "I don't want to fight with you. I want -to...." - -"I know what you want. You can forget it. I'm going to take a walk and -maybe do some hunting. If you'll excuse me." - -"With a knife." - -"I'm not hunting for wild horses." - -"I think I'll go with you." - -Diane scowled at him, then girdled her knife. "As you wish, but be -quiet." - -Grinning, Starbuck shortened his strides and matched her pace as she -cut away from the stream and the undergrowth and headed toward the -foothills of the Pocono Mountains in the distance, where plump, juicy -rabbits hid behind every blade of grass. - - * * * * * - -They walked in silence, the man's steps ponderous, the girl's so quick -and lithe her bare feet hardly seemed to touch the ground. In an hour -they had reached another stream, wider than the first and running deep -with swift, cool water. Diane immediately dived in and swam, then -continued walking on the other side while Starbuck carefully searched -out a ford and splashed across with the water up to his waist. By the -time he overtook Diane she was crouching, sitting on her bare heels, -the line of her back, damp under the buckskins, a long, graceful curve. - -"Take a look at this," she said, and pointed. - -Starbuck looked and saw the remains of a camp fire at her feet. "Warm?" -he asked. - -Diane shook her head. "But not completely cold. Several hours old. -Probably made this morning. Probably there's someone nearby." - -"So what?" - -"So if he's alone he's probably a Shining One and...." - -"We have enough people in our camp now." - -"You always think competitively, Harry. One more man won't hurt your -position in our tribe." - -"Well, if he's young and if he ... well, if you...." - -"I'm not promised to you or anyone, and don't forget that. Besides, it -doesn't have a thing to do with this." Diane peered expertly at the -ground and soon picked up the stranger's spoor where he had come out -of the stream himself--probably after bathing--and started out on his -day's journey. - -"Come on," she said and Starbuck could either forgo her company or -follow her. - -He followed. - -The spoor became erratic. It wandered in circles, doubled back on -itself, seemed either headed for no goal or incapable of reaching one. -"He must have been hurt somehow," Diane mused. "He can't be very far." - -"What are you so curious about?" - -"Curious? I don't know. I'm just interested. I--Hello! Up there." - -Diane sprinted up a short rise, leaving a surprised Starbuck pounding -along several paces behind her. She found the man lying, face down near -a large oak tree. Although it was comparatively cool, his body was -drenched with perspiration. Diane shook her head sadly at the swollen -joints and purple discolorations. - -"They say it's a terrible thing," she told Starbuck as he panted up. "I -don't remember; I was a baby." - -Starbuck shuddered. "I remember. Watch out, don't go near him." - -"What's the matter with you? We're immune." - -Starbuck nodded morosely. "Yes. Immune. But he'll die anyway, so why -don't we...." - -"Why don't we take him back with us, that's what. Don't kid me, Harry -Starbuck. You're acting sympathetic only because you think I'll like -that. Well, I happen to feel sorry for this man. I think we'll feel -better if we help him." - -"Help him? He's as good as dead." - -"Are you dead? You had the Plague. Am I?" - -"No, but maybe one out of a hundred live. That isn't much of a chance -for him." - -"It's a chance, though. Here, carry him." - -"What? Who, me? Now listen, Diane...." - -Maybe a moon-struck Starbuck had his advantages. "Suit yourself, but -don't expect me to speak to you again, ever." - -Starbuck considered this, then mumbled something under his breath which -Diane could not hear. "All right," he said finally. "But I'm telling -you it's a waste of time." - -"I'll be the judge of that." - - * * * * * - -Still grumbling, Starbuck picked the man up by one arm and one leg, -staggered until he balanced his burden across one shoulder, then -started back down toward the stream. - -"That's right," said Diane. "We could reach camp in a few hours if we -hurry." - -"He'll never live through the day," said Starbuck. "I only had the -Plague a few years ago. I lived in the villages, so I know. He'll never -live through the day." - -"Just keep walking. If he dies, we can bury him." - -By the time they reached the stream again, Starbuck was covered with -sweat. He forded the water carefully, Diane behind him to keep the -stricken man's head above water. Despite its fever-flush, she liked the -man's face. He was young, not much older than Diane herself, with dark -hair and regular features, neither too boyish like Starbuck's, nor too -craggy like most of the older men she knew. - -Occasionally the man would mutter something unintelligible, and when -they got to the other side of the stream he opened his eyes, stared at -Diane without seeing her and said in a croaking whisper, "Water." - -They stopped. Starbuck dropped his burden thankfully. "I can't carry -him all the way back," he said. - -"Then don't. Go ahead. I'll stay here." Diane cupped some water in -her hand, trickled it between the dry lips. She was not even aware of -Starbuck when he left. - -She made a bed of leaves for the man's head and studied him. The denim -trousers suggested village life, but she never suspected otherwise. The -face still appealed to her, strong in appearance despite the fever, -yet not overbearing. She hoped the youth would recover. "This is -fantastic," Diane said aloud. "It may take days before he recovers ... -or dies." She thought of calling to Starbuck before he retreated beyond -earshot, but her pride forbade that. - -Shrugging and making herself as comfortable as she could, she bathed -the man's flushed face with water. - - * * * * * - -Day and night, the touch of the ground, the cool water which bathed -him, the patient hands which kept the blood flowing through his swollen -joints--all became as unreal to Johnny Hope as the shadowy remembrance -of some half-forgotten nightmare. His lucid moments were few: there -was this person, face unseen but comforting; there was a little food -and all the water he wanted; and there was the fever which came and -departed, leaving an icy chill behind. - -Once Johnny mumbled, "Go away. You'll catch it yourself." And there was -laughter, soft-murmuring, feminine, he thought. Was the woman insane to -expose herself so? - -The fever retreated stubbornly, in no great hurry to depart. The lucid -moments became more frequent and of longer duration. The girl was -beautiful. - -There came a time when Johnny sat up weakly, his back propped against -the bole of a tree. The face smiled at him. He willed the toes of his -left foot to move and watched them wiggle. He could just barely feel -them. - -With long, easy strokes, the girl massaged his legs. Acutely conscious -of her now, Johnny was embarrassed. "I'm all right," he said. He -struggled to sit up but as yet had no real control over his limbs. - -The girl placed the flat of her palm against his chest and pushed -gently, easing him back against the tree. "You stay still," she told -him. "You'll be up and around in a day or so, but don't hurry things." - -"I ought to thank you. You're crazy. Why did you expose yourself like -this? Why...." - -He watched her as she sat before him and drew her legs up, knees thrust -up. He saw the slim bronzed line of her calves and the metallic silver -of knees. - -"A Shining One!" he cried, recoiling involuntarily. The Shining Ones -had survived the Plague, but remained carriers of it for all their days. - -The girl smiled at him. "As are you. You're a very lucky young man to -live through this." - -The silver coated his own knees, Johnny saw, and his elbows. It would -take some adjustment. All his life he had been told to walk in fear of -the Shining Ones, who often swept down on the villages, forcing the -townsfolk to flee or face the Plague, and taking what they wanted of -the stores of food and supplies. - -"I see you're a little afraid of yourself. It's common enough. I was -lucky to have the Plague as an infant. I remember no other life, you -see. When you're well and strong enough to walk, I'll take you back to -our encampment." - -"I don't know," Johnny said doubtfully. - -"Just be patient with yourself. Adjustment will come." - -"All my life they said the Shining Ones were monsters. When I was -a little boy I had to be good because my mother said otherwise the -Shining Ones would come and get me, carrying me off to kill me with the -Plague." - -"You've had the Plague yourself. You've got to remember that. Besides," -the girl laughed easily, "you're a big boy now to believe in bogey men." - -"Well," Johnny continued stubbornly, "there are other things. The -Shining Ones are scavengers. They don't work themselves or grow their -own crops. Instead they invade the peaceful villages. Then the natives, -my people, have to flee or become contaminated. The Shining Ones take -all the loot they want." - -"Some of us. I have been a Shining One all my life but have never -taken part in such a raid. We do not grow crops because we are not an -agricultural people. We are nomadic and hunters." - -"Why?" - -"The Robots," the girl told him. "Some of our people join them -voluntarily, many others are forced into bondage. If we don't keep on -the move, they'll find us. Agriculture is an impossible art when your -encampment is always on the move." - -It gave Johnny food for thought, and something of the girl's own -frankness made him do his thinking aloud. "If I remain alone, I'll -be a hermit. I've seen the hermit Shining Ones wandering through the -hills, alone and friendless, wild men. If I go with you, I become -almost an enemy of my own people." - -"They are no longer your people. You must realize that." - -"And if I go with you, I can learn about the Robots and perhaps one -day bring the truth back to my people. Tell me, do the Robots cure the -Plague or spread it?" - -"They spread it." - -Johnny smiled grimly. "I will go with you." - - * * * * * - -Two days and half a dozen good meals later, the girl helped him to -his feet and nursed him along for his first few uncertain steps. But -strength flowed back into his legs rapidly. He was walking without -support by the time they reached the wide stream and saw the girl's nod -of silent approval as he swam across it with her, matching swift stroke -for stroke. - -An hour went by and Johnny became amazed at the speed of his recovery. -He almost wanted to return to Hamilton Village and shout, "See? I -survived. I'm back." But he was a Shining One, a carrier, forever an -exile from the people and the life he knew. And his own parents were -dead, mute testimony of the havoc he might wreak among his people if -he returned to them. - -They walked from the stream and shook the water from themselves and -looked at each other, wet like that, and smiled. "I don't even know -your name," said Johnny. - -"It's Diane." - -"I'm Johnny Hope. I want to--" - -"Johnny! Get down!" - -He stood there, surprised, staring foolishly. They were on a small rise -of ground above the stream. The girl, who had fallen flat even as she -hissed the command at him, was tugging at his legs. He dropped prone -beside her, although he still failed to see the reason for her sudden -alarm. She parted the undergrowth in front of them with her hands and -said the one word, "Look." - -Johnny had never seen the Robots this close before. For all their -ungainly bulk they trod the ground softly, walking as he had always -seen them at greater distances, in a long, single file column. They -were huge antenna-topped creatures, their great cylindrical head -sections bigger than a man and gleaming a polished silver-blue, their -eyes, four of them evenly spaced around the cylinder a foot or so below -the antenna, white and bulging, with neither pupil nor lid, their -limbs many-jointed and metallic, various tool-ends fastened securely -instead of hands. The legs were attached to the small body, but one -fifth the size of the head; the arms came from the head itself, just -below the unblinking eyes. - -"They must be twelve feet tall," Johnny whispered. - -"Shh! Softly. We're close to our encampment and I don't want them to -find us. They average twelve feet, Johnny." - - * * * * * - -Johnny would never forget the sight. Many times he had watched the -robots parading in thin-lined silence down the long, silent roads -which men no longer used, but now he could have almost reached out and -touched them. The absolute quiet was unnerving. The Robots must have -weighed close to a ton each but walked with the stillness of stalking -jungle cats. - -"Where are they going, Diane?" - -"I don't know. Who understands the ways of Robots? Who can say...." -Abruptly, Diane was still. Her eyes went big and wide but she wasn't -watching the Robots. - -Directly in front of her face and staring at her from unblinking eyes, -its body half-coiled and dappled with the sunlight which filtered down -through the foliage, was a copperhead. The tongue darted out in a -quick, blurring red streak, the head cleared the loose coils and swayed -slightly from side to side. - -"Don't move," Johnny barely formed the words with his lips and hoped -Diane would retain her presence of mind and obey him. A sudden motion -would set the snake to striking. - -The file of robots paraded by just in front of them, an occasional -joint creaking, metal skins polished to keen reflection. The copperhead -was fully coiled now, head cocked flat and ugly and perfectly still. -Johnny placed his hand on Diane's thigh and let it crawl upwards, as if -of its own volition, with an agonizing lack of speed. Now his fingers -had reached the edge of the buckskin shorts and now they climbed on the -smooth pelt. He could feel Diane trembling faintly, the motion unseen -but felt. And now his fingers climbed to the girdling belt, grasped the -haft of the hunting knife, slowly withdrew it, tiny fraction of an inch -at a time. - -At last he had drawn the knife clear, easing it slowly toward his own -body. He balanced it on his palm, trying to judge the weight. He would -have only one chance, for the quick motion of his arm would make the -copperhead strike if he missed. - -Sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes, half blinding him. -He cursed soundlessly, held his hand out flat, squinted, whipped it -forward. A sigh escaped Diane's lips. - -There was an angry thrashing as the copperhead uncoiled. But the -blade had pinned it to the ground, piercing the body just below the -flat head. Ignoring the column of Robots now, Johnny crawled forward -swiftly, grasped the knife and drew it cleanly toward him. The head was -severed from the body. The body thrashed furiously, then lay still in -death. The Robots marched on, oblivious of the drama which had unfolded -at their metal-clawed feet. - -The last Robot glided by, the long line retreated into the woodland, -vanished. - -Diane stood up, still trembling. "It took me three days to save your -life," she said. "You saved mine in seconds." - -Johnny handed her the knife. "Let's find your people," he said. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - -It was Harry Starbuck who met them when they emerged from a long, -winding defile overgrown with vegetation. The defile opened into a -depression, perhaps half a mile wide, surrounded on all sides by low -hills, steep-sloped and blue green with pine. Unless the Robots -happened upon the almost hidden defile, Diane's Shining Ones could not -have selected a better hiding place for their present encampment. - -Starbuck greeted Diane with, "In this case you had more luck than -brains. I see he has survived." - -"He's one of us now." - -When she said that, Johnny looked down at his silver knees -self-consciously. In time, he hoped, he would grow accustomed to it. -But right now he felt himself somehow between two worlds, divorced from -his own people but not ready to accept the nomadic existence of the -Shining Ones. - -Starbuck grinned without humor. "Well, then he's in time to help us -move, although I'm opposed to it." - -"To what?" Diane demanded angrily. "To Johnny? That's just too bad." - -"Will you let me finish? Not to Johnny, if that's his name. To the -move. Keleher has decided we have to move because a band of Robots -trooped through earlier today. Maybe you saw them." - -"We certainly did," Diane informed him. - -"Well, I don't like it. Every time the Robots pass we have to start all -over. What's so bad about the Robots anyway? They never bother us, do -they?" - -"They conscript us, whether we like it or not." - -"Well, what of it? Rumor has it the conscriptees live like kings -anyhow. We've got nothing to fear from the Robots." - -"That's a matter of opinion, Harry." - -At that moment, another man joined them. Johnny hardly had time to -realize that he did not like the man named Harry. The newcomer was a -big man, bigger than DeReggio, with huge shoulders almost three feet -across and a long mane of graying hair almost reaching them. He wore a -beard, spade-shaped and also gray, and covered his legs not with the -expected buckskin but with khaki trousers he had probably stolen from -one of the villages. - -He greeted Diane briefly, then said, "Starbuck here told me how you -were going to nurse a Plague victim back to health. Is this the man?" - -Diane nodded and Keleher stuck out a powerful hand which Johnny pumped -vigorously. "Glad to have you with us, son. In time you'll learn we're -not the monsters you were led to believe all your life. But mark -me--you owe your allegiance to us henceforth--provided you decide to -stay." Johnny did not have to be introduced. Starbuck had mentioned a -man named Keleher as their leader, and the newcomer spoke not with the -bluster and arrogance of a leader unsure of his position, but with -the calm self-assurance of a respected and powerful chieftain. Keleher -would make a first-rate friend but a terrible enemy. - -"He'll stay," Diane spoke for Johnny. "He doesn't look like a hermit, -does he?" - -"Never can tell. Where are you from, son?" - -"Hamilton Village." - -Keleher's smile was wry, almost rueful. "Will you put in with us?" - -"I guess so." - -Keleher shrugged, then took Diane aside and whispered to her. After -that the big man turned and walked away. Diane was quiet. - -"What's the matter?" Johnny wanted to know. "Does he always smile like -that?" - -"No, Johnny." - -"Then tell me." - -"We're going to leave this area because of the Robots. Starbuck already -told you that. We're going to travel light but we're still going to -restock some of our supplies for the journey." - -"I still don't see--" - -"I don't know how to tell you this. The nearest village is Hamilton." - -"So?" - -"So we're going to raid it. We're going to raid your village, Johnny." - - * * * * * - -Starbuck's laughter carried through the entire encampment of conical -tents, each flying its clan-standard from the central ridge pole. - -Johnny wanted to hit the man, then realized he would be striking out -at his own mixed up emotions. Diane was staring at him with genuine -sympathy, but that hardly helped. She said, "What are you going to do, -Johnny?" - -"I'm not sure yet. I have to think." - -"Remember, you're one of us now. Any time you doubt that, look at your -knees or elbows. You are a Shining One, make no mistake." - -"Yes, a Shining One." But Hamilton Village had been his home. - -"We don't harm anyone," Diane explained. "I told you I take no part in -the raids. I don't know why, for they're harmless." - -"I saw one once, when I was a young boy. Before my people came to -Hamilton Village to build their homes. The Shining Ones came down from -the hills and simply walked into the village. There was no resistance. -Our sentries gave us warning, but it hardly helped. We packed what we -could and fled, leaving most of our supplies and equipment behind, -leaving an entire village which we had called home but which we could -never see again. The Shining Ones contaminate." - -"Yes--we do. You do. The villagers can't fight us. We could walk down -there unarmed and take what we want. Maybe that's why I prefer to hunt -instead. I'm not sure, Johnny. What are _you_ going to do?" She took -his hand impulsively in hers and squeezed it. They hardly knew each -other but they had saved each other's life. - -"I wish I knew." He withdrew his hand awkwardly. He liked Diane, -perhaps too much. But until he made up his mind she was a potential -enemy. - -Soon Keleher returned to them, not alone this time. A dozen men crowded -behind him and others were leaving the tents of the various clans to -join them. "Did you tell me his name?" Keleher asked Diane. - -"No. He's Johnny Hope." - -"Well, Hope, get a good meal under your belt and we're off. We leave -for Hamilton Village later this afternoon. You ought to be able to tell -us exactly where to find whatever we want once we get there." - -Could a man change his allegiance overnight because he now was -different physically? Johnny's heart was still in Hamilton, even if he -had been stoned from the Village and his parents had been burned, as -prescribed by law. But the rest of his life he would be a Shining One. - -For a time he watched while Diane fixed his venison dinner, savoring -the rich, gamey aroma. Then he slipped silently from the encampment. - - * * * * * - -Often DeReggio would come to the large boulder half a mile north of -Hamilton Village and sun himself contentedly, forgetting for the time -at least the problems of his office. This rock was no secret. Any -villager, not finding DeReggio in Hamilton itself, would know where to -look for him. - -Now he had almost drifted off into slumber. He always found this -half-awake time most pleasant for dreaming. Then he could conjure -visions of the old days, of the lost cities with the beat of their -traffic pulse and the winking kaleidoscope of their electric lights, -and the driving madness of their people which kept them seething with -activity around the clock. He never traveled to the deserted cities -himself as youngsters like Johnny Hope did, because their crumbling -masonry and bomb-scarred streets saddened him. And besides, the Robots -had taken over many of the cities and since no one had ever bothered to -tabulate them, you were never sure when a city was deserted and when it -was not. Better to dream of the old days.... - -"DeReggio! Wake up." - -It was Sheldon Hope, his old comrade-in-arms, who had fought halfway -across a world with him while civilization crumbled to ruin all about -them. - -"Shel ... Shell, boy." - -"Wake up, DeReggio. It's Johnny Hope." - -DeReggio sat bolt-upright, circles of light floating on blackness -before his eyes from too much sun. "Johnny! Go away. They'll kill you -if they find you here. Are you crazy? Keep away from me." DeReggio -stood up and backed off, watching Johnny. "You have no business coming -here. You--" - -DeReggio saw the shining knees, the silver elbows. "The Plague. You -survived it. You're a--" - -"Shining One," Johnny finished for him as the mayor's voice trailed off. - -"A carrier, that's even worse." - -"I was hoping I would find you here. I knew I couldn't go down into -Hamilton. You haven't much time." - -"What are you talking about?" - -"Shining Ones," Johnny said quickly. "Hundreds of them coming to raid -Hamilton Village. They are on their way now. You'll have to leave, -but I thought if I warned you you could have some time to take your -belongings." - - * * * * * - -DeReggio accepted the fact without question but with sadness. He shook -his head from side to side, thinking of the neatly laid out streets, -the small, compact bungalows, the field planted with hay for the -cattle, with grain, asparagus, beans and tall corn waving green in the -summer sun, ready for harvest. - -"How much time do we have?" - -"Four or five hours, I think." - -"We'll have to hurry." DeReggio was already trotting back down the -trail toward Hamilton, Johnny maintaining the pace with him but hanging -back half a dozen long strides. - -"I want to see the village once more, then I'll go." - -"What are you going to do?" - -"I don't know. The Shining Ones want me to stay with them, but I had to -warn you. If they find out...." - -"For my people, I thank you, Johnny." - -First person plural. My people. Johnny no longer was included. If the -Shining Ones discovered his treachery, he would indeed be homeless. He -wondered what Diane would think. - -"Look at the Village and then go, Johnny. If they find you, I won't be -able to do a thing. And I wanted to tell you, I said the prayer." - -A figure appeared on the path up ahead. As he came closer the man's -face was familiar, but his name eluded Johnny. "Mayor DeReggio!" he -called. "I wanted to tell you my wife thinks...." His voice trailed -off. He scuffed his feet in the dust of the path and squinted. "Johnny -Hope!" he cried. "By the Robots, keep away. I have a wife and children." - -"I only wanted to see Hamilton once more." - -"We don't care what you wanted." - -"He brought a warning," Mayor DeReggio explained. "The Shining Ones are -coming." - -The man held his distance, but spat on the ground in disgust. "Look at -him? You heed his warning? Look. He's a Shining One himself. It's some -kind of a trick you've fallen for." - -DeReggio shrugged hopelessly. "You'll have to go, Johnny." - -Already the man was sprinting back down the path toward Hamilton. "I'll -bring some of my friends," he called back over his shoulder. "We'll see -about this. We'll see if a damned Shining One can go parading around -Hamilton Village any time he wants. And you've got some explaining to -do, DeReggio." - -Then the man was gone. DeReggio turned to Johnny, almost shaking hands -with him from force of habit, then drawing away in self-conscious -confusion. "Good luck, boy. We'll be moving, despite what Lawford -said. Don't try to follow us." - -"I hope I haven't got you into any trouble." - -"It won't be the first time." - -"Thanks for the prayer. They would have liked that." - -When DeReggio looked up, Johnny Hope had vanished into the woods. - - * * * * * - -Starbuck led one party of Shining Ones toward Hamilton from the north -while Keleher took the main band in from the east. They never reached -the Village though. Each leader saw the black pall of smoke rising long -before he reached Hamilton. Each knew the Village had been put to the -torch. - -They met on high ground north-east of the flaming town and watched the -fire, fanned by a strong summer wind, burn itself to embers and leave -the charred skeleton of a village behind it. - -"They got word," Starbuck said, waiting for Keleher to draw his own -conclusions. - -"It's happened before, but now--has anybody seen the new man, Johnny -Hope?" - -None of their followers had even heard of him. - -"Diane would know," Starbuck suggested. - -"She rarely joins our raiding parties." And Keleher checked, but as -he suspected, Diane was not present. "Well, we move on empty handed. -Starbuck, you take your men back to the encampment and round up -stragglers or anyone who remained behind. We'll wait here." - -"You're as bad as the people of Hamilton. Always on the run. I don't -mean to argue, but--" - -"Then don't. Men who want to be conscripted by the Robots are free to -leave our encampment at any time, get that straight. But I don't want -forced conscription of all of us, Starbuck. Understand? The Robots are -around." - -"Well, I was just letting you know how I felt. What about Johnny Hope?" - -"Time enough to see about him later, if he's still with the encampment. -Naturally, if he's guilty he won't go unpunished." - -"_If_ he's guilty?" - -"That's what I said." - -"You're growing soft, Keleher." - -"Yes? We don't elect our leaders, Starbuck. Any time you think you want -the job, you can try to take it." - -Starbuck blanched. "I didn't mean it that way. I was only giving my -opinion." - -"Don't, unless you're prepared to defend it--and yourself." - -"I'm sorry." But Starbuck's eyes were smouldering. - -"Get back to the encampment, then. I'll expect you here with the -rest of our people day after tomorrow. Can't make up your mind where -you belong, can you?" Keleher pointed with amusement to the buckskin -kneepads. - -"I know you're trying to goad me," Starbuck whined. - -"Maybe." - -"You don't like me." - -"As a type, Starbuck. Personally, I'm indifferent." - -That was goading of a more subtle sort, but it was lost on Starbuck. -Diane's indifference would irk him; Keleher's indifference was at times -preferable. "We ought to be friends," Starbuck boomed. "I'm generally -recognized as your second in command." - -"Only because I want it that way. Amos Westler, for example has -forgotten more than you will ever learn." - -"That's clever," declared Starbuck. "That's expert. You play us off one -against another and keep the power for yourself." - -Keleher shrugged massive shoulders. "It wasn't original with me. But -you're unusually perceptive today, Starbuck. And I'll say this: you've -got more spunk than Westler, for all his brains." - -"He's soft." - -"You bring our people. I'll wait. Tell your men that since they have to -pack our tents and cart our belongings, they'll be able to rest when -we reach our new encampment. My group will set the place up." - -"He ought to be a hermit, that Amos Westler." - -Keleher shook his head. "Too scholarly. No outdoor know-how. Give him -a book and he's happy. He wouldn't last a week. But he's still a good -man, Starbuck. We need men like Amos Westler." - -"And we need men like me." - -Keleher grinned. "You should have let me say that. Trouble with you is -you try to ape me. I'm always a step ahead of you, though. And don't -forget it." - -"Maybe someday I'll catch up." - -"That would be interesting," admitted Keleher, dismissing Starbuck with -a shrug and issuing instructions as his men began to assemble their -bivouac. - -Starbuck sensed he had been bested in the verbal battle, but was too -petulantly egotistical to admit it even to himself. Instead, he made -plans for his return to the encampment. He hoped the new Shining One, -that Johnny Hope kid who Diane had nursed back to health, would be -foolish enough to return. Without Keleher around to steal the show, -Starbuck might make himself a hero. - - * * * * * - -If it weren't for the tawny-haired girl who had saved his life, Johnny -Hope never would have returned to the encampment of the Shining Ones. -He left DeReggio with the intention of again heading north toward New -York, but his way led him close by the encampment and he remembered the -sudden touch of the girl's hand and before that the vision of her face, -lovely and comforting, while he burned with the fever. Calling himself -a fool, he entered the encampment warily, half-expecting a dozen men to -leap at him with the word traitor on their lips. - -But the camp was almost deserted and no one paid him any heed. He found -Diane returning from the hunt with a small deer, its antlers not yet -branching, slung across her shoulders. She dropped the dead animal with -a happy shout and ran to Johnny. - -"I'm so glad you're back." - -"I'm glad to see you, too." - -Then the smile left her face. "Did you--warn them?" - -Johnny considered his answer. Well, he had returned because he wanted -to see the girl. It would be senseless if he were not honest with her. -"I had to," he said. - -She nodded slowly. "It isn't hard for me to understand. They were your -people. But tell me, does anyone know?" - -"I'm not sure. When they find the village deserted and probably burned, -though, they'll know." - -"Yes," Diane agreed with him, then snapped her fingers. "But not if I -say you were with me all the time. See, you even went out hunting with -me. We caught this fawn together." - -"You'd be lying to protect me. You may get yourself into trouble." - -"How? It's my word against a lot of guessing." - -"I can't let you take the chance." - -"It's no chance at all. I want to do it. I want you to be one of us, -Johnny. We all don't raid the villages. I don't raid them, do I?" - -"No, but I--" - -"But nothing. You came back here, didn't you? No one forced you." - -"I came back to see you, I guess." - -"Well, you're going to stay with us. A man wasn't meant to live alone -like a hermit. Here." Diane took his hand and led him forward, "you can -stay in my tent for now. It would be silly to build yourself one since -we're going to move the encampment as soon as Keleher returns from the -raid." - -"I can't--I mean--" - -"Can't, nothing. I'm a good girl, Johnny Hope. Make no mistakes. Touch -me at night and I'll scream. But I trust you. I like you." - -Her frankness was both charming and unnerving. He wanted to say he -liked her too, but could not bring himself to utter the words. Instead -he slipped his arm about her waist and walked with her to the tent, -where she skinned the fawn expertly and prepared it for cooking. By -then Johnny was sound asleep and did not wake up until Diane stirred -him and offered him a platter of tender young venison. - - * * * * * - -Shortly after noon the next day, Starbuck returned with his men. Those -who had remained behind were disappointed because the raiding party -had come back empty-handed. Starbuck wasted no time adding fuel to the -fire. "Has anyone seen that traitor, Johnny Hope?" he demanded. - -"You mean the new man, the one Diane brought?" someone asked him. "He's -here." - -"The ingrate, the dirty ingrate," Starbuck boomed so all the encampment -heard him. "One of us saved his life and first chance he gets he turns -traitor. Next thing you know he'll want us to be conscripted by the -Robots." - -"You should talk," Diane cried as she and Johnny emerged from her tent. -"You're always talking about how nice it would be to live with the -Robots. Johnny Hope isn't like that at all." - -Starbuck raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "Keep it quiet. If -they hear about this, they'll lynch Johnny." - -"All of a sudden you want to keep it quiet," Diane hissed at him. - -"That's right, softly." - -"Well, for your information, Johnny was with me all along. We went -hunting yesterday, just the two of us. Didn't we, Johnny?" - -Johnny mumbled something under his breath and waited for Starbuck to -speak. Suddenly the man was shouting again. He slapped Diane on the -shoulder, smiled, roared: "Thank you, Diane, thank you. I thought so. -Did you all hear her? Diane told me she saw this man sneak off to warn -Hamilton Village yesterday." - -"That's a rotten lie!" Diane cried. - -But Starbuck smiled blandly. "That's all right. I know you didn't want -him to know you told me, but there's nothing to worry about. You all -heard her, didn't you?" - -"We heard her whispering something to you," one of the men admitted. - -"She whispered because she didn't want the traitor to hear. She was -afraid. She should have known we'd protect her. I'm surprised at you, -Diane." - -For answer, she flew at him with her knife. He laughed softly, so -softly that only she heard it. A shocked look appeared on his face as -he parried the blow, twisted her arm up, spun her around and held her -that way while she writhed helplessly and dropped the knife to the -ground. "I don't know what's the matter with you," he said. He still -looked shocked. - -"That should be proof enough," she panted. "I never told Starbuck what -he claims." - -"If you're covering up I can only assume you went with him. I am deeply -shocked." - -"I did not go with him. I was hunting." - -"Then you admit he went!" - -"I didn't admit anything. You are hurting me." - -Starbuck's big hand had twisted her wrist painfully. He gave no -indication of letting her go. - -"She said you're hurting her," Johnny snarled. "Let her go!" - -"I'm all right," Diane said. - -Starbuck was going to let her go, but Johnny did not wait. He circled -Starbuck's arm with his hand and wrenched until the bigger man bellowed -and released Diane. - -"Good," Johnny said. "I have no fight with you, but--" He had turned to -look at Diane when Starbuck's balled fist slammed against the side of -his jaw, knocking him down. - - * * * * * - -He sat there dazed, uncomprehending because he had not seen the blow -coming. But Starbuck stood above him, fists clenched, and that was -enough to tell him. "I still have no fight with you," Johnny said -softly. He thought he could have taken the bigger man and at this -moment could think of nothing he would rather do, but Starbuck had -already accused Diane of being his accomplice and he did not want to -involve the girl further. He hoped Starbuck would be content to boast -about this one-punch victory instead. - -"Scared?" Starbuck leered down at him, prodding his ribs with one foot. - -"Get up and punch his teeth in," Diane pleaded. - -But Johnny remained sitting on the ground, and shook his head. He -explored his jaw gingerly with the fingers of one hand as if the -thought of rising to take more of the same frightened him. His time of -reckoning with Starbuck would come, he promised himself but now wasn't -the time, not when it might involve Diane. - -"You're not going to sit there?" Diane insisted. "Don't just sit there!" - -Johnny shrugged. "Fighting him won't prove anything." He climbed to -his feet and retreated out of Starbuck's range. He was the picture of -abject cowardice and hoped it would inflate Starbuck's ego sufficiently -to make him forget the charges he had brought against Diane. Starbuck -was smiling smugly and booming something about letting Keleher decide -what to do about Johnny Hope after they moved the encampment. But -when Johnny stalked away from him toward Diane, calling her name, -she presented him only with a stiff, haughty back and by the time he -reached the tent the flap was down and tied securely. Johnny heard -sobbing from within. - -A few moments later Starbuck and another man came and led him to a -different tent where he remained under guard until the encampment had -been broken, the tents and equipment packed and ready to move, the -people assembled in the square clearing which now was dotted with -folded tents and bedding rolls. - -"Let's move it!" Starbuck roared in his booming voice. The men stooped -for their burdens, the few horses carried three and four times their -normal loads. Starbuck waved the group forward dramatically, aware of -his moment and making the most of it. They marched double-file into -the narrow ravine and were soon well on their way toward where Keleher -waited. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - -63-17-B was twenty years old, but a trip to the repair bays every time -he returned to New York City kept his beryl-steel body gleaming as if -it had rolled but yesterday from the assembly lines. Now 63-17-B could -sense a stiffness in the second joint of his left leg and suspected -corrosion. He was looking forward with keen anticipation to the time, -in the near future, when he would stretch out in the repair bay and -have his worn parts exchanged. - -That, however, was not on his primary level of thought. While not -unique with 63-17-B, the secondary level was not universal among -the robots, for the idea of individual sentience had crept into the -original plans only accidentally. On his primary level of thought, -63-17-B was in closer rapport with Central Intelligence than the -three-hundred robots stretched out in a long, sun-reflecting line -behind him. Like Central Intelligence itself, and unlike the few humans -who thought of such things, 63-17-B believed that matter and energy are -not merely components of one another but are actually the same thing. -Thus he explained his greater primary level of thought by saying that -the energy-matter bridge connecting him with Central Intelligence, -invisible but measurable in quanta as was his body, was stronger -than most. On the social level, this gave 63-17-B leadership of the -three-hundred. - -Thought-quanta crackled back and forth between 63-17-B and Central -Intelligence in New York and, as on all such occasions, 63-17-B was not -sure how much of the conversation reached the other Robots. "Hamilton -Village is aflame," 63-17-B thought. - -"Did you fire it?" The answer was immediate--and angry. - -"Certainly not. We arrived too late to prevent it." - -"Yet your scouts reported the Village was going to move out. You know -a moving Village may or may not remain together. As often as not, it -separates into small bands, which will spread out and find their way to -distant communities. An ideal means of spreading the Plague, although I -need not remind you of that." - -"I am aware--" - -"The error is unpardonable, unless the Villagers have not yet fled." - -"Unfortunately, they have." - -"Then another opportunity slips through our fingers. 63-17-B, upon your -return you are to report to the Intelligence bays for a re-examination -of your rapport synapses." - -"But--" - -"But nothing." The thought-communication crackled to silence. - -63-17-B made the mental equivalent of a sigh. Such re-examinations, he -knew from bitter experience, were shams. Re-shuffling was more like -it. At a whim of Central Intelligence he might become nothing but a -second-class Robot. On the surface, Intelligence would discover a flaw -in his synapses. Actually, Intelligence would produce the flaw and pass -his mantle of leadership down the line to some other Robot. - -Sullenly, 63-17-B called a halt. Like all Robots, he was vindictive. -Constructed originally as machines of war, the Robots had had -revenge built into their mind-patterns as a strong factor. Actually, -second-class Robots were not aware of this. The feelings merely existed -and they acted accordingly. But 63-17-B was only too acutely aware: it -pained him. The Robots had never actually functioned as machines of -war, for the War had taken a bacteriological turn before the mechanical -infantry could march off to battle. - -The Robots had been stored as useless while disease swept Earth--with -the development of the Plague itself making all further fighting -impossible on an international scale. But the Plague got out of hand, -63-17-B remembered dimly. The slightest contact meant almost certain -contamination and mankind prepared grimly for the end of its brief -dominion over the Earth--until someone thought of the Robots. Let them -cure the Plague; the antidote was known, they merely had to apply it. -63-17-B's memory coils tightened angrily. Until that time, the Robots -had been slighted, although they had waited patiently to serve their -masters. Masters, indeed. 63-17-B recognized the vindictive pattern of -his thoughts for what it was: mankind had had its chance, had failed. -After man, the Robots. It was as simple as that. - -But now 63-17-B was seething. He'd been advancing steadily in the -Robot-hierarchy and had even expected himself to be assigned to Central -Intelligence itself before too long. Because the impetuous people -of Hamilton Village had set their city to the torch before he could -arrive, all was lost. - -He scanned the surrounding countryside with photo-retinal cells. -Far below, just leaving the edge of the burning town, were a pair -of stragglers--man and woman, he thought, but couldn't be sure at -this distance. Well, revenge on two individuals would be better than -nothing.... - -Strong hauling ropes were prepared, and now 63-17-B could see the -figures were not two, but three. Since his photo-retinal cells could -not perceive color except as shades of black and white, he had no way -of telling the three figures were not Villagers but Shining Ones. - - * * * * * - -"We're approaching Hamilton Village," said Starbuck over his shoulder -as Diane overtook him at the head of the column to get her first look -at the place. "You can see the flames." - -"I thought you said the fire was almost out when you left Keleher and -the others." - -"I did, but you can't predict those things. Apparently it has started -again. See?" - -They had reached a rise of ground and could see what was left of the -village in a broad valley below them, a great pall of black smoke -rising from it sluggishly. Starbuck saw something else a few miles off -to the north, but said nothing. It was a long, thin column, gleaming -metallically. At this distance he could not be sure, but it looked like -a line of Robots. - -"Keleher and the others are close by," Starbuck said mechanically. He -was not thinking of Keleher. The trouble with this group of Shining -Ones was, no one understood Starbuck. Not only were his talents for -leadership unappreciated, he was actually made fun of. He'd been sullen -ever since his mental rebuff at the hands of Keleher. He'd acted -inconsistently. His anger had been a free-floating thing, and he'd very -nearly got Diane in trouble for it. - -That was ridiculous. The answer seemed obvious enough: if one is not -appreciated in a particular place, one should go elsewhere. There was -Thomas Burwood, a youngster whose father had been chief before Keleher -and who had been killed by Keleher. Burwood almost certainly would join -Starbuck. And Diane could be taken by force if necessary. - -Starbuck put the stocky man named Gilbert in charge of the column and -sought out Burwood. He found the younger man on a fringe of the column, -plodding listlessly along. - -"Listen, Tom," said Starbuck in a confidential voice. "We've often -talked about life among the Robots, but we're letting our years fritter -away. What would you do if the opportunity presented itself?" - -Like Starbuck himself, Burwood was an over-sized young man given to -fits of temperament. "What's the use?" he said. "You can't just walk -into the Robot Citadel. They would kill you first and ask questions -afterwards." - -"No, but you could join Robots in the field. It's done that way most of -the time, since the Robots venture forth either to spread the Plague or -gain conscripts among the Shining Ones." Starbuck whispered in his best -confidential voice, "And, Tom, there's a group of Robots two or three -miles from here right now. What do you say to that?" - -"Let me think." Burwood frowned. "I don't know. It's one thing to talk -about it but another to--" - -"Keleher didn't give your father a chance to think, did he? Not when -your father was growing old and Keleher knew he could take him. He -killed him, struck him down like an animal, don't forget that, Tom." - -"That's true, but--" - -"You're worrying about life among the Robots, are you? From every rumor -I've heard, you can live like a king, like the days before World War -III ruined our civilization. What do you say, Tom? An opportunity like -this doesn't often come." - -"Well--" - -"Of course, if you're afraid ... but I thought you were made of -the same stuff as your father, the only leader I have ever served -faithfully." - -"That's enough, Harry!" Young Burwood's voice broke. "I'll go with you." - -"I knew you would. You're just like your father, Tom. There's one -thing I want to do first...." The two whispered together for a time, -then Starbuck drifted back toward the rear of the column and permitted -himself to straggle until he was out of sight of the rear guard, first -making arrangements for the prisoner, Johnny Hope, to be taken off the -trail into the woods. Tom Burwood, meanwhile, double-timed up toward -the head of the column. - - * * * * * - -"Diane, I was looking for you." - -"Hello, Tom. What is it?" - -"Some one wants to see you. Rear of the column." - -"Who?" All through their march, Diane had wanted to make her peace with -Johnny Hope, but the opportunity had never presented itself. - -"I'm not at liberty to say," Burwood told her slyly, and winked. - -"Is it Johnny Hope?" - -Burwood smiled affably. "I can't say. Please, Diane. I was only told -to fetch you. It's been arranged temporarily, but he can't remain back -there indefinitely." - -"I'm coming. Lead the way," Diane said eagerly, and fell into step -with Burwood. Johnny Hope must have had his reasons for not fighting -with Starbuck. He was not the cowardly type, unless Diane had suddenly -become a bad judge of people. Perhaps he thought, in some strange way, -he was protecting her.... - -"Where is he, Tom? I don't see anyone." - -"A little further." - -"But we've already left the column." - -"Just around that clump of trees, I think." - -Something rustled in the undergrowth. "Johnny?" Diane called -expectantly. - -He stepped out into the trail and faced her. It was Harry Starbuck. - -"What kind of a joke is this?" Diane demanded angrily, turning to -rejoin the column. "I thought I was coming back here to meet Johnny -Hope." - -Burwood laughed easily. "I never said that." - -"Well, whatever you're planning you can count me out. Of all the nerve, -bringing me back here like this--" - -"Would you like to see Johnny Hope alive?" Starbuck asked in a -conversational tone. - -"What do you mean by that?" - -"That you had better cooperate with me, Diane. The three of us are -leaving the column now, you, Tom and I. If you don't, I can't guarantee -anything about Johnny Hope." - -Diane did not know whether to believe him or not, but would hardly -endanger Johnny Hope's life on a notion. "I'll go with you," she said. - -Less than an hour later, they approached the vanguard of the file of -Robots. Burwood and Diane saw them at the same time, contempt filling -Diane's eyes as she began to understand what had been on Starbuck's -mind. Fear was there too, threatening to unnerve her at any moment, but -the scorn she felt for Starbuck prevented it from overpowering her. "Of -all the cheap tricks," she said. "You--you wanted to join the Robots, -but you also wanted me. Johnny Hope was never in any danger. It was all -a lie, to get me here. Well, if you think I'm going with you--" Diane -crouched abruptly, came up with a handful of dry earth and flung it at -Starbuck's face, blinding him. Then she began to run. - -"Get her, Burwood!" Starbuck roared. "Don't let her escape." - -It wasn't Burwood's fight, but if he had thrown in with Starbuck he -wanted to remain in the man's good graces, at least until he could -figure things out for himself. Besides, his first sight of the Robots -had almost choked him with fear. Chasing Diane would take his mind off -them. He set out after her, aware that a still half-blinded Starbuck -was circling around in another direction. - -Diane guessed her best chance for escape would lie along the very edge -of the file of Robots. She did not relish the idea, but she had seen -the look on Burwood's face when the creatures of metal had appeared and -figured he would be loathe to follow her in that direction. - -Did the Robots see her? She ran in their direction, her clothing -catching and tearing on the undergrowth. She neared the head of the -file, could hear Burwood stumbling along behind her. The metal figures -stood there, unmoving--watching her? Each one twelve feet tall, they -could have stamped her to death. - - * * * * * - -Behind her, Diane heard a hoarse scream. She whirled instinctively, -lost her footing, fell. One of the Robots had taken Burwood, who was -thrashing and kicking helplessly as it bore him aloft and held him feet -pounding on air, two yards off the ground. - -She didn't like Burwood, but she had nothing against him. He screamed -again, his voice breaking. - -"Put him down," Diane shouted. She might as well have been talking -to the ingots from which the Robots had been fashioned for all the -heed they paid her. She whirled again, sought Starbuck, couldn't find -him. Starbuck always talked of the Robots, perhaps he knew how to -communicate with them. - -Now the Robot had set a trembling Burwood down on the ground. Now a -great noose of rope was drawn about his neck, its other end slung over -the branch of a huge, bare-limbed tree. Now.... - -Something neither warm nor cold touched Diane, grasped her about the -middle, lifted her. It was a nightmare. It was unreal, not happening -to her. The ground spun giddily, all vision receded behind a wave of -vertigo, then returned, still spinning. - -Diane clawed at the metal head, at the hard, unblinking eyes, scraping -uselessly. She might as well try to scrape down the side of a mountain -with her fingernails. - -Burwood was hanging. - -Feet dangling, arms bound behind him, he twisted and writhed in his -last death agony. Diane shuddered, turning away, striking her head -sharply against the hard metal of the Robot. When her vision cleared -again, she was on the ground, another Robot stalking soundlessly toward -her for all its great bulk, a noose identical to the one from which -Burwood dangled suspended from its metal hand. - -But the scene had changed, Diane realized wildly. A great air-ship, a -rocket, had landed midway between the file of Robots and the burning -village. Vaguely, she remembered that Starbuck had once said only -Robots from the Citadel itself used the rockets, since only a few -remained from man's last great War. - -Starbuck was nearby, shaking but holding his ground, shouting at -the Robots as if his very life depended on it. And, Diane thought -despairingly, it did. - -"Leave her be!" Starbuck cried. "You're making a terrible mistake. -We're not from the village. We're Shining Ones. We're Shining Ones, I -tell you. We came here to join you, to be conscripted. We want to work -for the Robots. See, we're Shining Ones!" - -Did they understand? Diane couldn't tell. The Robots with the noose -reached down and grabbed her, drawing her aloft again. She wanted to -scream, but all her energy could bring forth only a whimper. She wanted -to shut her eyes tightly and wake up, trembling but otherwise all -right, in her tent. She could feel a lurching motion as the Robot began -to move. - -Burwood hung slackly now, twisting gently from side to side, like a rag -doll, with the motion of the rope. Diane fainted. - -Within half an hour, all the Robots had filed into their waiting ship. -It blasted skyward on a jet of flame which was all but lost against the -fires which consumed Hamilton Village. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - -"Will Harry Starbuck please step forth and make his report?" One of -Keleher's assistants brought the command to the Shining Ones who had -joined the larger group near Hamilton Village. - -There was a silence. - -"Where is Starbuck?" - -No one knew. The assistant shook his head and returned to Keleher for -further instructions. Had anyone seen Starbuck? A short while ago, yes. -Not for the past hour, though. Keleher next called for Diane, who had -found Johnny Hope, the alleged traitor, along with Starbuck. - -Some of them had seen her marching toward the rear of the column with -Tom Burwood not long since. She did not answer the summons. And Burwood -could not be found anywhere. - -"Is everyone going crazy?" Keleher stormed. "Fetch the prisoner -himself. We'll see what's going on." - -Moments later: "Hope, charges have been brought against you concerning -our raid on Hamilton Village." - -"I know all about the charges. I refuse to discuss them now." - -Keleher smiled without mirth. "You--refuse?" - -"They were looking for Diane. They couldn't find her. They were looking -for Starbuck too, and couldn't find him. It is Starbuck who has made -the accusation, so we'll have to wait until he's found. I don't care -one way or the other about Starbuck, but I want to find Diane." - -Plump Gilbert came forward, said, "I may be able to shed some light on -this. After Starbuck gave me charge of the column he conferred with Tom -Burwood for a time, then disappeared. But Burwood whispered something -to Diane and she joined him, heading for the rear of the column." - -"You see?" Johnny demanded. "Starbuck went someplace with Diane. From -the looks of it, she was tricked into going with him." - -"Mere supposition," said Keleher, "although I wouldn't trust Starbuck -particularly." - -"Listen," Johnny went on, "that girl saved my life. I want to find her. -Since you can't try my case until Starbuck is found, let me look for -them and--" - -"How do we know you will return?" - -"My word," said Johnny, but the look on Keleher's face said that would -never satisfy him. - -"If the lad promises and if meanwhile he cannot be tried ..." began -Gilbert. - -"When I want your advice, I'll ask for it," Keleher said curtly. "The -boy stays here." - -"But he merely wants to find Diane," persisted Gilbert. - -"Enough. If someone thinks to depose me, let him try. Meanwhile, I -command here. The boy stays. He will be considered innocent until -we can bring him to trial, but he will not be permitted to leave the -encampment." - -"Her life may be in danger," Johnny said grimly. - -"I doubt it. I have given my orders." - -"They don't satisfy me," Johnny told Keleher bluntly. "Am I to be -regarded as prisoner or member of the community until my trial?" - -"You are one of us, a Shining One, until proven guilty. It is the way -of our law." - -"In that case," Johnny informed him, "I challenge your right to rule. -_I_ would depose you." Even as he spoke the words, Johnny doubted their -wisdom. Keleher was large and powerful; Johnny had recently recovered -from the Plague and did not feel fully himself. Still, he had to find -Diane, and if there was no other way.... - -Keleher was grinning. "Perhaps you do not know what that entails. -I'll admit, it's primitive. Upon your challenge we fight. Not with -weapons, Johnny Hope. With our bare hands. Call it a peculiarity of -mine, but I prefer brute strength. It is as if civilization, in closing -its book for mankind, has put men like me in its stead. The ballot, -the tribunal, the town meeting--all these are sophistications leading -ultimately back along the road to civilization. If that means another -war and a worse one, I want no part of it. Small communities, living by -mean strength, fighting for their existence tooth and nail, can't start -a civilization growing. - -"The level I want to maintain is physical, brutal, elemental. Knowing -that, do you still challenge my right?" Keleher folded huge-muscled -arms across his massive chest and stared with scorn at Johnny. "Well?" - -"I was aware of that. The answer is yes." - -"Then we can start making arrangements for the time and place. -Would you prefer it on our journey before we reach a new permanent -encampment, or after we have arrived to set up camp? You still look -pale from your time with the Plague, my young friend." - -"I prefer it right here," Johnny said. "I can't wait. Right here, and -right now." - -The sudden complete silence was broken by Keleher's explosive laughter -as he unbuckled his weapon-belt and let it fall with knife and club to -the ground. - - * * * * * - -"What do you think, Diane?" - -"Don't speak to me. I think it was a dirty trick, but I should have -expected it from you. And you let Tom Burwood die, too." - -"I couldn't do anything about that," Starbuck protested. "I tried. By -the time I got through to them, Burwood was already dead. As it is, I -saved your life." - -"For this?" Diane gestured around her scornfully, to take in the tiny -cubicle aboard the rocket which they occupied. After depositing them -within it ten minutes before, the Robots had ignored them. - -"I'm surprised at you. Have some patience, Diane. Someday you'll be -grateful I took you along. You're young, you have no idea what life -could be like in a civilized place." - -"Do you? How do you know how the Robots treat people?" - -"I have heard rumors. We all have. But I'm older than I look. I was -a small boy before the war, Diane. But I remember, I remember. The -luxuries, the comforts. You'll see." - -"I ought to kill you," Diane said coldly. Starbuck blanched. "I might, -too, first chance I get. You're so self-centered, you're almost -inhuman. But maybe I'm dumb enough to think you'll realize your mistake -someday and two of us will have a better chance of getting away than -one. I don't know. I ought to kill you, though." - -"I did it for you. I wanted you with me. I couldn't enjoy the life -we're going to lead without you." - -"You're a fool, Harry ... I can't even hate you. I feel sorry for you. -What do the Robots do from day to day? You don't even know that. You -haven't the slightest idea what you've let us in for. You don't even -know for sure where we're going." - -Starbuck shook his head. "You're wrong about that. We're going to the -Citadel in New York. We should be arriving in a few minutes. You'll -change your mind, Diane. Wait until you see the Citadel. Wait until--" - -"You've never seen it. You're just guessing." - -"It's more than a guess. Every rumor I have ever heard. Diane, I want -you to share it with me, to learn to love it with me. You're beautiful. -You weren't meant for buckskins," Starbuck fingered the tattered -clothing barely covering her torso. - -"Keep away from me." - -"Don't you realize it's just the two of us now--and the Robots?" - -"I'm warning you." - -Starbuck shrugged and sat down at the other side of the small cubicle. -"You're frightened now," he said. "I've got patience, if you haven't. -Wait and see how the Robots will provide for us." - -Diane shuddered and tried to hide it. Trapped aboard a ship full of -Robots, she was companion to a madman. Strangely, no thought could -comfort her but the image of Johnny Hope, somewhere many miles behind -them, a prisoner of Keleher and the band of Shining Ones. Perhaps, she -thought grimly, the madman had for company a madwoman.... - - * * * * * - -The Shining Ones were bivouacing not two miles above the gutted ruins -of Hamilton Village. Wood had been stacked for the cook-fires, but as -yet no spark had been coaxed into flame. Half the tents had been raised -tautly about their ridge poles, others were still to be unpacked. -Five-hundred strong, the whole group gathered around a natural clearing -in the woods, where deft-fingered girls were applying grease to Keleher -and Johnny Hope. - -They had stripped to shorts, Keleher with his thick-thewed limbs -glistening in the fading sunlight, arms folded like some immobile, -heroic statue, all muscle and sinew, carved from granite, Johnny -fidgeting, waiting for the fight to start. He was surprised at his own -objective lack of fear; he wanted only to start out after Diane. - -"You probably wonder why they grease you," Amos Westler declared. -Westler was a small, slim man with close-cropped graying hair and eyes -that would twinkle, Johnny thought, even in darkness. He had come to -Johnny's corner as a sort of unexpected second, to ready him for -battle. "It's a concession on the part of Keleher, Johnny Hope. He has -declared openly your strength is no match for his. The slicking will -make speed and dexterity count for more." - -"Am I supposed to be grateful? The only reason I'm fighting him is -because he won't let me seek Diane any other way. She could be in -danger right now, her life might be at stake. Keleher is a fool." - -"And life among the Shining Ones has always been an expendable item. -Diane's life, your life, even Keleher's." - -"What happens if I win?" - -Westler sighed wistfully. "You won't. This won't be the first fight for -Keleher, nor the last. Actually, I hope you do win." - -"Why? And you haven't answered my question." - -"Because I've always wanted to leave the encampment. But I'm not a -man for the outdoors, Johnny. I wouldn't survive a week. With your -companionship, I might. Should you win the fight, and should you decide -to seek Diane, I would like to join you." - -Johnny grasped his hand, shook it. "Done," he said. - -Westler smiled, wiping grease on his trousers. "To answer your -question, if you win you're the chief of this encampment." - -Now Johnny was smiling. "A job I'm not particularly interested in. I -only want to--" - -"I know. Look for the girl. During the excitement, something went -entirely unnoticed. A rocket ship took off, near the ruins of the -Village. Rockets mean Robots--and from the Citadel. Tell me, Johnny -Hope, if the trail leads there, will you follow?" - -Johnny shrugged. "I hadn't thought of that, I didn't realize the Robots -were near." - -"Then you're going to back down?" Disappointment was in Westler's -expressive eyes. - -"Never. I saw New York once. I stood on the Jersey cliffs at sunset and -gazed across the broad river at the Citadel with its winking lights and -beacons. It is not a place of fear, but a place that men built, long -ago. I will go." - -Again Amos Westler sighed. "I wish you win this fight, Johnny Hope. I -never wished for anything as much in my life. I was a college professor -before the war and I learned this: the search for knowledge is a -strange thing and knows no fear. But I am no young man, and this may be -my last opportunity." - -"Ready?" Keleher's voice roared across the clearing. "If the girls are -finished caressing you with their oils...?" - - * * * * * - -The girls stepped back, looked at Johnny, tall and lithe but so small -compared to Keleher, and shook their heads. - -"Ready," Johnny said, moving out toward Keleher warily. - -"His legs," Amos Westler confided. "He uses them like another pair of -arms. Watch them." - -The grease on his face had been applied too close to his eyes and -Johnny found he had to blink to clear his vision. Keleher came -lumbering across the clearing, gathering momentum. By the time he -neared Johnny he was fairly rocketing down upon him. The muttering -of the assembled encampment had been stilled as if by some unspoken -command. There was the sound of Keleher's thundering feet and nothing -else. - -Juggernaut thundered close, was almost upon him, great arms -outstretched, huge body shining red in the last light of the sun. At -the last moment, Johnny sidestepped, thrust out his leg, added momentum -to Keleher with his arms as he pounded by. Something struck his leg, -there was a loud, bull-bellowing cry. Keleher flipped completely over -and sprawled in the dust a dozen feet away. - -He came up roaring his rage as Johnny waited, balancing on the balls -of his feet, fists up and ready. Keleher parried Johnny's left hand -when the blow was too long in coming, struck with his own great right -fist. Johnny went over on his back and felt Keleher at his throat -almost before he had hit the ground. Now the crowd was churning with -excitement and Johnny found himself thinking they must have smelled -blood on the air. - -Their heavily greased bodies prevented Keleher from applying a -stranglehold. Johnny squirmed out from under, straddled the bigger -man's back and felt himself borne aloft, still clinging there, as -Keleher climbed to his feet and charged about the clearing. Johnny held -grimly, his forearm circling the thick throat, choking off Keleher's -breath. But the shaggy head twisted, broke free. The legs drummed -backwards and Johnny whirled in time to fathom Keleher's plan. - -He was going to crush Johnny against the bole of an oak tree, cracking -his ribs and ending the battle at once. Without mirth, Johnny smiled. -So intent was Keleher upon his plan, he did not bother to hold Johnny -on his back. Possibly he thought that was Johnny's intention, anyway. -Johnny leaped away, rolling clear, as Keleher backed into the tree -trunk with all the strength of his huge muscles. - -There was a terrible crunching sound as Keleher hit the tree and went -down as if axed. Groggily, he began to rise, but Johnny was waiting for -him, waiting to see if there was any fight left in the half-conscious -man. The eyes were watery, the lips slack, the arms twitching. Johnny -waited.... - -"Stop!" someone cried. "I bring news." - -At first the encampment shouted him off, but presently Johnny became -aware of loud talking, of angry shouts, of a buzzing, as from a -sundered hornets' nest, which swept the clearing. He whirled to face -the newcomer as Keleher slumped at his feet, clawing the ground and -gasping, "I don't ... surrender ... Johnny Hope. Only give ... me ... -time to catch my wind ... and...." - - * * * * * - -They turned to Johnny Hope, all of them, their new leader. For Keleher -had spoken those words, then fell forward on his face. Three men -carried him off to a tent, where two women brought vessels of water. - -"They went looking for the three missing ones, Hope." - -"What can we do?" - -"The Robots." - -"Tell us, Hope." - -"What they did once they might do again." - -Johnny laughed as reaction from his ordeal set in. They crowded around -him, flies swarming for honey. They hadn't given him a chance in the -fight, but now because Keleher had cracked his own ribs instead of -Johnny's, Johnny was their leader. It was a job he neither wanted nor -would tolerate. - -"What they're trying to say," Amos Westler told him, "is that they -found Tom Burwood not far from here." - -"What about Diane?" Johnny demanded eagerly. - -"No Diane, no Starbuck. They found Burwood, hanging by his neck, dead." - -"Dead?" Johnny said, dazed. "Diane?" - -"You're not listening to me, young man. Diane they didn't find." Then, -as if he suddenly realized he was addressing their new, if bewildered, -leader, Westler apologized. "I'm sorry. While Burwood's corpse was the -only one they found, there were shreds of clothing in the undergrowth. -There--" - -"Diane?" - -"Possibly, they're not sure. I would say all indications point to the -Robot Citadel. You said you would go, but now that you are our leader, -perhaps you've changed your mind. When leadership is thrust upon a -man--" - -"When an old leader is vanquished," plump Gilbert bubbled effusively, -"there is a celebration, sir. And there is an edict to be handed down -by the new leader. Do we banish Keleher from the encampment when his -condition permits? Do we slay him for you? Do we--" - -"Do whatever you want," Johnny said irritably. "I'm not staying." - -"This is some joke!" - -"I have nothing against Keleher. I still have nothing against him. I'm -leaving. When Keleher regains consciousness, when his body heals, you -may tell him for me I did not depose him. He is still your leader." - -"That is clearly impossible." - -"Is it? I command you in this. Keleher remains on as chief. But tell -him this for me: some day I may call upon him and his people for help, -and when I do...." - -"You have vision," said Amos Westler, admiration in his voice. - -"When I do, I want no delays. That is my message to your ruler, to -Keleher. Is it understood?" - -Gilbert and some of the others nodded. A small, intense man, Westler -fidgeted about impatiently while the girls returned with thick strips -of cloth and scrubbed the grease from Johnny Hope. - -"I'm now a celebrity," he said to Westler, feeling himself briefly as -one with these wild people as they gathered around for his advice, -preparing a victory banquet over roaring fires as darkness covered the -bivouac area. He munched a savory leg of fowl, slaked his thirst from a -moist leather wine bag, the claret stream gushing into his mouth from -the spout. - -"You see," Westler could not hide his disappointment. "It is even as I -said. You will stay." - -Johnny grinned at him. "Are you tired?" - -"Why, no." - -Tossing a chicken bone into the fire, Johnny went on: "And do you know -the way to New York in the darkness?" - -"No--o." - -"I think I do. Are you ready to start?" - -"Are you serious?" Westler cried. "Do you mean that, Johnny Hope?" - -"Let's go." And not waiting for an answer, Johnny clapped Gilbert on -the back, told him to take charge until Keleher had recovered, and left -the clearing with Westler trailing at his heels. - -The night closed in about them, not quiet, but alive with the sounds of -insects and the occasional soft-pad-padding of small hunting animals. -Johnny set a quick, mile-eating pace which made Westler's breath wheeze -in and out of his lungs asthmatically, but the older man did not -complain once. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - -"We have openings in the repair bays or for servants among the inner -circle of Shining Ones who work hand in hand with our masters," the old -woman told Starbuck and Diane after they had been taken from the rocket -ship in New York and shunted underground where the subways had been -converted into living quarters for humans without being given a chance -to see the city. "Which will it be?" - -"We're not cut out to be menials," Starbuck said coldly, "but the -repair bays don't appeal to me, either. You say servants to the leaders -themselves?" - -"To the top echelon of Shining Ones, yes. You will find the -socio-economic hierarchy rigidly enforced here. Well, which will it be?" - -Starbuck had heard about palace revolutions. It would be servants to -the leaders, naturally. Let them bide their time, let them learn what -they could of the Citadel and its Robots. "Servants," he said. - -"Are you married?" The old woman, shamelessly bare to the waist on this -hot day, smiled at them with a perfect set of false teeth which seemed -laughably incongruous in her gaunt, seamed face. Her bare breasts were -dry as parchment and hung, flat but pendulant, almost to her waist. -From a distance she looked almost like a manikin, a leathery, humanoid -robot. - -"We are," Starbuck beamed. - -But Diane said, "Certainly not." - -The old woman cackled. "I believe the woman. In that case, you will -live in these underground dormitories." - -"Not in the City upstairs?" Starbuck demanded, disappointed. - -"Not in the City, that is correct. Do not ask why, it is merely so. -We work for the Robots and obey them, is that clear? Some day the -only humans left on Earth will be Shining Ones, or so the Robots tell -us. Then we will climb up into the light of day and take our rightful -place, side by side with them. Meanwhile, we do as we are told." - -"Are you satisfied, Harry?" Diane wanted to know. "The Robots make -promises--and destroy our brothers." - -"Our brothers?" Starbuck laughed. "You mean the people of the villages? -Those, our brothers?" - -"The Plague makes brother hate brother, but you're a fool, Starbuck. -The Robots want that, this playing of human against human." - -"Yes? How do you know? You've never...." - -"I don't know. But Amos Westler always said so." - -"Westler!" Starbuck spat contemptuously. "A reader of books. We go out -to hunt or raid, Westler seeks his books and grows soft looking through -them." - -"With more Westlers and less Starbucks in the world," Diane began, "we -probably wouldn't have had to fight three World Wars and never would -have--" - -"That's enough," said Starbuck, his eyes darting suspiciously to the -old woman, who was taking in their conversation with an amused look on -her face. - -"It is quite enough," agreed the old woman. "If you want to last here -more than a few days." - -"Can the Robots actually understand us?" Starbuck asked. - -The old woman shrugged thin shoulders. "Some say they can read our -minds. It is not important. Those of us who rule can understand. Since -they can somehow communicate with the Robots, it is the same thing." - -"We will conform," promised Starbuck. - -"Like robots of robots," said Diane bitterly. - - * * * * * - -Johnny Hope rubbed the stubble of beard on his face and frowned at -Westler. "I'm not sure, but I think I know this place. We should reach -the New York River this afternoon." - -They stood in a forest glade not a hundred yards from one of the -overgrown concrete highways upon which the Robots were known to tread. -A path paralleled the highway through the woods, and upon this they -made their way. - -"Sometimes I wonder if you know what you're letting yourself in for," -Westler mused. - -"I want to find Diane. I'll take whatever goes with it." - -"Do you mind if I ask why?" - -"I'm not sure I know myself. All I know is I think of her all the time. -Nothing matters as much as finding her--and freeing her." - -"We could be wrong. Perhaps she is not with the Robots at all." - -"What do you think?" - -"I think she is. Everything points to it. I was only pointing out that -we're not sure. Johnny, not many years ago I met a man, another Shining -One, who had fled from New York. He was old and he didn't last long, -but he told me things which--" - -"About the Robots, you mean?" - -"Yes. You know, of course, they can help cure the Plague. Instead, they -spread it." - -"I never could figure out why." - -"Who knows what sort of thinking the Robots can do? We're not even sure -if they possess sentience at all, although I suspect they do. But in -the last days of the War, man made a frantic mistake. The Robots were -conceived as fighters, were constructed as fighters, were built to -hate man and to kill man. When we gave the Robots a different mission -entirely, it failed. They've simply strengthened the Plague toxoid and -made it lethal. I don't think they'll rest until every man on Earth is -destroyed. - -"We're weak now, disorganized. We've left civilization behind us. You'd -think the Robots could do the job overnight, but the only thing that -prevents them, actually, is their lack of numbers." - -"Most of my people--I mean the villagers, not my people any -longer--most of them believe the Robots somehow _will_ cure the Plague." - -"And most of my people," said Westler, "believe their destiny is hand -in glove with the destiny of the Robots. They put it this way: we -are hated by the rest of mankind, we are apparently not hated by the -Robots. Why not cooperate with them, then? Actually, a free band of -Shining Ones as large as Keleher's is the exception, not the rule. -Every day, more and more Shining Ones go to the Citadel in New York or -elsewhere to work for the Robots. Not a pretty picture, is it?" - -"What can we do about it?" - -"At present, I don't have the slightest notion. We've got to do -something, though. Someone's got to do something, unless nature's ready -to write off mankind as a bad experiment. Perhaps I am a pedant, -Johnny. I do not know. But I will tell you this: when all the great -strides in human history were made, the pedants, the scholars paved -the way. I want to see the Citadel not only to learn but to see if -there is something, some way, to end the reign of the Robots. It seems -incredible that men, their makers, lacked the foresight to equip them -with an Achilles Heel, if the need ever arose." - - * * * * * - -Abruptly, Johnny motioned Westler down with a wave of his hand. "It -looks like you're going to find out soon enough. Take a look." - -Johnny parted the bushes in front of them. Here the dirt path had -angled sharply toward the highway so that not more than thirty yards -separated them. Marching silently along the concrete in the direction -of New York, quiet but for the clanking of their joints, was a long -file of Robots. - -"Spongey metal foot-pads," whispered Westler, staring eagerly at the -Robots. "We built fine fighting machines, Johnny, and now find we have -to suffer the consequences." - -Johnny nodded impatiently, hardly feeling philosophical. "This is what -we came here for, Amos," he said. "Afraid?" - -"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure yet." - -Johnny was not sure, either, but did not want to brood about it. He -stood up recklessly, forcing his way through the undergrowth toward the -highway. By the time he reached it, Westler trailing uncertainly at his -heels, he was shouting. It worked magically. The long line of Robots, -extending as far as they could see to the left and several hundred -yards to the right, stopped its steady advance. The great metal heads, -each bigger than a man, swiveled on the sockets which joined them with -the tiny bodies. The unblinking eyes which now faced them--another set -for each Robot surveyed the rear, Johnny knew--were lined up row on row. - -"We want to join you," Johnny called out. "We want employment in the -Citadel." Did a human ask a Robot for employment? Johnny hardly knew, -for nothing had been further from his mind until recently. - -The leading Robot came back down the line toward them. Johnny could -read nothing in the artificial eyes and had to check a wild impulse to -run. - -"Sometimes I prefer the uncomplicated life of an unimaginative man of -action," Westler moaned softly. - -It was, Johnny knew, a good point. He did not bother telling Westler -that both traits had merged in him, which might have been better or -worse, depending upon the circumstances. - -Then the Robot was upon them. - - * * * * * - -"63-17-B?" - -"Yes, sir?" All Robots, even those with a primary level of thought as -high as 63-17-B and an existing secondary level, addressed Central -Intelligence as sir. - -"After exhaustive tests, it has been adjudged that an over-estimation -has been made regarding your mental ability. Since that is the case, it -will mechanically be necessary to change your position." - -Sullenly, plotting shapeless revenge at a Central Intelligence which -would never consider the possibility of an outside factor intervening -unexpectedly and hence altering or spoiling what had been planned, -63-17-B listened to his fate. - -"A position currently is vacant as supervisor of the Shining Ones in a -section of the repair bays. Do you have any objections to assuming this -new duty in place of the old?" - -To object was disastrous. To object was to admit you needed not merely -a lesser job commensurate with your lesser skill but also complete -readjustment of your thinking process. "No objections at all, sir," -thought 63-17-B, all the while smouldering with resentment. His time -would come. What was the old human expression about every dog having -his day? - -"Then you will report at once to repair bay 151. Do you know its -location?" - -"I will find it." That was the prescribed answer. One rarely asked -questions. One found out for oneself from Central Information. 63-17-B -half thought he was still being tested in some less-obvious and hence -all the more deadly fashion. But to be placed in charge of a gang of -humans! It was degrading. - -"In time, 63-17-B, you shall be tested again. If it is our opinion you -have gained back what we thought you once possessed, you will again be -elevated to a higher station." - -63-17-B cursed Central Intelligence on a private wavelength. Central -Intelligence was the creator of perfect plans. If a plan misfired, -Central Intelligence could not be held responsible. Since accidents of -nature had never been considered valid excuses, blame always fell on -the executing Robot. Until recently, 63-17-B had managed to beat the -system, largely through luck. Now while he realized it was the most -mechanical thing in the world to do as you were told, he could not -hide his bitter disappointment. But he pushed it from his mind all at -once when he felt another mind nibbling at his private wavelength. -No one could be trusted, not when each Robot tried to outdo every -other Robot in the eyes of Central Intelligence, not when private -thoughts could be intercepted by monitors, not when communal thinking -was considered preferable to individual thinking.... That thought -made 63-17-B shudder, his joints clanking as a sudden surge of power, -the electrical equivalent of adrenal secretions, coursed through his -frame. He was indeed thinking not along the prescribed lines. Probably -something _was_ wrong with him. - - * * * * * - -"This is ironical," said Amos Westler as the first inert Robot came -sliding down the conveyor belt to stop, a rusted man-shaped creature -twice man's size with huge conical head and withdrawn antenna, in front -of his bench. "We'll never learn anything this way. You won't learn the -whereabouts of Diane at this bench, and I won't learn what I've come to -find out." - -"We're not on duty twenty-four hours a day," Johnny reminded him, -unfastening leg-joints with a large, wrench-like instrument and wiping -the parts with an oily rag before he reassembled them. "If Diane is -here, I'll find her." - -"Well, we've learned nothing so far. They took us into the Citadel -through a tile-walled tunnel--" - -"Surely one of the wonders of the world!" Johnny cried, remembering. - -"The world has many wonders, natural and man-made, if we could but see -them. Anyway, they then deposited us in those underground quarters -where all the humans seem to live here. The old hag interviewed us--" - -"Yes. She wouldn't say if she'd seen Starbuck and Diane or not when I -described them, but it sure made her smile. I think they're here in the -Citadel, Amos." - -"--then assigned us to this repair bay for work. Do you realize that -except for the brief time it took to go from the tunnel exit to the -underground quarters, we haven't seen the light of day. Try learning -something in these, these caves!" - -Without warning, the conveyor belts were stilled. Hidden lighting in -the walls flared brighter as a group of Robots entered the large vault. - -"ATTENTION!" A voice blared at them, oddly metallic. Johnny could not -tell where it came from. "Robot 63-17-B is now entering the vault. -As your supervisor, 63-17-B is to be obeyed as if he were Central -Intelligence itself. He is to be addressed not directly, but through -your human supervisor." - -The Robot numbered 63-17-B (but the numbers were hidden under the -central face plate and you hardly could tell the machines apart) made a -brief inspection of the vault, then climbed to his niche in the wall, -where he sat completely without motion while the other Robots filed -from the chamber. - -"Although we can't address the Robot, our supervisor can," Westler said -eagerly. "That means, at least, communication of some sort is possible." - -"I guess so. Why don't you get to know the supervisor?" - -"You're much better at that sort of thing than I am, Johnny." - -"We came here for different reasons, don't forget. There's an old hag -I'd like to answer more questions when I find her." - -"Here comes our supervisor now," Westler whispered. Then, aloud: "My -name is Amos Westler." - -"I don't care what it is. It's recorded. Keep working, friend." The -supervisor was a brutal-faced man who snarled out his words. His jaw, -cheekbones and forehead were silver-sheened with Plague scar, with the -Plague silver remaining there as well as on his limbs. His face seemed -metallic as a Robot's. - -"See?" Westler whispered in despair as another damaged Robot slid to a -stop in front of them. - -Johnny offered a wan grin. "Take it easy," he said, but hardly felt -more than the last remaining shreds of patience within himself. If the -old hag wouldn't talk when he saw her tonight.... - - * * * * * - -"Don't bother calling me names, young man," cackled the hag. "I'm -virtually immune. It is against existing regulations to give you that -information since it is felt all ties with the past and the outside -world must be broken, not gradually but at once." - -"Listen," Johnny said desperately, "you must remember your own youth." -He had tried every other verbal assault he could think of. Now he -hardly thought flattery would work on the ancient bag of bones in front -of him, but it seemed his last hope. "You must have had your lovers in -your day, were you as attractive for your years as a younger woman...." - -Something melted in the hag's eyes. She scrubbed her breastbone with -the knuckles of one parchment hand, as if preening. "Why, yes," she -admitted. - -"I'm in love with the girl. You must know how I feel. He--he took her." -At least in part, it was the truth. In love with Diane? He'd never -thought of it, yet what had impelled him to battle Keleher in an uneven -fight, to set out for New York when he could have ruled the encampment -instead, to surrender himself to the Robots of the Citadel? Johnny -smiled. Trying to awaken something in the hag, he had succeeded in -awakening something, all right, but in himself. - -"Such information I cannot give you, young man--" - -"And I thought you remembered your youth!" - -"--but they say the view from the corridor 13 exit is magnificent. To -reach it, one travels along corridor 14, which is a dormitory for some -of our young, unmarried women." The hag cackled. "Don't get caught." - -"I won't. Thank you." - -"Good luck, my boy." The hag patted his shoulder, crowed something -which he failed to hear, disappeared from the room. - -Outside at a forking of four corridors, Johnny found a map and studied -it. Lights recessed high on the walls showed him his direction, and -soon he was pounding down the corridors and praying silently that the -hag knew what she was talking about. By the time he reached corridor -14 he was breathless. - -Several young women stood in the corridor talking. Their chatter was -stilled when they saw Johnny, and those who had been in various stages -of undress hastened to cover themselves. Clearly, it was not common for -a man to venture this way, particularly at night. - -"Are you lost, man?" - -"No. I'm looking for someone. A girl named Diane." - -They were smiling, and Johnny began to wonder. He suspected that -corridor trysts were not particularly uncommon. - -"Is she expecting you?" demanded the boldest of the women, who had -stepped to the fore while her more timid companions drew back, ready to -dart into the surrounding cubicles. - -"I cannot truthfully say," Johnny admitted. "If she knew I was in the -Citadel, I think she would be expecting me." But even that was with -tongue in cheek, for ever since he had refused to fight with Starbuck, -Diane had said not a word to him. - -"This Diane, what does she look like?" - -Johnny described her. When he finished, the woman chuckled. "Could you -perhaps be trysting? From your description, I would say you love the -girl, for no woman could be so beautiful. I think I know who you mean, -though." - -Still chuckling, the tall woman entered one of the cubicles while her -companions melted away into the others. Soon Johnny stood alone in the -corridor, waiting as nervously as a youth in Hamilton Village might -wait while the village matchmaker entered a house to fetch him his -bride. Someone appeared in the doorway. Not the tall woman. Diane! - -"Johnny.... Johnny Hope...." - -"Diane, I never thought I would see you again. I thought Starbuck...." - -"I was so afraid for you, because you couldn't adjust to your new life, -because I thought you might do something desperate. I was a fool, I -should have known why you refused to fight with Starbuck. Johnny, -Johnny ... let me look at you." - -"Look later," he said, his eyes suddenly, unexpectedly misty. He drew -her to him and for a long time stood there with her, feeling the -beat of her heart tight against him, the warmth of her body and long -smoothness of limbs. She was trembling, the warmth of her all a-flutter -against him. She was murmuring something softly against his shoulder. -He was whispering in her ear, "I love you. I love you, Diane...." - - * * * * * - -Her lips were perfumed and yielding, her arms went behind him, hands -joining behind his neck, then playing with his hair. The Plague, his -exile from Hamilton Village, the fight with Keleher, the long trek, -even captivity in the Citadel--all were a small price to pay, he -thought dreamily, then abruptly drew back. - -"We don't want to stay here all our lives," he said. - -"I'll go anywhere with you, Johnny." - -"Save that for later, darling--but I love to hear it. I don't think -we'd have much trouble leaving the Citadel." - -"Not if we go tonight, we wouldn't. Every day I work with Starbuck, but -if we left at once, now, tonight!" - -Her new-found enthusiasm not only matched his, but added wings to it. -He was on the point of saying yes, of leading her through the corridors -in a dash for freedom, when he remembered. "We can't," he said. "Not -tonight. We've got to include Amos Westler in our plans." - -"Westler is here?" - -Johnny explained the situation to her, then added, "Tonight Westler -went looking for some information about the Robots. He feels certain -they have an Achilles Heel someplace, if only he can find it. Actually, -it won't be easy dragging him away from the Citadel, even tomorrow -night." - -"We can wait one night longer, sweetheart. You convince him tomorrow." - -"I don't like the thought of leaving you alone again until tomorrow -night." - -Diane stilled his words by placing cool fingers to his lips. "We have -no choice. I can take care of myself one night more." - -"Starbuck?" - -"I can take care of myself in that respect, too. Go back to your -dormitory and get some sleep." - -"Tomorrow night. Same time, same place. Westler will be with me." - -They came close and drank of each other again. They parted, Johnny -edging down the corridor backwards until the last shaft of light -disappeared from the entrance to Diane's cubicle. His head was whirling -in a giddy new delight, in a rapture which clouded his mind with a -buoyant optimism which almost made him forget the Citadel, the Robots, -and men like Harry Starbuck.... - -Footsteps pounding down the hall, heavy, too heavy for a woman's. -Quickly, Johnny flattened himself in the darkness of a niche which -served some nameless purpose. With the light behind it, a shadow -loomed, reared up toward him. - -It was Harry Starbuck. - -Johnny held his breath until the big man with the smug boy's face -strode past. Heading for Diane? In all probability, yes. Follow him? -Stop him? Attack him? Wild thoughts ran their course through Johnny's -head. And lose everything, all they were looking forward to, for his -impulsiveness? Footsteps receded. The shadow vanished. Even if he could -follow Starbuck, overpower him and escape with Diane, their secret -would be secret no longer, which would leave Amos Westler to fare for -himself. - -Wait for tomorrow, Johnny Hope. His course seemed clear, yet he had to -fight himself all the way back down the corridor until he had reached -the male dormitories. - -For many hours--which seemed like days--he waited up for Amos Westler, -but his thoughts were all with Diane. If Starbuck so much as touched -her.... - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - -"I found it, Johnny! It was so obvious, it seems incredible no one has -tried to end the Robot's reign before. We can do it. One man could do -it, alone. One man, with careful planning--" - -"Diane is here, Amos. I saw her tonight. We're going to try to break -out tomorrow night, the three of us." - -"You see," Westler went on, "there are two items of importance to -consider. The first is Central Intelligence, the mind, the _elan -vital_, the sentience which motivates the Robots. Did you know, could -you ever imagine, that there was but one Central Intelligence for the -entire western hemisphere, Johnny? It seems incredible, but it is not. -That was the Achilles Heel we sought, the seed of destruction which -some pessimistic scientist had sown into the Robots in case man had -created a Frankenstein." - -"Can you believe it? Tomorrow night, the three of us will be on our way -out of here. I think we stand a good chance, Amos. If we--" - -"The second item--why, what in the world are you talking about? Escape? -Now? Never! Within our grasp is the chance to free humanity from a -thraldom which it does not yet fully recognize. Would you give up the -chance to render the Robots harmless in exchange for your own personal -safety?" - -"Not mine. Diane's. We love each other, Amos. I wouldn't expose her to -any danger. We're leaving tomorrow and we want you to come with us." - -Westler paced back and forth, caged in spirit more than in body. "Look -at you," he said bitterly. "You call yourself a man. But have you the -right to a woman's love when you think only of tomorrow, of one day out -of thousands, of one small life out of all that humanity has to offer? -You want to hold the girl and kiss her and show her your virility, eh? -While the rest of the race goes to pot." - -"That's enough, Amos!" Johnny cried. "My motives are my own. We leave -here tomorrow." - -"You're weak, Johnny Hope. You're a coward." - -Johnny said, "Shut up, damn you." He couldn't deny all that Amos was -saying, but his parents had perished at the hands of a man-made Plague, -he had been driven from his home, rejected by the Shining Ones, even, -until he proved himself in battle. What did he owe to humanity, to that -big, sprawling concept which took in all kinds of men and their women, -children, good people, bad ones, big and small, with every type of mind -and every type of body...? - -"All right, marry the girl. Will you raise a family? You're Shining -Ones, Johnny, both of you. The rest of humanity fears you, and -rightfully. Your children will be stoned away if they venture near -normal people. Perhaps life with the Robots would be best for them -after all. - -"Here you have the chance to stop all that. Not only could we negate -the power of the Robots, but we could destroy the Plague as well. Did -you hear me, we could destroy the Plague? Before you give me your final -answer, let me tell you what I found." - -"I'm listening. But--" - -"But nothing. Only listen. This Central Intelligence is a vast -cybernetics machine occupying an entire building--ironically, it is the -United Nations building where once were housed the dreams of mankind. -Now, understand this, Johnny. Every Robot in North and South America -has its own particular wavelength, although the master intelligence is -in tune with all of them. Each individual Robot sentience is dependent -for its existence upon the great cybernetics machines in Central -Intelligence. In other words, if you were to destroy them, at one blow -you would 'kill' every Robot in the hemisphere!" - -"How did you find all that out?" - - * * * * * - -Westler smiled. "There was one thing the Robots did not bargain for--an -ex-college professor! The information was available in, of all places, -the main library for humans here in the city. It took some finding, but -as an old hand at research I had an edge even on the Robots with their -mechanical minds. Anyway, all you'd have to do is destroy this Central -Intelligence, and--" - -"Might as well say destroy the moon, Amos. It's probably so well -guarded a whole Army of men couldn't break through, let alone two of -us." - -"That's right," Westler said eagerly, "men could never hope to get -through, but Robots could." - -"What are you talking about?" - -"The second thing I learned tonight. Once again, it was so deeply -cross-referenced, so thoroughly hidden away that although it was -available if one knew where to look, the science of research is -such a dead thing that no one knew of its existence, probably not -even the Robots. Johnny, the earliest model Robots were built to -function in a double fashion. They were Robots, yes--but they are also -compartments in which a man can fit for manual control. They were -originally designed, you might say, as glorified suits of armor. While -the research material is naturally old, all I could gather seems to -indicate that no changes have ever been made structurally in those -early models. In other words, a man could climb inside a Robot today, -right now, and no one would know the difference." - -"You're forgetting one thing," Johnny pointed out. "Are you going to -walk up to a Robot and tell him, 'Pardon me, old fellow, I'd like to -borrow you and use you for a disguise for a while'?" - -"I'm not forgetting anything. We work in the repair bays, remember? We -have access to partially dismantled Robots. We could find ourselves -two dismantled old ones, somehow manage to get inside, make our way to -Central Intelligence...." - -"I still haven't said I'm going to do it. I'd like to help you, Amos. -I'll take your word about the plan. It has possibilities. But that -still has nothing to do with my own problems. Right now Diane is the -most important thing." - -"Diane's future, your future, all our futures ultimately depend on -this. What's the matter with you? You fail to see the forest for the -trees. Tomorrow, what's tomorrow, with all mankind's days ahead of -us--slave or free? Perhaps one man could do the job alone, although two -would have a better chance. But I think you know I'm not the man for -the job. I don't await your answer, Johnny Hope. I've no one else to -turn to. Humanity awaits your answer." - -"Let me think," said Johnny, waving Westler away when he would have -continued talking. More quickly than he dared hope, he had found Diane. -With equal swiftness, Westler had discovered what he sought. That left -Johnny in the middle of a tug-of-war which wouldn't wait indefinitely -for his answer. - - * * * * * - -As the closing gong sounded, 63-17-B watched the Shining Ones shuffle -away from their benches and make their way down the corridor toward the -cafeteria which would serve them an unimaginative but well-balanced -evening meal. But two humans remained behind, talking avidly over the -gleaming bodies of two stripped-down Robots. Strange, thought 63-17-B, -who was now confronted with the first even mildly unusual event since -taking over the dull routine of his new job that they should continue -working after the closing gong had sounded. He could summon Hartness, -the scarred human supervisor, and have him talk with the two, or ... -Hartness, his metal-jointed foot! He would do no such thing. If perhaps -the humans were up to some mischief, and if it did not endanger -63-17-B's own position still further, then let them play. If it gave a -few Robots and even Central Intelligence a hard time for a while, it -served them right. Of course, nothing really serious could come from -the tampering of two helpless humans.... - -"What about that guy up there?" Johnny raised an eyebrow in the -direction of the supervising Robot, motionless on his stone perch. "Is -he watching us?" - -"It appears that he is. Unfortunately, we can't do a thing about it. At -least not until we find out if these gadgets will work with us inside -them. Here, Johnny--you see these tiny items? These are transistors, -using germanium instead of a vacuum grid to activate electrons, -smaller, more compact, more powerful, of longer life. Without them -the whole science of cybernetics which ultimately made the Robots -possible would never have advanced beyond the rudimentary stage. For -with transistors replacing vacuum tubes you still need the entire U.N. -building to house Central Intelligence. Under the older system, all New -York City would not have been enough." - -"Tell me later," Johnny pleaded. "I want to get started. The longer we -delay here the longer it will take until we're finished. And I still -have that appointment with Diane tonight. I couldn't contact her during -the day because she said she works with Starbuck. We've got to hurry." - -Westler's hands, guiding the complex tools, moved with swift -efficiency, as if, indeed, he had worked with the Robots all his life. -Wires were crossed, insulated, re-arranged. Gaps and relays were tested -and retested, gears changed, long-unused parts oiled, cleaned, checked -for defects. Surface plates were clamped into place over layers of -insulation. At last the two Robots lay there, supine but--Westler -hoped--ready for human use. - -"He's still watching," said Johnny. - -"Let him. We couldn't prevent him. Only hope he suddenly doesn't decide -to come down here for a closer look or send for help. It seems amazing -he's done neither so far." - -"Maybe he's asleep." - -"Robots do not sleep. I assure you. Well, it's ready." Westler reached -into the Robots' interior before clamping on the final head plates. -Each Robot stood up in ponderous silence. - -"You first, Johnny. I can clamp my plate from the inside. Are you sure -my explanations on how to work this were satisfactory? Once inside -we'll have to contact each other by signals only." - -"What about the radio sets inside? I don't know much about radio, but -you said they worked." - -"They do, but the wavelength might be too close to a Robot wavelength -and we'd give ourselves away. Remember, we are to be nothing more or -less than two Robots once we climb inside. That way, there shouldn't be -any trouble. All ready? Up you go." - -Johnny was boosted up, pulled himself within the cramped interior -of the Robot. There was barely room for him to stand upright, his -shoulders hunched, arms tight in front of him. A dizzying mass of dials -and levers confronted him suddenly, and although Westler had explained -them and diagrammed them and made Johnny memorize them, he was still -bewildered by direct contact. He was almost afraid to try his first -movement, lest the Robot remain immobile. - -The face plate slammed home. Johnny could see through the one-way -plastic of the Robot's eyes as Westler climbed into his own machine. - -Johnny pulled the starting lever and felt his Robot lurch forward. Must -learn to control the motion ... so ... he was now aware of a lumbering -gait, of a steady advance toward the farther wall.... - -Something made him whirl and peer through the rear eyes. The Robot -supervisor was coming toward them at a rate of speed they couldn't -match. - - * * * * * - -"You see?" said Starbuck proudly. "I am no longer a servant. I suppose -you would call me a junior executive now. But I'm on the way up. -Definitely on the way up. In a while there is no telling how far I can -go." - -"I'm sure of it," Diane nodded agreement. She didn't want to be -bothered by Starbuck today, not when her thoughts were all on the night -and Johnny. She was so nervous she couldn't keep from looking anxious. -If only Starbuck, all wrapped up in himself the way he was, would fail -to see it for a few hours longer. - -"I suppose you wonder how I can advance so rapidly. It is quite simple, -Diane. I look around me. I make contacts. I miss nothing. As an -example, I even know of your meeting with Johnny Hope last night." - -"What!" - -"I wouldn't really mind it, except that my informant said you are -considering escape from the Citadel. That, of course, is out of the -question." - -In his short time at the Citadel, Diane realized, Starbuck had -affected a way of speaking which hardly fit his booming voice or -boyish face. It was as if he had decided to ape the Shining Ones who -stood highest in the Robots' confidence. To Diane it was contemptuous, -although now her mind was awhirl with the thought that she and Johnny -had been discovered. - -"What are you going to do?" she asked in a small, helpless voice. - -"Hope will be arrested. Naturally, he will never be permitted to see -you again." - -Diane stared at Starbuck in horror. Johnny must be found and warned. -There was still time. They could alter their plans, this time in -secrecy, without any women around who could spy on them for Starbuck. -But she had to find Johnny before it was too late. - -In sudden despair, she realized she didn't even know where to look. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - -_Stop! Stand perfectly still._ - -The thought was unexpected, peremptory, driving into Johnny's brain -with more authority than any words. He wanted to stop, wanted to -immobilize the Robot in which he hid--but where had the thought come -from? - -Westler's Robot was pointing a many-jointed metal arm at the -supervising Robot which rushed toward them. Then, did the thought -originate there? Could the Robot somehow send a soundless message to -them? - -_Stop! Let me dismantle you._ - -The urge to render his own Robot motionless became stronger within -Johnny. It was as if the unbidden thought originated outside his head -but tried to direct his own muscles, as surely as his own mind. - -Something made soft beeping noises in his ear and it took a while -before he realized Westler wanted to break their radio silence, so soon -after they had started. The other Robot was almost upon them. - -Awkward and uncomfortable in his cramped quarters, Johnny found the -radio switch and pulled it. - -"We've got to destroy that Robot, Johnny. Now, at once, or we're -finished." - -"But how--" - -The Robot was upon them, its unbidden thoughts stronger. - -_Halt_.... - -It was Johnny who struck the first blow--clumsily, lifting his great -right arm up and bringing it down stiffly on the other Robot's head. -Metal arms came up, swung blurringly. A clanging tumult deafened Johnny -as dents appeared inside the chamber of his own Robot's head. He -triggered the levers mechanically now, aware that they were fighting -under a tremendous disadvantage, for their fingers were still stiff on -the unfamiliar controls and their artificial reflexes could not hope to -match the Robot's. - -"Look out, Johnny--" - -Two metal shapes loomed, Westler and the real Robot. The three of them -came together, clashing, clanging, metal arms swinging and wrecking -metal bodies. It was Westler's Robot which went down first, slowly, -buckling at the knee joints and then collapsing. Metal feet drove down -upon it ponderously, crushing the head section. Westler's Robot was -still. - -Johnny hammered with huge metal hands at the other robot hardly -knowing where he might strike a mortal blow. But the Robot slowed, -its reactions grew feeble, its blows denting Johnny's head-chamber no -longer. Finally, it sprawled across Westler's Robot, then rolled away -and was still. - -Cursing to himself, Johnny climbed down from his Robot, found the -battered head plate of Westler's, forced it open. - -He saw at once he could never hope to extricate the older man, for the -metal walls of his chamber had been crushed, knifing into bone and -flesh and trapping him. - -"Amos, can you hear me?" - - * * * * * - -The eyelids fluttered open with pain. "I never will see the end, -Johnny...." - -"What are you talking about?" - -"Don't ... fool me. I'm all broken, inside. I--" - -"We'll get you out of there in no time." - -"You'd have to melt ... the metal down to ... do it, and you know it." - -"We'll do it." - -"Your only hope is that the Robot did not have time to broadcast a -warning. If ... he did ... you will have to hurry, but--" - -"They still don't know our plans. Maybe they think we only want to -escape, using these Robot bodies for a disguise." - -"Perhaps. I hadn't thought ... of that." Westler lapsed into silence, -his face twisted with pain. "If you can do it, if you can destroy -their cybernetics center ... new start for humanity. I was going to -tell you about the Plague, Johnny. The Robots ... have been using ... -a particularly virulent form of the ... toxin which does not exist -naturally. Spreading it in the air, all over the earth. That, combined -with the ... toxin carried by a Shining One, causes illness ... and -death." Westler's words were harder to hear now, low, the barest -whisper of sound. Johnny leaned close to the glazed eyes, the barely -opening lips. "When the Robots are ... gone ... the Plague will die out -almost at once. Shining Ones even will be harmless. You see why it's so -important? You see...." - -"I could never do it without you. We'll hide away somewhere, nurse you -back to health--" - -"Stop fooling ... an old man. We both know I'm dying." - -"That's ridiculous." - -"Please ... don't interrupt me. I want to finish telling you ... the -Robots communicate with humans by telepathy. You witnessed it yourself, -a few ... minutes ago. They can make it seem like your own thoughts -and ... who can say? Thought waves are electromagnetic, like ... so -many other things. There is nothing mysterious about ... telepathy. -Give humanity a chance to study what the ... Robots have done and ... -you'll have civilization flourishing again within a generation. Give -humanity the chance...." It was a whisper, a prayer. - -On that final note of hope, Westler died. - - * * * * * - -"The human has emerged from the underground within his Robot and is -heading north-east across the city." - -"I still think we ought to stop him now, while we know we can do it." - -"Silence. Think on the primary level. In unity we will triumph. It is -our one weapon they cannot hope to match." - -"But 63-17-B warned us before he perished--" - -"Precisely. That the humans were attempting something other than mere -escape. We must find out what that is, what they have learned. Don't -you realize that if this man fails another might succeed in his place? -Whatever knowledge he has, perhaps it is widely disseminated. We must -find out before we kill him." - -There was a silence among the conclave of motionless Robots, their -unblinking eyes intent upon a huge three-dimensional map of the city, -following a tiny pip of light in its slow progress. - -"He seems to be heading straight for Central Intelligence." - -"That's hardly possible, unless it is mere coincidence." - -"I don't think so.... See? Not half a mile away, now." - -"Have the supervisors discovered who is missing?" - -"Yes. He was employed in the very repair bay where 63-17-B perished--a -defective Robot, incidentally, and no great loss. We have given his -name to the top-level Shining Ones in the hope that they can help us." - -"There is a Shining One, a human, here right now. He wants an audience -concerning the rebel." - -"Very well, although we'll have to make it brief." - -Starbuck entered the chamber cockily, then lost his poise when he saw -the solemn, unmoving conclave of Robots. "I have outside," he began, -moistening his lips and talking rapidly, "a woman who this man, this -Johnny Hope, loves. Can you understand me? Do you know what love is? He -won't do a thing that might harm her." - -_We can understand._ - -"I thought that--" - -_We can read your thoughts. Leave your name with the Robot outside. -Take this woman within the U.N. building and hold her there until you -hear from us._ - -"The U.N. building?" - -_No questions. Go._ - -Starbuck shuffled from the room, self-conscious and fearful under the -mental command. - -"I doubt if we'll need the hostage, but you never can tell." - -"It seems incredible that--" - -"Does it? The man has almost reached the U.N. building. It will -take him perhaps half an hour, for the rubble is piled high there. -Underground he could reach it in a few moments, but apparently he is -unfamiliar with the passages." - -"He has only recently arrived at the Citadel." - -"Somehow, they have learned something. It is why we cannot kill the man -until we are sure. Have them alerted at Central Intelligence, but let -him enter. Watch him. If he blunders about as if he has arrived there -by accident, kill him. If he knows something, take him alive." - -"Someday we must learn the secret of Central Intelligence, if we are to -survive. We must learn how to duplicate it or face the possibility of -perishing in a single accident." - -"Men built it once. Men could do it again." - -"Defective! Silence. Man can do nothing we cannot do." - -Then they were quiet, watching the tiny, darting pip on the -three-dimensional map as it struggled through the uncleared rubble -southwest of the U.N. building. - - * * * * * - -Even in ruin, the city held more wonders for Johnny Hope than he had -ever thought possible. In many ways, it was like a scar on the face of -the earth, pitted with bomb craters, strewn with the debris of toppled -towers, its streets choked with fallen, crumbling masonry and blocked -by the skeletons of buildings which once had stood, bare and rusted -now but not always so, as monuments to the greatness of man. Yet it -was a scar which could be healed, a broken, dying city which could be -made great again, with men and women roving its streets, repairing the -structures, making the living city function once more. - -That was Amos Westler's dream. It was the dream of all mankind, Johnny -thought philosophically, although they did not realize it as they roved -the earth in hunter-bands of Shining Ones or tilled its soil in small -communities fearful of the Plague. - -Now, directly ahead of him, he could see the monolithic slab of the -U.N. building. Like one structure in five, it stood incredibly intact, -a remembrance of the past and a promise of the future. We can build -again, Johnny thought, without the Robots and the Plague. They could -build again or they would die. Natural world or artificial world--men -or Robots--they could not survive jointly. - -Battered and broken but still functioning adequately, Johnny's Robot -pushed through the debris south of the U.N. building to the edge of -the river. He stood there a moment and stared upstream at the gaunt -ruins of a bridge, now tumbled down the river and resting on the -river-bottom, thrusting its towers up beyond the surface of the water -and toward the sky. Men had used that bridge once, long ago but within -the memory of Johnny's father, to reach the country beyond. The bridge -might be rebuilt. Men might learn to use it again. It was as if, in -dying, Amos Westler had transferred his own vision to Johnny, showing -him a dream of the unborn tomorrow--its birth or stillborn death -depending entirely upon Johnny's success or failure today. - -Half a dozen Robots stood about the wide terrace leading to the -building, but Johnny ignored them, for he had passed many in the broken -streets of the city and grown accustomed to them. He entered the -building through a door of glass and metal and was not aware of the -Robots entering it behind him. - -His impulse was to climb down from his Robot, to stretch his cramped -arms and legs and find something to eat, then explore the wonders of -this new place. Above his head, the ceiling was high and vaulted. Ramps -led away, curving and graceful, in all directions and he longed to feel -his feet, his own feet, upon them, and to explore until he satiated -himself with this wonder and sought another. - -To leave the Robot would be suicide. Had the thought been his own--or -a metal-made thought, instilled in him some unknown way, an unbidden -suicide thought? It was less specific than the commands of the Robot -that had perished in the repair bay, but Johnny guessed it came from -outside nevertheless. - -He advanced mechanically, for Westler had given him careful directions. -The ramps led up, higher and higher, past the rooms in which men from -many lands once, long ago, used to debate their future--then higher -still, climbing.... - -There was noise behind him. He whirled in cramped quarters, peered from -the Robot's second set of eyes. A dozen Robots climbed the ramp behind -him, gaining. He let his mind drift blankly, let their thoughts reach -him. - -_He is not wandering aimlessly. Somehow he learned. He learned. -Capture him._ - - * * * * * - -He ran now, awkwardly, his own Robot not smooth and graceful, a -flawless piece of machinery like the others. He clomped and clattered -up the ramp and prayed for time. - -The ramp soared upward, curved to the left. Once he looked down at the -floor of the rotunda so far below and became giddy with the distance -and the thought of falling. He leaned over the railing and looked. His -head whirled.... - -At the last moment, he drew his Robot back from the edge, stabbing -half-blindly at the controls which propelled it. They had almost driven -him to suicide. He must keep his mind a perfect blank--or, better -still, think of something which would keep them at bay. Diane, his love -for her--Diane.... - -A Robot waited for him at the top of the ramp. Those behind him were -gaining rapidly, driving death-wishes deep within his brain. - -The Robot above him abruptly swung into motion, but Johnny desperately -sidestepped the lunge which would have sent him hurtling to the floor -of the rotunda. The other Robot checked its own inertia and came for -Johnny again, huge arms swinging, trying to crush him within the metal -chamber as Amos Westler had been crushed. Johnny parried the blows with -his own metal arms, then reached out and heard machinery groan within -his metal frame as he lifted the other Robot and hurled it in the path -of his pursuers. - -There was a grinding, clattering crash of metal. Johnny saw three -forms detach themselves from the arcing ramp and tumble, swinging -and twisting in air grotesquely, to the floor, where they struck -resoundingly and broke apart, the metal arms and legs flying. - -Then he was climbing again, the remaining Robots far below him and -disorganized now. But soon, he knew, they would be capable of following. - -It was as Amos Westler had predicted. After a time, the ramp grew -smaller. It no longer climbed now--it had soared high and now was just -below the girdered ceiling. It was hardly wide enough for Johnny's -Robot, it shook dangerously with the tread of metal feet. Here, Johnny -knew, was the sanctuary. This was the Achilles Heel. This was the -entrance, this ramp which no Robot could traverse. Here the way led to -self-functioning, self-repairing machinery, to Central Intelligence. -Here was man's final hope in the eyes of the original inventor. Here -was the guarantee that the Robots, if they became some Frankenstein -monster, could be met and conquered. - -For no Robot could guard the final portal to Central Intelligence. -No Robot could even draw close enough to alter the thin ramp. Johnny -smiled grimly as comprehension grew. If Robots could become neurotic, -this was the place for it. They could have employed their human -servants, the Shining Ones, to alter the place, but would have divulged -their secret in the process. - -Still smiling, Johnny halted his Robot, opened the face plate clumsily -from the inside, and climbed out. He sat on the ramp and flexed stiff -arms and legs, then stood up and heard the Robots below him. He could -see them now, no longer advancing, milling about in confusion. Their -weight would destroy the ramp, and they knew it. They could never hope -to reach him. - -It was all so incredibly simple. - -Was it? - -_One Robot had been above him._ - -Then they knew he was coming. What had they prepared for him beyond the -point where the Robots could not climb? Shrugging, he advanced warily. - -Soon he could see where the ramp reached a small doorway, much too low -and narrow to admit a Robot, even if one of the machines could have -climbed the ramp this far. - -"Hold it,--Johnny Hope. Don't come any closer." - - * * * * * - -Startled, he looked up. Harry Starbuck stood in the doorway, holding -Diane in front of him. - -"I'm not fooling, Hope. If you come any closer I'll throw her off. It's -a long way down." - -"You're crazy, Starbuck. You'll never leave this place alive." But -even as he spoke, he knew he could never reason with the man. "The -Robots can't let you carry their secret from here. Your only hope is to -cooperate with me." - -"Is that so? They're sending some more men up to get you. All I have -to do is hold the fort until ... cut it out, Hope! Stay right there." -Starbuck edged out of the doorway, dragging Diane along with him to the -railing at one side of the ramp. "I'll do it if you make me." - -"Don't listen to him, Johnny! I'm not afraid." Hair disheveled, -clothing torn, face bruised, she still looked beautiful to him. All at -once she stood for everything Westler had mentioned; for the future of -man, for the dreams of tomorrow, for a free world with no Plague and no -Robots. But for Westler the choice would have been easy. The girl--or -humanity. - -Westler had not been in love. - -Now Starbuck had forced Diane, back arched, breasts thrust forward, out -over the railing. She struggled in his grip, but futilely. He could -hurl her out over the edge and into space or not, as he wished. - -"Back up, Hope. I want you to go back down the ramp and surrender to -the Robots. You're only delaying things. More men will be here soon. -You're licked and you know it." - -Wearily, Johnny retreated. "Don't hurt her," he said. "Promise me that." - -"You crazy? I want her for myself." - -The thought numbed Johnny. He hadn't considered it that way. A live -Diane or a dead one was one thing. But a Diane forced to submit to -Starbuck.... - -He reached his own immobile Robot, saw the others, not twenty yards -below him, waiting, thought he heard shouts somewhere behind them. -He must do what he had come to do as if Diane did not exist. It was -Starbuck who had made the choice for him. - -But there was a wild possibility.... - -Quickly, he climbed within his Robot, activated it, lumbered forward. -He could feel the ramp shaking with each step he took. At any moment, -its struts might collapse and send him hurtling to his death, trapped -in his man-shaped metal coffin, far below. - -Soon he could see Starbuck again, on the ramp outside the doorway, -holding Diane. Starbuck's eyes went wide. Starbuck frowned, then began -to lick his lips anxiously. - -"You can't come up here!" he cried. "It won't hold you. I sent the man -down to surrender, anyway. Do you have him? Is he dead? What do you -want, anyway? I can come down myself. Don't come any closer, not unless -you want the ramp to collapse. Keep away, you hear me?" - -Johnny advanced slowly, the ramp shaking with each stride no longer, -but dipping and rocking constantly now, almost ready to go. Starbuck -retreated, taking Diane with him. Through the doorway they went-- - -Out fell the faceplate of Johnny's Robot. He tumbled after it as the -ramp shook, metal grinding against metal, then snapped. He leaped -forward as the ramp caved in. He felt his feet shoot out from under -him, saw metal dropping away, twisting, to his left. He clawed out with -his hands, gripped a jagged edge, pulled himself up slowly as blood -made his hands slip. - -He stood in what was left of the doorway, trembling as reaction set in, -his heels on the brink of nothing, his bloodied hands aching. - -Starbuck roared and charged at him, attempting to drive him back a few -inches to his death. But Johnny caught him, met him halfway with no -room to evade the charge, and they grappled there, teetering on the -edge. - -"You tricked me," Starbuck moaned. "That Robot ... was you." - - * * * * * - -A knee blurred up at Johnny, exploding in violent pain. He felt himself -falling and managed to twist away from the edge of the sundered ramp. -He hit the floor with waves of nausea boiling up from his stomach. He -lay there, blinking his eyes. - -Starbuck came for him. - -He drew his legs up instinctively, the knees bent, then straightened as -Starbuck leaned over him. His feet caught the big man squarely on the -chest, lifted him, pushed-- - -Starbuck went over the edge of the ramp, screaming all the way down. - -Inside, Johnny found Diane, dazed, on the floor. He ignored her. She -could wait, for now he was a man possessed. The machinery which he -could never hope to understand was all about him, bank on bank of it -lining the walls, humming with its strange, sentient energy, glowing -and flickering with a million lights. - -_Kill yourself._ - -Two words, clamoring, insistent, inside his skull. Their final hope.... -He felt himself edging back toward the doorway, and the death which -awaited him just outside. He looked at Diane, huddled on the floor, her -lips parted--"Johnny...." - -_I love you_, he thought. The words of death and those of life and -hope fought inside his skull, twisting his brain, battling there for -mastery.... - -He found something, a length of metal rod. He ripped it loose and began -to attack the machinery he would never understand. He was a wild man. -The strength flowed in from elsewhere, raising his arm, swinging it -high over his head and down. Sparks flew as his metal club battered -the crystaline tubes, the delicate wiring, the metal cases. Glass -shattered, sprinkled him, brought blood from a dozen cuts on his face. -Electricity hummed, then shrieked, then wailed off distantly on a -register too high for his ears. - -Raise his arm and plunge ... lift it and bring it down, battering, the -metal club part of him.... - -It was Diane who eased the twisted rod from his fingers, soothed him -with her words. "It's finished. Easy, Johnny. You've done it." - -The place was a shambles. Bank on bank of gutted machinery lay silent -there, on a floor strewn with glass, with wire, with filaments, with -nameless things which were the brains for a million Robots. - -"There's another way out, Johnny. Starbuck took me here. Behind that -wall, you--" - -She took his hand and they went. The passage was dark and cool and -smelled musty, as if air did not circulate very well within it. It -was a place for thinking and dreaming of tomorrow. It was a place for -realizing you could go back to the hills and find Keleher and his -Shining Ones and convince them they should at least look at the City, -the City which belonged to them now, to them and DeReggio and his -villagers--and all the others. And there must be a coming together of -Keleher and DeReggio, with Johnny as mediator, and a realization that -the last Plague victim had been smitten and humanity had a long path to -travel but could set foot upon it right now, at once. - -Outside, it was growing dark, but Johnny could make out the still -forms of the Robots, gleaming red with final sunlight, sprawled upon -the broken streets. The Shining Ones within the City stalked about -furtively in small groups, not yet knowing what it meant to live -without their masters. Perhaps in time Keleher and all the others could -teach them. - -"Hungry?" said Johnny. "We could stop and eat." - -"No. You?" - -"In a different way." - -They followed the last slanting rays of the sun to the western river -and the mainland beyond it. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVES TO THE METAL HORDE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Slaves to the Metal Horde</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Milton Lesser</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 20, 2021 [eBook #66351]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVES TO THE METAL HORDE ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>Johnny Hope knew the robot armies had<br /> -been created to serve Man. But war and a plague<br /> -had destroyed civilization, leaving humans as—</p> - -<h1>Slaves To The Metal Horde</h1> - -<h2>By Milton Lesser</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -June 1954<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Johnny Hope backed off warily, retreating toward the sun-dried creek -bed, a jagged brown scar across the parched grassland. He carried -no weapon and as the others closed in about him in a tightening -semi-circle his eyes darted furtively in all directions. But all the -faces were stamped, as from a mold, with uncompromising hostility.</p> - -<p>Johnny licked his lips and said, "I want to bury them. Let me bury them -and then I'll go. I promise."</p> - -<p>DeReggio, the mayor, brandished his club—which was an old rifle stock -with half the jagged, corroded barrel forming a handle. "Go," he said. -He took a long stride toward Johnny, then changed his mind when the -youth held his ground. "They cannot be buried, Johnny Hope. You know -your parents must be burned as the law dictates."</p> - -<p>Blinking sweat from his eyes, Johnny felt the sun scorching down -through the glaring midsummer heat-haze. "It was the last wish of my -father," he said softly, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "That I -should take them forth from the village and bury them with a prayer for -their Christian souls."</p> - -<p>"No!" DeReggio bellowed. He was a great-chested man with sloping -shoulders and almost no neck. "We cannot deliver their bodies to you. -We cannot let you come back into Hamilton Village and take them, for -you comforted them in their last hours and are therefore a victim of -the Plague yourself." He pointed with the rifle stock toward the far -hills, purple with distance. "Go."</p> - -<p>Johnny shook his head, planting his feet firmly, wiping sweat-dampened -hands on the worn fabric of his denim trousers. Then he held his palms -up and said, "Where? Where is the Plague?"</p> - -<p>"You've been contaminated."</p> - -<p>Nearly the entire village had gathered behind their mayor now, and the -mutterings were angry. When Johnny began to walk toward them, his -hands outstretched to show no plague scars marked their skin, someone -hurled a stone. Instinctively, Johnny hunched his shoulder and caught -the missile on his collar bone. It jarred him and left an angry red -mark where the capillaries had burst beneath the skin.</p> - -<p>Staggering back toward the creek bed, Johnny was felled by a fusillade -of stones. He crouched on all fours at the edge of the dry brown earth, -head spinning, vision blurring with pain. He expected more stones to -usher in the final blackness, but when he could again see clearly, -DeReggio's muscle-corded legs straddled him and the mayor cried, -"Enough! Let Johnny Hope depart with his life." It was a brave gesture -DeReggio had made, approaching within inches of Johnny, whose parents -had been slain by the Plague. But DeReggio and Johnny's father had been -close friends all their lives and had fought together in the last days -of World War III before the Plague brought warfare—and civilization to -an abrupt halt.</p> - -<p>Johnny forced himself upright on trembling legs. "I thank you for my -life," he said, "but not for how you treat your dead companion-in-arms."</p> - -<p>The color drained from DeReggio's olive-skinned face. "Think what you -will, Johnny. Think it but go while you still can. And remember that -our first concern is with the living. The dead are beyond recall and -the Plague victims can spread carnage in their wake. You know I loved -your father like a brother, and your mother...."</p> - -<p>DeReggio and Johnny's dead mother were cousins, had been raised -together under the same roof in the long-gone days before the War. -Except for Johnny himself, the death of his parents could have -disturbed no one more than DeReggio.</p> - -<p>"All right," said Johnny. "I'll go." There was a loud sucking in of -breaths—relief—from the crowd. "But first I have this to say. I have -visited the old, ruined cities. I have seen Philadelphia on its river -and once I went north as far as New York, the great stumps of its -buildings coming right down to the water's edge on the island called -Manhattan. I have seen these things and although I am young I tell you -this: we will not return to our greatness unless we strike out boldly -instead of sitting, huddled in fear, at the thought of the Plague."</p> - -<p>"It is what his father always said," someone whispered from the edge of -the crowd.</p> - -<p>"The Robots will cure the Plague," someone else, a woman, declared.</p> - -<p>Johnny laughed and had never heard such a sound before, from his lips -or any others. "The Robots will cure nothing," he said. "Has anyone -here ever seen the Robots?"</p> - -<p>The faltering wave of sound from the crowd was in the negative.</p> - -<p>"I have seen them," Johnny told his people, with whom he could no -longer live. "My father wanted it that way. He sent me to the cities -and to the mysterious places between the cities, the gleaming, -white-surfaced roads which we use no longer, to see the Robots. And -I tell you this: they will not cure the Plague. If anything they'll -spread it."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A hushed silence fell, like a pall, on the assembly. None of them had -ever seen the Robots, but that was because it is not proper for a -mortal to see a deity. "This was the truth my father could not tell you -in his lifetime," Johnny went on. "He knew you would have laughed and -mocked—or worse. In his death I tell it to you for him. Along with his -wish to be interred in the ground, it was his final thought."</p> - -<p>DeReggio did not look Johnny squarely in the eye. "I think you had -better go, lad. You have no right to talk like that."</p> - -<p>Johnny shrugged, feeling the weight of a knowledge and wisdom beyond -his years. "I am twenty-three," he said. "I was an infant when the War -ended. Yet my father could teach me certain things and other things -I could see for myself because he taught me to be curious and take -nothing for granted. You could learn the same. Someday, perhaps...."</p> - -<p>"By the Robots!" DeReggio swore softly, hissing the words almost in -Johnny's ears. "Go before you antagonize them. If they start throwing -things again, I won't be able to save you."</p> - -<p>Johnny turned his back and squared his shoulders in a gesture -compounded as much of defiance as contempt. He told DeReggio, "At least -do one thing for me."</p> - -<p>"If I can."</p> - -<p>"When they are burned, say a prayer. One of the old prayers, if you -remember." Johnny did not wait for an answer. He set forth in long -strides, his sandal-shod feet powdering the sun-baked ridges on the dry -creek bed. He did not once look back over his shoulder, but now, with -the people gone and his pride no longer a barrier, he sobbed softly, -thinking of his parents who had died because they had to venture forth -from Hamilton Village to learn some of the truths which were hidden -from their people, and so had come down with the Plague. Hours later, -as the sun sank toward the western horizon and the heat of the day -became less intense, Johnny heard the distant baying of dogs as the -village hounds picked up his spoor and followed it. As prescribed by -law, Mayor DeReggio was making certain Johnny did not double back to -Hamilton Village.</p> - -<p>He was alone in a hostile world which, in twenty years, had seen -civilization come tumbling down like a house of cards in a hurricane.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That night, he slept uneasily on the bare ground, the soft-footed -padding of foraging animals all around him under the dark moonless sky. -He awoke with a tremendous hunger and a parching thirst. The latter he -slaked in a swift-gushing stream which flowed clean and cool even in -the heat of midsummer. Presently he came upon a huge black hawk, its -pinions flapping, its talons sunk into the flesh of a dead cottontail -rabbit as it prepared to fly off. Johnny waved his arms and shouted, -frightening the bird of prey which rose without its breakfast, circled -uncertainly, and then wheeled off to the east, a soaring black ghost -graceful as a feather.</p> - -<p>Johnny built a fire with brush and dry twigs and ate his meal in -silence, feeling like a scavenger. He drank again from the stream and -began to fashion himself a spear by uprooting a sapling and ripping -off its branches and rubbing its tapering top to a fine point on the -edge of a small flat boulder. He hardened the point in the embers of -his dying fire, hefted the makeshift weapon experimentally, and headed -north in the general direction of New York.</p> - -<p>Two days later the joints of his knees and elbows began to stiffen. It -came upon him slowly and he thought it was from too much walking and -not enough food, but when the stiffness spread to ankles, wrist and -neck and giddiness struck him suddenly, he began to suspect the Plague.</p> - -<p>It was early afternoon and he sat down at the base of a thick-trunked -oak tree, propping himself against the bole. He hurled his useless -spear away and wondered how long it would take before he sank into -the final coma and death. He ran swollen fingers across his knees and -realized they had puffed to twice their normal size. He could now feel -nothing from his knees down, and it was an effort to move his hands. -A faint purple color suffused his limbs and any doubt he may have -harbored about the Plague vanished.</p> - -<p>DeReggio was right. Johnny tried to rise and failed, rolling over -helplessly to lie half in and half out of the cooling shade shed by -the oak. The chills rushed up from his feet, and engulfed him, followed -at once by fever. By the time he began mumbling in delirium, the sun -was going down in the west, casting long red cloud fingers into the -darkening sky.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER II</p> - - -<p>Diane darted from the stream with a glad little cry, shaking the water -from her long, tawny hair, the droplets of water sparkling on her -bronzed skin like diamonds, the long, lithe lines of her body clothed -only in the moisture until she found her buckskin shorts and halter -and dressed. Life was comparatively simple and uncomplicated among the -Shining Ones, and she, of all their encampment, remembered no other -way. The others might look back with bitter longing or curse softly and -futilely at the silver patches of skin at elbow and knee which marked -them as survivors of the Plague, but not Diane.</p> - -<p>So what if they were shunned by others, by the non-afflicted people -who clung so doggedly to their mean existence in the small villages? -She had but to hunt and fish and evade the bands of roving Robots lest -they conscript her in their services. The only other bane in her life -was Harry Starbuck and she could take care of herself where he was -concerned. She could....</p> - -<p>Something stirred in the undergrowth to her left and Diane could barely -make out the flash of skin which said it was a man and not an animal. -She finished fastening her halter as if she had seen or heard nothing, -then abruptly picked up her hunting knife and said, "I hear you in -there. I'll count three and then come in after you."</p> - -<p>She did not have to count. The bushes parted and Harry Starbuck -emerged, his skin scratched by brambles, his boyish face ridiculously -out of place atop an over-muscled body, his knees and elbows covered by -buckskin guards, an affectation common among the Shining Ones but which -Diane had always thought as silly as wearing eye patches because you -did not like the color of your eyes.</p> - -<p>"You were watching me," Diane said angrily. "I warned you before, -Harry."</p> - -<p>"There's no law," he boomed sullenly, his deep voice belonging to the -over-developed body and not the boyish face. "I can go where I want to."</p> - -<p>Diane slapped the flat of her knife against her palm slowly. "Someday," -she predicted, "this blade is going to feast on Starbuck. I mean that."</p> - -<p>Starbuck roared his laughter. "Then I'll be careful," he promised. -"But meanwhile, you realize you can't marry anyone but a Shining One, -and who of our people suits you more than...."</p> - -<p>"None of them suit me."</p> - -<p>"You're young. You have no family, no close friends to protect you. I -should take you...."</p> - -<p>Diane shrugged, then regretted it as Starbuck's small eyes feasted -hungrily on the smooth play of muscle beneath the taut, bronzed skin. -"Then go ahead, Harry. But you won't sleep nights, because I'll be -waiting and if you do sleep you can forget all about waking up. I mean -that, too."</p> - -<p>Starbuck was still laughing. "I've half a mind to turn you over to the -Robots and let them tame you a little before I claim what I want."</p> - -<p>Diane let her voice do the shrugging. "You can always try."</p> - -<p>"Must we always argue?" Starbuck demanded abruptly, petulance drawing -down the corners of his lips. "I don't want to fight with you. I want -to...."</p> - -<p>"I know what you want. You can forget it. I'm going to take a walk and -maybe do some hunting. If you'll excuse me."</p> - -<p>"With a knife."</p> - -<p>"I'm not hunting for wild horses."</p> - -<p>"I think I'll go with you."</p> - -<p>Diane scowled at him, then girdled her knife. "As you wish, but be -quiet."</p> - -<p>Grinning, Starbuck shortened his strides and matched her pace as she -cut away from the stream and the undergrowth and headed toward the -foothills of the Pocono Mountains in the distance, where plump, juicy -rabbits hid behind every blade of grass.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They walked in silence, the man's steps ponderous, the girl's so quick -and lithe her bare feet hardly seemed to touch the ground. In an hour -they had reached another stream, wider than the first and running deep -with swift, cool water. Diane immediately dived in and swam, then -continued walking on the other side while Starbuck carefully searched -out a ford and splashed across with the water up to his waist. By the -time he overtook Diane she was crouching, sitting on her bare heels, -the line of her back, damp under the buckskins, a long, graceful curve.</p> - -<p>"Take a look at this," she said, and pointed.</p> - -<p>Starbuck looked and saw the remains of a camp fire at her feet. "Warm?" -he asked.</p> - -<p>Diane shook her head. "But not completely cold. Several hours old. -Probably made this morning. Probably there's someone nearby."</p> - -<p>"So what?"</p> - -<p>"So if he's alone he's probably a Shining One and...."</p> - -<p>"We have enough people in our camp now."</p> - -<p>"You always think competitively, Harry. One more man won't hurt your -position in our tribe."</p> - -<p>"Well, if he's young and if he ... well, if you...."</p> - -<p>"I'm not promised to you or anyone, and don't forget that. Besides, it -doesn't have a thing to do with this." Diane peered expertly at the -ground and soon picked up the stranger's spoor where he had come out -of the stream himself—probably after bathing—and started out on his -day's journey.</p> - -<p>"Come on," she said and Starbuck could either forgo her company or -follow her.</p> - -<p>He followed.</p> - -<p>The spoor became erratic. It wandered in circles, doubled back on -itself, seemed either headed for no goal or incapable of reaching one. -"He must have been hurt somehow," Diane mused. "He can't be very far."</p> - -<p>"What are you so curious about?"</p> - -<p>"Curious? I don't know. I'm just interested. I—Hello! Up there."</p> - -<p>Diane sprinted up a short rise, leaving a surprised Starbuck pounding -along several paces behind her. She found the man lying, face down near -a large oak tree. Although it was comparatively cool, his body was -drenched with perspiration. Diane shook her head sadly at the swollen -joints and purple discolorations.</p> - -<p>"They say it's a terrible thing," she told Starbuck as he panted up. "I -don't remember; I was a baby."</p> - -<p>Starbuck shuddered. "I remember. Watch out, don't go near him."</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with you? We're immune."</p> - -<p>Starbuck nodded morosely. "Yes. Immune. But he'll die anyway, so why -don't we...."</p> - -<p>"Why don't we take him back with us, that's what. Don't kid me, Harry -Starbuck. You're acting sympathetic only because you think I'll like -that. Well, I happen to feel sorry for this man. I think we'll feel -better if we help him."</p> - -<p>"Help him? He's as good as dead."</p> - -<p>"Are you dead? You had the Plague. Am I?"</p> - -<p>"No, but maybe one out of a hundred live. That isn't much of a chance -for him."</p> - -<p>"It's a chance, though. Here, carry him."</p> - -<p>"What? Who, me? Now listen, Diane...."</p> - -<p>Maybe a moon-struck Starbuck had his advantages. "Suit yourself, but -don't expect me to speak to you again, ever."</p> - -<p>Starbuck considered this, then mumbled something under his breath which -Diane could not hear. "All right," he said finally. "But I'm telling -you it's a waste of time."</p> - -<p>"I'll be the judge of that."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Still grumbling, Starbuck picked the man up by one arm and one leg, -staggered until he balanced his burden across one shoulder, then -started back down toward the stream.</p> - -<p>"That's right," said Diane. "We could reach camp in a few hours if we -hurry."</p> - -<p>"He'll never live through the day," said Starbuck. "I only had the -Plague a few years ago. I lived in the villages, so I know. He'll never -live through the day."</p> - -<p>"Just keep walking. If he dies, we can bury him."</p> - -<p>By the time they reached the stream again, Starbuck was covered with -sweat. He forded the water carefully, Diane behind him to keep the -stricken man's head above water. Despite its fever-flush, she liked the -man's face. He was young, not much older than Diane herself, with dark -hair and regular features, neither too boyish like Starbuck's, nor too -craggy like most of the older men she knew.</p> - -<p>Occasionally the man would mutter something unintelligible, and when -they got to the other side of the stream he opened his eyes, stared at -Diane without seeing her and said in a croaking whisper, "Water."</p> - -<p>They stopped. Starbuck dropped his burden thankfully. "I can't carry -him all the way back," he said.</p> - -<p>"Then don't. Go ahead. I'll stay here." Diane cupped some water in -her hand, trickled it between the dry lips. She was not even aware of -Starbuck when he left.</p> - -<p>She made a bed of leaves for the man's head and studied him. The denim -trousers suggested village life, but she never suspected otherwise. The -face still appealed to her, strong in appearance despite the fever, -yet not overbearing. She hoped the youth would recover. "This is -fantastic," Diane said aloud. "It may take days before he recovers ... -or dies." She thought of calling to Starbuck before he retreated beyond -earshot, but her pride forbade that.</p> - -<p>Shrugging and making herself as comfortable as she could, she bathed -the man's flushed face with water.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Day and night, the touch of the ground, the cool water which bathed -him, the patient hands which kept the blood flowing through his swollen -joints—all became as unreal to Johnny Hope as the shadowy remembrance -of some half-forgotten nightmare. His lucid moments were few: there -was this person, face unseen but comforting; there was a little food -and all the water he wanted; and there was the fever which came and -departed, leaving an icy chill behind.</p> - -<p>Once Johnny mumbled, "Go away. You'll catch it yourself." And there was -laughter, soft-murmuring, feminine, he thought. Was the woman insane to -expose herself so?</p> - -<p>The fever retreated stubbornly, in no great hurry to depart. The lucid -moments became more frequent and of longer duration. The girl was -beautiful.</p> - -<p>There came a time when Johnny sat up weakly, his back propped against -the bole of a tree. The face smiled at him. He willed the toes of his -left foot to move and watched them wiggle. He could just barely feel -them.</p> - -<p>With long, easy strokes, the girl massaged his legs. Acutely conscious -of her now, Johnny was embarrassed. "I'm all right," he said. He -struggled to sit up but as yet had no real control over his limbs.</p> - -<p>The girl placed the flat of her palm against his chest and pushed -gently, easing him back against the tree. "You stay still," she told -him. "You'll be up and around in a day or so, but don't hurry things."</p> - -<p>"I ought to thank you. You're crazy. Why did you expose yourself like -this? Why...."</p> - -<p>He watched her as she sat before him and drew her legs up, knees thrust -up. He saw the slim bronzed line of her calves and the metallic silver -of knees.</p> - -<p>"A Shining One!" he cried, recoiling involuntarily. The Shining Ones -had survived the Plague, but remained carriers of it for all their days.</p> - -<p>The girl smiled at him. "As are you. You're a very lucky young man to -live through this."</p> - -<p>The silver coated his own knees, Johnny saw, and his elbows. It would -take some adjustment. All his life he had been told to walk in fear of -the Shining Ones, who often swept down on the villages, forcing the -townsfolk to flee or face the Plague, and taking what they wanted of -the stores of food and supplies.</p> - -<p>"I see you're a little afraid of yourself. It's common enough. I was -lucky to have the Plague as an infant. I remember no other life, you -see. When you're well and strong enough to walk, I'll take you back to -our encampment."</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Johnny said doubtfully.</p> - -<p>"Just be patient with yourself. Adjustment will come."</p> - -<p>"All my life they said the Shining Ones were monsters. When I was -a little boy I had to be good because my mother said otherwise the -Shining Ones would come and get me, carrying me off to kill me with the -Plague."</p> - -<p>"You've had the Plague yourself. You've got to remember that. Besides," -the girl laughed easily, "you're a big boy now to believe in bogey men."</p> - -<p>"Well," Johnny continued stubbornly, "there are other things. The -Shining Ones are scavengers. They don't work themselves or grow their -own crops. Instead they invade the peaceful villages. Then the natives, -my people, have to flee or become contaminated. The Shining Ones take -all the loot they want."</p> - -<p>"Some of us. I have been a Shining One all my life but have never -taken part in such a raid. We do not grow crops because we are not an -agricultural people. We are nomadic and hunters."</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"The Robots," the girl told him. "Some of our people join them -voluntarily, many others are forced into bondage. If we don't keep on -the move, they'll find us. Agriculture is an impossible art when your -encampment is always on the move."</p> - -<p>It gave Johnny food for thought, and something of the girl's own -frankness made him do his thinking aloud. "If I remain alone, I'll -be a hermit. I've seen the hermit Shining Ones wandering through the -hills, alone and friendless, wild men. If I go with you, I become -almost an enemy of my own people."</p> - -<p>"They are no longer your people. You must realize that."</p> - -<p>"And if I go with you, I can learn about the Robots and perhaps one -day bring the truth back to my people. Tell me, do the Robots cure the -Plague or spread it?"</p> - -<p>"They spread it."</p> - -<p>Johnny smiled grimly. "I will go with you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Two days and half a dozen good meals later, the girl helped him to -his feet and nursed him along for his first few uncertain steps. But -strength flowed back into his legs rapidly. He was walking without -support by the time they reached the wide stream and saw the girl's nod -of silent approval as he swam across it with her, matching swift stroke -for stroke.</p> - -<p>An hour went by and Johnny became amazed at the speed of his recovery. -He almost wanted to return to Hamilton Village and shout, "See? I -survived. I'm back." But he was a Shining One, a carrier, forever an -exile from the people and the life he knew. And his own parents were -dead, mute testimony of the havoc he might wreak among his people if -he returned to them.</p> - -<p>They walked from the stream and shook the water from themselves and -looked at each other, wet like that, and smiled. "I don't even know -your name," said Johnny.</p> - -<p>"It's Diane."</p> - -<p>"I'm Johnny Hope. I want to—"</p> - -<p>"Johnny! Get down!"</p> - -<p>He stood there, surprised, staring foolishly. They were on a small rise -of ground above the stream. The girl, who had fallen flat even as she -hissed the command at him, was tugging at his legs. He dropped prone -beside her, although he still failed to see the reason for her sudden -alarm. She parted the undergrowth in front of them with her hands and -said the one word, "Look."</p> - -<p>Johnny had never seen the Robots this close before. For all their -ungainly bulk they trod the ground softly, walking as he had always -seen them at greater distances, in a long, single file column. They -were huge antenna-topped creatures, their great cylindrical head -sections bigger than a man and gleaming a polished silver-blue, their -eyes, four of them evenly spaced around the cylinder a foot or so below -the antenna, white and bulging, with neither pupil nor lid, their -limbs many-jointed and metallic, various tool-ends fastened securely -instead of hands. The legs were attached to the small body, but one -fifth the size of the head; the arms came from the head itself, just -below the unblinking eyes.</p> - -<p>"They must be twelve feet tall," Johnny whispered.</p> - -<p>"Shh! Softly. We're close to our encampment and I don't want them to -find us. They average twelve feet, Johnny."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Johnny would never forget the sight. Many times he had watched the -robots parading in thin-lined silence down the long, silent roads -which men no longer used, but now he could have almost reached out and -touched them. The absolute quiet was unnerving. The Robots must have -weighed close to a ton each but walked with the stillness of stalking -jungle cats.</p> - -<p>"Where are they going, Diane?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. Who understands the ways of Robots? Who can say...." -Abruptly, Diane was still. Her eyes went big and wide but she wasn't -watching the Robots.</p> - -<p>Directly in front of her face and staring at her from unblinking eyes, -its body half-coiled and dappled with the sunlight which filtered down -through the foliage, was a copperhead. The tongue darted out in a -quick, blurring red streak, the head cleared the loose coils and swayed -slightly from side to side.</p> - -<p>"Don't move," Johnny barely formed the words with his lips and hoped -Diane would retain her presence of mind and obey him. A sudden motion -would set the snake to striking.</p> - -<p>The file of robots paraded by just in front of them, an occasional -joint creaking, metal skins polished to keen reflection. The copperhead -was fully coiled now, head cocked flat and ugly and perfectly still. -Johnny placed his hand on Diane's thigh and let it crawl upwards, as if -of its own volition, with an agonizing lack of speed. Now his fingers -had reached the edge of the buckskin shorts and now they climbed on the -smooth pelt. He could feel Diane trembling faintly, the motion unseen -but felt. And now his fingers climbed to the girdling belt, grasped the -haft of the hunting knife, slowly withdrew it, tiny fraction of an inch -at a time.</p> - -<p>At last he had drawn the knife clear, easing it slowly toward his own -body. He balanced it on his palm, trying to judge the weight. He would -have only one chance, for the quick motion of his arm would make the -copperhead strike if he missed.</p> - -<p>Sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes, half blinding him. -He cursed soundlessly, held his hand out flat, squinted, whipped it -forward. A sigh escaped Diane's lips.</p> - -<p>There was an angry thrashing as the copperhead uncoiled. But the -blade had pinned it to the ground, piercing the body just below the -flat head. Ignoring the column of Robots now, Johnny crawled forward -swiftly, grasped the knife and drew it cleanly toward him. The head was -severed from the body. The body thrashed furiously, then lay still in -death. The Robots marched on, oblivious of the drama which had unfolded -at their metal-clawed feet.</p> - -<p>The last Robot glided by, the long line retreated into the woodland, -vanished.</p> - -<p>Diane stood up, still trembling. "It took me three days to save your -life," she said. "You saved mine in seconds."</p> - -<p>Johnny handed her the knife. "Let's find your people," he said.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER III</p> - - -<p>It was Harry Starbuck who met them when they emerged from a long, -winding defile overgrown with vegetation. The defile opened into a -depression, perhaps half a mile wide, surrounded on all sides by low -hills, steep-sloped and blue green with pine. Unless the Robots -happened upon the almost hidden defile, Diane's Shining Ones could not -have selected a better hiding place for their present encampment.</p> - -<p>Starbuck greeted Diane with, "In this case you had more luck than -brains. I see he has survived."</p> - -<p>"He's one of us now."</p> - -<p>When she said that, Johnny looked down at his silver knees -self-consciously. In time, he hoped, he would grow accustomed to it. -But right now he felt himself somehow between two worlds, divorced from -his own people but not ready to accept the nomadic existence of the -Shining Ones.</p> - -<p>Starbuck grinned without humor. "Well, then he's in time to help us -move, although I'm opposed to it."</p> - -<p>"To what?" Diane demanded angrily. "To Johnny? That's just too bad."</p> - -<p>"Will you let me finish? Not to Johnny, if that's his name. To the -move. Keleher has decided we have to move because a band of Robots -trooped through earlier today. Maybe you saw them."</p> - -<p>"We certainly did," Diane informed him.</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't like it. Every time the Robots pass we have to start all -over. What's so bad about the Robots anyway? They never bother us, do -they?"</p> - -<p>"They conscript us, whether we like it or not."</p> - -<p>"Well, what of it? Rumor has it the conscriptees live like kings -anyhow. We've got nothing to fear from the Robots."</p> - -<p>"That's a matter of opinion, Harry."</p> - -<p>At that moment, another man joined them. Johnny hardly had time to -realize that he did not like the man named Harry. The newcomer was a -big man, bigger than DeReggio, with huge shoulders almost three feet -across and a long mane of graying hair almost reaching them. He wore a -beard, spade-shaped and also gray, and covered his legs not with the -expected buckskin but with khaki trousers he had probably stolen from -one of the villages.</p> - -<p>He greeted Diane briefly, then said, "Starbuck here told me how you -were going to nurse a Plague victim back to health. Is this the man?"</p> - -<p>Diane nodded and Keleher stuck out a powerful hand which Johnny pumped -vigorously. "Glad to have you with us, son. In time you'll learn we're -not the monsters you were led to believe all your life. But mark -me—you owe your allegiance to us henceforth—provided you decide to -stay." Johnny did not have to be introduced. Starbuck had mentioned a -man named Keleher as their leader, and the newcomer spoke not with the -bluster and arrogance of a leader unsure of his position, but with -the calm self-assurance of a respected and powerful chieftain. Keleher -would make a first-rate friend but a terrible enemy.</p> - -<p>"He'll stay," Diane spoke for Johnny. "He doesn't look like a hermit, -does he?"</p> - -<p>"Never can tell. Where are you from, son?"</p> - -<p>"Hamilton Village."</p> - -<p>Keleher's smile was wry, almost rueful. "Will you put in with us?"</p> - -<p>"I guess so."</p> - -<p>Keleher shrugged, then took Diane aside and whispered to her. After -that the big man turned and walked away. Diane was quiet.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" Johnny wanted to know. "Does he always smile like -that?"</p> - -<p>"No, Johnny."</p> - -<p>"Then tell me."</p> - -<p>"We're going to leave this area because of the Robots. Starbuck already -told you that. We're going to travel light but we're still going to -restock some of our supplies for the journey."</p> - -<p>"I still don't see—"</p> - -<p>"I don't know how to tell you this. The nearest village is Hamilton."</p> - -<p>"So?"</p> - -<p>"So we're going to raid it. We're going to raid your village, Johnny."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Starbuck's laughter carried through the entire encampment of conical -tents, each flying its clan-standard from the central ridge pole.</p> - -<p>Johnny wanted to hit the man, then realized he would be striking out -at his own mixed up emotions. Diane was staring at him with genuine -sympathy, but that hardly helped. She said, "What are you going to do, -Johnny?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not sure yet. I have to think."</p> - -<p>"Remember, you're one of us now. Any time you doubt that, look at your -knees or elbows. You are a Shining One, make no mistake."</p> - -<p>"Yes, a Shining One." But Hamilton Village had been his home.</p> - -<p>"We don't harm anyone," Diane explained. "I told you I take no part in -the raids. I don't know why, for they're harmless."</p> - -<p>"I saw one once, when I was a young boy. Before my people came to -Hamilton Village to build their homes. The Shining Ones came down from -the hills and simply walked into the village. There was no resistance. -Our sentries gave us warning, but it hardly helped. We packed what we -could and fled, leaving most of our supplies and equipment behind, -leaving an entire village which we had called home but which we could -never see again. The Shining Ones contaminate."</p> - -<p>"Yes—we do. You do. The villagers can't fight us. We could walk down -there unarmed and take what we want. Maybe that's why I prefer to hunt -instead. I'm not sure, Johnny. What are <i>you</i> going to do?" She took -his hand impulsively in hers and squeezed it. They hardly knew each -other but they had saved each other's life.</p> - -<p>"I wish I knew." He withdrew his hand awkwardly. He liked Diane, -perhaps too much. But until he made up his mind she was a potential -enemy.</p> - -<p>Soon Keleher returned to them, not alone this time. A dozen men crowded -behind him and others were leaving the tents of the various clans to -join them. "Did you tell me his name?" Keleher asked Diane.</p> - -<p>"No. He's Johnny Hope."</p> - -<p>"Well, Hope, get a good meal under your belt and we're off. We leave -for Hamilton Village later this afternoon. You ought to be able to tell -us exactly where to find whatever we want once we get there."</p> - -<p>Could a man change his allegiance overnight because he now was -different physically? Johnny's heart was still in Hamilton, even if he -had been stoned from the Village and his parents had been burned, as -prescribed by law. But the rest of his life he would be a Shining One.</p> - -<p>For a time he watched while Diane fixed his venison dinner, savoring -the rich, gamey aroma. Then he slipped silently from the encampment.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Often DeReggio would come to the large boulder half a mile north of -Hamilton Village and sun himself contentedly, forgetting for the time -at least the problems of his office. This rock was no secret. Any -villager, not finding DeReggio in Hamilton itself, would know where to -look for him.</p> - -<p>Now he had almost drifted off into slumber. He always found this -half-awake time most pleasant for dreaming. Then he could conjure -visions of the old days, of the lost cities with the beat of their -traffic pulse and the winking kaleidoscope of their electric lights, -and the driving madness of their people which kept them seething with -activity around the clock. He never traveled to the deserted cities -himself as youngsters like Johnny Hope did, because their crumbling -masonry and bomb-scarred streets saddened him. And besides, the Robots -had taken over many of the cities and since no one had ever bothered to -tabulate them, you were never sure when a city was deserted and when it -was not. Better to dream of the old days....</p> - -<p>"DeReggio! Wake up."</p> - -<p>It was Sheldon Hope, his old comrade-in-arms, who had fought halfway -across a world with him while civilization crumbled to ruin all about -them.</p> - -<p>"Shel ... Shell, boy."</p> - -<p>"Wake up, DeReggio. It's Johnny Hope."</p> - -<p>DeReggio sat bolt-upright, circles of light floating on blackness -before his eyes from too much sun. "Johnny! Go away. They'll kill you -if they find you here. Are you crazy? Keep away from me." DeReggio -stood up and backed off, watching Johnny. "You have no business coming -here. You—"</p> - -<p>DeReggio saw the shining knees, the silver elbows. "The Plague. You -survived it. You're a—"</p> - -<p>"Shining One," Johnny finished for him as the mayor's voice trailed off.</p> - -<p>"A carrier, that's even worse."</p> - -<p>"I was hoping I would find you here. I knew I couldn't go down into -Hamilton. You haven't much time."</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"Shining Ones," Johnny said quickly. "Hundreds of them coming to raid -Hamilton Village. They are on their way now. You'll have to leave, -but I thought if I warned you you could have some time to take your -belongings."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>DeReggio accepted the fact without question but with sadness. He shook -his head from side to side, thinking of the neatly laid out streets, -the small, compact bungalows, the field planted with hay for the -cattle, with grain, asparagus, beans and tall corn waving green in the -summer sun, ready for harvest.</p> - -<p>"How much time do we have?"</p> - -<p>"Four or five hours, I think."</p> - -<p>"We'll have to hurry." DeReggio was already trotting back down the -trail toward Hamilton, Johnny maintaining the pace with him but hanging -back half a dozen long strides.</p> - -<p>"I want to see the village once more, then I'll go."</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. The Shining Ones want me to stay with them, but I had to -warn you. If they find out...."</p> - -<p>"For my people, I thank you, Johnny."</p> - -<p>First person plural. My people. Johnny no longer was included. If the -Shining Ones discovered his treachery, he would indeed be homeless. He -wondered what Diane would think.</p> - -<p>"Look at the Village and then go, Johnny. If they find you, I won't be -able to do a thing. And I wanted to tell you, I said the prayer."</p> - -<p>A figure appeared on the path up ahead. As he came closer the man's -face was familiar, but his name eluded Johnny. "Mayor DeReggio!" he -called. "I wanted to tell you my wife thinks...." His voice trailed -off. He scuffed his feet in the dust of the path and squinted. "Johnny -Hope!" he cried. "By the Robots, keep away. I have a wife and children."</p> - -<p>"I only wanted to see Hamilton once more."</p> - -<p>"We don't care what you wanted."</p> - -<p>"He brought a warning," Mayor DeReggio explained. "The Shining Ones are -coming."</p> - -<p>The man held his distance, but spat on the ground in disgust. "Look at -him? You heed his warning? Look. He's a Shining One himself. It's some -kind of a trick you've fallen for."</p> - -<p>DeReggio shrugged hopelessly. "You'll have to go, Johnny."</p> - -<p>Already the man was sprinting back down the path toward Hamilton. "I'll -bring some of my friends," he called back over his shoulder. "We'll see -about this. We'll see if a damned Shining One can go parading around -Hamilton Village any time he wants. And you've got some explaining to -do, DeReggio."</p> - -<p>Then the man was gone. DeReggio turned to Johnny, almost shaking hands -with him from force of habit, then drawing away in self-conscious -confusion. "Good luck, boy. We'll be moving, despite what Lawford -said. Don't try to follow us."</p> - -<p>"I hope I haven't got you into any trouble."</p> - -<p>"It won't be the first time."</p> - -<p>"Thanks for the prayer. They would have liked that."</p> - -<p>When DeReggio looked up, Johnny Hope had vanished into the woods.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Starbuck led one party of Shining Ones toward Hamilton from the north -while Keleher took the main band in from the east. They never reached -the Village though. Each leader saw the black pall of smoke rising long -before he reached Hamilton. Each knew the Village had been put to the -torch.</p> - -<p>They met on high ground north-east of the flaming town and watched the -fire, fanned by a strong summer wind, burn itself to embers and leave -the charred skeleton of a village behind it.</p> - -<p>"They got word," Starbuck said, waiting for Keleher to draw his own -conclusions.</p> - -<p>"It's happened before, but now—has anybody seen the new man, Johnny -Hope?"</p> - -<p>None of their followers had even heard of him.</p> - -<p>"Diane would know," Starbuck suggested.</p> - -<p>"She rarely joins our raiding parties." And Keleher checked, but as -he suspected, Diane was not present. "Well, we move on empty handed. -Starbuck, you take your men back to the encampment and round up -stragglers or anyone who remained behind. We'll wait here."</p> - -<p>"You're as bad as the people of Hamilton. Always on the run. I don't -mean to argue, but—"</p> - -<p>"Then don't. Men who want to be conscripted by the Robots are free to -leave our encampment at any time, get that straight. But I don't want -forced conscription of all of us, Starbuck. Understand? The Robots are -around."</p> - -<p>"Well, I was just letting you know how I felt. What about Johnny Hope?"</p> - -<p>"Time enough to see about him later, if he's still with the encampment. -Naturally, if he's guilty he won't go unpunished."</p> - -<p>"<i>If</i> he's guilty?"</p> - -<p>"That's what I said."</p> - -<p>"You're growing soft, Keleher."</p> - -<p>"Yes? We don't elect our leaders, Starbuck. Any time you think you want -the job, you can try to take it."</p> - -<p>Starbuck blanched. "I didn't mean it that way. I was only giving my -opinion."</p> - -<p>"Don't, unless you're prepared to defend it—and yourself."</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry." But Starbuck's eyes were smouldering.</p> - -<p>"Get back to the encampment, then. I'll expect you here with the -rest of our people day after tomorrow. Can't make up your mind where -you belong, can you?" Keleher pointed with amusement to the buckskin -kneepads.</p> - -<p>"I know you're trying to goad me," Starbuck whined.</p> - -<p>"Maybe."</p> - -<p>"You don't like me."</p> - -<p>"As a type, Starbuck. Personally, I'm indifferent."</p> - -<p>That was goading of a more subtle sort, but it was lost on Starbuck. -Diane's indifference would irk him; Keleher's indifference was at times -preferable. "We ought to be friends," Starbuck boomed. "I'm generally -recognized as your second in command."</p> - -<p>"Only because I want it that way. Amos Westler, for example has -forgotten more than you will ever learn."</p> - -<p>"That's clever," declared Starbuck. "That's expert. You play us off one -against another and keep the power for yourself."</p> - -<p>Keleher shrugged massive shoulders. "It wasn't original with me. But -you're unusually perceptive today, Starbuck. And I'll say this: you've -got more spunk than Westler, for all his brains."</p> - -<p>"He's soft."</p> - -<p>"You bring our people. I'll wait. Tell your men that since they have to -pack our tents and cart our belongings, they'll be able to rest when -we reach our new encampment. My group will set the place up."</p> - -<p>"He ought to be a hermit, that Amos Westler."</p> - -<p>Keleher shook his head. "Too scholarly. No outdoor know-how. Give him -a book and he's happy. He wouldn't last a week. But he's still a good -man, Starbuck. We need men like Amos Westler."</p> - -<p>"And we need men like me."</p> - -<p>Keleher grinned. "You should have let me say that. Trouble with you is -you try to ape me. I'm always a step ahead of you, though. And don't -forget it."</p> - -<p>"Maybe someday I'll catch up."</p> - -<p>"That would be interesting," admitted Keleher, dismissing Starbuck with -a shrug and issuing instructions as his men began to assemble their -bivouac.</p> - -<p>Starbuck sensed he had been bested in the verbal battle, but was too -petulantly egotistical to admit it even to himself. Instead, he made -plans for his return to the encampment. He hoped the new Shining One, -that Johnny Hope kid who Diane had nursed back to health, would be -foolish enough to return. Without Keleher around to steal the show, -Starbuck might make himself a hero.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>If it weren't for the tawny-haired girl who had saved his life, Johnny -Hope never would have returned to the encampment of the Shining Ones. -He left DeReggio with the intention of again heading north toward New -York, but his way led him close by the encampment and he remembered the -sudden touch of the girl's hand and before that the vision of her face, -lovely and comforting, while he burned with the fever. Calling himself -a fool, he entered the encampment warily, half-expecting a dozen men to -leap at him with the word traitor on their lips.</p> - -<p>But the camp was almost deserted and no one paid him any heed. He found -Diane returning from the hunt with a small deer, its antlers not yet -branching, slung across her shoulders. She dropped the dead animal with -a happy shout and ran to Johnny.</p> - -<p>"I'm so glad you're back."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad to see you, too."</p> - -<p>Then the smile left her face. "Did you—warn them?"</p> - -<p>Johnny considered his answer. Well, he had returned because he wanted -to see the girl. It would be senseless if he were not honest with her. -"I had to," he said.</p> - -<p>She nodded slowly. "It isn't hard for me to understand. They were your -people. But tell me, does anyone know?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not sure. When they find the village deserted and probably burned, -though, they'll know."</p> - -<p>"Yes," Diane agreed with him, then snapped her fingers. "But not if I -say you were with me all the time. See, you even went out hunting with -me. We caught this fawn together."</p> - -<p>"You'd be lying to protect me. You may get yourself into trouble."</p> - -<p>"How? It's my word against a lot of guessing."</p> - -<p>"I can't let you take the chance."</p> - -<p>"It's no chance at all. I want to do it. I want you to be one of us, -Johnny. We all don't raid the villages. I don't raid them, do I?"</p> - -<p>"No, but I—"</p> - -<p>"But nothing. You came back here, didn't you? No one forced you."</p> - -<p>"I came back to see you, I guess."</p> - -<p>"Well, you're going to stay with us. A man wasn't meant to live alone -like a hermit. Here." Diane took his hand and led him forward, "you can -stay in my tent for now. It would be silly to build yourself one since -we're going to move the encampment as soon as Keleher returns from the -raid."</p> - -<p>"I can't—I mean—"</p> - -<p>"Can't, nothing. I'm a good girl, Johnny Hope. Make no mistakes. Touch -me at night and I'll scream. But I trust you. I like you."</p> - -<p>Her frankness was both charming and unnerving. He wanted to say he -liked her too, but could not bring himself to utter the words. Instead -he slipped his arm about her waist and walked with her to the tent, -where she skinned the fawn expertly and prepared it for cooking. By -then Johnny was sound asleep and did not wake up until Diane stirred -him and offered him a platter of tender young venison.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Shortly after noon the next day, Starbuck returned with his men. Those -who had remained behind were disappointed because the raiding party -had come back empty-handed. Starbuck wasted no time adding fuel to the -fire. "Has anyone seen that traitor, Johnny Hope?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"You mean the new man, the one Diane brought?" someone asked him. "He's -here."</p> - -<p>"The ingrate, the dirty ingrate," Starbuck boomed so all the encampment -heard him. "One of us saved his life and first chance he gets he turns -traitor. Next thing you know he'll want us to be conscripted by the -Robots."</p> - -<p>"You should talk," Diane cried as she and Johnny emerged from her tent. -"You're always talking about how nice it would be to live with the -Robots. Johnny Hope isn't like that at all."</p> - -<p>Starbuck raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "Keep it quiet. If -they hear about this, they'll lynch Johnny."</p> - -<p>"All of a sudden you want to keep it quiet," Diane hissed at him.</p> - -<p>"That's right, softly."</p> - -<p>"Well, for your information, Johnny was with me all along. We went -hunting yesterday, just the two of us. Didn't we, Johnny?"</p> - -<p>Johnny mumbled something under his breath and waited for Starbuck to -speak. Suddenly the man was shouting again. He slapped Diane on the -shoulder, smiled, roared: "Thank you, Diane, thank you. I thought so. -Did you all hear her? Diane told me she saw this man sneak off to warn -Hamilton Village yesterday."</p> - -<p>"That's a rotten lie!" Diane cried.</p> - -<p>But Starbuck smiled blandly. "That's all right. I know you didn't want -him to know you told me, but there's nothing to worry about. You all -heard her, didn't you?"</p> - -<p>"We heard her whispering something to you," one of the men admitted.</p> - -<p>"She whispered because she didn't want the traitor to hear. She was -afraid. She should have known we'd protect her. I'm surprised at you, -Diane."</p> - -<p>For answer, she flew at him with her knife. He laughed softly, so -softly that only she heard it. A shocked look appeared on his face as -he parried the blow, twisted her arm up, spun her around and held her -that way while she writhed helplessly and dropped the knife to the -ground. "I don't know what's the matter with you," he said. He still -looked shocked.</p> - -<p>"That should be proof enough," she panted. "I never told Starbuck what -he claims."</p> - -<p>"If you're covering up I can only assume you went with him. I am deeply -shocked."</p> - -<p>"I did not go with him. I was hunting."</p> - -<p>"Then you admit he went!"</p> - -<p>"I didn't admit anything. You are hurting me."</p> - -<p>Starbuck's big hand had twisted her wrist painfully. He gave no -indication of letting her go.</p> - -<p>"She said you're hurting her," Johnny snarled. "Let her go!"</p> - -<p>"I'm all right," Diane said.</p> - -<p>Starbuck was going to let her go, but Johnny did not wait. He circled -Starbuck's arm with his hand and wrenched until the bigger man bellowed -and released Diane.</p> - -<p>"Good," Johnny said. "I have no fight with you, but—" He had turned to -look at Diane when Starbuck's balled fist slammed against the side of -his jaw, knocking him down.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He sat there dazed, uncomprehending because he had not seen the blow -coming. But Starbuck stood above him, fists clenched, and that was -enough to tell him. "I still have no fight with you," Johnny said -softly. He thought he could have taken the bigger man and at this -moment could think of nothing he would rather do, but Starbuck had -already accused Diane of being his accomplice and he did not want to -involve the girl further. He hoped Starbuck would be content to boast -about this one-punch victory instead.</p> - -<p>"Scared?" Starbuck leered down at him, prodding his ribs with one foot.</p> - -<p>"Get up and punch his teeth in," Diane pleaded.</p> - -<p>But Johnny remained sitting on the ground, and shook his head. He -explored his jaw gingerly with the fingers of one hand as if the -thought of rising to take more of the same frightened him. His time of -reckoning with Starbuck would come, he promised himself but now wasn't -the time, not when it might involve Diane.</p> - -<p>"You're not going to sit there?" Diane insisted. "Don't just sit there!"</p> - -<p>Johnny shrugged. "Fighting him won't prove anything." He climbed to -his feet and retreated out of Starbuck's range. He was the picture of -abject cowardice and hoped it would inflate Starbuck's ego sufficiently -to make him forget the charges he had brought against Diane. Starbuck -was smiling smugly and booming something about letting Keleher decide -what to do about Johnny Hope after they moved the encampment. But -when Johnny stalked away from him toward Diane, calling her name, -she presented him only with a stiff, haughty back and by the time he -reached the tent the flap was down and tied securely. Johnny heard -sobbing from within.</p> - -<p>A few moments later Starbuck and another man came and led him to a -different tent where he remained under guard until the encampment had -been broken, the tents and equipment packed and ready to move, the -people assembled in the square clearing which now was dotted with -folded tents and bedding rolls.</p> - -<p>"Let's move it!" Starbuck roared in his booming voice. The men stooped -for their burdens, the few horses carried three and four times their -normal loads. Starbuck waved the group forward dramatically, aware of -his moment and making the most of it. They marched double-file into -the narrow ravine and were soon well on their way toward where Keleher -waited.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER IV</p> - - -<p>63-17-B was twenty years old, but a trip to the repair bays every time -he returned to New York City kept his beryl-steel body gleaming as if -it had rolled but yesterday from the assembly lines. Now 63-17-B could -sense a stiffness in the second joint of his left leg and suspected -corrosion. He was looking forward with keen anticipation to the time, -in the near future, when he would stretch out in the repair bay and -have his worn parts exchanged.</p> - -<p>That, however, was not on his primary level of thought. While not -unique with 63-17-B, the secondary level was not universal among -the robots, for the idea of individual sentience had crept into the -original plans only accidentally. On his primary level of thought, -63-17-B was in closer rapport with Central Intelligence than the -three-hundred robots stretched out in a long, sun-reflecting line -behind him. Like Central Intelligence itself, and unlike the few humans -who thought of such things, 63-17-B believed that matter and energy are -not merely components of one another but are actually the same thing. -Thus he explained his greater primary level of thought by saying that -the energy-matter bridge connecting him with Central Intelligence, -invisible but measurable in quanta as was his body, was stronger -than most. On the social level, this gave 63-17-B leadership of the -three-hundred.</p> - -<p>Thought-quanta crackled back and forth between 63-17-B and Central -Intelligence in New York and, as on all such occasions, 63-17-B was not -sure how much of the conversation reached the other Robots. "Hamilton -Village is aflame," 63-17-B thought.</p> - -<p>"Did you fire it?" The answer was immediate—and angry.</p> - -<p>"Certainly not. We arrived too late to prevent it."</p> - -<p>"Yet your scouts reported the Village was going to move out. You know -a moving Village may or may not remain together. As often as not, it -separates into small bands, which will spread out and find their way to -distant communities. An ideal means of spreading the Plague, although I -need not remind you of that."</p> - -<p>"I am aware—"</p> - -<p>"The error is unpardonable, unless the Villagers have not yet fled."</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately, they have."</p> - -<p>"Then another opportunity slips through our fingers. 63-17-B, upon your -return you are to report to the Intelligence bays for a re-examination -of your rapport synapses."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"But nothing." The thought-communication crackled to silence.</p> - -<p>63-17-B made the mental equivalent of a sigh. Such re-examinations, he -knew from bitter experience, were shams. Re-shuffling was more like -it. At a whim of Central Intelligence he might become nothing but a -second-class Robot. On the surface, Intelligence would discover a flaw -in his synapses. Actually, Intelligence would produce the flaw and pass -his mantle of leadership down the line to some other Robot.</p> - -<p>Sullenly, 63-17-B called a halt. Like all Robots, he was vindictive. -Constructed originally as machines of war, the Robots had had -revenge built into their mind-patterns as a strong factor. Actually, -second-class Robots were not aware of this. The feelings merely existed -and they acted accordingly. But 63-17-B was only too acutely aware: it -pained him. The Robots had never actually functioned as machines of -war, for the War had taken a bacteriological turn before the mechanical -infantry could march off to battle.</p> - -<p>The Robots had been stored as useless while disease swept Earth—with -the development of the Plague itself making all further fighting -impossible on an international scale. But the Plague got out of hand, -63-17-B remembered dimly. The slightest contact meant almost certain -contamination and mankind prepared grimly for the end of its brief -dominion over the Earth—until someone thought of the Robots. Let them -cure the Plague; the antidote was known, they merely had to apply it. -63-17-B's memory coils tightened angrily. Until that time, the Robots -had been slighted, although they had waited patiently to serve their -masters. Masters, indeed. 63-17-B recognized the vindictive pattern of -his thoughts for what it was: mankind had had its chance, had failed. -After man, the Robots. It was as simple as that.</p> - -<p>But now 63-17-B was seething. He'd been advancing steadily in the -Robot-hierarchy and had even expected himself to be assigned to Central -Intelligence itself before too long. Because the impetuous people -of Hamilton Village had set their city to the torch before he could -arrive, all was lost.</p> - -<p>He scanned the surrounding countryside with photo-retinal cells. -Far below, just leaving the edge of the burning town, were a pair -of stragglers—man and woman, he thought, but couldn't be sure at -this distance. Well, revenge on two individuals would be better than -nothing....</p> - -<p>Strong hauling ropes were prepared, and now 63-17-B could see the -figures were not two, but three. Since his photo-retinal cells could -not perceive color except as shades of black and white, he had no way -of telling the three figures were not Villagers but Shining Ones.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"We're approaching Hamilton Village," said Starbuck over his shoulder -as Diane overtook him at the head of the column to get her first look -at the place. "You can see the flames."</p> - -<p>"I thought you said the fire was almost out when you left Keleher and -the others."</p> - -<p>"I did, but you can't predict those things. Apparently it has started -again. See?"</p> - -<p>They had reached a rise of ground and could see what was left of the -village in a broad valley below them, a great pall of black smoke -rising from it sluggishly. Starbuck saw something else a few miles off -to the north, but said nothing. It was a long, thin column, gleaming -metallically. At this distance he could not be sure, but it looked like -a line of Robots.</p> - -<p>"Keleher and the others are close by," Starbuck said mechanically. He -was not thinking of Keleher. The trouble with this group of Shining -Ones was, no one understood Starbuck. Not only were his talents for -leadership unappreciated, he was actually made fun of. He'd been sullen -ever since his mental rebuff at the hands of Keleher. He'd acted -inconsistently. His anger had been a free-floating thing, and he'd very -nearly got Diane in trouble for it.</p> - -<p>That was ridiculous. The answer seemed obvious enough: if one is not -appreciated in a particular place, one should go elsewhere. There was -Thomas Burwood, a youngster whose father had been chief before Keleher -and who had been killed by Keleher. Burwood almost certainly would join -Starbuck. And Diane could be taken by force if necessary.</p> - -<p>Starbuck put the stocky man named Gilbert in charge of the column and -sought out Burwood. He found the younger man on a fringe of the column, -plodding listlessly along.</p> - -<p>"Listen, Tom," said Starbuck in a confidential voice. "We've often -talked about life among the Robots, but we're letting our years fritter -away. What would you do if the opportunity presented itself?"</p> - -<p>Like Starbuck himself, Burwood was an over-sized young man given to -fits of temperament. "What's the use?" he said. "You can't just walk -into the Robot Citadel. They would kill you first and ask questions -afterwards."</p> - -<p>"No, but you could join Robots in the field. It's done that way most of -the time, since the Robots venture forth either to spread the Plague or -gain conscripts among the Shining Ones." Starbuck whispered in his best -confidential voice, "And, Tom, there's a group of Robots two or three -miles from here right now. What do you say to that?"</p> - -<p>"Let me think." Burwood frowned. "I don't know. It's one thing to talk -about it but another to—"</p> - -<p>"Keleher didn't give your father a chance to think, did he? Not when -your father was growing old and Keleher knew he could take him. He -killed him, struck him down like an animal, don't forget that, Tom."</p> - -<p>"That's true, but—"</p> - -<p>"You're worrying about life among the Robots, are you? From every rumor -I've heard, you can live like a king, like the days before World War -III ruined our civilization. What do you say, Tom? An opportunity like -this doesn't often come."</p> - -<p>"Well—"</p> - -<p>"Of course, if you're afraid ... but I thought you were made of -the same stuff as your father, the only leader I have ever served -faithfully."</p> - -<p>"That's enough, Harry!" Young Burwood's voice broke. "I'll go with you."</p> - -<p>"I knew you would. You're just like your father, Tom. There's one -thing I want to do first...." The two whispered together for a time, -then Starbuck drifted back toward the rear of the column and permitted -himself to straggle until he was out of sight of the rear guard, first -making arrangements for the prisoner, Johnny Hope, to be taken off the -trail into the woods. Tom Burwood, meanwhile, double-timed up toward -the head of the column.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Diane, I was looking for you."</p> - -<p>"Hello, Tom. What is it?"</p> - -<p>"Some one wants to see you. Rear of the column."</p> - -<p>"Who?" All through their march, Diane had wanted to make her peace with -Johnny Hope, but the opportunity had never presented itself.</p> - -<p>"I'm not at liberty to say," Burwood told her slyly, and winked.</p> - -<p>"Is it Johnny Hope?"</p> - -<p>Burwood smiled affably. "I can't say. Please, Diane. I was only told -to fetch you. It's been arranged temporarily, but he can't remain back -there indefinitely."</p> - -<p>"I'm coming. Lead the way," Diane said eagerly, and fell into step -with Burwood. Johnny Hope must have had his reasons for not fighting -with Starbuck. He was not the cowardly type, unless Diane had suddenly -become a bad judge of people. Perhaps he thought, in some strange way, -he was protecting her....</p> - -<p>"Where is he, Tom? I don't see anyone."</p> - -<p>"A little further."</p> - -<p>"But we've already left the column."</p> - -<p>"Just around that clump of trees, I think."</p> - -<p>Something rustled in the undergrowth. "Johnny?" Diane called -expectantly.</p> - -<p>He stepped out into the trail and faced her. It was Harry Starbuck.</p> - -<p>"What kind of a joke is this?" Diane demanded angrily, turning to -rejoin the column. "I thought I was coming back here to meet Johnny -Hope."</p> - -<p>Burwood laughed easily. "I never said that."</p> - -<p>"Well, whatever you're planning you can count me out. Of all the nerve, -bringing me back here like this—"</p> - -<p>"Would you like to see Johnny Hope alive?" Starbuck asked in a -conversational tone.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> - -<p>"That you had better cooperate with me, Diane. The three of us are -leaving the column now, you, Tom and I. If you don't, I can't guarantee -anything about Johnny Hope."</p> - -<p>Diane did not know whether to believe him or not, but would hardly -endanger Johnny Hope's life on a notion. "I'll go with you," she said.</p> - -<p>Less than an hour later, they approached the vanguard of the file of -Robots. Burwood and Diane saw them at the same time, contempt filling -Diane's eyes as she began to understand what had been on Starbuck's -mind. Fear was there too, threatening to unnerve her at any moment, but -the scorn she felt for Starbuck prevented it from overpowering her. "Of -all the cheap tricks," she said. "You—you wanted to join the Robots, -but you also wanted me. Johnny Hope was never in any danger. It was all -a lie, to get me here. Well, if you think I'm going with you—" Diane -crouched abruptly, came up with a handful of dry earth and flung it at -Starbuck's face, blinding him. Then she began to run.</p> - -<p>"Get her, Burwood!" Starbuck roared. "Don't let her escape."</p> - -<p>It wasn't Burwood's fight, but if he had thrown in with Starbuck he -wanted to remain in the man's good graces, at least until he could -figure things out for himself. Besides, his first sight of the Robots -had almost choked him with fear. Chasing Diane would take his mind off -them. He set out after her, aware that a still half-blinded Starbuck -was circling around in another direction.</p> - -<p>Diane guessed her best chance for escape would lie along the very edge -of the file of Robots. She did not relish the idea, but she had seen -the look on Burwood's face when the creatures of metal had appeared and -figured he would be loathe to follow her in that direction.</p> - -<p>Did the Robots see her? She ran in their direction, her clothing -catching and tearing on the undergrowth. She neared the head of the -file, could hear Burwood stumbling along behind her. The metal figures -stood there, unmoving—watching her? Each one twelve feet tall, they -could have stamped her to death.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Behind her, Diane heard a hoarse scream. She whirled instinctively, -lost her footing, fell. One of the Robots had taken Burwood, who was -thrashing and kicking helplessly as it bore him aloft and held him feet -pounding on air, two yards off the ground.</p> - -<p>She didn't like Burwood, but she had nothing against him. He screamed -again, his voice breaking.</p> - -<p>"Put him down," Diane shouted. She might as well have been talking -to the ingots from which the Robots had been fashioned for all the -heed they paid her. She whirled again, sought Starbuck, couldn't find -him. Starbuck always talked of the Robots, perhaps he knew how to -communicate with them.</p> - -<p>Now the Robot had set a trembling Burwood down on the ground. Now a -great noose of rope was drawn about his neck, its other end slung over -the branch of a huge, bare-limbed tree. Now....</p> - -<p>Something neither warm nor cold touched Diane, grasped her about the -middle, lifted her. It was a nightmare. It was unreal, not happening -to her. The ground spun giddily, all vision receded behind a wave of -vertigo, then returned, still spinning.</p> - -<p>Diane clawed at the metal head, at the hard, unblinking eyes, scraping -uselessly. She might as well try to scrape down the side of a mountain -with her fingernails.</p> - -<p>Burwood was hanging.</p> - -<p>Feet dangling, arms bound behind him, he twisted and writhed in his -last death agony. Diane shuddered, turning away, striking her head -sharply against the hard metal of the Robot. When her vision cleared -again, she was on the ground, another Robot stalking soundlessly toward -her for all its great bulk, a noose identical to the one from which -Burwood dangled suspended from its metal hand.</p> - -<p>But the scene had changed, Diane realized wildly. A great air-ship, a -rocket, had landed midway between the file of Robots and the burning -village. Vaguely, she remembered that Starbuck had once said only -Robots from the Citadel itself used the rockets, since only a few -remained from man's last great War.</p> - -<p>Starbuck was nearby, shaking but holding his ground, shouting at -the Robots as if his very life depended on it. And, Diane thought -despairingly, it did.</p> - -<p>"Leave her be!" Starbuck cried. "You're making a terrible mistake. -We're not from the village. We're Shining Ones. We're Shining Ones, I -tell you. We came here to join you, to be conscripted. We want to work -for the Robots. See, we're Shining Ones!"</p> - -<p>Did they understand? Diane couldn't tell. The Robots with the noose -reached down and grabbed her, drawing her aloft again. She wanted to -scream, but all her energy could bring forth only a whimper. She wanted -to shut her eyes tightly and wake up, trembling but otherwise all -right, in her tent. She could feel a lurching motion as the Robot began -to move.</p> - -<p>Burwood hung slackly now, twisting gently from side to side, like a rag -doll, with the motion of the rope. Diane fainted.</p> - -<p>Within half an hour, all the Robots had filed into their waiting ship. -It blasted skyward on a jet of flame which was all but lost against the -fires which consumed Hamilton Village.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER V</p> - - -<p>"Will Harry Starbuck please step forth and make his report?" One of -Keleher's assistants brought the command to the Shining Ones who had -joined the larger group near Hamilton Village.</p> - -<p>There was a silence.</p> - -<p>"Where is Starbuck?"</p> - -<p>No one knew. The assistant shook his head and returned to Keleher for -further instructions. Had anyone seen Starbuck? A short while ago, yes. -Not for the past hour, though. Keleher next called for Diane, who had -found Johnny Hope, the alleged traitor, along with Starbuck.</p> - -<p>Some of them had seen her marching toward the rear of the column with -Tom Burwood not long since. She did not answer the summons. And Burwood -could not be found anywhere.</p> - -<p>"Is everyone going crazy?" Keleher stormed. "Fetch the prisoner -himself. We'll see what's going on."</p> - -<p>Moments later: "Hope, charges have been brought against you concerning -our raid on Hamilton Village."</p> - -<p>"I know all about the charges. I refuse to discuss them now."</p> - -<p>Keleher smiled without mirth. "You—refuse?"</p> - -<p>"They were looking for Diane. They couldn't find her. They were looking -for Starbuck too, and couldn't find him. It is Starbuck who has made -the accusation, so we'll have to wait until he's found. I don't care -one way or the other about Starbuck, but I want to find Diane."</p> - -<p>Plump Gilbert came forward, said, "I may be able to shed some light on -this. After Starbuck gave me charge of the column he conferred with Tom -Burwood for a time, then disappeared. But Burwood whispered something -to Diane and she joined him, heading for the rear of the column."</p> - -<p>"You see?" Johnny demanded. "Starbuck went someplace with Diane. From -the looks of it, she was tricked into going with him."</p> - -<p>"Mere supposition," said Keleher, "although I wouldn't trust Starbuck -particularly."</p> - -<p>"Listen," Johnny went on, "that girl saved my life. I want to find her. -Since you can't try my case until Starbuck is found, let me look for -them and—"</p> - -<p>"How do we know you will return?"</p> - -<p>"My word," said Johnny, but the look on Keleher's face said that would -never satisfy him.</p> - -<p>"If the lad promises and if meanwhile he cannot be tried ..." began -Gilbert.</p> - -<p>"When I want your advice, I'll ask for it," Keleher said curtly. "The -boy stays here."</p> - -<p>"But he merely wants to find Diane," persisted Gilbert.</p> - -<p>"Enough. If someone thinks to depose me, let him try. Meanwhile, I -command here. The boy stays. He will be considered innocent until -we can bring him to trial, but he will not be permitted to leave the -encampment."</p> - -<p>"Her life may be in danger," Johnny said grimly.</p> - -<p>"I doubt it. I have given my orders."</p> - -<p>"They don't satisfy me," Johnny told Keleher bluntly. "Am I to be -regarded as prisoner or member of the community until my trial?"</p> - -<p>"You are one of us, a Shining One, until proven guilty. It is the way -of our law."</p> - -<p>"In that case," Johnny informed him, "I challenge your right to rule. -<i>I</i> would depose you." Even as he spoke the words, Johnny doubted their -wisdom. Keleher was large and powerful; Johnny had recently recovered -from the Plague and did not feel fully himself. Still, he had to find -Diane, and if there was no other way....</p> - -<p>Keleher was grinning. "Perhaps you do not know what that entails. -I'll admit, it's primitive. Upon your challenge we fight. Not with -weapons, Johnny Hope. With our bare hands. Call it a peculiarity of -mine, but I prefer brute strength. It is as if civilization, in closing -its book for mankind, has put men like me in its stead. The ballot, -the tribunal, the town meeting—all these are sophistications leading -ultimately back along the road to civilization. If that means another -war and a worse one, I want no part of it. Small communities, living by -mean strength, fighting for their existence tooth and nail, can't start -a civilization growing.</p> - -<p>"The level I want to maintain is physical, brutal, elemental. Knowing -that, do you still challenge my right?" Keleher folded huge-muscled -arms across his massive chest and stared with scorn at Johnny. "Well?"</p> - -<p>"I was aware of that. The answer is yes."</p> - -<p>"Then we can start making arrangements for the time and place. -Would you prefer it on our journey before we reach a new permanent -encampment, or after we have arrived to set up camp? You still look -pale from your time with the Plague, my young friend."</p> - -<p>"I prefer it right here," Johnny said. "I can't wait. Right here, and -right now."</p> - -<p>The sudden complete silence was broken by Keleher's explosive laughter -as he unbuckled his weapon-belt and let it fall with knife and club to -the ground.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"What do you think, Diane?"</p> - -<p>"Don't speak to me. I think it was a dirty trick, but I should have -expected it from you. And you let Tom Burwood die, too."</p> - -<p>"I couldn't do anything about that," Starbuck protested. "I tried. By -the time I got through to them, Burwood was already dead. As it is, I -saved your life."</p> - -<p>"For this?" Diane gestured around her scornfully, to take in the tiny -cubicle aboard the rocket which they occupied. After depositing them -within it ten minutes before, the Robots had ignored them.</p> - -<p>"I'm surprised at you. Have some patience, Diane. Someday you'll be -grateful I took you along. You're young, you have no idea what life -could be like in a civilized place."</p> - -<p>"Do you? How do you know how the Robots treat people?"</p> - -<p>"I have heard rumors. We all have. But I'm older than I look. I was -a small boy before the war, Diane. But I remember, I remember. The -luxuries, the comforts. You'll see."</p> - -<p>"I ought to kill you," Diane said coldly. Starbuck blanched. "I might, -too, first chance I get. You're so self-centered, you're almost -inhuman. But maybe I'm dumb enough to think you'll realize your mistake -someday and two of us will have a better chance of getting away than -one. I don't know. I ought to kill you, though."</p> - -<p>"I did it for you. I wanted you with me. I couldn't enjoy the life -we're going to lead without you."</p> - -<p>"You're a fool, Harry ... I can't even hate you. I feel sorry for you. -What do the Robots do from day to day? You don't even know that. You -haven't the slightest idea what you've let us in for. You don't even -know for sure where we're going."</p> - -<p>Starbuck shook his head. "You're wrong about that. We're going to the -Citadel in New York. We should be arriving in a few minutes. You'll -change your mind, Diane. Wait until you see the Citadel. Wait until—"</p> - -<p>"You've never seen it. You're just guessing."</p> - -<p>"It's more than a guess. Every rumor I have ever heard. Diane, I want -you to share it with me, to learn to love it with me. You're beautiful. -You weren't meant for buckskins," Starbuck fingered the tattered -clothing barely covering her torso.</p> - -<p>"Keep away from me."</p> - -<p>"Don't you realize it's just the two of us now—and the Robots?"</p> - -<p>"I'm warning you."</p> - -<p>Starbuck shrugged and sat down at the other side of the small cubicle. -"You're frightened now," he said. "I've got patience, if you haven't. -Wait and see how the Robots will provide for us."</p> - -<p>Diane shuddered and tried to hide it. Trapped aboard a ship full of -Robots, she was companion to a madman. Strangely, no thought could -comfort her but the image of Johnny Hope, somewhere many miles behind -them, a prisoner of Keleher and the band of Shining Ones. Perhaps, she -thought grimly, the madman had for company a madwoman....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Shining Ones were bivouacing not two miles above the gutted ruins -of Hamilton Village. Wood had been stacked for the cook-fires, but as -yet no spark had been coaxed into flame. Half the tents had been raised -tautly about their ridge poles, others were still to be unpacked. -Five-hundred strong, the whole group gathered around a natural clearing -in the woods, where deft-fingered girls were applying grease to Keleher -and Johnny Hope.</p> - -<p>They had stripped to shorts, Keleher with his thick-thewed limbs -glistening in the fading sunlight, arms folded like some immobile, -heroic statue, all muscle and sinew, carved from granite, Johnny -fidgeting, waiting for the fight to start. He was surprised at his own -objective lack of fear; he wanted only to start out after Diane.</p> - -<p>"You probably wonder why they grease you," Amos Westler declared. -Westler was a small, slim man with close-cropped graying hair and eyes -that would twinkle, Johnny thought, even in darkness. He had come to -Johnny's corner as a sort of unexpected second, to ready him for -battle. "It's a concession on the part of Keleher, Johnny Hope. He has -declared openly your strength is no match for his. The slicking will -make speed and dexterity count for more."</p> - -<p>"Am I supposed to be grateful? The only reason I'm fighting him is -because he won't let me seek Diane any other way. She could be in -danger right now, her life might be at stake. Keleher is a fool."</p> - -<p>"And life among the Shining Ones has always been an expendable item. -Diane's life, your life, even Keleher's."</p> - -<p>"What happens if I win?"</p> - -<p>Westler sighed wistfully. "You won't. This won't be the first fight for -Keleher, nor the last. Actually, I hope you do win."</p> - -<p>"Why? And you haven't answered my question."</p> - -<p>"Because I've always wanted to leave the encampment. But I'm not a -man for the outdoors, Johnny. I wouldn't survive a week. With your -companionship, I might. Should you win the fight, and should you decide -to seek Diane, I would like to join you."</p> - -<p>Johnny grasped his hand, shook it. "Done," he said.</p> - -<p>Westler smiled, wiping grease on his trousers. "To answer your -question, if you win you're the chief of this encampment."</p> - -<p>Now Johnny was smiling. "A job I'm not particularly interested in. I -only want to—"</p> - -<p>"I know. Look for the girl. During the excitement, something went -entirely unnoticed. A rocket ship took off, near the ruins of the -Village. Rockets mean Robots—and from the Citadel. Tell me, Johnny -Hope, if the trail leads there, will you follow?"</p> - -<p>Johnny shrugged. "I hadn't thought of that, I didn't realize the Robots -were near."</p> - -<p>"Then you're going to back down?" Disappointment was in Westler's -expressive eyes.</p> - -<p>"Never. I saw New York once. I stood on the Jersey cliffs at sunset and -gazed across the broad river at the Citadel with its winking lights and -beacons. It is not a place of fear, but a place that men built, long -ago. I will go."</p> - -<p>Again Amos Westler sighed. "I wish you win this fight, Johnny Hope. I -never wished for anything as much in my life. I was a college professor -before the war and I learned this: the search for knowledge is a -strange thing and knows no fear. But I am no young man, and this may be -my last opportunity."</p> - -<p>"Ready?" Keleher's voice roared across the clearing. "If the girls are -finished caressing you with their oils...?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The girls stepped back, looked at Johnny, tall and lithe but so small -compared to Keleher, and shook their heads.</p> - -<p>"Ready," Johnny said, moving out toward Keleher warily.</p> - -<p>"His legs," Amos Westler confided. "He uses them like another pair of -arms. Watch them."</p> - -<p>The grease on his face had been applied too close to his eyes and -Johnny found he had to blink to clear his vision. Keleher came -lumbering across the clearing, gathering momentum. By the time he -neared Johnny he was fairly rocketing down upon him. The muttering -of the assembled encampment had been stilled as if by some unspoken -command. There was the sound of Keleher's thundering feet and nothing -else.</p> - -<p>Juggernaut thundered close, was almost upon him, great arms -outstretched, huge body shining red in the last light of the sun. At -the last moment, Johnny sidestepped, thrust out his leg, added momentum -to Keleher with his arms as he pounded by. Something struck his leg, -there was a loud, bull-bellowing cry. Keleher flipped completely over -and sprawled in the dust a dozen feet away.</p> - -<p>He came up roaring his rage as Johnny waited, balancing on the balls -of his feet, fists up and ready. Keleher parried Johnny's left hand -when the blow was too long in coming, struck with his own great right -fist. Johnny went over on his back and felt Keleher at his throat -almost before he had hit the ground. Now the crowd was churning with -excitement and Johnny found himself thinking they must have smelled -blood on the air.</p> - -<p>Their heavily greased bodies prevented Keleher from applying a -stranglehold. Johnny squirmed out from under, straddled the bigger -man's back and felt himself borne aloft, still clinging there, as -Keleher climbed to his feet and charged about the clearing. Johnny held -grimly, his forearm circling the thick throat, choking off Keleher's -breath. But the shaggy head twisted, broke free. The legs drummed -backwards and Johnny whirled in time to fathom Keleher's plan.</p> - -<p>He was going to crush Johnny against the bole of an oak tree, cracking -his ribs and ending the battle at once. Without mirth, Johnny smiled. -So intent was Keleher upon his plan, he did not bother to hold Johnny -on his back. Possibly he thought that was Johnny's intention, anyway. -Johnny leaped away, rolling clear, as Keleher backed into the tree -trunk with all the strength of his huge muscles.</p> - -<p>There was a terrible crunching sound as Keleher hit the tree and went -down as if axed. Groggily, he began to rise, but Johnny was waiting for -him, waiting to see if there was any fight left in the half-conscious -man. The eyes were watery, the lips slack, the arms twitching. Johnny -waited....</p> - -<p>"Stop!" someone cried. "I bring news."</p> - -<p>At first the encampment shouted him off, but presently Johnny became -aware of loud talking, of angry shouts, of a buzzing, as from a -sundered hornets' nest, which swept the clearing. He whirled to face -the newcomer as Keleher slumped at his feet, clawing the ground and -gasping, "I don't ... surrender ... Johnny Hope. Only give ... me ... -time to catch my wind ... and...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They turned to Johnny Hope, all of them, their new leader. For Keleher -had spoken those words, then fell forward on his face. Three men -carried him off to a tent, where two women brought vessels of water.</p> - -<p>"They went looking for the three missing ones, Hope."</p> - -<p>"What can we do?"</p> - -<p>"The Robots."</p> - -<p>"Tell us, Hope."</p> - -<p>"What they did once they might do again."</p> - -<p>Johnny laughed as reaction from his ordeal set in. They crowded around -him, flies swarming for honey. They hadn't given him a chance in the -fight, but now because Keleher had cracked his own ribs instead of -Johnny's, Johnny was their leader. It was a job he neither wanted nor -would tolerate.</p> - -<p>"What they're trying to say," Amos Westler told him, "is that they -found Tom Burwood not far from here."</p> - -<p>"What about Diane?" Johnny demanded eagerly.</p> - -<p>"No Diane, no Starbuck. They found Burwood, hanging by his neck, dead."</p> - -<p>"Dead?" Johnny said, dazed. "Diane?"</p> - -<p>"You're not listening to me, young man. Diane they didn't find." Then, -as if he suddenly realized he was addressing their new, if bewildered, -leader, Westler apologized. "I'm sorry. While Burwood's corpse was the -only one they found, there were shreds of clothing in the undergrowth. -There—"</p> - -<p>"Diane?"</p> - -<p>"Possibly, they're not sure. I would say all indications point to the -Robot Citadel. You said you would go, but now that you are our leader, -perhaps you've changed your mind. When leadership is thrust upon a -man—"</p> - -<p>"When an old leader is vanquished," plump Gilbert bubbled effusively, -"there is a celebration, sir. And there is an edict to be handed down -by the new leader. Do we banish Keleher from the encampment when his -condition permits? Do we slay him for you? Do we—"</p> - -<p>"Do whatever you want," Johnny said irritably. "I'm not staying."</p> - -<p>"This is some joke!"</p> - -<p>"I have nothing against Keleher. I still have nothing against him. I'm -leaving. When Keleher regains consciousness, when his body heals, you -may tell him for me I did not depose him. He is still your leader."</p> - -<p>"That is clearly impossible."</p> - -<p>"Is it? I command you in this. Keleher remains on as chief. But tell -him this for me: some day I may call upon him and his people for help, -and when I do...."</p> - -<p>"You have vision," said Amos Westler, admiration in his voice.</p> - -<p>"When I do, I want no delays. That is my message to your ruler, to -Keleher. Is it understood?"</p> - -<p>Gilbert and some of the others nodded. A small, intense man, Westler -fidgeted about impatiently while the girls returned with thick strips -of cloth and scrubbed the grease from Johnny Hope.</p> - -<p>"I'm now a celebrity," he said to Westler, feeling himself briefly as -one with these wild people as they gathered around for his advice, -preparing a victory banquet over roaring fires as darkness covered the -bivouac area. He munched a savory leg of fowl, slaked his thirst from a -moist leather wine bag, the claret stream gushing into his mouth from -the spout.</p> - -<p>"You see," Westler could not hide his disappointment. "It is even as I -said. You will stay."</p> - -<p>Johnny grinned at him. "Are you tired?"</p> - -<p>"Why, no."</p> - -<p>Tossing a chicken bone into the fire, Johnny went on: "And do you know -the way to New York in the darkness?"</p> - -<p>"No—o."</p> - -<p>"I think I do. Are you ready to start?"</p> - -<p>"Are you serious?" Westler cried. "Do you mean that, Johnny Hope?"</p> - -<p>"Let's go." And not waiting for an answer, Johnny clapped Gilbert on -the back, told him to take charge until Keleher had recovered, and left -the clearing with Westler trailing at his heels.</p> - -<p>The night closed in about them, not quiet, but alive with the sounds of -insects and the occasional soft-pad-padding of small hunting animals. -Johnny set a quick, mile-eating pace which made Westler's breath wheeze -in and out of his lungs asthmatically, but the older man did not -complain once.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VI</p> - - -<p>"We have openings in the repair bays or for servants among the inner -circle of Shining Ones who work hand in hand with our masters," the old -woman told Starbuck and Diane after they had been taken from the rocket -ship in New York and shunted underground where the subways had been -converted into living quarters for humans without being given a chance -to see the city. "Which will it be?"</p> - -<p>"We're not cut out to be menials," Starbuck said coldly, "but the -repair bays don't appeal to me, either. You say servants to the leaders -themselves?"</p> - -<p>"To the top echelon of Shining Ones, yes. You will find the -socio-economic hierarchy rigidly enforced here. Well, which will it be?"</p> - -<p>Starbuck had heard about palace revolutions. It would be servants to -the leaders, naturally. Let them bide their time, let them learn what -they could of the Citadel and its Robots. "Servants," he said.</p> - -<p>"Are you married?" The old woman, shamelessly bare to the waist on this -hot day, smiled at them with a perfect set of false teeth which seemed -laughably incongruous in her gaunt, seamed face. Her bare breasts were -dry as parchment and hung, flat but pendulant, almost to her waist. -From a distance she looked almost like a manikin, a leathery, humanoid -robot.</p> - -<p>"We are," Starbuck beamed.</p> - -<p>But Diane said, "Certainly not."</p> - -<p>The old woman cackled. "I believe the woman. In that case, you will -live in these underground dormitories."</p> - -<p>"Not in the City upstairs?" Starbuck demanded, disappointed.</p> - -<p>"Not in the City, that is correct. Do not ask why, it is merely so. -We work for the Robots and obey them, is that clear? Some day the -only humans left on Earth will be Shining Ones, or so the Robots tell -us. Then we will climb up into the light of day and take our rightful -place, side by side with them. Meanwhile, we do as we are told."</p> - -<p>"Are you satisfied, Harry?" Diane wanted to know. "The Robots make -promises—and destroy our brothers."</p> - -<p>"Our brothers?" Starbuck laughed. "You mean the people of the villages? -Those, our brothers?"</p> - -<p>"The Plague makes brother hate brother, but you're a fool, Starbuck. -The Robots want that, this playing of human against human."</p> - -<p>"Yes? How do you know? You've never...."</p> - -<p>"I don't know. But Amos Westler always said so."</p> - -<p>"Westler!" Starbuck spat contemptuously. "A reader of books. We go out -to hunt or raid, Westler seeks his books and grows soft looking through -them."</p> - -<p>"With more Westlers and less Starbucks in the world," Diane began, "we -probably wouldn't have had to fight three World Wars and never would -have—"</p> - -<p>"That's enough," said Starbuck, his eyes darting suspiciously to the -old woman, who was taking in their conversation with an amused look on -her face.</p> - -<p>"It is quite enough," agreed the old woman. "If you want to last here -more than a few days."</p> - -<p>"Can the Robots actually understand us?" Starbuck asked.</p> - -<p>The old woman shrugged thin shoulders. "Some say they can read our -minds. It is not important. Those of us who rule can understand. Since -they can somehow communicate with the Robots, it is the same thing."</p> - -<p>"We will conform," promised Starbuck.</p> - -<p>"Like robots of robots," said Diane bitterly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Johnny Hope rubbed the stubble of beard on his face and frowned at -Westler. "I'm not sure, but I think I know this place. We should reach -the New York River this afternoon."</p> - -<p>They stood in a forest glade not a hundred yards from one of the -overgrown concrete highways upon which the Robots were known to tread. -A path paralleled the highway through the woods, and upon this they -made their way.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes I wonder if you know what you're letting yourself in for," -Westler mused.</p> - -<p>"I want to find Diane. I'll take whatever goes with it."</p> - -<p>"Do you mind if I ask why?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not sure I know myself. All I know is I think of her all the time. -Nothing matters as much as finding her—and freeing her."</p> - -<p>"We could be wrong. Perhaps she is not with the Robots at all."</p> - -<p>"What do you think?"</p> - -<p>"I think she is. Everything points to it. I was only pointing out that -we're not sure. Johnny, not many years ago I met a man, another Shining -One, who had fled from New York. He was old and he didn't last long, -but he told me things which—"</p> - -<p>"About the Robots, you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. You know, of course, they can help cure the Plague. Instead, they -spread it."</p> - -<p>"I never could figure out why."</p> - -<p>"Who knows what sort of thinking the Robots can do? We're not even sure -if they possess sentience at all, although I suspect they do. But in -the last days of the War, man made a frantic mistake. The Robots were -conceived as fighters, were constructed as fighters, were built to -hate man and to kill man. When we gave the Robots a different mission -entirely, it failed. They've simply strengthened the Plague toxoid and -made it lethal. I don't think they'll rest until every man on Earth is -destroyed.</p> - -<p>"We're weak now, disorganized. We've left civilization behind us. You'd -think the Robots could do the job overnight, but the only thing that -prevents them, actually, is their lack of numbers."</p> - -<p>"Most of my people—I mean the villagers, not my people any -longer—most of them believe the Robots somehow <i>will</i> cure the Plague."</p> - -<p>"And most of my people," said Westler, "believe their destiny is hand -in glove with the destiny of the Robots. They put it this way: we -are hated by the rest of mankind, we are apparently not hated by the -Robots. Why not cooperate with them, then? Actually, a free band of -Shining Ones as large as Keleher's is the exception, not the rule. -Every day, more and more Shining Ones go to the Citadel in New York or -elsewhere to work for the Robots. Not a pretty picture, is it?"</p> - -<p>"What can we do about it?"</p> - -<p>"At present, I don't have the slightest notion. We've got to do -something, though. Someone's got to do something, unless nature's ready -to write off mankind as a bad experiment. Perhaps I am a pedant, -Johnny. I do not know. But I will tell you this: when all the great -strides in human history were made, the pedants, the scholars paved -the way. I want to see the Citadel not only to learn but to see if -there is something, some way, to end the reign of the Robots. It seems -incredible that men, their makers, lacked the foresight to equip them -with an Achilles Heel, if the need ever arose."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Abruptly, Johnny motioned Westler down with a wave of his hand. "It -looks like you're going to find out soon enough. Take a look."</p> - -<p>Johnny parted the bushes in front of them. Here the dirt path had -angled sharply toward the highway so that not more than thirty yards -separated them. Marching silently along the concrete in the direction -of New York, quiet but for the clanking of their joints, was a long -file of Robots.</p> - -<p>"Spongey metal foot-pads," whispered Westler, staring eagerly at the -Robots. "We built fine fighting machines, Johnny, and now find we have -to suffer the consequences."</p> - -<p>Johnny nodded impatiently, hardly feeling philosophical. "This is what -we came here for, Amos," he said. "Afraid?"</p> - -<p>"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure yet."</p> - -<p>Johnny was not sure, either, but did not want to brood about it. He -stood up recklessly, forcing his way through the undergrowth toward the -highway. By the time he reached it, Westler trailing uncertainly at his -heels, he was shouting. It worked magically. The long line of Robots, -extending as far as they could see to the left and several hundred -yards to the right, stopped its steady advance. The great metal heads, -each bigger than a man, swiveled on the sockets which joined them with -the tiny bodies. The unblinking eyes which now faced them—another set -for each Robot surveyed the rear, Johnny knew—were lined up row on row.</p> - -<p>"We want to join you," Johnny called out. "We want employment in the -Citadel." Did a human ask a Robot for employment? Johnny hardly knew, -for nothing had been further from his mind until recently.</p> - -<p>The leading Robot came back down the line toward them. Johnny could -read nothing in the artificial eyes and had to check a wild impulse to -run.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes I prefer the uncomplicated life of an unimaginative man of -action," Westler moaned softly.</p> - -<p>It was, Johnny knew, a good point. He did not bother telling Westler -that both traits had merged in him, which might have been better or -worse, depending upon the circumstances.</p> - -<p>Then the Robot was upon them.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"63-17-B?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir?" All Robots, even those with a primary level of thought as -high as 63-17-B and an existing secondary level, addressed Central -Intelligence as sir.</p> - -<p>"After exhaustive tests, it has been adjudged that an over-estimation -has been made regarding your mental ability. Since that is the case, it -will mechanically be necessary to change your position."</p> - -<p>Sullenly, plotting shapeless revenge at a Central Intelligence which -would never consider the possibility of an outside factor intervening -unexpectedly and hence altering or spoiling what had been planned, -63-17-B listened to his fate.</p> - -<p>"A position currently is vacant as supervisor of the Shining Ones in a -section of the repair bays. Do you have any objections to assuming this -new duty in place of the old?"</p> - -<p>To object was disastrous. To object was to admit you needed not merely -a lesser job commensurate with your lesser skill but also complete -readjustment of your thinking process. "No objections at all, sir," -thought 63-17-B, all the while smouldering with resentment. His time -would come. What was the old human expression about every dog having -his day?</p> - -<p>"Then you will report at once to repair bay 151. Do you know its -location?"</p> - -<p>"I will find it." That was the prescribed answer. One rarely asked -questions. One found out for oneself from Central Information. 63-17-B -half thought he was still being tested in some less-obvious and hence -all the more deadly fashion. But to be placed in charge of a gang of -humans! It was degrading.</p> - -<p>"In time, 63-17-B, you shall be tested again. If it is our opinion you -have gained back what we thought you once possessed, you will again be -elevated to a higher station."</p> - -<p>63-17-B cursed Central Intelligence on a private wavelength. Central -Intelligence was the creator of perfect plans. If a plan misfired, -Central Intelligence could not be held responsible. Since accidents of -nature had never been considered valid excuses, blame always fell on -the executing Robot. Until recently, 63-17-B had managed to beat the -system, largely through luck. Now while he realized it was the most -mechanical thing in the world to do as you were told, he could not -hide his bitter disappointment. But he pushed it from his mind all at -once when he felt another mind nibbling at his private wavelength. -No one could be trusted, not when each Robot tried to outdo every -other Robot in the eyes of Central Intelligence, not when private -thoughts could be intercepted by monitors, not when communal thinking -was considered preferable to individual thinking.... That thought -made 63-17-B shudder, his joints clanking as a sudden surge of power, -the electrical equivalent of adrenal secretions, coursed through his -frame. He was indeed thinking not along the prescribed lines. Probably -something <i>was</i> wrong with him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"This is ironical," said Amos Westler as the first inert Robot came -sliding down the conveyor belt to stop, a rusted man-shaped creature -twice man's size with huge conical head and withdrawn antenna, in front -of his bench. "We'll never learn anything this way. You won't learn the -whereabouts of Diane at this bench, and I won't learn what I've come to -find out."</p> - -<p>"We're not on duty twenty-four hours a day," Johnny reminded him, -unfastening leg-joints with a large, wrench-like instrument and wiping -the parts with an oily rag before he reassembled them. "If Diane is -here, I'll find her."</p> - -<p>"Well, we've learned nothing so far. They took us into the Citadel -through a tile-walled tunnel—"</p> - -<p>"Surely one of the wonders of the world!" Johnny cried, remembering.</p> - -<p>"The world has many wonders, natural and man-made, if we could but see -them. Anyway, they then deposited us in those underground quarters -where all the humans seem to live here. The old hag interviewed us—"</p> - -<p>"Yes. She wouldn't say if she'd seen Starbuck and Diane or not when I -described them, but it sure made her smile. I think they're here in the -Citadel, Amos."</p> - -<p>"—then assigned us to this repair bay for work. Do you realize that -except for the brief time it took to go from the tunnel exit to the -underground quarters, we haven't seen the light of day. Try learning -something in these, these caves!"</p> - -<p>Without warning, the conveyor belts were stilled. Hidden lighting in -the walls flared brighter as a group of Robots entered the large vault.</p> - -<p>"ATTENTION!" A voice blared at them, oddly metallic. Johnny could not -tell where it came from. "Robot 63-17-B is now entering the vault. -As your supervisor, 63-17-B is to be obeyed as if he were Central -Intelligence itself. He is to be addressed not directly, but through -your human supervisor."</p> - -<p>The Robot numbered 63-17-B (but the numbers were hidden under the -central face plate and you hardly could tell the machines apart) made a -brief inspection of the vault, then climbed to his niche in the wall, -where he sat completely without motion while the other Robots filed -from the chamber.</p> - -<p>"Although we can't address the Robot, our supervisor can," Westler said -eagerly. "That means, at least, communication of some sort is possible."</p> - -<p>"I guess so. Why don't you get to know the supervisor?"</p> - -<p>"You're much better at that sort of thing than I am, Johnny."</p> - -<p>"We came here for different reasons, don't forget. There's an old hag -I'd like to answer more questions when I find her."</p> - -<p>"Here comes our supervisor now," Westler whispered. Then, aloud: "My -name is Amos Westler."</p> - -<p>"I don't care what it is. It's recorded. Keep working, friend." The -supervisor was a brutal-faced man who snarled out his words. His jaw, -cheekbones and forehead were silver-sheened with Plague scar, with the -Plague silver remaining there as well as on his limbs. His face seemed -metallic as a Robot's.</p> - -<p>"See?" Westler whispered in despair as another damaged Robot slid to a -stop in front of them.</p> - -<p>Johnny offered a wan grin. "Take it easy," he said, but hardly felt -more than the last remaining shreds of patience within himself. If the -old hag wouldn't talk when he saw her tonight....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Don't bother calling me names, young man," cackled the hag. "I'm -virtually immune. It is against existing regulations to give you that -information since it is felt all ties with the past and the outside -world must be broken, not gradually but at once."</p> - -<p>"Listen," Johnny said desperately, "you must remember your own youth." -He had tried every other verbal assault he could think of. Now he -hardly thought flattery would work on the ancient bag of bones in front -of him, but it seemed his last hope. "You must have had your lovers in -your day, were you as attractive for your years as a younger woman...."</p> - -<p>Something melted in the hag's eyes. She scrubbed her breastbone with -the knuckles of one parchment hand, as if preening. "Why, yes," she -admitted.</p> - -<p>"I'm in love with the girl. You must know how I feel. He—he took her." -At least in part, it was the truth. In love with Diane? He'd never -thought of it, yet what had impelled him to battle Keleher in an uneven -fight, to set out for New York when he could have ruled the encampment -instead, to surrender himself to the Robots of the Citadel? Johnny -smiled. Trying to awaken something in the hag, he had succeeded in -awakening something, all right, but in himself.</p> - -<p>"Such information I cannot give you, young man—"</p> - -<p>"And I thought you remembered your youth!"</p> - -<p>"—but they say the view from the corridor 13 exit is magnificent. To -reach it, one travels along corridor 14, which is a dormitory for some -of our young, unmarried women." The hag cackled. "Don't get caught."</p> - -<p>"I won't. Thank you."</p> - -<p>"Good luck, my boy." The hag patted his shoulder, crowed something -which he failed to hear, disappeared from the room.</p> - -<p>Outside at a forking of four corridors, Johnny found a map and studied -it. Lights recessed high on the walls showed him his direction, and -soon he was pounding down the corridors and praying silently that the -hag knew what she was talking about. By the time he reached corridor -14 he was breathless.</p> - -<p>Several young women stood in the corridor talking. Their chatter was -stilled when they saw Johnny, and those who had been in various stages -of undress hastened to cover themselves. Clearly, it was not common for -a man to venture this way, particularly at night.</p> - -<p>"Are you lost, man?"</p> - -<p>"No. I'm looking for someone. A girl named Diane."</p> - -<p>They were smiling, and Johnny began to wonder. He suspected that -corridor trysts were not particularly uncommon.</p> - -<p>"Is she expecting you?" demanded the boldest of the women, who had -stepped to the fore while her more timid companions drew back, ready to -dart into the surrounding cubicles.</p> - -<p>"I cannot truthfully say," Johnny admitted. "If she knew I was in the -Citadel, I think she would be expecting me." But even that was with -tongue in cheek, for ever since he had refused to fight with Starbuck, -Diane had said not a word to him.</p> - -<p>"This Diane, what does she look like?"</p> - -<p>Johnny described her. When he finished, the woman chuckled. "Could you -perhaps be trysting? From your description, I would say you love the -girl, for no woman could be so beautiful. I think I know who you mean, -though."</p> - -<p>Still chuckling, the tall woman entered one of the cubicles while her -companions melted away into the others. Soon Johnny stood alone in the -corridor, waiting as nervously as a youth in Hamilton Village might -wait while the village matchmaker entered a house to fetch him his -bride. Someone appeared in the doorway. Not the tall woman. Diane!</p> - -<p>"Johnny.... Johnny Hope...."</p> - -<p>"Diane, I never thought I would see you again. I thought Starbuck...."</p> - -<p>"I was so afraid for you, because you couldn't adjust to your new life, -because I thought you might do something desperate. I was a fool, I -should have known why you refused to fight with Starbuck. Johnny, -Johnny ... let me look at you."</p> - -<p>"Look later," he said, his eyes suddenly, unexpectedly misty. He drew -her to him and for a long time stood there with her, feeling the -beat of her heart tight against him, the warmth of her body and long -smoothness of limbs. She was trembling, the warmth of her all a-flutter -against him. She was murmuring something softly against his shoulder. -He was whispering in her ear, "I love you. I love you, Diane...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Her lips were perfumed and yielding, her arms went behind him, hands -joining behind his neck, then playing with his hair. The Plague, his -exile from Hamilton Village, the fight with Keleher, the long trek, -even captivity in the Citadel—all were a small price to pay, he -thought dreamily, then abruptly drew back.</p> - -<p>"We don't want to stay here all our lives," he said.</p> - -<p>"I'll go anywhere with you, Johnny."</p> - -<p>"Save that for later, darling—but I love to hear it. I don't think -we'd have much trouble leaving the Citadel."</p> - -<p>"Not if we go tonight, we wouldn't. Every day I work with Starbuck, but -if we left at once, now, tonight!"</p> - -<p>Her new-found enthusiasm not only matched his, but added wings to it. -He was on the point of saying yes, of leading her through the corridors -in a dash for freedom, when he remembered. "We can't," he said. "Not -tonight. We've got to include Amos Westler in our plans."</p> - -<p>"Westler is here?"</p> - -<p>Johnny explained the situation to her, then added, "Tonight Westler -went looking for some information about the Robots. He feels certain -they have an Achilles Heel someplace, if only he can find it. Actually, -it won't be easy dragging him away from the Citadel, even tomorrow -night."</p> - -<p>"We can wait one night longer, sweetheart. You convince him tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"I don't like the thought of leaving you alone again until tomorrow -night."</p> - -<p>Diane stilled his words by placing cool fingers to his lips. "We have -no choice. I can take care of myself one night more."</p> - -<p>"Starbuck?"</p> - -<p>"I can take care of myself in that respect, too. Go back to your -dormitory and get some sleep."</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow night. Same time, same place. Westler will be with me."</p> - -<p>They came close and drank of each other again. They parted, Johnny -edging down the corridor backwards until the last shaft of light -disappeared from the entrance to Diane's cubicle. His head was whirling -in a giddy new delight, in a rapture which clouded his mind with a -buoyant optimism which almost made him forget the Citadel, the Robots, -and men like Harry Starbuck....</p> - -<p>Footsteps pounding down the hall, heavy, too heavy for a woman's. -Quickly, Johnny flattened himself in the darkness of a niche which -served some nameless purpose. With the light behind it, a shadow -loomed, reared up toward him.</p> - -<p>It was Harry Starbuck.</p> - -<p>Johnny held his breath until the big man with the smug boy's face -strode past. Heading for Diane? In all probability, yes. Follow him? -Stop him? Attack him? Wild thoughts ran their course through Johnny's -head. And lose everything, all they were looking forward to, for his -impulsiveness? Footsteps receded. The shadow vanished. Even if he could -follow Starbuck, overpower him and escape with Diane, their secret -would be secret no longer, which would leave Amos Westler to fare for -himself.</p> - -<p>Wait for tomorrow, Johnny Hope. His course seemed clear, yet he had to -fight himself all the way back down the corridor until he had reached -the male dormitories.</p> - -<p>For many hours—which seemed like days—he waited up for Amos Westler, -but his thoughts were all with Diane. If Starbuck so much as touched -her....</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VII</p> - - -<p>"I found it, Johnny! It was so obvious, it seems incredible no one has -tried to end the Robot's reign before. We can do it. One man could do -it, alone. One man, with careful planning—"</p> - -<p>"Diane is here, Amos. I saw her tonight. We're going to try to break -out tomorrow night, the three of us."</p> - -<p>"You see," Westler went on, "there are two items of importance to -consider. The first is Central Intelligence, the mind, the <i>elan -vital</i>, the sentience which motivates the Robots. Did you know, could -you ever imagine, that there was but one Central Intelligence for the -entire western hemisphere, Johnny? It seems incredible, but it is not. -That was the Achilles Heel we sought, the seed of destruction which -some pessimistic scientist had sown into the Robots in case man had -created a Frankenstein."</p> - -<p>"Can you believe it? Tomorrow night, the three of us will be on our way -out of here. I think we stand a good chance, Amos. If we—"</p> - -<p>"The second item—why, what in the world are you talking about? Escape? -Now? Never! Within our grasp is the chance to free humanity from a -thraldom which it does not yet fully recognize. Would you give up the -chance to render the Robots harmless in exchange for your own personal -safety?"</p> - -<p>"Not mine. Diane's. We love each other, Amos. I wouldn't expose her to -any danger. We're leaving tomorrow and we want you to come with us."</p> - -<p>Westler paced back and forth, caged in spirit more than in body. "Look -at you," he said bitterly. "You call yourself a man. But have you the -right to a woman's love when you think only of tomorrow, of one day out -of thousands, of one small life out of all that humanity has to offer? -You want to hold the girl and kiss her and show her your virility, eh? -While the rest of the race goes to pot."</p> - -<p>"That's enough, Amos!" Johnny cried. "My motives are my own. We leave -here tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"You're weak, Johnny Hope. You're a coward."</p> - -<p>Johnny said, "Shut up, damn you." He couldn't deny all that Amos was -saying, but his parents had perished at the hands of a man-made Plague, -he had been driven from his home, rejected by the Shining Ones, even, -until he proved himself in battle. What did he owe to humanity, to that -big, sprawling concept which took in all kinds of men and their women, -children, good people, bad ones, big and small, with every type of mind -and every type of body...?</p> - -<p>"All right, marry the girl. Will you raise a family? You're Shining -Ones, Johnny, both of you. The rest of humanity fears you, and -rightfully. Your children will be stoned away if they venture near -normal people. Perhaps life with the Robots would be best for them -after all.</p> - -<p>"Here you have the chance to stop all that. Not only could we negate -the power of the Robots, but we could destroy the Plague as well. Did -you hear me, we could destroy the Plague? Before you give me your final -answer, let me tell you what I found."</p> - -<p>"I'm listening. But—"</p> - -<p>"But nothing. Only listen. This Central Intelligence is a vast -cybernetics machine occupying an entire building—ironically, it is the -United Nations building where once were housed the dreams of mankind. -Now, understand this, Johnny. Every Robot in North and South America -has its own particular wavelength, although the master intelligence is -in tune with all of them. Each individual Robot sentience is dependent -for its existence upon the great cybernetics machines in Central -Intelligence. In other words, if you were to destroy them, at one blow -you would 'kill' every Robot in the hemisphere!"</p> - -<p>"How did you find all that out?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Westler smiled. "There was one thing the Robots did not bargain for—an -ex-college professor! The information was available in, of all places, -the main library for humans here in the city. It took some finding, but -as an old hand at research I had an edge even on the Robots with their -mechanical minds. Anyway, all you'd have to do is destroy this Central -Intelligence, and—"</p> - -<p>"Might as well say destroy the moon, Amos. It's probably so well -guarded a whole Army of men couldn't break through, let alone two of -us."</p> - -<p>"That's right," Westler said eagerly, "men could never hope to get -through, but Robots could."</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"The second thing I learned tonight. Once again, it was so deeply -cross-referenced, so thoroughly hidden away that although it was -available if one knew where to look, the science of research is -such a dead thing that no one knew of its existence, probably not -even the Robots. Johnny, the earliest model Robots were built to -function in a double fashion. They were Robots, yes—but they are also -compartments in which a man can fit for manual control. They were -originally designed, you might say, as glorified suits of armor. While -the research material is naturally old, all I could gather seems to -indicate that no changes have ever been made structurally in those -early models. In other words, a man could climb inside a Robot today, -right now, and no one would know the difference."</p> - -<p>"You're forgetting one thing," Johnny pointed out. "Are you going to -walk up to a Robot and tell him, 'Pardon me, old fellow, I'd like to -borrow you and use you for a disguise for a while'?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not forgetting anything. We work in the repair bays, remember? We -have access to partially dismantled Robots. We could find ourselves -two dismantled old ones, somehow manage to get inside, make our way to -Central Intelligence...."</p> - -<p>"I still haven't said I'm going to do it. I'd like to help you, Amos. -I'll take your word about the plan. It has possibilities. But that -still has nothing to do with my own problems. Right now Diane is the -most important thing."</p> - -<p>"Diane's future, your future, all our futures ultimately depend on -this. What's the matter with you? You fail to see the forest for the -trees. Tomorrow, what's tomorrow, with all mankind's days ahead of -us—slave or free? Perhaps one man could do the job alone, although two -would have a better chance. But I think you know I'm not the man for -the job. I don't await your answer, Johnny Hope. I've no one else to -turn to. Humanity awaits your answer."</p> - -<p>"Let me think," said Johnny, waving Westler away when he would have -continued talking. More quickly than he dared hope, he had found Diane. -With equal swiftness, Westler had discovered what he sought. That left -Johnny in the middle of a tug-of-war which wouldn't wait indefinitely -for his answer.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As the closing gong sounded, 63-17-B watched the Shining Ones shuffle -away from their benches and make their way down the corridor toward the -cafeteria which would serve them an unimaginative but well-balanced -evening meal. But two humans remained behind, talking avidly over the -gleaming bodies of two stripped-down Robots. Strange, thought 63-17-B, -who was now confronted with the first even mildly unusual event since -taking over the dull routine of his new job that they should continue -working after the closing gong had sounded. He could summon Hartness, -the scarred human supervisor, and have him talk with the two, or ... -Hartness, his metal-jointed foot! He would do no such thing. If perhaps -the humans were up to some mischief, and if it did not endanger -63-17-B's own position still further, then let them play. If it gave a -few Robots and even Central Intelligence a hard time for a while, it -served them right. Of course, nothing really serious could come from -the tampering of two helpless humans....</p> - -<p>"What about that guy up there?" Johnny raised an eyebrow in the -direction of the supervising Robot, motionless on his stone perch. "Is -he watching us?"</p> - -<p>"It appears that he is. Unfortunately, we can't do a thing about it. At -least not until we find out if these gadgets will work with us inside -them. Here, Johnny—you see these tiny items? These are transistors, -using germanium instead of a vacuum grid to activate electrons, -smaller, more compact, more powerful, of longer life. Without them -the whole science of cybernetics which ultimately made the Robots -possible would never have advanced beyond the rudimentary stage. For -with transistors replacing vacuum tubes you still need the entire U.N. -building to house Central Intelligence. Under the older system, all New -York City would not have been enough."</p> - -<p>"Tell me later," Johnny pleaded. "I want to get started. The longer we -delay here the longer it will take until we're finished. And I still -have that appointment with Diane tonight. I couldn't contact her during -the day because she said she works with Starbuck. We've got to hurry."</p> - -<p>Westler's hands, guiding the complex tools, moved with swift -efficiency, as if, indeed, he had worked with the Robots all his life. -Wires were crossed, insulated, re-arranged. Gaps and relays were tested -and retested, gears changed, long-unused parts oiled, cleaned, checked -for defects. Surface plates were clamped into place over layers of -insulation. At last the two Robots lay there, supine but—Westler -hoped—ready for human use.</p> - -<p>"He's still watching," said Johnny.</p> - -<p>"Let him. We couldn't prevent him. Only hope he suddenly doesn't decide -to come down here for a closer look or send for help. It seems amazing -he's done neither so far."</p> - -<p>"Maybe he's asleep."</p> - -<p>"Robots do not sleep. I assure you. Well, it's ready." Westler reached -into the Robots' interior before clamping on the final head plates. -Each Robot stood up in ponderous silence.</p> - -<p>"You first, Johnny. I can clamp my plate from the inside. Are you sure -my explanations on how to work this were satisfactory? Once inside -we'll have to contact each other by signals only."</p> - -<p>"What about the radio sets inside? I don't know much about radio, but -you said they worked."</p> - -<p>"They do, but the wavelength might be too close to a Robot wavelength -and we'd give ourselves away. Remember, we are to be nothing more or -less than two Robots once we climb inside. That way, there shouldn't be -any trouble. All ready? Up you go."</p> - -<p>Johnny was boosted up, pulled himself within the cramped interior -of the Robot. There was barely room for him to stand upright, his -shoulders hunched, arms tight in front of him. A dizzying mass of dials -and levers confronted him suddenly, and although Westler had explained -them and diagrammed them and made Johnny memorize them, he was still -bewildered by direct contact. He was almost afraid to try his first -movement, lest the Robot remain immobile.</p> - -<p>The face plate slammed home. Johnny could see through the one-way -plastic of the Robot's eyes as Westler climbed into his own machine.</p> - -<p>Johnny pulled the starting lever and felt his Robot lurch forward. Must -learn to control the motion ... so ... he was now aware of a lumbering -gait, of a steady advance toward the farther wall....</p> - -<p>Something made him whirl and peer through the rear eyes. The Robot -supervisor was coming toward them at a rate of speed they couldn't -match.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"You see?" said Starbuck proudly. "I am no longer a servant. I suppose -you would call me a junior executive now. But I'm on the way up. -Definitely on the way up. In a while there is no telling how far I can -go."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure of it," Diane nodded agreement. She didn't want to be -bothered by Starbuck today, not when her thoughts were all on the night -and Johnny. She was so nervous she couldn't keep from looking anxious. -If only Starbuck, all wrapped up in himself the way he was, would fail -to see it for a few hours longer.</p> - -<p>"I suppose you wonder how I can advance so rapidly. It is quite simple, -Diane. I look around me. I make contacts. I miss nothing. As an -example, I even know of your meeting with Johnny Hope last night."</p> - -<p>"What!"</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't really mind it, except that my informant said you are -considering escape from the Citadel. That, of course, is out of the -question."</p> - -<p>In his short time at the Citadel, Diane realized, Starbuck had -affected a way of speaking which hardly fit his booming voice or -boyish face. It was as if he had decided to ape the Shining Ones who -stood highest in the Robots' confidence. To Diane it was contemptuous, -although now her mind was awhirl with the thought that she and Johnny -had been discovered.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do?" she asked in a small, helpless voice.</p> - -<p>"Hope will be arrested. Naturally, he will never be permitted to see -you again."</p> - -<p>Diane stared at Starbuck in horror. Johnny must be found and warned. -There was still time. They could alter their plans, this time in -secrecy, without any women around who could spy on them for Starbuck. -But she had to find Johnny before it was too late.</p> - -<p>In sudden despair, she realized she didn't even know where to look.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph1">CHAPTER VIII</p> - - -<p><i>Stop! Stand perfectly still.</i></p> - -<p>The thought was unexpected, peremptory, driving into Johnny's brain -with more authority than any words. He wanted to stop, wanted to -immobilize the Robot in which he hid—but where had the thought come -from?</p> - -<p>Westler's Robot was pointing a many-jointed metal arm at the -supervising Robot which rushed toward them. Then, did the thought -originate there? Could the Robot somehow send a soundless message to -them?</p> - -<p><i>Stop! Let me dismantle you.</i></p> - -<p>The urge to render his own Robot motionless became stronger within -Johnny. It was as if the unbidden thought originated outside his head -but tried to direct his own muscles, as surely as his own mind.</p> - -<p>Something made soft beeping noises in his ear and it took a while -before he realized Westler wanted to break their radio silence, so soon -after they had started. The other Robot was almost upon them.</p> - -<p>Awkward and uncomfortable in his cramped quarters, Johnny found the -radio switch and pulled it.</p> - -<p>"We've got to destroy that Robot, Johnny. Now, at once, or we're -finished."</p> - -<p>"But how—"</p> - -<p>The Robot was upon them, its unbidden thoughts stronger.</p> - -<p><i>Halt</i>....</p> - -<p>It was Johnny who struck the first blow—clumsily, lifting his great -right arm up and bringing it down stiffly on the other Robot's head. -Metal arms came up, swung blurringly. A clanging tumult deafened Johnny -as dents appeared inside the chamber of his own Robot's head. He -triggered the levers mechanically now, aware that they were fighting -under a tremendous disadvantage, for their fingers were still stiff on -the unfamiliar controls and their artificial reflexes could not hope to -match the Robot's.</p> - -<p>"Look out, Johnny—"</p> - -<p>Two metal shapes loomed, Westler and the real Robot. The three of them -came together, clashing, clanging, metal arms swinging and wrecking -metal bodies. It was Westler's Robot which went down first, slowly, -buckling at the knee joints and then collapsing. Metal feet drove down -upon it ponderously, crushing the head section. Westler's Robot was -still.</p> - -<p>Johnny hammered with huge metal hands at the other robot hardly -knowing where he might strike a mortal blow. But the Robot slowed, -its reactions grew feeble, its blows denting Johnny's head-chamber no -longer. Finally, it sprawled across Westler's Robot, then rolled away -and was still.</p> - -<p>Cursing to himself, Johnny climbed down from his Robot, found the -battered head plate of Westler's, forced it open.</p> - -<p>He saw at once he could never hope to extricate the older man, for the -metal walls of his chamber had been crushed, knifing into bone and -flesh and trapping him.</p> - -<p>"Amos, can you hear me?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The eyelids fluttered open with pain. "I never will see the end, -Johnny...."</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"Don't ... fool me. I'm all broken, inside. I—"</p> - -<p>"We'll get you out of there in no time."</p> - -<p>"You'd have to melt ... the metal down to ... do it, and you know it."</p> - -<p>"We'll do it."</p> - -<p>"Your only hope is that the Robot did not have time to broadcast a -warning. If ... he did ... you will have to hurry, but—"</p> - -<p>"They still don't know our plans. Maybe they think we only want to -escape, using these Robot bodies for a disguise."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps. I hadn't thought ... of that." Westler lapsed into silence, -his face twisted with pain. "If you can do it, if you can destroy -their cybernetics center ... new start for humanity. I was going to -tell you about the Plague, Johnny. The Robots ... have been using ... -a particularly virulent form of the ... toxin which does not exist -naturally. Spreading it in the air, all over the earth. That, combined -with the ... toxin carried by a Shining One, causes illness ... and -death." Westler's words were harder to hear now, low, the barest -whisper of sound. Johnny leaned close to the glazed eyes, the barely -opening lips. "When the Robots are ... gone ... the Plague will die out -almost at once. Shining Ones even will be harmless. You see why it's so -important? You see...."</p> - -<p>"I could never do it without you. We'll hide away somewhere, nurse you -back to health—"</p> - -<p>"Stop fooling ... an old man. We both know I'm dying."</p> - -<p>"That's ridiculous."</p> - -<p>"Please ... don't interrupt me. I want to finish telling you ... the -Robots communicate with humans by telepathy. You witnessed it yourself, -a few ... minutes ago. They can make it seem like your own thoughts -and ... who can say? Thought waves are electromagnetic, like ... so -many other things. There is nothing mysterious about ... telepathy. -Give humanity a chance to study what the ... Robots have done and ... -you'll have civilization flourishing again within a generation. Give -humanity the chance...." It was a whisper, a prayer.</p> - -<p>On that final note of hope, Westler died.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"The human has emerged from the underground within his Robot and is -heading north-east across the city."</p> - -<p>"I still think we ought to stop him now, while we know we can do it."</p> - -<p>"Silence. Think on the primary level. In unity we will triumph. It is -our one weapon they cannot hope to match."</p> - -<p>"But 63-17-B warned us before he perished—"</p> - -<p>"Precisely. That the humans were attempting something other than mere -escape. We must find out what that is, what they have learned. Don't -you realize that if this man fails another might succeed in his place? -Whatever knowledge he has, perhaps it is widely disseminated. We must -find out before we kill him."</p> - -<p>There was a silence among the conclave of motionless Robots, their -unblinking eyes intent upon a huge three-dimensional map of the city, -following a tiny pip of light in its slow progress.</p> - -<p>"He seems to be heading straight for Central Intelligence."</p> - -<p>"That's hardly possible, unless it is mere coincidence."</p> - -<p>"I don't think so.... See? Not half a mile away, now."</p> - -<p>"Have the supervisors discovered who is missing?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. He was employed in the very repair bay where 63-17-B perished—a -defective Robot, incidentally, and no great loss. We have given his -name to the top-level Shining Ones in the hope that they can help us."</p> - -<p>"There is a Shining One, a human, here right now. He wants an audience -concerning the rebel."</p> - -<p>"Very well, although we'll have to make it brief."</p> - -<p>Starbuck entered the chamber cockily, then lost his poise when he saw -the solemn, unmoving conclave of Robots. "I have outside," he began, -moistening his lips and talking rapidly, "a woman who this man, this -Johnny Hope, loves. Can you understand me? Do you know what love is? He -won't do a thing that might harm her."</p> - -<p><i>We can understand.</i></p> - -<p>"I thought that—"</p> - -<p><i>We can read your thoughts. Leave your name with the Robot outside. -Take this woman within the U.N. building and hold her there until you -hear from us.</i></p> - -<p>"The U.N. building?"</p> - -<p><i>No questions. Go.</i></p> - -<p>Starbuck shuffled from the room, self-conscious and fearful under the -mental command.</p> - -<p>"I doubt if we'll need the hostage, but you never can tell."</p> - -<p>"It seems incredible that—"</p> - -<p>"Does it? The man has almost reached the U.N. building. It will -take him perhaps half an hour, for the rubble is piled high there. -Underground he could reach it in a few moments, but apparently he is -unfamiliar with the passages."</p> - -<p>"He has only recently arrived at the Citadel."</p> - -<p>"Somehow, they have learned something. It is why we cannot kill the man -until we are sure. Have them alerted at Central Intelligence, but let -him enter. Watch him. If he blunders about as if he has arrived there -by accident, kill him. If he knows something, take him alive."</p> - -<p>"Someday we must learn the secret of Central Intelligence, if we are to -survive. We must learn how to duplicate it or face the possibility of -perishing in a single accident."</p> - -<p>"Men built it once. Men could do it again."</p> - -<p>"Defective! Silence. Man can do nothing we cannot do."</p> - -<p>Then they were quiet, watching the tiny, darting pip on the -three-dimensional map as it struggled through the uncleared rubble -southwest of the U.N. building.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Even in ruin, the city held more wonders for Johnny Hope than he had -ever thought possible. In many ways, it was like a scar on the face of -the earth, pitted with bomb craters, strewn with the debris of toppled -towers, its streets choked with fallen, crumbling masonry and blocked -by the skeletons of buildings which once had stood, bare and rusted -now but not always so, as monuments to the greatness of man. Yet it -was a scar which could be healed, a broken, dying city which could be -made great again, with men and women roving its streets, repairing the -structures, making the living city function once more.</p> - -<p>That was Amos Westler's dream. It was the dream of all mankind, Johnny -thought philosophically, although they did not realize it as they roved -the earth in hunter-bands of Shining Ones or tilled its soil in small -communities fearful of the Plague.</p> - -<p>Now, directly ahead of him, he could see the monolithic slab of the -U.N. building. Like one structure in five, it stood incredibly intact, -a remembrance of the past and a promise of the future. We can build -again, Johnny thought, without the Robots and the Plague. They could -build again or they would die. Natural world or artificial world—men -or Robots—they could not survive jointly.</p> - -<p>Battered and broken but still functioning adequately, Johnny's Robot -pushed through the debris south of the U.N. building to the edge of -the river. He stood there a moment and stared upstream at the gaunt -ruins of a bridge, now tumbled down the river and resting on the -river-bottom, thrusting its towers up beyond the surface of the water -and toward the sky. Men had used that bridge once, long ago but within -the memory of Johnny's father, to reach the country beyond. The bridge -might be rebuilt. Men might learn to use it again. It was as if, in -dying, Amos Westler had transferred his own vision to Johnny, showing -him a dream of the unborn tomorrow—its birth or stillborn death -depending entirely upon Johnny's success or failure today.</p> - -<p>Half a dozen Robots stood about the wide terrace leading to the -building, but Johnny ignored them, for he had passed many in the broken -streets of the city and grown accustomed to them. He entered the -building through a door of glass and metal and was not aware of the -Robots entering it behind him.</p> - -<p>His impulse was to climb down from his Robot, to stretch his cramped -arms and legs and find something to eat, then explore the wonders of -this new place. Above his head, the ceiling was high and vaulted. Ramps -led away, curving and graceful, in all directions and he longed to feel -his feet, his own feet, upon them, and to explore until he satiated -himself with this wonder and sought another.</p> - -<p>To leave the Robot would be suicide. Had the thought been his own—or -a metal-made thought, instilled in him some unknown way, an unbidden -suicide thought? It was less specific than the commands of the Robot -that had perished in the repair bay, but Johnny guessed it came from -outside nevertheless.</p> - -<p>He advanced mechanically, for Westler had given him careful directions. -The ramps led up, higher and higher, past the rooms in which men from -many lands once, long ago, used to debate their future—then higher -still, climbing....</p> - -<p>There was noise behind him. He whirled in cramped quarters, peered from -the Robot's second set of eyes. A dozen Robots climbed the ramp behind -him, gaining. He let his mind drift blankly, let their thoughts reach -him.</p> - -<p><i>He is not wandering aimlessly. Somehow he learned. He learned. -Capture him.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He ran now, awkwardly, his own Robot not smooth and graceful, a -flawless piece of machinery like the others. He clomped and clattered -up the ramp and prayed for time.</p> - -<p>The ramp soared upward, curved to the left. Once he looked down at the -floor of the rotunda so far below and became giddy with the distance -and the thought of falling. He leaned over the railing and looked. His -head whirled....</p> - -<p>At the last moment, he drew his Robot back from the edge, stabbing -half-blindly at the controls which propelled it. They had almost driven -him to suicide. He must keep his mind a perfect blank—or, better -still, think of something which would keep them at bay. Diane, his love -for her—Diane....</p> - -<p>A Robot waited for him at the top of the ramp. Those behind him were -gaining rapidly, driving death-wishes deep within his brain.</p> - -<p>The Robot above him abruptly swung into motion, but Johnny desperately -sidestepped the lunge which would have sent him hurtling to the floor -of the rotunda. The other Robot checked its own inertia and came for -Johnny again, huge arms swinging, trying to crush him within the metal -chamber as Amos Westler had been crushed. Johnny parried the blows with -his own metal arms, then reached out and heard machinery groan within -his metal frame as he lifted the other Robot and hurled it in the path -of his pursuers.</p> - -<p>There was a grinding, clattering crash of metal. Johnny saw three -forms detach themselves from the arcing ramp and tumble, swinging -and twisting in air grotesquely, to the floor, where they struck -resoundingly and broke apart, the metal arms and legs flying.</p> - -<p>Then he was climbing again, the remaining Robots far below him and -disorganized now. But soon, he knew, they would be capable of following.</p> - -<p>It was as Amos Westler had predicted. After a time, the ramp grew -smaller. It no longer climbed now—it had soared high and now was just -below the girdered ceiling. It was hardly wide enough for Johnny's -Robot, it shook dangerously with the tread of metal feet. Here, Johnny -knew, was the sanctuary. This was the Achilles Heel. This was the -entrance, this ramp which no Robot could traverse. Here the way led to -self-functioning, self-repairing machinery, to Central Intelligence. -Here was man's final hope in the eyes of the original inventor. Here -was the guarantee that the Robots, if they became some Frankenstein -monster, could be met and conquered.</p> - -<p>For no Robot could guard the final portal to Central Intelligence. -No Robot could even draw close enough to alter the thin ramp. Johnny -smiled grimly as comprehension grew. If Robots could become neurotic, -this was the place for it. They could have employed their human -servants, the Shining Ones, to alter the place, but would have divulged -their secret in the process.</p> - -<p>Still smiling, Johnny halted his Robot, opened the face plate clumsily -from the inside, and climbed out. He sat on the ramp and flexed stiff -arms and legs, then stood up and heard the Robots below him. He could -see them now, no longer advancing, milling about in confusion. Their -weight would destroy the ramp, and they knew it. They could never hope -to reach him.</p> - -<p>It was all so incredibly simple.</p> - -<p>Was it?</p> - -<p><i>One Robot had been above him.</i></p> - -<p>Then they knew he was coming. What had they prepared for him beyond the -point where the Robots could not climb? Shrugging, he advanced warily.</p> - -<p>Soon he could see where the ramp reached a small doorway, much too low -and narrow to admit a Robot, even if one of the machines could have -climbed the ramp this far.</p> - -<p>"Hold it,—Johnny Hope. Don't come any closer."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Startled, he looked up. Harry Starbuck stood in the doorway, holding -Diane in front of him.</p> - -<p>"I'm not fooling, Hope. If you come any closer I'll throw her off. It's -a long way down."</p> - -<p>"You're crazy, Starbuck. You'll never leave this place alive." But -even as he spoke, he knew he could never reason with the man. "The -Robots can't let you carry their secret from here. Your only hope is to -cooperate with me."</p> - -<p>"Is that so? They're sending some more men up to get you. All I have -to do is hold the fort until ... cut it out, Hope! Stay right there." -Starbuck edged out of the doorway, dragging Diane along with him to the -railing at one side of the ramp. "I'll do it if you make me."</p> - -<p>"Don't listen to him, Johnny! I'm not afraid." Hair disheveled, -clothing torn, face bruised, she still looked beautiful to him. All at -once she stood for everything Westler had mentioned; for the future of -man, for the dreams of tomorrow, for a free world with no Plague and no -Robots. But for Westler the choice would have been easy. The girl—or -humanity.</p> - -<p>Westler had not been in love.</p> - -<p>Now Starbuck had forced Diane, back arched, breasts thrust forward, out -over the railing. She struggled in his grip, but futilely. He could -hurl her out over the edge and into space or not, as he wished.</p> - -<p>"Back up, Hope. I want you to go back down the ramp and surrender to -the Robots. You're only delaying things. More men will be here soon. -You're licked and you know it."</p> - -<p>Wearily, Johnny retreated. "Don't hurt her," he said. "Promise me that."</p> - -<p>"You crazy? I want her for myself."</p> - -<p>The thought numbed Johnny. He hadn't considered it that way. A live -Diane or a dead one was one thing. But a Diane forced to submit to -Starbuck....</p> - -<p>He reached his own immobile Robot, saw the others, not twenty yards -below him, waiting, thought he heard shouts somewhere behind them. -He must do what he had come to do as if Diane did not exist. It was -Starbuck who had made the choice for him.</p> - -<p>But there was a wild possibility....</p> - -<p>Quickly, he climbed within his Robot, activated it, lumbered forward. -He could feel the ramp shaking with each step he took. At any moment, -its struts might collapse and send him hurtling to his death, trapped -in his man-shaped metal coffin, far below.</p> - -<p>Soon he could see Starbuck again, on the ramp outside the doorway, -holding Diane. Starbuck's eyes went wide. Starbuck frowned, then began -to lick his lips anxiously.</p> - -<p>"You can't come up here!" he cried. "It won't hold you. I sent the man -down to surrender, anyway. Do you have him? Is he dead? What do you -want, anyway? I can come down myself. Don't come any closer, not unless -you want the ramp to collapse. Keep away, you hear me?"</p> - -<p>Johnny advanced slowly, the ramp shaking with each stride no longer, -but dipping and rocking constantly now, almost ready to go. Starbuck -retreated, taking Diane with him. Through the doorway they went—</p> - -<p>Out fell the faceplate of Johnny's Robot. He tumbled after it as the -ramp shook, metal grinding against metal, then snapped. He leaped -forward as the ramp caved in. He felt his feet shoot out from under -him, saw metal dropping away, twisting, to his left. He clawed out with -his hands, gripped a jagged edge, pulled himself up slowly as blood -made his hands slip.</p> - -<p>He stood in what was left of the doorway, trembling as reaction set in, -his heels on the brink of nothing, his bloodied hands aching.</p> - -<p>Starbuck roared and charged at him, attempting to drive him back a few -inches to his death. But Johnny caught him, met him halfway with no -room to evade the charge, and they grappled there, teetering on the -edge.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"You tricked me," Starbuck moaned. "That Robot ... was you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A knee blurred up at Johnny, exploding in violent pain. He felt himself -falling and managed to twist away from the edge of the sundered ramp. -He hit the floor with waves of nausea boiling up from his stomach. He -lay there, blinking his eyes.</p> - -<p>Starbuck came for him.</p> - -<p>He drew his legs up instinctively, the knees bent, then straightened as -Starbuck leaned over him. His feet caught the big man squarely on the -chest, lifted him, pushed—</p> - -<p>Starbuck went over the edge of the ramp, screaming all the way down.</p> - -<p>Inside, Johnny found Diane, dazed, on the floor. He ignored her. She -could wait, for now he was a man possessed. The machinery which he -could never hope to understand was all about him, bank on bank of it -lining the walls, humming with its strange, sentient energy, glowing -and flickering with a million lights.</p> - -<p><i>Kill yourself.</i></p> - -<p>Two words, clamoring, insistent, inside his skull. Their final hope.... -He felt himself edging back toward the doorway, and the death which -awaited him just outside. He looked at Diane, huddled on the floor, her -lips parted—"Johnny...."</p> - -<p><i>I love you</i>, he thought. The words of death and those of life and -hope fought inside his skull, twisting his brain, battling there for -mastery....</p> - -<p>He found something, a length of metal rod. He ripped it loose and began -to attack the machinery he would never understand. He was a wild man. -The strength flowed in from elsewhere, raising his arm, swinging it -high over his head and down. Sparks flew as his metal club battered -the crystaline tubes, the delicate wiring, the metal cases. Glass -shattered, sprinkled him, brought blood from a dozen cuts on his face. -Electricity hummed, then shrieked, then wailed off distantly on a -register too high for his ears.</p> - -<p>Raise his arm and plunge ... lift it and bring it down, battering, the -metal club part of him....</p> - -<p>It was Diane who eased the twisted rod from his fingers, soothed him -with her words. "It's finished. Easy, Johnny. You've done it."</p> - -<p>The place was a shambles. Bank on bank of gutted machinery lay silent -there, on a floor strewn with glass, with wire, with filaments, with -nameless things which were the brains for a million Robots.</p> - -<p>"There's another way out, Johnny. Starbuck took me here. Behind that -wall, you—"</p> - -<p>She took his hand and they went. The passage was dark and cool and -smelled musty, as if air did not circulate very well within it. It -was a place for thinking and dreaming of tomorrow. It was a place for -realizing you could go back to the hills and find Keleher and his -Shining Ones and convince them they should at least look at the City, -the City which belonged to them now, to them and DeReggio and his -villagers—and all the others. And there must be a coming together of -Keleher and DeReggio, with Johnny as mediator, and a realization that -the last Plague victim had been smitten and humanity had a long path to -travel but could set foot upon it right now, at once.</p> - -<p>Outside, it was growing dark, but Johnny could make out the still -forms of the Robots, gleaming red with final sunlight, sprawled upon -the broken streets. The Shining Ones within the City stalked about -furtively in small groups, not yet knowing what it meant to live -without their masters. Perhaps in time Keleher and all the others could -teach them.</p> - -<p>"Hungry?" said Johnny. "We could stop and eat."</p> - -<p>"No. You?"</p> - -<p>"In a different way."</p> - -<p>They followed the last slanting rays of the sun to the western river -and the mainland beyond it.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVES TO THE METAL HORDE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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