Charles Sheffield - Starfire

He started toward the study and workshop, the nerve center of the Argos Group underground headquarters, and suddenly halted. When he left, three rolfes had sat on the workbench in various stages of dismemberment. Now a fourth was beside them, an ugly truncated shape lacking head or legs.

By the time he turned it was too late. He glimpsed a moving shape, took one breath of sweet-smelling vapor, and then he saw nothing.

When he awoke he had no sense of lost time or unconsciousness, but he was lolling in a chair specially built to match the contours of his deformed back and shoulders. Six feet away, sitting on the workbench and watching him closely, was Seth Parsigian.

Seth nodded at him. “You weren’t here, squire, so I made myself at home. Are you comfortable?”

“I would be more so if I were not tied up like this.” Gordy gave an experimental tug at the tape that held him. It was far too strong to break. If he had a knife, he could cut it easily, but the useful tools were over at the workbench, where Seth was sitting. “Come on, Seth. This is ridiculous. Free me.”

“You don’t bother to ask why you’re tied up. You’re not cussing at me Gordy-style. I like that. Shows you got an efficient mind, know what’s goin’ on.” Seth reached out and picked up the headless rolfe. “I though you might want to have this back.”

“Why? Why would I want that one?” Rolfe was making a quick but covert survey of the room. The door to the jungle habitat was partway open. Everything else seemed normal. While Seth followed his look he again tested the tape that held him. There was a little give to it.

“I wouldn’t bother doin’ that while I’m here,” Seth said. He ignored Gordy’s question about the rolfe. “I don’t mind you tryin’ to get loose. I’d do the same. But if you look like you’re winnin’, I’ll just have to tie you up again.”

“I’m not trying to get loose. And I would like that rolfe back, but not for a while. It’s one of the new models, isn’t it, on lease to Sky City? It should be up there.”

“Yeah. So should I. But actually, I’m not sure this one’s gonna work anymore.” Seth turned the rolfe over, revealing the gaping body cavity. “I pretty much had to turn its brain to mush to get at the hidden instruction set. But I found it. Why’d you try to kill me, Gordy? Wasn’t I doin’ the job you wanted me to?”

“You were. Plus a few things I didn’t ask for.”

“You mean findin’ out about the Sky City game?” Seth grinned. “Ah, that was nothin’. You know me, I’m naturally nosy. Part of the reason you hired me. An’ that’s a lousy reason to try to kill me. Wouldn’t it have been easier to buy me?”

“Of course it would.” Rolfe sat up straighter in the chair. “Seth, you ought to know me better than that. If I’d wanted to dispose of you, there are more certain ways. I didn’t expect that rolfe to kill you.”

“Sure as hell looked that way to me. What did you expect?”

“Exactly what happened. That you would disable it.”

“Yeah? Hm. S’pose it disabled me ?”

“Then you wouldn’t be the man I thought you were — the man you said you were when I hired you. Think of it as a little test, Seth. One that you passed with flying colors.”

“That right? A test, eh?” Seth casually tossed the rolfe to one side, and it fell to the hard floor with a clang and clatter of metal. “Test for what?”

“For a more senior place in the Argos Group. I want you as my right-hand man.” Rolfe leaned forward, as far as the tapes on his forearms and ankles would permit. His eyes burned with energy. “You may wonder why I would propose such a change at this particular time. I will tell you. A few days ago I had a great disappointment. Someone for whom I had planned a great future in this organization turned out to be less than I had hoped.”

“Don’t be coy. Maddy Wheatstone up an’ quit on you. Right?”

“That is correct. She was a woman in whom I had invested much of my time and the group’s resources, a woman who was being groomed for the top. Without warning or reason, she resigned.”

“Oh, she had a reason. Sort of. She got swoony about her assignment.”

“John Hyslop. I know that. But then I should blame myself even more, for a major error of judgment. Only a few weeks ago I was boasting of Maddy’s dedication to the Argos Group and of her inner strength. I ought not to have done that. Such talk is hubris, an invitation to the gods to prove me wrong. And they did.”

“Seems you oughta have been knockin’ her off, not me.”

“To what end? She has proved to be a weak reed. And I did not intend you to die.”

“You said that before. But you programmed one of the new rolfes on the way to Sky City with a deadly bit of code, tuned just for me.”

“Expecting, exactly as proved to be the case, that you would be able to look after yourself.”

“Even so. Pretty hostile act toward an employee. Am I bein’ dumb, or is it unreasonable to expect me to thank you for the chance at promotion?”

Rolfe shrugged, as much as he could with his constraints. “Are you looking for an apology? I will not offer one. You are here. You are unharmed. We are talking of future opportunities. You have no cause for complaint.”

“Yeah. But you know, Gordy, you always talk formal when you’re thinkin’ hard. An’ you’re bein’ formal now. So I better be thinkin’, too. Can you gimme a minute?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Guess not.” Seth eased himself off the workbench and wandered around the chamber, examining communications equipment and controls. He spent a long time at the door to the habitat, apparently studying its design. Finally he wandered back.

“Seems like it ought to be tit for tat. You say you weren’t tryin’ to kill me. You were just playing a little game, testin’ me out to see if I’m as smart as I’m s’posed to be. All right. But what about you ? Are you as smart as you’re supposed to be? If not, then I’m the one bein’ cheated. If I had to pass a little test, you oughta do the same.”

“Obviously I cannot be expected to agree with you. At the same time, I cannot deny the validity of your logic.”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself. So here’s what we do.” Seth pointed to the wall and the green jungle beyond. “I took a look out there earlier, and it’s full of nasties. Mebbe they’re all your sweethearts, but for me it’s like Grandma: What big teeth you got.”

“You are referring to the minisaurs.”

“If that’s what you call ’em. They didn’t look much mini to me. They were quiet durin’ the day, so I assume they’re night feeders. I don’t know how strong they are, but I’d guess plenty. If that door was open a few hours from now, an’ they felt peckish, a man would have lotsa trouble keepin’ ’em out.”

“The door to the jungle habitat is always locked at night.”

“That don’t surprise me none. But tonight it won’t be. I’m gonna smash the mechanical lock, an’ fix the electronic one so it don’t work, either. That door will stay open. Then I’m gonna bollix your communications equipment so you can’t call for help from outside. I’m gonna take away anything that looks like it might be a weapon. An’ I guess I’ll take away the rolfes, too, even though they look busted. Then I’ll leave by the hatch in the middle there, an’ lock it from below so you can’t get out that way.” Seth came to Rolfe’s side and examined the tapes. “Tight, but not too tight. My bet is you’ll be free an hour after I’m gone. Then you can look for another way out, or find a way to stop the nasties gettin’ at you while you work on the hatch, or anythin’ else you feel like. How you spend your time is up to you. Think of this as your own little test — a lot easier than the one you gave me.”