Mark Tiedemann - Mirage

"Let's try it," Gambel answered. standby mode disabled, connection utilization protocol open, tier three data ready for dump, connection complete, standby command inoperative, tier three data delivered, trace feedback through system diagnostic/interrogatory, bypass feed overload, bypass polarity gate, bypass directional bias, connect to diagnostic/interrogatory AI, reroute interrogatory, bypass security buffer, locate output to accessory diagnostic systems, bypass isolation buffers, connection established "Maybe it looks better than it should," Gambel said, studying the console, "but it's a mess internally. I'm amazed it could move. Look at this"

"I can't decipher this stuff."

"You should learn."

"Why? Are we going to get another one?"

Gambel gave his partner a critical look, then returned his attention to the readouts.

"There's no brain left here," he said finally.

"You're sure?"

"Pretty sure. I think we should get Kedder in here to be sure, but… Bogard is not much anymore. The radiation must have burned out most of his pathways. Sixty, sixty-five percent degradation."

"I love it when you sound like you know what you're talking about."

"If you'd paid attention during the briefings then you'd know what I'm talking about, too. Look." Gambel tapped the console. "See this? It indicates volume of positron transmission through the matrix. It should be higher. That means Bogard's running on about one-twentieth of what he should be. That's the equivalent of a major stroke in you or I. Well, in you, anyway."

"Ha ha. I'm going to call Kedder."

"Do that. I won't feel safe until this thing is shut down completely."

"You don't know how to do that?" Cupra asked.

"Not now. Most of Bogard's failsafes look just as crippled as the rest of him."

"I'd feel better if we hadn't used a nuke."

"Why? Anything smaller and Bogard might be more functional."

"But we'd have had a body."

"And more questions. Go call Kedder." tactical analysis, zero surveillance, sealed lab, comline on security routing, analyzing encryption, code entered, call established, recorder on, searching searching searching, no external surveillance verified, unsecured facility, escape probabilities increased to eighty-plus percentile, analyzing available equipment "There's a problem," Cupra said. "They took Avery."

Gambel frowned. "Who took him?"

"Golner. Kedder set it up."

"Damn. Idiots. Where are they?"

"The garage."

"Tell them to do nothing with him till one of us gets there."

"Already did. But the word came from the top floor. Avery was at Imbitek this morning."

Gambel blinked at his partner. "Oh." He shrugged. "Let me finish here. Is Kedder coming?"

"I'll bring him back."

"You're going?"

"I don't know what you're doing here. I might as well do something useful."

Gambel nodded. "Check with One before you go."

"Yes, sir, boss." Cupra turned to leave.

"Cupra?"

"Yes?"

"When this is over, I'm requesting a new partner."

Cupra grinned. "I like you, too."

Cupra left the lab and Gambel shook his head. "Idiot." He checked the readouts again, then looked up at Bogard. "The only question I have is, how come it took so long for someone to call you in? You must've been wandering around down there ever since. Where were you?" interrogatory parameters referent primary instructions, negative violation, negative obligation, reply not required, refer program buffer sublevel C-two, continue analysis of supplemental systems Bogard said nothing.

Gambel shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, you are gone, my friend. I'd rather you had burned up in the blast, but…" He worked the console. "We'll let Kedder take a look at you. He's our positronic man, but I think I know enough to tell. Meantime, we don't want you wandering off, so…"

Clamps extruded from the sides of the niche to secure Bogard.

"Gambel?" a voice called.

The agent went to the comline. "Yes, sir?"

"I want to see you in my office. Now."

"Yes, sir. Be right up." He walked up to Bogard and studied it for a moment. "You know, I could get to like working with robots. I don't really see the big problem." He shrugged. "Oh, well, not my decision. One calls, have to see what's going on. I'll be back."

Gambel gave the monitors one more look, then left the lab. niche locks bypassed, command override initiated, survey internal surveillance, continues zero, sealed lab, initiate second tier program Bogard's body seemed to ooze out of the niche, leaving the locks in place. The connections retracted from their contacts automatically once the unit detected activity, and Bogard reformed itself, adopting a smooth, seamless configuration with a very shallow sensor shadow, and a dull, dark color. resume Junctions, full positronic access, initiate third tier program, load data, load memory, analyze, sort, configure, reset, Junction optimal, situation nominal, initiate search parameters, accessory buffer online to receive data Bogard shifted from station to station in the lab, extruding direct contacts to link into each piece of data storage equipment and copying what it found into the prepared space. It moved fluidly, swiftly, making the entire round of the lab in less than a minute. It stopped finally at the intercom terminal and inserted a probe. analyze security, decode primary and secondary restriction algorithms, set and establish access protocols, direct system interrogatory, scan complete, search and copy protocols initiated Mia waited with growing anxiety. Bogard had been "in the field" for nearly three hours and she could not help but doubt everything was fine.

The transport sat at the end of a long alley within sight of one of the maintenance accesses to the Special Service HQ. The building alongside which she had parked contained an extension of the government law library, and her vehicle ID transponder offered, when requested, a permit for a pick-up from the library. Mia was unsure what exactly she would be picking up, but Ariel had assured her that the permit was routine, and so far no one had challenged Mia's presence. It was sloppy of the Service not to, though. An Auroran embassy vehicle, parked for nearly an hour just down the way from a high security complex, for no apparent reason.

She had spent that hour going through the disk from Lanra. In many respects they had duplicated each other's efforts. He had gone through the same lists, rejected the same names, kept many of the same possibilities. At the top of his list of suspects was Alda Mikels of Imbitek.

But he also considered Gale Chassik, the Solarian ambassador, as a possible. As evidence he cited several meetings between Imbitek people and the Solarians at the embassy. But that meant little to Mia-it had been a Solarian company that had installed the RI at Union Station, and Imbitek had installed a good part of the accessory systems. Cooperation at some level was to be expected.

There had been three meetings between Chassik and Mikels.

"So what?" Mia asked aloud. "Ariel probably knows Mikels, too…"

Another name on the list was Bok Golner. "So you came up with him, too…" Lanra had a slightly more extensive file than she. Golner had been with almost all the larger anti-robot, Earth-firster organizations, some for only a few weeks. She had expected that. But he worked as an environmental service tech for Cyvan. So through a long chain of corporate connections, he worked for Alda Mikels. But the chain was long enough that it would not support the conclusion in court. Lanra had appended Golner's military service record, as well.

He had also included a section on an investigation of his own client, DyNan Manual Industries. Lanra was thorough; he had no intention of working for anyone who he would otherwise find culpable. The file contained the usual statistics on personnel, profits, distribution, customers. Then it opened into a file on the Church of Organic Sapiens. Lanra found much of the dogma as unpalatable as Mia, but he noted several policy statements advocating nonviolence and patience and the general principle that to reject something it was vital to reject it completely and not even copy parts of it. To Lanra, this meant that Looms would never stoop low enough to do what he despised in others.