Джек Макдевитт - Cryptic - The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt

“How many, George?”

“ Four. Class YK. ”

The class designation meant nothing to me. “Let’s get closer.”

“ Are you working on a new project, Dr. Kaminsky? ” He was trying to sound as if he hadn’t guessed what I intended.

“No. Just curious about the bombers.” One began to take shape dead ahead. Lights gleamed along its flanks and outlined the tail. He picked out horizontal and vertical fins, and the rudder. And the gondola, slung beneath the gasbag. “Hydrogen?” I asked.

“ Helium, ” said George.

I got a sense of its size as we pulled alongside the tail. It was immense. “George,” I said. “Open the hatch.”

“ Doctor Kaminsky, may I ask why? Opening a hatch in flight is hazardous. ”

“I want to get a better look.”

“ The viewports are adequate. ”

“Just do it, George.”

“ I have no choice but to decline, sir. ”

“Do it. Or I’ll disable you and do it myself.”

The portside lights of the dirigible began to slip past. Damned arrogant sons of bitches were so careful to keep themselves out of harm’s way, they didn’t even have to turn off their lights. “ You are not qualified to pilot the lander. ”

“I’ve read the instructions.” I knew how that sounded, and waited for the AI to laugh.

“ Don’t try it. It’s not as easy as it looks. ”

It didn’t look easy.

The AI control was located on the pilot’s left, under the board. You reached down, got hold of a handle, and twisted it. A panel opened, and there it was. On/off.

I grabbed hold of the handle. “George, you sure?”

“ Why, Doctor? Why are you doing this? What can you possibly hope to accomplish? ”

“I’m doing it because these sons of bitches run loose all over the planet. They kill arbitrarily and they don’t give a damn. It’s a joke. Maybe if they had to pay a price, things would be different.”

“ Do you have any idea how you sound? ”

“I don’t much care how I sound.”

“ Do I have to remind you, Doctor, that you’re only one man? This is a global conflagration. It’s been going on for a long time. For decades. Do you really think you can do anything constructive? ”

“It’s not a war, damn it. It’s wholesale slaughter and it goes on and on and nobody cares. Except the people who do the dying.”

“ They are not people, Art. ” He said it so softly that I barely heard him. It was the first time the AI had used my first name.

“Good-by, George.”

“ Wait. What are you going to do when you shut me down? You can’t attack the thing. We’re not armed. ”

“I have a laser.”

“ A hand laser, obviously. ”

“Of course.”

“ You’ll get us both killed. ”

That was an odd remark. AI’s were theoretically not self-aware. Well, I’d think about it later. I switched him off. The autopilot took over and continued course and speed. I had some trouble extracting the yoke, but we held steady until I had it clear and locked in place. But as soon as I took over, we went into a dive. I was holding the yoke too far forward. So I pulled back and the spacecraft leveled off.

Okay. Pull on it and climb. Push right and go right. Leave the thrust alone. It wasn’t all that hard.

Nok’s atmosphere was similar to Earth’s. And, as had been the case elsewhere, local microbes showed no interest in attacking offworld life forms. I opened up with impunity, both airlock hatches, and the wind howled through the cabin, but I could see out into the night sky. I’d gone past my intended target and didn’t want to try slowing down or turning around, but it didn’t matter. Another dirigible lay directly ahead.

Its propellers spun complacently. There was a symbol on the hull. A national logo, a circle divided equally in three parts, green, white, and yellow. It looked like the old peace symbol.

I let go of the yoke, and the spacecraft veered and dipped.

Okay. I’d known I couldn’t do that but it seemed worth trying. I’d have to manage everything without getting out of my seat. Across the void between the airlock and the dirigible, the night was still. I drew alongside the gondola. Could see movement inside. I was even able to make out a Nok with a telescope. For a moment I thought he was watching me, but of course the lander and I were invisible. Or were we? The hatch was open. Could the interior of the vehicle be seen from outside? I had no idea.

The telescope was pointed at me.

I drew the laser out of a vest pocket and activated it. The mode lamp blinked on, ready to go, and I aimed the thing. Be careful. Don’t hit the airlock. It was hard to concentrate on holding the weapon steady and doing the same thing with the lander. Every time I took my attention off the yoke we wobbled or sank or veered in one direction or another. FinallyI switched the AI back on. “George? You there?”

“ Yes, Doctor. ” We were back on formal terms.

“Take over. Keep us headed straight ahead.”

No answer.

I lifted my hands from the yoke. We stayed on course. Okay. I squinted through the sight, through the airlock, and took aim at the peace symbol. Right in the middle of the dirigible. Can’t miss.

I pressed the pad and watched the red beam blink on. It touched the gasbag. I couldn’t see well enough in the dark to judge the effect, but almost immediately one of the navigation lights went out.

“ You understand, ” said George, “ that they will send you home. ”

“Just keep us steady.”

“ There’s even a chance of criminal prosecution. ” He began to recite the laws I was in the act of breaking. “ Your career is over. ”

No visible effect yet on the dirigible, other than the missing light. I kept it on. Moved the beam slowly forward.

“ I recommend we return immediately to the Sheldrake , and you claim mental stress based on your experience yesterday on the ground. It probably won’t save your career, but it should be sufficient to prevent prosecution. ”

“You’re pulling away.”

“ Yes. I’m programed to keep you out of trouble. To the best of my ability. ”

Our angle with the dirigible was changing and I had to shut the laser down. “George,” I said, “you’re supposed to be intelligent.”

“ That’s an illusion, Doctor. As you well know. I am a programmed system. I am not a sentient entity. ”

We were getting still farther away. Behind us I saw a wisp of smoke. The dirigible was beginning to sag. Dropping out of formation.

“George, put us back or I’ll shut you down again.”

No response. A few cockpit lamps began blinking. George was unsure what to do. Then he slowed down, angled right, and laid us back alongside the damaged airship.

It was losing altitude. I raised a fist in a silent gesture and wondered when I’d last felt so good. I gave the dirigible another burst and took out the portside propellor. Then we moved forward along the bow and shot that up as well.

It was a great feeling.

The dirigible staggered and began to heel over.

“ Congratulations, Doctor, ” said George.

“I didn’t think you guys could be sarcastic.”

“ I do not take offense. ”

“I’m glad to hear it. There’s another one ahead on the left. Take us alongside.”

“ Kaminsky, what the hell do you think you’re doing? ” McCarver’s voice exploded from the commlink.

“George.” I tried to sound betrayed. “Did you tell him?”