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sorrowing face to the next. "You're all nice people. You're all sweet as hell.
But I know what I have to do. So please, just do as I ask and no one will be
harmed."
Shimoda turned to the Autothor as though it no longer mattered; as though not
much of anything mattered anymore. Suddenly he looked and sounded his age, and
longed for the isolation and solitude of his apartment in the far-distant
retirement village.
"Open the inner door."
"I have been monitoring the recent conversation," the blue ellipse replied.
"Evaluation and analysis suggest that it may not be in your best interests to
do this."
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"It is all right." Iranaputra shrugged. "Something like this was bound to
happen sooner or later."
"I can easily destroy the small vessel in question." The Autothor was
persistent.
"That will not be necessary. Open the door."
Wraith-silent, the enormous barrier began to melt into the floor. Ashili
spared it an astonished glance but rapidly returned her attention to the four
men confronting her. Her grip on her prisoner never slackened.
As the barrier sank, it revealed a pair of heavily armed men waiting on the
other side. They hesitated until the obstacle had retracted completely, then
rushed forward. Two others came running from the distant corners of the lock,
a man and a woman.
"You've done well." The individual who greeted Ashili had the name "Praxedes"
heat-sealed to a tag over his heart.
"Thanks. I know they don't look like much, but you've got to stay close to
them and keep active weapons on them at all times, or they're liable to
havethat intervene. They call it the Autothor." She released Mina Gelmann, who
stepped away rubbing at her neck, and indicated the drifting ellipse.
The other man's gaze narrowed as he inspected the softly pulsing turquoise
oval. "What the hell is it?"
"Some kind of communications and control device for the artifact. It'll only
respond to them. I know; I've experimented."
Praxedes nodded. "Can you make it understand that if any one of us is so much
as singed, all five of these old folks are going to die?" He stared at the
seniors, who had clustered protectively around Gelmann. "I don't know what the
response time of your 'Autothor' is, but all of us are quick shots. Don't make
us prove it." He hesitated. "What about the robot?"
"Kitchen mechanical. I'm still not sure what it's doing with them."
"You'd never believe it. Not that it would raise you up if you did," Ksarusix
murmured.
Ashili ignored the irrelevant comment. "Do we leave now?"
"No. Orders are to explore some of the artifact first. How much have you
seen?"
"Not a great deal. It's simply too big." She considered. "To give you some
idea, one room holds an artificial ocean. There's another that's full of
instrumentation on a grand scale, and has some kind of viewport."
Praxedes conversed briefly with his three companions. "Sounds promising."
She nodded and turned to the seniors. "Lead the way."
"Why not?" Heath mumbled. He turned and started off, his friends following.
Ashili hung close to Gelmann while her people paired off with the four men.
Gun muzzles were pressed into backs and held there as the procession advanced.
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By the time they reached the room Gelmann referred to as the observation
chamber the five seniors were exhausted. Together with the mumbling,
complaining serving robot, they were herded into a corner next to the
high-arching window, through which the gleaming lunar surface was still
sharply visible. Two of the Candombleans kept watch over the seated prisoners
while Praxedes and another named Eradou conferred with Ashili.
"They seem docile enough." The commando in charge eyed the seated, wheezing
seniors. "They're older than I expected."
"Revelation of my true identity hit them pretty hard," she explained. "The
old woman's inclined to be stubborn, but at this point I don't believe they'll
make any trouble. I think they finally realize how far they're in over their
heads. Basically they've given up."
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