Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition Page 17

  There was a scroll in the basket that informed the head of any village I was working for the Jurtkep Island tribe and was to be afforded the courtesies afforded to any diplomat anywhere, or the warriors would come and teach them manners.

  It stated it diplomatically, but made it plain my route was known and that should I be late in my scheduled return there would be dire consequences, as a fully armed and very large war party would come to find why I was delayed. The scroll was in the common trade language of the island people (TR learned it with floaters to various places) that was basically picture depictions along with some signs used universally on Killit. Even if the brain didn't know the trade language it couldn't miss the meaning of that scroll. I wouldn't be bothered here if it was avoidable. Attention was the very last thing that brain wanted or could afford.

  In the morning I prepared a breakfast of a piece of fruit from the boat, fried two of the lizard eggs on a flat piece of bronze, and ate some nuts, also from the boat. I carefully cleaned the area and stowed my belongings on the boat, then checked around the little beach before going among the rocks to look around. I went into a small cave for a ways and found a small vein of gold (Natural) which I dug into, keeping the precious metal that came out.

  I then went to the boat to put the gold into the basket and took out the map to carefully draw where I found it.

  I replaced the map and went back to explore the little cave further, then went out to climb a short way up the side of the volcano to an obvious pegmatite clay pit. I found a couple of poor quality opals there (Natural. The brain obviously explored all of this area, and knew where such things were) and one good one. I went back to the boat to mark the lode on my map, then climbed the other side of the cavern entrance for a distance, finding nothing but a strange orchid-like plant whose seed had blown in on the wind from one of the older islands. I considered, then took the plant. There was a better than even chance this mountain would be blasted apart anyway, the plant had come as seed so there were more, and Z collected these kinds of plants and would appreciate me bringing him one. TR could hold it in stasis until we were back on EC, so I recorded every small detail of the area where I found it.

  Strange. It was an organic thought pattern that I would be in a position where my own destruction was always moments away and where the entire civilization on this world was at peril and possibly societies on many other planets – and I was collecting an odd plant for a friend on a world clear across the galaxy from here!

  TR and I later decided that much of the success of the entire venture there was due to the fact the brain decided while its servos showed me collecting a plant that no machine would ever do such a thing; ergo, I must be authentic. Just an old Killit out exploring for my tribe and finding an odd thing to please my mate or some other female.

  I took the plant back to the boat where I carefully stowed it, marked my map, and turned back to stare at the huge opening to the cavern. I hitched my leg and grimaced in pain I almost really felt at that point, looked at the sun's position, sighed, and sat in the shade of the cliff to have a small drink of water from my jar, then a small drink of the wine.

  I laid back to feign taking a restful little nap and to give the brain time to finish its robot.

  After about an hour I stood, stretched, and started toward cavern entrance. I took my time, following the path the large rodents of the caves had made to the water's edge.

  I should have expected such, knowing the brain had used the design before and would find it rather easy to make a duplicate. The surprised reaction I gave was probably very much the reaction any normal Killit would make when meeting anyone in a place where it would be totally unexpected that anyone existed. I jerked in surprise when I came around a rock to have a copy of Noobish say, "Hello! Whatever in the world are you doing way out here?"

  Messages

  I stared at her a moment, making my heart race and such for the sensors scanning me that were built into her.

  "What?!" I exclaimed. "Some woman dressed in clothes like a city woman asks me what I'M doing in my own land?"

  "Oh, no! I didn't mean anything like that!" Noobish exclaimed. "I was just so surprised to see anyone here! It's been so long since I saw another living person, other than those in our party."

  "Humff! Don't see why you'd be here anyhow. Ain't nothin' but rocks and caves and lizards. Not much for no city woman.

  "Where you from, girl – if it don't make no never-mind if I ask?"

  "Why, I'm from Stormlee! Daddy came to look for gold and I came along. I didn't know we would be going to these kinds of places. I never knew we would be so far away from others."

  "Stormlee? Heard of Stormlee day before I set out. Had some trouble there. Some starker. Had something they call a metal man. Had a word for it.

  "Go-at-em? Something like that. Said everybody on the islands is to look out for 'em. There's supposed to be some other starker got away, but we ain't got much use for no magicians out here. Won't come around here!"

  "How could you have heard from Stormlee in so short a time!?! I mean, I didn't know there was any way you could hear from Stormlee way out here!"

  "You come out from Stormlee yourself! You got a brain, girl, use it! You could of brought news on your ship, but you should know better about such things if you're on the open seas, you should. Your poppa should'a told you about the signals, so if you got lost 'er in trouble. Shouldn't nobody be on the sea if they don't know.

  "Ain't smart! Ain't smart a tall!"

  "Signals?" she asked. "What do you mean, signals?"

  I could almost hear TR screaming to me not to overdo it, but I wanted to scare that brain and keep it off balance as much as I could.

  "Why, ain't you been on the ship at night? Not that I seen any ship here, but I know you seen them with the lantern flashing the words. You had to if you come on a ship.

  "You mean your poppa didn't teach you distress signal afore he brung you on the ocean? Is your poppa stupid or just a citybred so's he don't know no better?"

  "Er, the ship went for supplies and I stayed here with the mining, er, stuff. I, er, saw the signals with the lanterns, but I didn't, uh, know what they were doing, uh, exactly."

  "Well, I'll tell you, girl. In one night a message can go from one end of the land to the tip of the islands and back again with an answer. They's special long and short signs for different words 'er letters so's you can spell the words. They ain't one here, 'cause nobody's here, most times, but from Yeller Peak on Kidjern Island you can see a light on Cloud Peak on Slorpen – full day sailin' away!

  "You take a polished silver dish behind even a little light, you can see for half a hunnert kilometers over water, ain't no seafog ta stop it. They uses big fires and big bowls island to island.

  "What I mean you should know is that you shows a sign, flash, flash, flash, pause, flash-flash. Like that. It's distress and anybody what sees it’ll come help. Everbody should know that on the sea if not on the land, too! Your poppa should'a taught that to you.

  "You ever get in trouble out there, you make the signal. Don't know which direction, repeat it in all of 'em in a circle till you sees a flash-flash, which means 'I see you 'n I'm comin'.'

  "The ships or little boats like mine have a thing where they can flash-flash at certain times so's the watchers knows they's NOT in trouble. No flash-flash and they come automatic-like. Like tonight I got to flash-flash from the north end of this here island or they'll come lookin' for me tamorry. I don't flash-flash and two hours they know I'm lost clear to the mainland.

  "It's silly for an old man like me who could kick off anytime, but it's good in a way. If I'm hurt or sick someone will come to know and if I'm dead they'll be able to get me and bury me all honorable like."

  "Oh, how nice!" she exclaimed. "I heard you people out here look out for each other! I wish they did that on the continent. If you're not some important personage nobody will pay you any attention at all."

  "That's uhcause you HA
VE important personages! Here, everbody's important, nobody more'r less than t'other.

  "Your poppa ain't finding 'nuff gold out here to make it be worthwhile, I tell you. They's a bit in that cave there. 'Nuff to make a ring 'er two 'er somethin', but ain't worth coming far to get.

  "I got some little jools an one good opal, but this trip ain't much for those things.

  "I found some good egg nests. Them's the things worth all the trouble. Baubles and gold ain't good for nothin' cept to look at. Can't eat 'em."

  "I told poppa that. I said you can't eat gold and it isn't even warm to wear and it's heavy.

  "It gets cold on the continent like it never does here. He should look for good foods and he can sell the food for all the gold he wants – and eat at the same time!"

  "Shows what you know! You think it don't get cold here you go up to the top of this mountain come sunset when the clouds sit on there. You'll find out what's cold.

  "I'd think there was plenty room on the continent to grow all the food anyone could want. Wouldn't be any reason to sell it for gold. Food belongs to everbody out here."

  "Oh, it's not that way on the continent. Food is very expensive."

  She was trying to get me sexually aroused! I had been wondering why this silly conversation and had gone along, but now I saw what she was doing – or what the brain was doing.

  I didn't think that robot could perform sexually. It wasn't that well made, so what was the object?

  She leaned over to touch my shoulder and look up into my eyes the way the whores did on the docks of Stormlee. That's where the brain learned about this, so I could throw it a little more off balance with my reaction.

  "Honey," I said dryly. "You got a lot to learn about island people. You want a roll in the bushes you just say so. It's only dock women who play those kinds of silly games you're playin' and they don't work on us island people. Tryin' to hang your dress open is plain silly, when most of us don't ever wear clothes.

  "I'd think you could figger that out, since I ain't wearin' none. I did say you wore clothes like a city woman. I didn't say you wore the KIND of clothes a city woman wears!

  "We likes sex and we enjoys sex. We don't have no money and don't use no money and no woman can sell sex to no man uhcause there's others who wouldn't stoop to tryin'.

  "Ain't no man nor no woman out here goin' to pay for somethin' that's plain natural.

  "I'm an old man whose ticker ain't too good, but I still know a thing er two. I ain't in bad shape and, if you mean it, we can have a hell of a good time here – but stop this silly playin' around!"

  She looked surprised, then startled, then made an unconvincing giggle. "I do flirt, but I don't mean anything by it. I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea and to think I would do things like that!"

  "Like what? Everbody does sex things of one sort er another. Ain't no shame less'n you done made the promise, then you'd wear the ring out here and nobody'd ever suggest anything.

  "I ain't wearin' no ring. My mate died years ago. You ain't wearin' none neither, but that don't mean nothin' with city some people. I found city people who come out here and pretend they ain't never promised themselves when they have. They've even got some kind of paper that says they's promised.

  "They all yell about lyin' and shame, but that's as much lyin' as anything. Ain't got no honor 'cordin' to our code, but I guess we don't seem to have none 'cording to your code. That's the way of it.

  "You ain't found no gold in that cave you came out'n. It's a dead blowhole an they ain't nothin but glassrock and pumice in them things."

  "Er, no. We keep the mining, er, stuff in there because it's big and out of the weather."

  "Don't see as no mining stuff could be any good if'n it kin be hurt by weather. Not much you city people do makes no sense to me.

  "I got to go. I got to be at Northend come sunset to flash-flash. I'll come back this way on the morry sometime. Maybe I'll see you then. Maybe your poppa will be back an I can tell him what I think of a man'd take a girl like you out on the sea an not learn 'er distress signals.

  "Just sort of half a joke. It really ain't smart, you know."

  "Well, you taught them to me, so I know now! I can tell daddy to never do anything like that again. He's really a little absentminded. He means well."

  I nodded and she walked with me to the boat, which I slid off the beach and rowed to the open water, then unfurled the little sail and headed north. There was a servo unit on the mountain that wouldn't stray from me for one second, so I had to be very careful about the lightbeam transmission to TR. I told it about everything that happened and instructed it to answer my dual flash signal and to send some nonsense in return, which I would answer.

  "Why?" TR asked.

  "Because I'm going back there tomorrow and I want it to be damned glad it didn't do anything to me today. If it thinks I'm expected to carry on a set form of conversation when I signal it'll think twice before it does anything to leave me in a position where I COULDN'T answer.

  "It now must think we can have a message to the mainland in an hour. It didn't count on that.

  "I wonder what would've happened if I'd let that robot seduce me? Could it have performed?"

  "YOU can," TR replied. "I very much doubt the brain has sophistication enough to build a robot capable of faking it very well. It would probably have to get rid of you if you actually did anything."

  "If it tries any such thing again I'll give it a good physical reaction. Maybe it'll be enough to warn it away. Too bad these people have no idea of what rape is. It would be a good way to 'discover' this was one of the golems we were warned about in the signals from the mainland."

  "Just be careful. I saw what you had in mind back there, but you gave me a scare.

  "Maybe you gave that thing a worse one! I think maybe you'll meet Noobish's poppa when you return.

  "I wonder what they'll do about supplying a ship?"

  "Keep an eye on 'em. That thing might hijack one."

  I went back to the north end of the island, beached, signaled, was signaled back to, then went through the same ritual I had the night before. In the morning I took the boat back to the beach to find Noobish and another, older male robot waiting for me. I asked where the ship was.

  "They dropped me off and transported some sick people on to the mainland," "Mr. Hoosh" replied, after introducing himself as Noobish's father. "They'll come back later. It'll give me time to explore awhile."

  "Uh, Nike (That's the name I gave her yesterday)," Noobish said. "Did you tell your tribe about me?"

  "Well, I said I'd met a party of miners here. I didn't say you was from Stormlee or nothing, though. If they's think you're regular island hoppers, it's not my fault.

  "I don't think you'll try to bring your city ways out here. You do an they'll run you off fast. We all believe in live an let live. You don't bother us none an we won't bother you, neither. Don't often come out here nohow 'cept a coupla times a year for the eggs 'n to see what's changed.

  "Lotta rockslides sometimes, an they was some tremors coupla days ago. You feel 'em?"

  "Yes, a bit," Mr. Hoosh replied. "They caused a few slides inside the caves. They could be dangerous."

  "I was gonna tell the girl here the mining stuff may be safer out in the weather than it'll likely be in there if'n the tremors start uhgin.

  "Might not. Don't often come too close together.

  "Do sometimes, though."

  "Oh, we'll be very careful, Nike," Noobish promised. "Daddy knows all about caves and that stuff!"

  "Humff! Then you'd think he'd look for gold over to the valley side over there! (Where the brain was right now mining gold and lead). They's some gold an some lead an a little silver, too! Your poppa could make you a SIGNAL MIRROR with some 'a the silver, maybe!"

  I said that very pointedly.

  "Oh! I told daddy about that and he yelled at Captain Harg for not telling me!"

  "The captain had strict orders to drill everyone on
board in all safety procedures," Mr. Hoosh said. "He passed the order on or something, but I insisted that is no excuse. It is always the responsibility of the captain to see that things are done at all times. If a thing is not done aboard a ship it is the fault and the responsibility of the captain and I WILL NOT hear any excuses whatever!

  "I WILL NOT! There ARE no excuses for not doing a duty! There ARE NO EXCUSES! I WILL NOT hear them!"

  "That is true!" Noobish took it up. "NO ONE is exempt from the responsibilities of position! A captain who will not carry out his orders is NOT to be tolerated!"

  They both seemed to catch themselves at the same moment. I had prodded the brain in a military area and it was responding from its insanity.

  "Er, that is, uh, I get very upset when my lovely daughter is placed in any danger, no matter how slight," Mr. Hoosh explained apologetically. "Please forgive me if I appear to overemphasize such things. I'm afraid Noobie has sort of let me teach her too well about such things. She becomes upset because she knows I'm upset."

  "Well," I answered conversationally, "I think that if you done hired this Captain Harg to do a job he oughtta do that job, or he oughtta be told to take a swim to another ship! Like you said, the captain's the one what's 'sponsible for everone on the ship.

  "I can have a message waiting that he's to be replaced when he makes port. I can have the message there an hour after dark an he can't make mainland ports for two days'r more!"

  "Oh, uh, no!" Mr. Hoosh cried. "I think I have an, er, a, uh, understanding with Captain Harg. There won't be anymore problems, we can be sure!"

  I was getting tired of this standing on the beach wasting time and stalling. "Well! Let's see what kind of mining stuff you got there! I's once on a mine. Cinnabar. Over to Tern Roost Island. Maybe I can show you where to find gold, but there ain't that much 'a it here, I don't think.

  "Might be a lot down deep. Rose quartz says they's some down farther."

  I wondered how they planned to get out of that! It wouldn't be thinkable they would refuse to show me the equipment, either here OR on the continent.