Melt gave the faintest hiss of static in reply.
Karel re-emerged into the long grey street, huddled under the dull green hill beneath a wretched grey sky. The rain plinked on his shell, and he felt utterly miserable. A noise, the sound of shifting stone. He turned, but there was no one there.
Something had changed. Karel scanned the blank faces of the old buildings. Something was out there, he could feel it. A flicker of movement to his right and he swung round. Nothing.
‘Hello?’ he said, his voice lost in the pattering rain. ‘Morphobia Alligator?’
He sensed something behind him.
He turned around and saw two robots walking towards him, their hands raised in greeting. His feeling of pleasure at the sight of help quickly turned to disgust as he saw the state of the robots that approached.
Their bodies were dented and in poor repair, the squeaking and grinding noises they made as they walked showed what little care they took of themselves.
Worst of all though, and the sight of it filled him with utter revulsion, they were covered in rust.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do looked around the Emperor’s Palace in deepening awe, trying to put his emotions into order, trying to make sense of the odd trepidation that he felt. It wasn’t the sight of the high, polished ceilings of brass and titanium; it wasn’t the paper scrolls that hung down over the brushed aluminium walls, a few strokes of paint evincing autumnal scenes, a bough of cherry blossom or elegant robots from times past dressed in copper bodies. It wasn’t even the sound of the robot gamelan that played in the corner of the room, and this was unusual, for Wa-Ka-Mo-Do, warrior and poet, understood the music of the metallophone and the gong, and those instruments cast in Sangrel were famous throughout Yukawa for their clarity and tone.
No, what truly moved him to silent wonder was the sight of the animals that moved through the building. Humans everywhere, their soft brown and pink and muddy-yellow bodies covered in bright fabrics. That the Emperor should give this place up to the animals was hard enough to believe, that they could accept this gift seemingly without understanding its significance was beyond comprehension. Yet it was so, for the animals had pushed aside the busts and vases and screens of the palace, with no regard for the harmony of the place. And then, insult upon insult, they had brought in their own furniture. Plastic chairs; long tables covered in cloth; ugly white lights. Everything they used had function but little form. Their artefacts were plain and ugly, an insult to the Emperor. And everywhere they had draped the long black wires that snaked through the rooms and corridors, singing with the strange electricity that the humans used. Rectangular screens hung on walls, flickering with pictures of other places, they made Wa-Ka-Mo-Do’s head buzz if he looked too closely.
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do and Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah entered the Great Hall together. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do’s scarlet body was polished beyond its usual shine, it seemed to glow with a deep red light this evening. The ceremonial blades at his hands and feet sharpened to a razor’s edge. His electromuscles were freshly straightened and his joints lubricated with fine oil. He looked just how the commander of Sangrel should look. Or so he had believed, until he saw Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah. He had forgotten that fashion of the nobility: to wear another body to events such as this. Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah’s dress body was built in the imperial style, a stylized representation of a warrior, a sweeping arrangement of fins and blades, of quicksilver motion captured halfway through an attack. Impressive to look at, but so thin and fragile, it would crumple almost at a touch. Of course, that wasn’t the point. The nobility could afford to wear bodies such as this, protected as they were by their position. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do knew that some of the animals in the room would mistake Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah for the commander of Sangrel. He didn’t mind. The robots were here to put on a show. Tonight, Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah at least, outshone the humans.
The humans wore virtually no metal. They covered themselves either in plain black fabric or exotically coloured silks. It took Wa-Ka-Mo-Do a few moments to realize there was a system to their dress. He had seen quite a few of the humans by now: he was at the stage where he could distinguish the sexes without having to look for the two swellings on the chest that signified a female (so gauche). Now he realized that the men all wore black cloth. They were the ones who most resembled robots, if black fabric tubing pulled up around the arms and legs could ever be said to resemble panelling. But as for the women, they looked like no robots Wa-Ka-Mo-Do had ever seen before. They wore long flowing envelopes of silk that seemed to start just above their chests, to hug their strange bodies down past the waist and hips and then to flare out to touch the floor. They gave the females the strange appearance of not having any legs, so that they seemed to move across the floor as if they were on wheels.
Ah, but Wa-Ka-Mo-Do was mistaken. Not all the females were dressed in that fashion. Those soldiers who stood around the walls were dressed in the same grey and green uniforms regardless of their sex. Yet these soldiers were not like his own Copper Guard. They didn’t seem to maintain the motionless stance his own Guard would have done were they here and not marking their time in Smithy Square. These humans turned this way and that, they nodded and chatted to each other. That wasn’t to say they weren’t well trained. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do could tell by the way they were always scanning the crowd, despite their easy posture. And yet they seemed to regard the people at the party with something like amused derision, not like their superiors whom it was their honour to guard.
Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah appeared at his side.
‘Mr Ambassador, may I present Wa-Ka-Mo-Do, commander of the Emperor’s Army of Sangrel.’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do found himself face to face with a human a little taller than he was. The animal’s skin was a shiny black colour that reminded Wa-Ka-Mo-Do of anthracite. His hair was grey, his eyes a deep brown. He reached out one shiny black hand and Wa-Ka-Mo-Do stared at it.
‘The Ambassador wishes to shake your hand,’ murmured Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do remembered his instructions, and reached out and took the anthracite hand in his, looking at the pail pink tips at the end of the fingers. The hand was warm and soft. Wa-Ka-Mo-Do moved it up and down.
‘And how do you like our city, Mr Ambassador?’
‘I find it both spectacular and beautiful, Commander. It is a wonderful testament to the culture of the Yukawan robots. The sense of history and tradition is written in the very stones themselves.’
‘Thank you.’
‘But I understand that this is not your own city, Commander? I have been told that you represent a very, ah, different culture?’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do felt a skitter of current up and down his hand. How on Penrose would the Ambassador know this? Was this La-Ver-Di-Arussah’s doing?
‘I represent the Emperor, Mr Ambassador,’ replied Wa-Ka-Mo-Do carefully. ‘However it is true that I come from another province, some distance from here. You may have seen its mountains from your ship?’
‘How fascinating. You must tell me about it sometime. Now, forgive me, I must circulate.’
And at that the Ambassador shook his hand once more and headed off around the room.
‘What just happened there, Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah? I feel as if I’ve just been dismissed. Doesn’t he realize who I am?’
‘I fear he realizes all too well, Honoured Commander. I don’t think it would serve either of you to engage in anything but small talk. Do you really wish to mention what happened this morning in number three mine?’
‘I don’t know! What happened in number three mine?’
‘You mean you haven’t been told?’
‘Obviously not.’ Wa-Ka-Mo-Do’s voice was cold with fury. Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah looked at the floor, embarrassed.
‘The robots refused to work, Honoured Commander. They said that they would only follow the commands of the Emperor’s robots, not animals.’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do held his face immobile.
‘And what did the humans do?’
‘Nothing, Honoured Commander. They chose to pretend they could not understand what was going on.’
‘Is the matter resolved?’
‘Of course. La-Ver-Di-Arussah led a detachment of the Copper Guard there and killed one in ten of them. Half of them children, as is customary.’
‘What!’
‘Children cannot work as efficiently, Honoured Commander. Plus the effect on the parents is remarkable. It is the logical thing to do for so many reasons.’
‘You know that’s not what I mean! How dare you take such action without my permission?’
Wa-Ka-Mo-Do realized that he had spoken too loudly. Animals and robots were looking in his direction. At that moment he saw La-Ver-Di-Arussah, standing with three humans, resplendent in a body of gold foil. She was staring towards Wa-Ka-Mo-Do with a look of amused condescension.
‘Bring her here, Ka-Lo-Re-Harballah,’ said Wa-Ka-Mo-Do. ‘At once!’
La-Ver-Di-Arussah strode up, the gold of her body swaying in the wind. Long sheets had been stretched out and soldered back on themselves, giving her a flouncy, puffed up appearance that reflected the dress of the human women.
‘Honoured Commander,’ she said. ‘I hardly think this is the place-’
‘Silence, La-Ver-Di-Arussah. I’ve just heard about number three mine! How dare you take such action without my permission?’
‘Honoured Commander, it is neither custom or practice that you are informed of every action that takes place within the city. I acted according to precedent.’ She moved, and Wa-Ka-Mo-Do heard the sweet singing of current perfectly tuned in to her golden body. He was more than aware of the deadly force that lurked beneath that fair construction. ‘However,’ she continued. ‘In future I will inform you of all activities, if that is your wish?’
‘Don’t try that dumb insolence with me, La-Ver-Di-Arussah. We are not playing court games here. My orders are clear. Punitive actions on civilians will only take place with my express permission. Do you understand me?’
‘Of course I do, Honoured Commander,’ La-Ver-Di-Arussah smiled sweetly. ‘Now, if you will excuse me, I left our guests rather suddenly. I fear I am being rather rude…
At that she turned and made her way back to the waiting humans.
It was all Wa-Ka-Mo-Do could do to remain still. The urge to kick her to the ground was surging through every electromuscle in his body.