‘Well, when you’re ready, just say the word.’ Ada didn’t seem to mind. She was gazing eagerly at the iron wall. ‘Just get me close enough to that. Let me get to work on it.’
‘I will.’ Kavan felt a curious sense of satisfaction. This was what he was made for. He was back in his element again. Something caught his attention.
‘What is it?’ asked Ada, unscrewing the end of a metal cylinder, checking the explosives inside.
‘That Scout.’
‘Yes?’
‘You don’t see many male Scouts, do you?’
‘Something to do with the pattern of the mind,’ said Ada, glancing at the silver robot nearby. ‘It works better when it’s female.’ The robot’s body was as graceful and feminine as any other Scout’s, but there was something about the way that he went through his warm up movements that was unmistakeably male.
‘Why do you ask?’ said Ada. ‘It’s a funny thing to wonder about, just before a battle.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Kavan. ‘We take things for granted, don’t we? Did you ever have children Ada?’
‘No. That’s a job for the mothers of Artemis.’ She gazed at him. ‘Did you ever have children, Kavan?’
‘No. We are all woven with our own purpose.’
And this is mine, he reflected.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘It’s time to begin.’
Susan and Spoole
‘Come in,’ said Spoole.
Susan walked into the room, her gyros spinning.
‘Turn down the power,’ said Spoole, ‘I can feel the current in your electromuscles from here.’
With an effort, Susan forced herself to relax.
‘What’s your name, soldier?’
‘Susan.’
‘Susan. And how many robots to you represent, Susan? How many infantryrobots do you bring to follow me?’
‘How many?’ said Susan. ‘There’s just me.’
‘Just you?’
If Spoole was disappointed, he didn’t show it. He looked more closely at her.
‘Who are you? You don’t wear that body like an Artemisian. Are you a conscript?’
‘My name is Susan. I’m a Turing Citizen.’
‘There is no such place any more.’
Susan looked at Spoole. ‘I thought that you would be at the front line, leading your troops.’
‘Artemis is no longer led in that manner,’ he said. ‘Besides, there are other plans in place…
His voice trailed away.
Susan stared at the robot standing by the window, his body reflecting the yellow glow of the lights beyond. This was Spoole, the leader of Artemis. She was standing not five feet from the man who was ultimately responsible for the death of her child, the loss of her husband and the destruction of her home.
Spoole had turned and was looking out of the window again, gazing at nothing. His body seemed simply constructed, but Susan recognized excellent metal work when she saw it. She could feel best-quality steel, her fingertips almost tingled at its presence. Spoole was an expert at bending metal, his handiwork had a cold sort of humour about it: his body was austere at first glance, but elegantly made when you took a closer look. It was the same joke that the Centre City had played on the rest of the continent, as they had taken it apart.
One of the perpetrators of that joke was standing right in front of her. If she brought down her hand hard enough, she could break his coil. So what was stopping her?
And she knew the answer. Vignette had been right. Until you live the reality, you can never be sure the way your mind is woven. This wasn’t the way she was made.
‘You can’t see Kavan’s troops from here,’ said Spoole, conversationally. ‘The wall obstructs their view.’
‘Really, Sir?’ said Susan.
‘You are from Turing City, aren’t you? We don’t say ‘Sir’ in Artemis, Susan.’
‘Very well.’
‘You didn’t build walls around Turing City either, did you, Susan?’
‘No, Spoole.’
‘Nor did we in the past. But things have changed. I remain here whilst others lead.’ He turned suddenly to face Susan. ‘They leave someone to guard me, and I don’t know whether it is an insult or a subtle threat. What do you think, Susan?’
He was testing her. Or was he teasing her?
‘I don’t know,’ she said.
‘And what would you do if they attacked me now, Susan. Would you defend me?’
‘If who attacked you?’
‘Though they forget I used to be a soldier too,’ continued Spoole, not appearing to notice her question. ‘If they do come in here, they’ll have the two of us to fight.’
‘Who will attack us, Spoole? You mean Kavan, right?’
‘Kavan?’ laughed Spoole. ‘Kavan is the least of my problems.’
Kavan