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So the artifact might have been stolen, might still be around. I could help look for it. But I could also stop counting the days. Earlier, when I had been woken up by my computer, it had been flashing a glowing seven for my benefit. Now Admiral Steengo had relieved me of this chronic worry.
But I had taken three million for this job-and I still wondered what the thing really was. So the artifact-chase would continue. Minus the pressure of the days. I looked around at my musical rats and realized that nothing had changed for them. The search for the artifact was still on. Well – why not!
“What do we do next?” I said. Steengo, now more of an admiral than a musician, toted up the possible options.
“Was the explosion an accident? If it wasn’t-who caused it? There are really a lot of questions that must be asked… ”
“Mata told me to tell you that you were to ask Aida if you had any questions,” Madonette said brightly.
We considered this seriously for a moment, then realized we hadn’t the slightest idea of what she was talking about. Still the admiral, Steengo spoke for all of us.
“Who is Aida?”
“Not who-but what. An acronym for Artificially Intelligent Data Assembler. I think that it is the central computer here. In any case, here is the access terminal.”
She put what looked like an ordinary portaphone on the table and switched it on. Nothing happened.
“Are you there, Aida?” Madonette said.
“Ready to be summoned at any time, darling,” the voice said. In a rich and sexy contralto.
“I thought you said computer?” was my baffled response.
“Do I hear a male voice?” Aida said. Then giggled. “It has been such a very long time! Might I ask your name, sweetie?”
“Jim-not sweetie. And why did you call me that?”
“Training and programming, dear boy. Before this present assignment I ran an exploration spacer. Male crew, endless years in space. It was felt by my creators that a female voice and presence would be more efficacious morale-wise than a machine or masculine presence.”
“The last exploration spacer was junked centuries ago,” Steengo said.
“A lady does not like to be reminded of her age,” Aida said huskily. “But it is true. When my ship was sent to the breakers I was made redundant. Since I am basically a computer program I am-every woman’s dream-eternal. I had, shall we say, a rather varied career before I ended up here. Mind you, I’m not complaining. I find this such a pleasant occupation. There are charming ladies to talk to, as well as additional memory banks and data bases to access whenever I wish to. Most pleasurable but I do chatter on. I have been informed that you have a problem. If you would identify yourselves by name it would make conversation that much easier. Jim and Madonette I know. The name of the gentleman who just spoke?”
“Admiral – ” Steengo said, then broke off.
“Let us do keep it on a first-name basis. And your first name is Admiral. Others?”
“Floyd,” said Floyd.
“And a great pleasure to meet you all. How may I help?”
“An item, referred to as the artifact, was recently brought to the science building. Do you know about it?”
“Indeed I do. I was studying it, so am therefore quite familiar with the strange construction. In fact I had it under observation at the time of the explosion.”
“Did you see what happened to it?”
“Taking the literal meaning of see, dear Jim, forces me to answer that question in the negative. I had no photo pickups operating at the time so I did not physically see what happened to it. The only information I had was the direction that it left in. That was thirty-two degrees to the right of the zero north-polar latitude.”
“There is nothing at all out there in that direction,” Steengo said. “No settlements, no nomadic tribes. Nothing but empty plains right up the polar cap. How do you know that the artifact was taken that way?”
“I know that, mon Amiral, because this artifact emits tachyons and I was observing it with a tachyometer. Keeping count, so to speak, and most interesting it was too. It did not emit many-after all, what source does – but a few are much better than none. Let the record show that it emitted one tachyon, from the direction I have given you, just microseconds before the explosion that destroyed the equipment I was using.”
“You weren’t-injured?” Madonette said.
“How sweet of you to ask! I wasn’t, because I wasn’t there. As soon as I could I constructed a new tachyometer, conveyed it to the site of the explosion with, unhappily, no results. Now there is just background radiation.”
“Do you know what caused the explosion?”
“Welcome to this easy give-and-take of social intercourse, friend Floyd. To answer your question – I do. It was a very powerful explosive. I can give you the chemical formula but I am sure that you would find that immensely boring. But I can tell you that this explosive was manufactured quite widely for the mining industry at one time. It is named ausbrechitite.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Understandable, Admiral, since it was found to grow unstable with the passage of time. Manufacturing was phased out and ausbrechitite was replaced by newer and more stable explosives.”
“When was this?” I asked.
“A bit over three centuries ago. Would you like the exact date?”
“That will do fine.”
We blinked at each other in silence. Not knowing what to do with this weird historical-scientific evidence. Only Madonette had the brains to ask the right question.
“Aida-do you have any theories about what happened?”
“Simply thousands my dear. But there is no point in telling you about them until I gather some more evidence. Right now you might say that we are in the early moves of a chess game with millions of possibilities for the rest of the game. But I can give you some figures. Chances of an accidental explosion; zero. Chances that the explosion was tied in with the theft; sixty-seven percent. What happens next depends upon you.”
“How?”
“Consider reality. You are mobile, cher Jim while I am, so to speak, tied down to the job. I can give advice, and accompany you in transceiver form when you leave here. But what happens next-that decision is up to you.”
“What decision?” Aida could be exasperating at times.
“I will supply a new tachyometer. If you take it in the direction I have indicated you might be able to track the artifact in this ma
“Thanks,” I said and reached out and turned Aida off. “Looks like us humans have to come to a decision. Who follows the trail? Let us not all speak at once but let me speak first because I am top rat. I have the feeling that it is now time to thin our ranks. I say that Madonette does not go any further. We needed her for the music-and wonderful she was too! – but not for crawling around looking for nutcases planting century-old bombs.”
“I second Jim’s motion,” Admiral Steengo said.
“I third it,” Floyd said quickly as Madonette tried to speak. “This is really not your kind of job. Nor is it Steengo’s either.”
“Isn’t that for me to decide?” Steengo snarled in his best admiralish mode.
“No,” I suggested. “If you wish to be of assistance, you can really help us by organizing the base operation from here. I declare that the motion has been seconded and passed above all objections. This is only a democracy when it suits me.”
Steengo smiled and the admiral’s scowl vanished; he was too smart to argue. “I agree. I am well past my sell – by date for fieldwork. My aching bones tell me that. Please, Madonette, give in graciously to the thrust of history. Are you nodding albeit reluctantly? Good. Above and beyond any aid given by Aida, I will see to it that the Special Corps will supply any equipment needed. Questions?” He glowered around in a circle but we were silent. He nodded with satisfaction and Madonette raised her hand.