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"Ditch it!" he said. "Now!"
Then he saw that Juna, a tall study in gray and pallor, stood leaning against the bulkhead to the
left, holding a cup of tea. "And if we've got a bomb toss it in there before you kick it loose!"
he added.
"What did you find?" she asked him in her surprisingly rich voice.
"That's some kind of fancy thinking device in there," he told her. "It tried to kick on when I
touched it. And I'm sure a bunch of those gadgets are weapons. Do you know what that means?"
"Tell me," she said.
"Alien design, weapons, brain& My partners just salvaged a damaged berserker, that's what. And
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file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fred%20Saberhagen%20-%20Berserker%20Base.txt
it's trying to turn itself back on. It's got to go fast."
"Are you certain that's what it is?" she asked him.
"Certain, no. Scared, yes."
She nodded and set her cup aside. She raised her hand to her mouth and coughed.
"I'd like to take a took at it myself before you get rid of it," she said softly.
Wade gnawed his tower lip for a moment.
"Juna," he said then, "I can understand your professional interest in the computer, but we're
supposed to deliver you intact, remember?"
She smiled, for the first time since he'd met her some weeks before.
"I really want to see it."
Her smile hardened then. He nodded.
"Make it a quick look."
"I'll need my tools. And I want to change into some working clothes."
She turned and passed through the hatch to her right. He glared at his partners, shrugged and
turned away.
Seated on the edge of his bunk while Dvorak's Slavonic Dances swirled about him, eating breakfast
from a small tray. Wade reflected on berserkers, Dr. Juna Bayel, computers in general and how they
all figured together in the purpose of this trip.
Berserker scouts had been spotted, periodically in this sector during the past few years. It was
not difficult to conclude that by this time they were aware that Corlano was not all that well-
defended. This made for some nervousness within that segment of Corlano's population made up of
refugees, from a berserker attack upon distant Djelbar almost a generation ago. A great number had
chosen Corlano at that time, as a world far removed from earlier patterns of berserker activity.
He snorted then at a certain irony this had engendered. It was those same people who had lobbied
so long and so successfully for the highly restrictive legislation Corlano now possessed regarding
the manufacture and importation of knowledge-processing machines, a species of group paranoia
going back to their berserker trauma.
There was a black market, of course. Machines more complicated than those allowed by law were
needed by businesses, some individuals and even the government itself. People such as himself and
his partners regularly brought in such machines and components. Officials usually looked the other
way. He had seen this same sort of schizophrenia in a number of places.
He sipped his coffee.
And Juna Bayel& Knowledge systems specialists of her caliber were generally non grata there, too.
She might have gone in as a tourist, but then she would have been subjected to some scrutiny,
making it more difficult to teach the classes she had been hired to set up.
He sighed. He was used to governmental doublethinking. He had been in the service. In fact& no.
Not worth thinking about all that again. Things had actually been looking up lately. A few more
runs like this one and he could make the final payments on his divorce settlement and actually go
into legitimate shipping, get respectable, perhaps even prosper
The intercom buzzed.
"Yes?" he responded.
"Dr. Bayel wants permission to do some tests on that brain in the derelict," MacFarland said. "She
wants to run some leads and hook it up to the ship's computer. What do you think?"
"Sounds kind of dangerous," Wade replied. "Supposing she activates it? Berserkers aren't very
nice, in case you've never ''
"She says she can isolate the brain from the weapons systems," MacFarland replied. "Besides, she
doesn't think it's a berserker."
"Why not?"
"First, it doesn't conform with any berserker design configurations in our computer's records "
"Hell! That doesn't prove anything. You know they can customize themselves for different jobs."
"Second,, she's been on teams that examined wrecked berserkers. She says that this brain is
different."
"Well, it's her line of work, and I'm sure she's damned curious, but What do you think?"
"We know she's good. That's why they want her on Corlano. Dorphy still thinks fhat thing could be
valuable, and we've got salvage rights. If might be worthwhile to let her dig a little. I'm sure
she knows what she's doing."
"Is she handy new?"
"No. She's inside the thing."
"Sounds as if you've got me outvoted already. Tell her to go ahead."
"Okay."
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file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fred%20Saberhagen%20-%20Berserker%20Base.txt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
"Ditch it!" he said. "Now!"
Then he saw that Juna, a tall study in gray and pallor, stood leaning against the bulkhead to the
left, holding a cup of tea. "And if we've got a bomb toss it in there before you kick it loose!"
he added.
"What did you find?" she asked him in her surprisingly rich voice.
"That's some kind of fancy thinking device in there," he told her. "It tried to kick on when I
touched it. And I'm sure a bunch of those gadgets are weapons. Do you know what that means?"
"Tell me," she said.
"Alien design, weapons, brain& My partners just salvaged a damaged berserker, that's what. And
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fred%20Saberhagen%20-%20Berserker%20Base.txt (43 of 107) [11/1/2004 12:00:27 AM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fred%20Saberhagen%20-%20Berserker%20Base.txt
it's trying to turn itself back on. It's got to go fast."
"Are you certain that's what it is?" she asked him.
"Certain, no. Scared, yes."
She nodded and set her cup aside. She raised her hand to her mouth and coughed.
"I'd like to take a took at it myself before you get rid of it," she said softly.
Wade gnawed his tower lip for a moment.
"Juna," he said then, "I can understand your professional interest in the computer, but we're
supposed to deliver you intact, remember?"
She smiled, for the first time since he'd met her some weeks before.
"I really want to see it."
Her smile hardened then. He nodded.
"Make it a quick look."
"I'll need my tools. And I want to change into some working clothes."
She turned and passed through the hatch to her right. He glared at his partners, shrugged and
turned away.
Seated on the edge of his bunk while Dvorak's Slavonic Dances swirled about him, eating breakfast
from a small tray. Wade reflected on berserkers, Dr. Juna Bayel, computers in general and how they
all figured together in the purpose of this trip.
Berserker scouts had been spotted, periodically in this sector during the past few years. It was
not difficult to conclude that by this time they were aware that Corlano was not all that well-
defended. This made for some nervousness within that segment of Corlano's population made up of
refugees, from a berserker attack upon distant Djelbar almost a generation ago. A great number had
chosen Corlano at that time, as a world far removed from earlier patterns of berserker activity.
He snorted then at a certain irony this had engendered. It was those same people who had lobbied
so long and so successfully for the highly restrictive legislation Corlano now possessed regarding
the manufacture and importation of knowledge-processing machines, a species of group paranoia
going back to their berserker trauma.
There was a black market, of course. Machines more complicated than those allowed by law were
needed by businesses, some individuals and even the government itself. People such as himself and
his partners regularly brought in such machines and components. Officials usually looked the other
way. He had seen this same sort of schizophrenia in a number of places.
He sipped his coffee.
And Juna Bayel& Knowledge systems specialists of her caliber were generally non grata there, too.
She might have gone in as a tourist, but then she would have been subjected to some scrutiny,
making it more difficult to teach the classes she had been hired to set up.
He sighed. He was used to governmental doublethinking. He had been in the service. In fact& no.
Not worth thinking about all that again. Things had actually been looking up lately. A few more
runs like this one and he could make the final payments on his divorce settlement and actually go
into legitimate shipping, get respectable, perhaps even prosper
The intercom buzzed.
"Yes?" he responded.
"Dr. Bayel wants permission to do some tests on that brain in the derelict," MacFarland said. "She
wants to run some leads and hook it up to the ship's computer. What do you think?"
"Sounds kind of dangerous," Wade replied. "Supposing she activates it? Berserkers aren't very
nice, in case you've never ''
"She says she can isolate the brain from the weapons systems," MacFarland replied. "Besides, she
doesn't think it's a berserker."
"Why not?"
"First, it doesn't conform with any berserker design configurations in our computer's records "
"Hell! That doesn't prove anything. You know they can customize themselves for different jobs."
"Second,, she's been on teams that examined wrecked berserkers. She says that this brain is
different."
"Well, it's her line of work, and I'm sure she's damned curious, but What do you think?"
"We know she's good. That's why they want her on Corlano. Dorphy still thinks fhat thing could be
valuable, and we've got salvage rights. If might be worthwhile to let her dig a little. I'm sure
she knows what she's doing."
"Is she handy new?"
"No. She's inside the thing."
"Sounds as if you've got me outvoted already. Tell her to go ahead."
"Okay."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fred%20Saberhagen%20-%20Berserker%20Base.txt (44 of 107) [11/1/2004 12:00:27 AM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fred%20Saberhagen%20-%20Berserker%20Base.txt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]