Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [261]
Standing before this silent trapezoid that had once been used for the interplanetary movements of the ancient race, DD replayed his memories of the last moments on Rheindic Co when he’d been with Margaret and Louis. His mental records were flawless, and he compared the two systems, noting slight differences in the arrangement of coordinate tiles.
In those final moments, when DD had been unable to defend his beloved masters from the murderous Klikiss robots, Louis had managed to activate the transportal. He had sent Margaret through—to somewhere. Although the robots had killed the old man before he could follow her, DD knew that Margaret was out there. Possibly still alive. But where?
The compy stood pondering in front of the ominous stone gate, calculating and assessing. He ran through the entire suite of character analyses from all of his studies. Finally DD reloaded his map of coordinate tiles from Rheindic Co, including records of similar stone windows in other Klikiss ruins. He played and replayed all the subtle character traits he had recorded from his time with Louis Colicos—and he did his best to predict which tile Louis might have selected at random, out of desperation.
Though it was in a different location here, he found the corresponding symbol on the Szeol transportal.
The compy did not hesitate, for he had already decided his best course of action. Soon, surely within the next day, the Klikiss robots would begin their rampage across the Spiral Arm. He had no time to waste.
Sirix had given him free will, and now DD had the opportunity to put it to the test. The compy made this decision based on his own desires and on what would accomplish the most good. The Klikiss robots would never have guessed that he would want to leave them, now that they had rewarded him with his freedom.
But what DD wanted most was to get back to where he felt safe. Therefore, he used his free will, and he chose to escape. He selected the right symbol.
When the transportal shimmered and the stone surface became permeable, DD stepped across the gulf of space without looking back.
On the other end, on a particularly alien world, the Friendly compy found himself surrounded by incomprehensible sights and mysteries. The landscape was blasted yet cultivated. Structures had been built, based upon angles not at all associated with human architecture. Lumpy towers rose as if they had been extruded with great effort from a biomechanical ooze that had hardened in a storm, resulting in fantastic shapes.
The air was thick and steamy, so humid that DD suspected human lungs might have found it difficult to breathe. He also detected heavy concentrations of aromatic molecules, organic esters that were so complex and diverse that they seemed a symphony—or language?—of pheromones, odors, musks, and perfumes.
A cacophony of precise musical tones, melodies, and skirling sounds droned through the air. This exotic world presented a complex bedlam of music, chimes, whistles, and chirps.
DD trudged away from the transportal, exploring, looking for someone who might help him.
The color in the sky was wrong, and the mists in the air seemed to come from no natural weather patterns. He didn’t know how a human would comprehend such a place. He called out in his synthesized voice. “Hello? Hello?” He broadcast a signal across many bands in the EM spectrum, though he had no wish to contact any Klikiss robots who might be on this planet.
Margaret Colicos had most likely escaped the murderous robots by coming here through the transportal. But what if she had arrived at a place even worse?
He marched along, diligent and curious, exploring his new world and filing away details. If this place was inhabited, some being might have noticed his activation of the trapezoidal stone window. The Friendly compy continued, his optical sensors alert.
After several hours of alien strangeness, he