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 Access recorder?
Jomaine looked up in surprise. They hadn t known about the recorder! Of
course. Why should they even think about such things? With the endless wealth
of Spacer society, and the omnipresent robots to serve as watchkeepers, theft
was almost unknown, and security systems even rarer. If he had not assumed
they knew and let it slip, they never would have known. If he had kept his
mouth shut about it, they would have had no way of knowing he had been at the
lab that night, just about the time of the attack...
But it was too late to hold back. Now they would know what to ask about.
There was nothing for it but to charge on. They would get the access records,
and that would be that.  It s a Settler security device, he said.  Tonya
Welton insisted that Fredda install it because Leving Labs had access to Limbo
Project material. It records the date and time and identity of the person
every time someone passes in or out of the lab. It works on a face-recognition
system. Humans only. It was programmed to ignore robots. Too many of them.
Kresh turned toward Donald 111, but the robot spoke before the Sheriff had a
chance.  I have already dispatched a technical team to the labs, sir. We
should have the data from the access recorder within half an hour.
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 Very good. Now, why don t you save us some time and effort, and tell us
yourself whatever that recorder will tell us about your movements.
Jomaine was rattled. He had made a major mistake telling them about the
recorder. But damnation! Now that they knew that much, there was no point in
hiding anything else.  There is very little to tell. I had left a notepack in
my lab. I noticed it when I sat down to get some work done at home. I live
quite near the lab, and I walked over to collect it. I entered through the
main door. I think I called out to see if anyone was around, and there was no
answer. I went to my lab, got the notepack, and then left my lab by one of its
side doors. That s all.
 That s your story.
 Yes, it is.
 Why didn t you send a robot to get the notepack? Kresh said.  Seems to me
like an errand suited to a robot.
 I suppose I could have sent Bertran, but that would have been more trouble
than it was worth. I couldn t quite recall which notepack the data I
wanted was in, or where I had left it. Sometimes I can t even recall which
pack I need. I have to put my eyes on it to be sure. My lab is often a bit of
a jumble, and there are notepacks all over the place. I find that if I just
stand and look at a room for a minute, I remember where the thing I m looking
for is. A robot can t do that for me.
Jomaine had the uncomfortable sense that he was babbling, going on and on, but
there seemed to be no way out but forward with more of the same.
 Bertran would have brought me a half dozen notepacks to be sure I had the
right one, which seemed a bit silly. I knew that I would be able to find the
notepack myself the moment I stepped into the lab. And sure enough, I did.
 That seems like a rather overexplained set of reasons for why it was easier
to do it yourself.
Jomaine glared at Kresh.  Yes, I suppose it does. But bear in mind that all of
us down at Leving Labs have been hearing Fredda s theories about excessive
dependence on robots for some time now. We ve all developed a bit of a fetish
about doing things for ourselves.
Kresh grunted.  I know how that can be, he said.  All right. You ve filled
in quite a few blanks for us, Terach. You re free to go--for now. But if I
were you, I d work on the assumption that you and I were going to have other
little chats in future, about other questions that will come up. And the
better your memory is when that happens, the better you and I will both like
it. Do I make myself clear?
Jomaine Terach looked Sheriff Alvar Kresh straight in the eye and nodded.  Oh,
yes, he said.  There is nothing in the world clearer to me than that.
JOMAINE Terach stumbled out of Government Tower into the thin light of
morning. He felt a pang of guilt for betraying Fredda s confidence, but
little more than that. What good were petty little secrets when a whole world
was turning upside down in panic? The debts he owed to the good of society,
and to himself, far outweighed his obligation to Fredda. Besides, you could
not know. There might be some key to it all buried deep, hidden in his words
where he could not even see it. Maybe Kresh could find that key and turn it in
the lock. Maybe, just maybe, by talking, he had saved them all.
Jomaine snorted in disgust. High and mighty talk for a man who had spilled his
guts. There was another explanation, one that did not come out quite so noble.
Maybe, just maybe, he was a coward at the heart.
He hailed an aircab and headed toward home.
 THE access recorder data, sir, Donald said, handing him a notepack.
 Thank you, Donald, Kresh said. He skimmed over the data once or twice, then
studied it in greater detail. Damnation! Why hadn t he had this data days
before? It provided him something he had not had until this moment--a nice, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]