Unicorn Point

This secure masquerade was about to be placed in peril.

For Nepe was naturally the first to appreciate the significance of the new pattern Purple had demanded.  In Phaze, the searching trio was about to close in on the werewolf Pack of Kurrelgyre. They had cross-checked the pups traveling between Packs, and discovered one that didn’t fit. This was the one that was Flach.

Nepe had served the Citizens with absolute loyalty, excepting only the revelation of her identity. She had even assisted in their search for her, knowing it to be futile; they had never suspected that she could assume the form of a robot.  In this manner she had been not only safe, but kept current on their searches in both frames. She had also been able to associate with her parents, so that she had not been nearly as lonely as she might have been. Indeed, she had come to understand a great deal more about their private life together than she had before, and in the process had learned more about sexuality than a child was normally told. She had compared notes with Flach, who had the input of wolf ways, and both had profited. But now she knew that the crisis was upon them again, as it had been when Flach sent her the “hide” message. Her hiding place was secure, but his was not—and the moment he was caught, she would be too, because of their linkage.

She paused a few minutes, considering. She dared not wait long before notifying Citizen Purple, but she had to decide her course of action first. She was older now than she had been, and vastly more experienced intellectually, but she knew she would have no chance to resist the Citizens if she were discovered. What should she do?

She had thought this through before, and decided on a risky effort. It seemed to her that its chances of success were at best even—but the consequences of inaction would guarantee the loss of their freedom. Now that the crisis had come, as she had known it would despite hoping for some reprieve, she saw no better alternative than that risky course.  She would have to save Flach from capture.  Nepe set her situation in order as well as she could, arranging things so that they could proceed mostly automatically. When she had adopted this machinelike form, she had also adopted machinelike ways; her mind emulated robotic circuitry. A simple directive could accomplish a fairly complicated task. She made sure that her body could function with minimum input, so that it would not betray her nature in her absence.

Then she put in a call to Troubot One, using an access code that only the two of them knew. Troubot answered immediately; he was Nepe’s closest friend, and he knew he owed his consciousness to her. It had been her genius that had enabled him to hide while she emulated him and got him the placement with Citizen White. Once that was secure, they had exchanged places, and he had had an easy menial job.  Later, when Nepe had to hide, she had taken his place again, and he had hidden. Since he was no longer the object of a search, that was easy to do; he simply merged with unwilled machines, intercepting their orders and performing their tasks himself. He had excellent adaptive ability, having been constructed as an all-purpose servitor. His flaw had been in the brain: it was out of tolerance on the upside. In short, he was too smart and too independent. But neither as smart nor as independent as Nepe!

“Troubot, I must do something dangerous,” she informed him. “I will be of limited function for a while. You must watch me, and substitute for me if I get confused. There is great danger.”

“Let me do this dangerous task for you!” he pleaded. “I love you, and would not let you be hurt.”

“I love you too, Troubot.” She knew how that could be, too, because her father used Uncle Mach’s robot body in Proton. It was natural that she should emulate her mother, and love a machine, or the equivalent. It was hardly necessary to be in humanoid form in order to love! “But this thing I must do myself. Here is my update on current activities.”

“I can readily handle these,” he agreed. “But this danger—”

“I may be going somewhere,” she explained. “Another mind may use my body. I fear it is not safe to tell you more.  Just protect this one as you would me.”

“That I shall do,” he agreed. He sent a trace current that translated as emotion: concern, appreciation, loyalty.

“Thank you, Troubot,” she replied, sending a similar surge.

Then she braced herself for the supreme effort. What she contemplated had never been done before, but she believed it was possible. It was the only way to do what had to be done, so it had to be possible!

When she was as ready as she could be, she did another new thing: she contacted Flach without using the cover of their fathers’ contact. Flach! Flach!

His response was startled. Nepe! There be no cover!

This is an emergency, she returned. They know where you are. They are closing in. You can’t escape.

We have had wind of their approach. I must try to get away!

I have a plan.