Then he realized that the openings were about the diameter of the tip of Aranimas’s stylus. Of course, Derec thought as he fumbled for the instrument. Let’s hope this feature doesn’t work only for Aranimas, too-

He touched the conical tip to one of the openings, and the tile seemed to seize hold of the stylus and stand it straight up. Gripping the stylus with one and then both hands, Derec tried to lift the tile straight up. The tile did not budge. But when he used the stylus as a lever, he was easily able to tip the tile back, like peeling the lid off a can. Underneath was a small hexagonal compartment-empty.

No beginner’s luck, eh? he thought. When he replaced the tile, the stylus came free. Very nice, he thought, touching the stylus to the adjacent tile. The trick wasn’t done with magnetics; the stylus seemed to actually bond to the tile. Perhaps a metallic affinity, followed by a little shot of current to jostle the atoms and break the bonds. Cute trick-

There was a humming sound behind him, and Derec whirled. Half a dozen meters down the central corridor, a circular platform was descending from the ceiling, suspended on four slender wires. And standing on the platform was a woman-a young human female, no more than a year or two older than Derec but a good eight centimeters taller. The broad-shouldered sash blazer she was wearing was cut in an aristocratic style, but showed many days of wear.

Her expression was one of surprise, even shock. Her mouth worked as though trying to form a word. “You?” she said disbelievingly as the platform reached floor level. “Here?”

Wild thoughts filled Derec’s head, and reason had to fight for control. That would sure help explain Aranimas’s success-if he had had a human consort all along to guide him-

“You’d better tell me real fast who you are and what you’re doing here,” he said, slowly coming to his feet. “I don’t have a lot of time to decide what to do about you.”

“What to do about me?” she echoed angrily. “I don’t know why I oweyou any answers, not after what you did.”

The meaning of the condition of the girl’s clothes finally impressed itself on Derec. She was a prisoner, just as he. But Derec realized that to her, he might be the one who seemed to have thrown in with the raiders.

“I only helped Aranimas to buy time and save my neck. The robot’s mine now, and Aranimas can’t hurt you,” Derec said. “We’re going to get of here.”

The hostility faded from her face, leaving behind bewilderment. “But what are you doing here? How long have you been on board?”

Derec took a step toward her. “It doesn’t take long to tell. Five days ago I woke up in a survival pod on the surface of an asteroid. I was found by a colony of robots mining the asteroid. Aranimas raided the colony and took me prisoner.” That’s enough. No sense muddying the waters with details even I don’t understand yet, he thought.

She was looking at him curiously. “So you weren’t looking for me.”

“I didn’t know anyone else was on the ship,” he said, throwing his hands in the air. “Wolruf told me that they had captured a couple of human ships, but she left the impression the crews were all-gone.”

“I think Aranimas kept me alive because he was interested in my robots,” she said. “Are you the one that repaired Capek?”

“Was that its old name? It answers to Alpha now. Yes, I’m the one who fixed it.”

“You did a rotten job,” she said with a hint of childish petulance. “It doesn’t remember me. The new arm is ugly, too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And you don’t remember me, either.”

Derec swallowed. “I had the feeling you thought I should-”

“I thought you were just being cruel,” she said slowly. “I didn’t want to give you the satisfaction. But you don’t know who I am, do you?”

“I don’t even know who I am,” Derec answered with a weak smile. “When I woke up on the asteroid, I was wearing a safesuit with the name Derec on the chest, so I’ve been calling myself that. But I can’t remember anything that happened before I woke up on the asteroid.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nothing personal. I remember a lot of facts-things I learned sometime, I guess. But I don’t know where I’m from or where I was going.” Derec was badly confused. “So you know me?”

“I thought I did,” she said.

“Then for mercy’s sake, tell me-”

A chirping sound came from the huge control console at that moment.

“Someone’s paging Aranimas,” the girl said, a flash of nervousness crossing her face. “You said we were going to get out of here. Maybe we should worry about that first. What were you doing when I surprised you? What were you looking for?”

“Some of my property-that Aranimas took when I came aboard.”

“The key? Was that yours?”

“You know about it?”

“Aranimas showed it to me. Is that where it’s hidden?”

“According to Alpha.”

“Is it important?”

“I think so.”

“Then let’s get it and get out of here,” she said anxiously.

Wondering what was keeping Alpha and Wolruf, Derec slowly turned back to the floor grid. He checked the second tile, stole a glance back over his shoulder at her, then moved crabwise to the right to try a third.

“I can look for the key and listen at the same time,” he said, attaching the stylus to the next tile. “Can’t you tell me what you know about me?”

If she gave an answer, Derec never heard it. One moment he was starting to lift the tile, and the next there was a flash, a roaring sound, and a tremendous wash of heat. Something heavy struck Derec across the back and he toppled forward, catching the hard edge of the tile across his chest and driving the air from his lungs. His mind had time to think one word-booby trap-before it retreated from the fury to a dark, quiet recess where it would not be disturbed.

Chapter 13. Rockliffe Station

Soft-edged images drifted through a dreamlike haze. A sea of light surrounded Derec, buoying him up. He was as transparent as glass, as inconsequential as the wind. His consciousness resided on a mote of dust, floating on gentle currents of time.

Faceless figures floated there with him. Some drew near as though aware of him, only to turn away again and withdraw. The only sounds were the fragrance-songs of flowers and the color-songs of sunsets, and those played in his head without understanding.

None of it seemed to make sense, and yet he did not care. He only thought that after everything that had happened, all that he had survived, it would be a terrible disappointment to be dead.

After a time, his body returned to him. He was still floating, still adrift, but his consciousness again inhabited its familiar place, filled its familiar space. But his thoughts were as sluggish as his limbs, as though the burdens of once again managing his body’s functions had overwhelmed the simple processes of his mind.

Presently he became aware that the dreamlike world of light and shadow which he was inhabiting existed entirely within himself. If he chose to, he could open his eyes to the larger world beyond, to survey it, to enter it. He was certain that when he saw that world he would know his place in it, would know then who and what he was. But he would pay a price in peace and silence, and that was too high a price to pay.

No, Derec thought firmly.There are limits. I don’t want to see it, he told himself.I don’t want to know.

Time passed, and the enveloping womb of solitude slowly became a prison. Silence became deafness. Stillness became death. Whether because he was healed or haunted, what he had was not enough.

The larger world outside himself still beckoned. It was not a friendly world, he knew. At best it was indifferent to him. Unlike the gentle currents that had borne him as he healed, the larger world was filled with forces that could bear him along like driftwood in the spume of a breaking wave.