Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe Part 16

"Actually, Hosato, there's a good chance you trig-gered all thisIt might have been better if the ma-chines had killed you."

"Wait a minute-" Hosato began, but the Hungar-ian waved him back to silence.

"I was merely pointing out that when you escaped from the manufacturing area, you signed the death warrant for everyone in the McCrae complexThe computer couldn't be sure whom you had talked to, so to preserve Turner's secret, it simply killed everyone."

"Now, don't try to hang this on Hosato!" Sasha intervened"He didn't program the d.a.m.n computerBesides, all of us here got away from the robots, not just Hosato."

"True enough," the Hungarian acknowledged"But that was to survive the attack triggered by Hosato's earlier escapeHowever, that does raise an interesting problemIf I'm correct, the robots ma.s.sacred the hu-mans at the McCrae complex to eliminate any infor-mation leak Hosato might have causedNow, four of you escaped from the ma.s.sacreExtending the same logic.".

"those things will try to kill every human in the universe," Rick said softly"All to preserve Turner's b.l.o.o.d.y secret projectMother of G.o.d!"

Hosato barely noticed the exchangeHis mind was already turning over plans for a counterattack, a.n.a.lyz-ing them and gauging their strengths and weaknessesWhether or not mankind as a whole was being threat-ened was inconsequentialHe had indirectly been the cause of the death of several hundred innocent peopleHe was now honor-bound to destroy the murderers, to avenge those innocent deaths, even if his own life was sacrificed in the effort.

To the Hungarian fell the lot of traveling to Griin-becker's Planet on a preliminary scouting missionThe others hadn't liked it, but he successfully defended his suggestionNone could challenge his qualifications as a scout in this situationPerhaps most convincing was his argument that of the five of them, he was the only one whose descriptive stats weren't in the Mc-Crae personnel-data files.

His plan was simple enough-to join one of the tour groups visiting McCrae Enterprises and make his ob-servations in the safe disguise of a tourist.i.t was agreed that the planning of their counterattack would wait until his return, both for the data he would bring and for his expert counsel.

In the interim, the weary refugees were forced to find activities to occupy their leisure timeRick found refuge in the Hungarian's extensive library, losing himself for hours in the stacks of text to the point that he frequently failed to appear for mealsSasha enlisted James's aid and took advantage of the Hun-garian's small gymnasium and firing rangeIt was still her intent to partic.i.p.ate in the final a.s.sault on McCrae, and to that end drilled herself mercilessly to adjust to the loss of her right armShe firmly rejected Hosato's offers of a.s.sistance, preferring to practice alone or with James as a companion.

Left to his own devices, Hosato made use of the workshop to check and prepare what was left of his equipment.i.t soon became apparent to him, however, that he was in actuality stalling-avoiding a duty he was reluctant to fulfill.

Finally, however, he could no longer ignore his conscience and reluctantly locked himself in the Hun-garian's communications room.

It took a while to establish contact, which was not surprising, as long-range communications equipment was not common on Musashi, but after many relays and delays he was confronted with the holographic image of his grandfatherThe figure of the elder Hosato, elegant in a simple black kimono, appeared floating inches off the floor in a seated positionThat, coupled with the fact his eyes focused at a point sev-eral feet behind Hosato, indicated the transmission/ receiving gear was not adjusted properlyStill, it was an incredible technical feat to have the image this clear, considering the distances involved.

The figure motioned to Hosato, indicating a place in the air directly in front of itHosato responded, kneeling on the floor, his hands resting on his thighs.

"You are looking well, my son," the image saidThe voice was strong and reverberant.

"And you, grandfather," Hosato replied.

He was genuinely relieved to see his grandfather in such good healthThe elder Hosato was in his nineties but he sat ramrod straightHis tight unlined face rested on a sinewy pillar of a throat that loomed up from muscular shouldersIt had been five years since Hosato had last spoken to him directly.

"Your mother and sister have been worried about you," the image continued"It has been many years since we have heard from you."

"I apologize for any distress I might have caused themSince leaving home, I have traveled far, and on the occasions I could afford to communicate with you, proper facilities were not available."

"We are not wealthy," his grandfather pointed out sternly"But we would have accepted the expense of such a communication to hear from our eldest son."

Hosato hung his head"Though I knew this, my pride would not let me impose such a burden on youForgive me."

The image waved a ghostly hand"Enough of such talk," it said"Tell me of your adventures since you left us."

"Most recently, I had a supporting role in a pro-duction of Down the Alley on Tansil," Hosato re-sponded.

"I am not familiar with this play," the image stated.

"It is a very old scriptThe story revolves around a young criminal who."

To a casual observer viewing the conversation, it would seem to be a normal, though prolonged, ex-change of pleasantries, gossip, and news between father and son.

It wasn't.

The Hosato family, true Ninjas that they were, were very close with their secretsThey did not en-gage in idle conversationThe fact that Hosato con-tacted his family at all was an immediate indication that he was facing a crisis, one that either required the family's counsel or was a direct threat to the family.

As they spoke, Hosato and the image of his grand-father, their hands and fingers moved minutely, con-stantly changing positionIt was not the hand signals of the deaf-mutes or the sign language of the Great Plains IndiansIt was the Hosato family code, which had been pa.s.sed along for generationsIt was drilled into all members of the family until they were able to carry on two conversations simultaneously, one verbal, which served only to cover the real conversa-tion pa.s.sing between the subtly moving handsMany people spoke j.a.panese, but only the family knew this code.

After Hosato's hands had finished explaining the current situation, his grandfather immediately formed the question he had been dreading.

"What of your companions?" the fingers asked.

"I seek advice on how to proceed with my mission,"

Hosato countered"I am faced with a foe that threat-ens-the existence of mankind."

"Mankind has faced many threats," came the reply from the image's hands"Yet it still survivesYour companions const.i.tute a direct threat to our family."

"The mechanic does not possess sufficient knowledge of our activities to const.i.tute a threat," he explained.

"And the woman and the boy?"

There it wasHis grandfather had now asked the question directlyHosato could no longer evade the issue.

"I was considering sponsoring them into the family," he stated.

The image's hands were motionless for several moments before replying.

"A family member may sponsor only one outsider for membership." The fingers formed the words with a crisp abruptness"It is the law."

"I was hoping that under the circ.u.mstances, an ex-ception could be made to the law," Hosato appealed.

"It is the law," came the firm answer.

"As current head of the family, it is within your power to change or modify the law," Hosato pleaded.

"My son," the image responded slowly, "the laws of the family are not to be changed lightlyPerhaps if you live to succeed me as head of the family, you will realize that."

"I do not ask lightly now!" Hosato insisted"I only ask-"

"You ask me to change one of the oldest laws of the family," the image interrupted"To save you from having to make a difficult decisionI will not."

Hosato experienced a sinking sensation in his stom-ach as the image's fingers continued their statement"There are two outsiders who now possess enough information about our family to pose a threat to its continued existenceYou may sponsor only one for membershipThe other must be eliminatedAs you were the source of their information, it becomes your task to carry out the missionFail in this, and you will no longer be considered a member of the familyWe will speak no more of this."

"My grandfather," Hosato motioned desperately, "I would ask that you keep an open mind on thisYou yourself have said the strength of a law is in its flexi-bility."

"As to your mechanical foes"-the image continued ignoring him-"if you insist on involving yourself further in this affair, remember your trainingIf faced by an enemy possessing superior strength and speed, seek a way to use that strength and speed to your ad-vantageDo not directly oppose, but yield and add your own strength and speed to that of your enemy to create a force greater than that directed against you."

Hosato paid only partial attention to the image's adviceThe rest of his concentration was focused on the problem confronting himHis grandfather would not reconsider or even hear additional arguments on the subject of Sasha and JamesHe simply dictated that one of them must die, then dismissed the matter.

"I shall remember your advice, my grandfather," Hosato signaled.

"Do you have any further questions or need for counsel?" the fingers asked.

Hosato thought for a moment.

"How many members of the family have been ex-communicated in the past?" he asked finally.

There was a pause before the image's hands moved in answer.

"I do not know," it said"If a member is so ban-ished, all references and records of him are stricken from the family history."

Hosato thought for a moment more.

"I have no further questions," he signaled at last.

"I fear our time for conversation draws to an end my son," the image said, returning to the verbal line of communication"You must contact us more often, nehIn the meantime, continue to conduct yourself in a manner your family can take pride inSayonara."

"I will remember, my grandfatherSayonara and domo!" Hosato replied, and watched as the image faded to nothingness.

He remained motionless for long minutes after con-tact was broken, lost in thought.

Could he do itCould he coldly kill either Sasha or James to preserve the curtain of secrecy around the Hosato familyOr should he openly defy his father, and in doing so face banishment from his family?

He tried to weigh the consequences of each action in his mind, but they merged and ran together La a confused kaleidoscope of indecision.

ShimattaHe had made a mistake-a big oneThe only question in his mind was whether the mistake was taking James and Sasha into his confidence or in seeking his grandfather's advice and approval.

Finally he shook his headPerhaps Sasha was right.i.t was foolish to consider the future until it was known if there would be a futureThere was every probabil-ity the upcoming mission against the McCrae robots would solve the problem for himIf not, he could make his decision then.

He rose and went to join the others.

"That's some complex!" the Hungarian stated enthu-siastically to the group, once they had reconvened"Do you think someday my little workshop here will grow up to be like that?"

Hosato was in no mood for humorous banter"Come on," he interrupted"We've been waiting for your report."

The Hungarian waved his drink at him"And you can't wait another five minutesNot even for a few social pleasantries?" he protested"I've been back only fifteen minutes, and you-"

"Please.?" Sasha asked gently.

"The impatience of youth!" The Hungarian sighed"Very well, my dearFor you, I'll start."

For effect, he paused to light his pipe, his eyes dancing mischievously at Hosato's impatient fidgeting.

"First off," he began finally, "I wasn't rushing my report, because I don't have that much to addAs might be suspected from the Ravensteel reaction, tour groups are still being processed through McCrae without any noticeable changeThere are no humans in sight, but it's my understanding there never were on these toursEverything is functioning normally, and if I didn't trust you all implicitly, I'd swear nothing such as you described ever took place at the com-plex."

He paused to relight his pipe.

"Believe me, Tinker-" Hosato began.

The Hungarian silenced him with a vague wave.

"I believe, I believe!" he said"I was talking about what the normal eye would seeFortunately, I have better-than-normal eyesYou know those cameras and sensors you told me to watch for?"

He c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at Sasha, who nodded.

"Well, they've been embellishedThey each have new little doodads attachedI couldn't tell for sure what they were without close examination, but I have a strong feeling they aren't room deodorizers."

"Blasters?" Hosato asked.

The Hungarian shrugged"Like I say, I couldn't tell without close examination, and somehow I didn't think it would be wise to attempt itThen for laughs I tried the Employment Office and was politely in-formed by the desk-robot there were no positions available at this time."

The group sat in silence for several long minutes digesting what they had heard, each lost in his own thoughts.

"Okay," Hosato said at last, "Rick and Sasha have put together floor plans and schematics as to what we're up against at the McCrae complexWhat's your appraisal of the situation?"

The Hungarian blew a long plume of smoke from his pipe before replying.

"You're facing a highly automated manufacturing complex with multiple security devicesUnlike normal electronic detection devices, these are armed and it is a.s.sumed they will fire on any detected threat to the complexIn addition, there is an unknown number of mobile robots guarding the complex against intrusion, also armedThe key to the whole mess is here."

He paused to tap the indicated spot on the layout drawings with the stem of his pipe.

"The Central Computer BuildingThe computer housed here controls the entire operation; the security scanners, the mobile killer modules, and the manu- facturing concern producing the killer modulesCor-rect its programming or destroy it completely, and the whole complex goes down."

"Wait a minute," Hosato interrupted"Back up a littleDid you say we could stop the computer by cor-recting its programming?"

"That's right."

"Then that's what we'll doIt's got to be easier than getting to the computer itself."

The Hungarian shook his head"Not so fastWe can't use just any terminal to change the program-mingTell him, Sasha."

"There are lots of terminals, Hosato, but only a handful that give you access to the program banks," the former security chief informed him"What's more, it seems one of Turner's precautions was to lock out the other program terminalsThe only one we could use is the one in his office."

Hosato pulled the layout map toward him and scanned it to refresh his memory.

"That's still our best, bet," he declared"Compared to the route to the computer building, reaching Tur-ner's office is the yellow brick road."

"No it isn't," Sasha corrected"The terminal in Turner's office won't help us at all."

"But you said-"

"I said it was the only terminal that could change the base programsUnfortunately, we can't use it."

"Why not?" Hosato asked.

"Because of the idiot voice lock he has on it," she snarled"I was fighting him through channels trying to get it removed for security reasons when this mess blew upNow he's dead and there's no way we can bypa.s.s the lock."

Hosato experienced a moment of frustration; then he quelled itWith effort he forced himself to aban-don the hope of using the terminal and concentrate on the Central Computer BuildingIf that was where they would have to attack, that was thatRailing against facts didn't change them.