Robot Blues Read Online Free PDF Page A

Rising, he shut the door, returned to his seat.
    “Thank you.”
Sakuta gave them an apologetic smile. “All this turmoil”—he made a vague
gesture to the walls—”it’s been a considerable strain. So difficult pursuing
one’s work. The constant distractions . . .” He blinked at them again, gave a
deprecating laugh. “It’s silly of me to complain, I know. Having one’s office
remodeled isn’t exactly a catastrophic event. But my life revolves around my
work.”
    In his forties,
good-looking, with his dark eyes, Van Dyke beard, trimmed mustache, and
luxuriant black hair, Sakuta looked as if he would be more at home among the
rich and famous in the gambling casinos of Laskar. Instead, he was just another
goofy, absent-minded prof.
    “I can imagine how
much it must upset you,” Xris lied sympathetically.
    “So can I,” Raoul
said, and sighed deeply. “Your work must be fascinating. And your rockets,” he
added in a breathless tone, “they must be so big!”
    “Cut it out,” Xris
muttered, and gave the Adonian a surreptitious kick in the shin. Aloud he said,
“We don’t want to take up your valuable time, Professor. If you could just
explain the nature of the work you want to hire us to do—”
    “Oh, yes,
certainly.” Sakuta sat forward in his chair, regarded Xris with bright
enthusiasm. “What do you know about space-age archaeology?”
    “Enough to pass
the final.”
    Sakuta appeared
shocked at this response.
    Xris grinned. “It’s
a joke, Professor. Archaeology wasn’t my field. Sorry.”
    Sakuta’s
expression cleared. “Ah, yes. I understand. My nemesis was economics. At any
rate, on the planet of Pandor, which you will find located in the Zeta Three
quadrant, some construction workers have made a historic archaeological find.
They have uncovered the wreckage of a prehyperdrive spaceplane.”
    “I don’t remember
much from my archaeology class,” Xris said, “but I do seem to recall that
prehyperdrive craft aren’t that rare.”
    “You’re quite
right.” Sakuta seemed genuinely pleased with Xris’s answer. Xris had the
feeling he’d earned an A for the day. “The spaceplane itself is not of
interest. We have several on display already. It is what’s inside the
spaceplane that is of inestimable value.”
    He had dropped his
voice; his eyes were moist. His hands actually shook with excitement.
    “What is it?” Xris
asked, envisioning nothing less than a chest of jewels or maybe—considering
Sakuta’s interests—a case of antique microchips.
    “A robot,” Sakuta
said, his voice soft with reverent awe. “Not just any robot,” he added hastily,
seeing that Xris was underwhelmed. “This is one of the first robots designed by
scientists to undertake space flight. On its own.” Sakuta looked from Xris to
Raoul, apparently expecting them to leap out of their chairs and go bounding
about the room. “Surely you understand the significance?”
    “Oh, I do!” Raoul
breathed, half rising. “I truly do.” He licked his lips.
    “Look, whether we
understand it or not doesn’t really matter, does it, Professor?” Xris said,
shoving Raoul back into his chair. “I don’t suppose you want to hire us to
write a research paper on it.”
    “No, sir.” Sakuta
looked slightly abashed. “You’re absolutely right. You have your areas of
specialization and I have my own. It’s just that this discovery . . . well,
never mind. No, the reason I am hiring you is to recover this robot.”
    Xris leaned back,
automatically reached for a twist, saw Raoul raise a disapproving eyebrow, and
desisted. Clasping his hands together, elbows resting on Ihe arm of the chair,
he regarded the professor speculatively. “What’s wrong with it?”
    Sakuta was taken
aback by the question. “Why, nothing’s wrong with it... that I know of. It’s
very, very old, of course, and I think we can safely assume that most of its
circuitry is corroded. And it probably sustained a certain amount of damage
when