Read Online Beowulf's Children by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes - Free Book Online Page B
Tags: SF, Speculative Fiction
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His step-sister had found a husband and lover. She had also found a friend and teacher, and under Joe's instruction was rapidly developing into one of the most capable of the Second's engineers. Now she studied-Aaron had once said that while the First had ice on their minds, Linda had integral equations on hers-worked, and nursed her baby, and the only way to see her was to come to the command center.
"What we got?" Joe Sikes asked. His forefinger traced a lazy circle on the back of her neck.
"Geographic relays checked out," Linda said. "I'm certain that the, uh... will you stop that for a moment? Thank you. Nothing garbled in transmission. We're getting the right data, and it still looks the same, there are explosions in the mines."
"Explosions," Justin said.
"In the mines," Edgar repeated. "Ain't we got fun?"
"That sounds-" Justin stopped. "Can't be grendels."
"Unless they've learned to use grenades," Edgar said.
"Now, there's a grim thought. Something break in?"
"Not bloody likely," Joe Sikes said.
Justin nodded agreement. The mines didn't exactly have doors. "So what is it? Machinery failure?"
Linda looked worried. Her face was thinner than Jessica's but somehow softer at the same time. Little Cad had been good for her-good for the elder Weyland, as well. At least six children would eventually call Cadmann "Granddad." Colonel Weyland doted on all of them, but Cadzie, as the colonel's first namesake, would get special attention. Justin felt a pang of jealousy, followed by an answering pang of shame.
"I'll do a show-and-tell at the meeting tonight," Joe said. "We'll want to make an emergency trip up in maybe a week." He was pugnacious and happy, and Justin didn't understand that.
"You think it's that serious?"
"Kid, this isn't a conveyor belt breakdown. Here-Cassandra, show us Mine Disaster Three." A phantasm formed above a holopad. It looked like an ant farm done in neon vermilion.
Joe set his blinking cursor where several tunnels joined in an angular lump. "It looked like a momentary flare of heat-very sharp-here in the processing equipment. And the sensors actually burned out. Weird. The entire assembly is completely jammed. The repair robots can't get to them.
It's like something warped the entire unit out of alignment. Linda took a sonic profile of the entire operation. Look at the patterns of vibration leading up to the incident-"
A graph of sound patterns replaced the ant farm: the usual jagged hills and valleys produced by running machinery, punctuated by a sudden and violent pulse.
"We're going to translate that into sound. Listen-"
Chug chug chug.
Tung.
"Jesus Christ," Justin said.
Joe's lips twisted in a bitter smile. "The Merry Pranksters."
For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Justin cleared his throat.
"That's a pretty nasty accusation. They've never done anything like this."
"First time for everything."
"You're just unhappy about getting wet."
"Nah, that was fun." He looked at Edgar and got an answering nod.
"This is something else."
"So how could they have done it?" Justin demanded. "The only way to get all the way to the mining site is with Robor. Or one of the Minervas. God knows they're under control. How could they get in?"
"And that would be the point, now, wouldn't it?" Joe's usually even tones went flat and nasty. "It was impossible to carve fifty-foot buttocks on Isenstine Glacier, wasn't it? And wasn't it impossible to use seismic charges to send Morse code limericks to the geological station?"
Justin restrained a chuckle, and raised a hand in protest. "That may be true-but they've never done anything destructive, and you know it. What would be the point? This isn't their style, Joe."
Joe's head cocked, and he waited.
"This isn't funny! It's just vandalism."
Joe patted Linda's shoulder possessively. "It was just a matter of time before they crossed the line," he said. "The point was always to get our attention, wasn't it? I know that there are certain residents of
"What we got?" Joe Sikes asked. His forefinger traced a lazy circle on the back of her neck.
"Geographic relays checked out," Linda said. "I'm certain that the, uh... will you stop that for a moment? Thank you. Nothing garbled in transmission. We're getting the right data, and it still looks the same, there are explosions in the mines."
"Explosions," Justin said.
"In the mines," Edgar repeated. "Ain't we got fun?"
"That sounds-" Justin stopped. "Can't be grendels."
"Unless they've learned to use grenades," Edgar said.
"Now, there's a grim thought. Something break in?"
"Not bloody likely," Joe Sikes said.
Justin nodded agreement. The mines didn't exactly have doors. "So what is it? Machinery failure?"
Linda looked worried. Her face was thinner than Jessica's but somehow softer at the same time. Little Cad had been good for her-good for the elder Weyland, as well. At least six children would eventually call Cadmann "Granddad." Colonel Weyland doted on all of them, but Cadzie, as the colonel's first namesake, would get special attention. Justin felt a pang of jealousy, followed by an answering pang of shame.
"I'll do a show-and-tell at the meeting tonight," Joe said. "We'll want to make an emergency trip up in maybe a week." He was pugnacious and happy, and Justin didn't understand that.
"You think it's that serious?"
"Kid, this isn't a conveyor belt breakdown. Here-Cassandra, show us Mine Disaster Three." A phantasm formed above a holopad. It looked like an ant farm done in neon vermilion.
Joe set his blinking cursor where several tunnels joined in an angular lump. "It looked like a momentary flare of heat-very sharp-here in the processing equipment. And the sensors actually burned out. Weird. The entire assembly is completely jammed. The repair robots can't get to them.
It's like something warped the entire unit out of alignment. Linda took a sonic profile of the entire operation. Look at the patterns of vibration leading up to the incident-"
A graph of sound patterns replaced the ant farm: the usual jagged hills and valleys produced by running machinery, punctuated by a sudden and violent pulse.
"We're going to translate that into sound. Listen-"
Chug chug chug.
Tung.
"Jesus Christ," Justin said.
Joe's lips twisted in a bitter smile. "The Merry Pranksters."
For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Justin cleared his throat.
"That's a pretty nasty accusation. They've never done anything like this."
"First time for everything."
"You're just unhappy about getting wet."
"Nah, that was fun." He looked at Edgar and got an answering nod.
"This is something else."
"So how could they have done it?" Justin demanded. "The only way to get all the way to the mining site is with Robor. Or one of the Minervas. God knows they're under control. How could they get in?"
"And that would be the point, now, wouldn't it?" Joe's usually even tones went flat and nasty. "It was impossible to carve fifty-foot buttocks on Isenstine Glacier, wasn't it? And wasn't it impossible to use seismic charges to send Morse code limericks to the geological station?"
Justin restrained a chuckle, and raised a hand in protest. "That may be true-but they've never done anything destructive, and you know it. What would be the point? This isn't their style, Joe."
Joe's head cocked, and he waited.
"This isn't funny! It's just vandalism."
Joe patted Linda's shoulder possessively. "It was just a matter of time before they crossed the line," he said. "The point was always to get our attention, wasn't it? I know that there are certain residents of
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