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Authors: Clifford D. Simak
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be some biologies involved. Some biological nerve function. I can’t be sure.”
“If we only had some tools,” said Mary. “Dammit, why didn’t we think to buy some tools?”
“I have a kit of tools,” said Jurgens. “A small kit. Perhaps sufficient of them.”
“Well, that’s better,” said Mary. “Maybe we can do something for you.”
“Did anyone see what happened out there?” Sandra asked.
The others shook their heads. Lansing said nothing; he could not be certain what he’d seen, if anything at all.
“Something hit me,” said Jurgens.
“Did you see what it was?” Sandra asked.
“I saw nothing. I just felt the hit.”
“We don’t want to stay out here in the road,” said the Brigadier. “It may take a while to make repairs on him. Let’s find a place to camp. It’s drawing on toward evening.”
They found a place to camp at the edge of a grove about half a mile distant. A nearby brook supplied water. Downed trees provided wood. Lansing helped Jurgens hobble to the site, sat him down beside a tree he could lean against.
The Brigadier took over. He said to Mary, “The rest of us will get the fire going and do the cooking and whatever else needs doing. Why don’t you get to work on Jurgens? Lansing can help you if you wish.”
He started to walk away and then came back. He said to Lansing, “The Parson and I talked it over. Not too amiably, but we talked. That little incident back on the trail: We agreed that we’d both been out of line. I thought you’d like to know.”
“Thanks for telling me,” said Lansing.
D AMMIT,“ SAID MARY, ”THERE’S that broken ratchet, or I’d guess it’s a ratchet. If only we had a replacement, he’d be as good as new.”
“I sorrow to tell you,” Jurgens said, “I do not carry such a part. A few ordinary parts, of course, but nothing like that. I cannot carry every part I possibly could need. I thank you, lady, for the job you’ve done on me. I would have been hard pressed to do it for myself.”
“The leg is stiff,” said Lansing. “He cannot bend the knee, and even with the repair the hip does not work too smoothly.”
“I can move,” said Jurgens, “but with no sprightliness. I’ll be slow at best. I will hold up the march.”
“I’ll fix you a crutch,” said Lansing. “It may take you a while to learn to use it, but once you get the hang of it, it will be of help.”
“To continue this journey with you,“ Jurgens said, ”I’d crawl on hands and knees.”
“Here are your tools,” said Mary. “I put them back into the case. You’d better lock them up again.”
“Thank you,” said Jurgens. He took the small case of tools, opened the door into his chest cavity, stored the case there and shut the door. He slapped his chest to make sure the door was closed.
“I think the coffee’s ready,” said Mary. “Maybe not the food, but I can smell the coffee and I want a cup. Edward, do you want to join me?”
“In a moment,” Lansing said.
Squatting beside Jurgens, he watched her walk toward the fire.
“Go and get your coffee,” Jurgens said. “No need to stay with me.”
“Coffee can wait a while,” said Lansing. “There was something that you said. That you would crawl on your hands and knees to go along with us. Jurgens, what’s going on? Do you know something that we don’t?”
“I know not a thing. I just want to be along.”
“But why? We’re a bunch of refugees. We’ve been hurled out of our worlds and our cultures and we don’t know why we’re here…”
“Lansing, what do you know of freedom?”
“Why, I suppose not too much. One doesn’t think of freedom until he doesn’t have it. Back where I came from, we had it. We didn’t have to strive for it. We took it for granted. It seldom crossed our minds. Don’t tell me that you—”
“Not in the way you think. In no way were the robots on my world repressed. In a way, I suppose, we were free. But we carried a burden, a
“If we only had some tools,” said Mary. “Dammit, why didn’t we think to buy some tools?”
“I have a kit of tools,” said Jurgens. “A small kit. Perhaps sufficient of them.”
“Well, that’s better,” said Mary. “Maybe we can do something for you.”
“Did anyone see what happened out there?” Sandra asked.
The others shook their heads. Lansing said nothing; he could not be certain what he’d seen, if anything at all.
“Something hit me,” said Jurgens.
“Did you see what it was?” Sandra asked.
“I saw nothing. I just felt the hit.”
“We don’t want to stay out here in the road,” said the Brigadier. “It may take a while to make repairs on him. Let’s find a place to camp. It’s drawing on toward evening.”
They found a place to camp at the edge of a grove about half a mile distant. A nearby brook supplied water. Downed trees provided wood. Lansing helped Jurgens hobble to the site, sat him down beside a tree he could lean against.
The Brigadier took over. He said to Mary, “The rest of us will get the fire going and do the cooking and whatever else needs doing. Why don’t you get to work on Jurgens? Lansing can help you if you wish.”
He started to walk away and then came back. He said to Lansing, “The Parson and I talked it over. Not too amiably, but we talked. That little incident back on the trail: We agreed that we’d both been out of line. I thought you’d like to know.”
“Thanks for telling me,” said Lansing.
D AMMIT,“ SAID MARY, ”THERE’S that broken ratchet, or I’d guess it’s a ratchet. If only we had a replacement, he’d be as good as new.”
“I sorrow to tell you,” Jurgens said, “I do not carry such a part. A few ordinary parts, of course, but nothing like that. I cannot carry every part I possibly could need. I thank you, lady, for the job you’ve done on me. I would have been hard pressed to do it for myself.”
“The leg is stiff,” said Lansing. “He cannot bend the knee, and even with the repair the hip does not work too smoothly.”
“I can move,” said Jurgens, “but with no sprightliness. I’ll be slow at best. I will hold up the march.”
“I’ll fix you a crutch,” said Lansing. “It may take you a while to learn to use it, but once you get the hang of it, it will be of help.”
“To continue this journey with you,“ Jurgens said, ”I’d crawl on hands and knees.”
“Here are your tools,” said Mary. “I put them back into the case. You’d better lock them up again.”
“Thank you,” said Jurgens. He took the small case of tools, opened the door into his chest cavity, stored the case there and shut the door. He slapped his chest to make sure the door was closed.
“I think the coffee’s ready,” said Mary. “Maybe not the food, but I can smell the coffee and I want a cup. Edward, do you want to join me?”
“In a moment,” Lansing said.
Squatting beside Jurgens, he watched her walk toward the fire.
“Go and get your coffee,” Jurgens said. “No need to stay with me.”
“Coffee can wait a while,” said Lansing. “There was something that you said. That you would crawl on your hands and knees to go along with us. Jurgens, what’s going on? Do you know something that we don’t?”
“I know not a thing. I just want to be along.”
“But why? We’re a bunch of refugees. We’ve been hurled out of our worlds and our cultures and we don’t know why we’re here…”
“Lansing, what do you know of freedom?”
“Why, I suppose not too much. One doesn’t think of freedom until he doesn’t have it. Back where I came from, we had it. We didn’t have to strive for it. We took it for granted. It seldom crossed our minds. Don’t tell me that you—”
“Not in the way you think. In no way were the robots on my world repressed. In a way, I suppose, we were free. But we carried a burden, a
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