Read Online The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century by Harry Turtledove - Free Book Online

were
alive
, from any practical standpoint, whether the Governments wanted to admit it or not. They were not machines. They were living things, spinning, creeping, shaking themselves up suddenly from the gray ash and darting toward a man, climbing up him, rushing for his throat. And that was what they had been designed to do. Their job.
    They did their job well. Especially lately, with the new designs coming up. Now they repaired themselves. They were on their own. Radiation tabs protected the UN troops, but if a man lost his tab he was fair game for the claws, no matter what his uniform. Down below the surface automatic machinery stamped them out. Human beings stayed a long way off. It was too risky; nobody wanted to be around them. They were left to themselves. And they seemed to be doing all right. The new designs were faster, more complex. More efficient.
    Apparently they had won the war.
             
    M AJOR H ENDRICKS LIT a second cigarette. The landscape depressed him. Nothing but ash and ruins. He seemed to be alone, the only living thing in the whole world. To the right the ruins of a town rose up, a few walls and heaps of debris. He tossed the dead match away, increasing his pace. Suddenly he stopped, jerking up his gun, his body tense. For a minute it looked like—
    From behind the shell of a ruined building a figure came, walking slowly toward him, walking hesitantly.
    Hendricks blinked. “Stop!”
    The boy stopped. Hendricks lowered his gun. The boy stood silently, looking at him. He was small, not very old. Perhaps eight. But it was hard to tell. Most of the kids who remained were stunted. He wore a faded blue sweater ragged with dirt, and short pants. His hair was long and matted. Brown hair. It hung over his face and around his ears. He held something in his arms.
    “What’s that you have?” Hendricks said sharply.
    The boy held it out. It was a toy, a bear. A teddy bear. The boy’s eyes were large, but without expression.
    Hendricks relaxed. “I don’t want it. Keep it.”
    The boy hugged the bear again.
    “Where do you live?” Henricks said.
    “In there.”
    “The ruins?”
    “Yes.”
    “Underground?”
    “Yes.”
    “How many are there?”
    “How—how many?”
    “How many of you. How big’s your settlement?”
    The boy did not answer.
    Hendricks frowned. “You’re not all by yourself, are you?”
    The boy nodded.
    “How do you stay alive?”
    “There’s food.”
    “What kind of food?”
    “Different.”
    Hendricks studied him. “How old are you?”
    “Thirteen.”
    It wasn’t possible. Or was it? The boy was thin, stunted. And probably sterile. Radiation exposure, years straight. No wonder he was so small. His arms and legs were like pipe cleaners, knobby and thin. Hendricks touched the boy’s arm. His skin was dry and rough; radiation skin. He bent down, looking into the boy’s face. There was no expression. Big eyes, big and dark.
    “Are you blind?” Henricks said.
    “No. I can see some.”
    “How do you get away from the claws?”
    “The claws?”
    “The round things. That run and burrow.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    Maybe there weren’t any claws around. A lot of areas were free. They collected mostly around bunkers, where there were people. The claws had been designed to sense warmth, warmth of living things.
    “You’re lucky.” Hendricks straightened up. “Well? Which way are you going? Back—back there?”
    “Can I come with you?”
    “With
me
?” Hendricks folded his arms. “I’m going a long way. Miles. I have to hurry.” He looked at his watch. “I have to get there by nightfall.”
    “I want to come.”
    Hendricks fumbled in his pack. “It isn’t worth it. Here.” He tossed down the food cans he had with him. “You take these and go back. Okay?”
    The boy said nothing.
    “I’ll be coming back this way. In a day or so. If you’re around here when I come back you can come along with me. All right?”
    “I want to go with you