Page 42 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Resolving the Mechanalog Ambiguity

occupying this animated construction of metal plate, tubes, and wires.
I certainly am alive; never felt better, in fact.”
“I’m telling you, Your Majesty, that Colonel Krif has taken it into
his head to get your bintillium, and his word will stand against
mine—unless you can help me.”
“How?” asked the King.
“First, tell me what the backup transference generator does. I must
know why it is so vital to your existence.”
“That’s simple,” said Halzurni, the Minister of Applied
Technology. “Although we cannot die in the same way as organic life,
we are always in peril of death by short circuit or mechanical failure.
Accidents do happen, you know. Our only safeguard is our backup:
once a day each of us copies the total contents of his circuitry into
another machine, which lies dormant. In that way, if anything
happens to one of us, he can be brought back to life with only a part
of one day missing from his memory, including the trauma of dying.
It’s a very good system, and it has kept our population stable. You
must be aware that we cannot reproduce.”
“I see,” said Kaga, and began formulating a plan. “Tell me, did any
of the first PKU group find out about the backup process?”
“Why, no,” said Halzurni. “I don’t believe the subject ever came
up.”
“Excellent!” said Kaga. “I think there’s hope. Here is what you
must do: post one of your citizens at every known bintillium deposit
within fifty kilometers of here. These individuals must be willing to
sacrifice themselves temporarily for the good of all. They will force
the PKU to kill them in order to get at the bintillium. Only you and
they will know that they can be resurrected by the backup and
recovery process; the PKU must not know about it— at least, not
yet. Once an incident has occurred, I promise you the situation will
right itself. There is no other way. Colonel Krif is not acting
according to regulations. We can force him out of his position only
by creating an extremely dramatic confrontation. Will you do as I
suggest?”
The King and his ministers talked rapidly among themselves for a
few minutes while Kaga nervously waited. He had no idea when Krif
would awaken and Kaga had no desire to be absent from his post
when he did.
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