Page 43 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Resolving the Mechanalog Ambiguity

The King spoke at last. “We shall have to defend the bintillium, in
any event. So we shall be ready, thanks to your timely intervention.
And we shall keep the backup transference generators well-hidden
from Colonel Krif and anyone else from the PKU. Is that all?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” said Captain Kaga fervently. “Now I must
run back before Colonel Krif finds me missing. If all goes well, you
will be properly recognized by the PKU and have a very favorable
trade agreement made in less than a day.”
He rushed back out of the building without waiting for a reply. The
aspirator didn’t work at peak efficiency when its user was breathing
rapidly; Kaga was nearly exhausted when he arrived at the base. He
nevertheless found the energy to make a couple of deepspace calls
with the volume turned low. Colonel Krif was still in his quarters
when Kaga finally stumbled into his room and collapsed on the bed.
When Kaga awoke, he realized that he had been sleeping for
fifteen hours. He got up, washed, and swallowed some rehydrated
breakfast rations. Then he went out into the office. Krif was at his
desk, busily doing calculations. He stopped as Kaga came in.
“You’ve been asleep a long time, Captain,” said the Hurgan. “You
missed a call notifying us that the Kepler will arrive four hours early.”
“Sorry,” replied Kaga. “I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes
open.”
“I thought you humans had more stamina than that. I instructed
you to remain on duty. Luckily I awoke in time to receive the call.
Let’s get ready to go out and meet the Kepler. I’ve had some
experience handling bintillium before, and I want to be sure it’s
collected and shipped properly. We’ll go on the first extractor run.”
He got up and started putting on the breathing apparatus. Kaga
followed suit, but before Krif could leave the room, Kaga said, “Wait
a minute, sir.”
“What is it?” said the Colonel.
“Well, just before I fell asleep, I was thinking about the
Mechanalogs, whether or not they are intelligent life.”
“That subject is closed,” said Krif. “Furthermore, those robots did
not even show up here to make a deal. They’re not programmed for
this kind of situation.”
“I don’t think they are robots, sir, and neither does Professor
Yostrik.”
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