the orbit of neptune was far behind and still the asteroid was accelerating. two giant gravital units strained at the core of handicap haven. the third clamped an abnormally heavy gravity on the isolated world. prolonged physical exertion was awkward and doubly exhausting. hours turned into a day, but the units never faltered.
"have you figured it out as precisely as you should?" asked docchi easily. "you share our velocity away from the sun. you'll have to overcome it before you can start going back."
the general ignored him. "if we could only turn off that damned drive!"
engineer vogel shrugged sickly. "you try it," he suggested. "i don't want to be around when you do. it sounds easy: just a gravital unit. but remember there's a good-sized nuclear pile involved."
"i know we can't," admitted the general, morosely looking at the darkness overhead. "on the other hand, we can take off and blow this rock apart from a safe distance."
"and lose all hope of finding her?" taunted docchi.
"we're losing her anyway," cameron commented sourly.
"it's not as bad as all that," consoled docchi. "now that you know where the difficulty is, you can always build another computer and furnish it with auxiliary senses. or maybe build into it the facts of elementary astronomy."
cautiously, he shifted his frail body under the heavy gravity. "there's another solution, though it may not appeal to you. i can't believe nona is altogether unique. there must be others like her. so-called 'born' mechanics, maybe, whose understanding of machinery is a form of empathy we've never suspected. look hard enough and you may find them, perhaps in the most unlikely or unlovely body."
general judd grunted wearily, "if i thought you knew where she is—"
"you can try to find out," docchi invited, glowing involuntarily.
"forget about the dramatics, general," said cameron in disgust. "we've questioned him thoroughly. resistance we would have had in any event. he's responsible merely for making it more effective than we thought possible."
he added slowly: "at the moment, obviously, he's trying to tear down our morale. he doesn't have to bother. the situation is so bad that it looks hopeless. i can't think of a thing we can do that would help us."
the sun was high in the center of the dome. sun? more like a very bright star. it cast no shadows; the lights in the dome did. they flickered and with monotonous regularity went out again. the general swore constantly and emotionlessly until service was restored.
a guard approached with his captive. "i think i've found her, sir."
cameron looked at the girl in dismay. "guard, where's your decency?"
"orders, sir," the man said.
"whose orders?"
"yours, sir. you said she was sound of body. how else could i find out?"
cameron scowled and thrust a scalpel deep into the girl's thigh. she looked at him with a tear-stained face, but didn't move a muscle.
"plastissue, as any fool can see," he commented dourly.
the guard looked revolted and started to lead her out.
"let her go," snapped the doctor. "both of you will be safer, i think."
the girl darted away. the guard followed her, shuddering, his eyes filled with a self-loathing that cameron realized would require hours of psychiatric work to remove.
docchi smiled. "i have a request to make."
"go ahead and make it," snorted the general. "we're likely to give you anything you want."
"you probably will. you're going to leave without her. very soon. when you do go, don't take all your ships. we'll need about three when we come to another solar system."
general judd opened his mouth in rage.
"don't you say anything you'll regret," cautioned docchi. "when you get back, what will you report to your superiors? can you tell them that you left in good order, while there was still time to continue the search? or will they like it better if they know you stayed until the last moment? so late that you had to abandon some of your ships?"
the general closed his mouth and stamped away. wordlessly, cameron dragged after him.
