Perhaps that orb is the medical suite.”
I try to smile. “I know there isn’t one, Zaroc. You were trying to make me feel better. But all these things are so weird that even if some of them were medical devices, I would have no idea.”
“Still, let’s go over there.”
He starts to walk, then turns suddenly to the side and jogs a hundred yards over to a large, rounded cube with an interesting pattern on the outside, about the size of a house.
“Averie!” He waves me over. “This looks like something I’ve seen before. An enemy I once fought had one of these in their command ship. I didn’t look too closely at it then, but I know they used it to heal their wounded. I had no idea it was an Elder machine.”
“How does it work?” I ask when I reach him. “Do I have to get inside?”
“I don’t know,” he says, walking around it. “I never saw it working.”
The pattern on the outside of the cube is very strange. Almost like… hands.
I put my hand on one that has four fingers, then spot another one with five fingers, one of them a thumb in a familiar configuration. When I place my hand on it, there’s a click, the cube lights up with subtle blue, and the top half rises twenty feet in the air.
I instinctively take a surprised step back, and immediately Zaroc is there, getting between me and the cube, his newfound weapon ready. “What did you do?”
“I think I activated it.”
Nothing more happens for a second.
“Greetings,” a bright voice says behind us in smooth Interspeech. “What is the medical emergency?”
We both spin around.
It’s a robot, thin and humanoid, shiny brown with white accents. It’s about my size and it reminds me of a plastic toy I once saw.
Zaroc is between me and the robot in a flash, just like usual. But it gives off a non-threatening vibe, despite there being no doubt about it being a robot.
I hold my fingers out. The leaves are the size of quarters now. “This is the problem. I have a parasitic infection.”
“May I, sir?” The robot comes closer as Zaroc reluctantly stands aside. Its small, toeless feet make little clicks on the stone floor.
It reaches out one thin hand, and I give it mine. The robot’s touch is so soft I barely sense it.
The eyes are big and square, making it look as if it’s wearing glasses. It looks at my hand, then stares into my eyes for a second.
“It is perhaps somewhat more than simply an infection,” it says in a voice that’s neither male nor female.
“Can anything be done about it?” Zaroc asks.
“Something can be done about it,” the robot replies. “And it should be done immediately. Already, it is hard to separate between the base organism and the intruder.”
“Yes,” I agree, even more worried than before. “What do I do?”
The lower section of the big cube rises and reveals a space with inviting, sun-like light.
“Enter,” the robot says. “This must be done inside.”
Zaroc and I follow it into the cube.
The robot turns. “Sir, only the patient may be inside. Anyone else can only contaminate.”
“If anything bad happens to her, I swear I’ll destroy everything in this moon,” Zaroc says gruffly.
“It’s okay,” I hurry to say. “I have nothing to lose, Zaroc. Look.” I move my hands through the air, making the leaves rustle.
Zaroc reaches out a hand and puts it to my cheek. His mouth works as if he wants to say something, but doesn’t know what.
I lean into his strong, warm hand. “I’ll be okay.”
“You better,” he says in a thick voice. Then the slowly steps out of the cube, backwards, not looking happy.
The cube closes around me and the robot.
“Stand here,” it says and points to an oval on the floor. “The procedure may take a while .There should be no pain.”
It stands back, a white light fills the cube, and I find myself hovering a foot off the floor.
“Close your eyes,” the robot directs, and I obey.
Even through my eyelids, I sense the light growing much brighter.
A strange calmness fills me. I’ve never been more at peace.
17
- Zaroc -
The cube closes with Averie inside, and I don’t know what to do with myself. I could stand here and worry about her. Or I could do something else.
Of course, this is exactly what I was hoping to find inside this moon, an Elder device that has a medical purpose. For all I know, my reassuring lie