Home Front (Star Kingdom #7) - Lindsay Buroker Page 0,56
More evidence that the immune system boost he’d received from Rache’s potion was wearing off. Unfortunate. Until a couple of days ago, it had been a pleasant month devoid of motion sickness, seizures, and allergies.
“You can probably veer off at any point to look for Scholar Sunflyer,” Casmir told Kim. “Reuben will go with you.”
“You named him?” Kim glanced over her shoulder.
“I named all of the twelve. I haven’t yet gotten to know the earlier-model crushers. They don’t have as much personality as I would have expected, given that they’ve existed for two years.”
“If they’ve been hanging out with Jorg, that’s to be expected.”
Casmir grimaced in a semblance of agreement, but he didn’t comment. Even if Jorg had been difficult to work with—difficult to obey—he didn’t want to speak ill of the dead.
The androids took them not to an unfamiliar corridor of offices but to the very familiar manufacturing and smelting facility where Casmir had set up the crusher-creation factory. Those crushers had all been completed and were out on the floor, not testing their combat prowess, but standing and answering questions for the dozens—hundreds?—of guests milling around the area. As with the people he’d seen in the hangar, they seemed to represent fashion and genetic modification preferences from all the systems. The crushers were the only thing familiar. A few of them were demonstrating their versatility by shape-changing into liquid puddles or geometric shapes and then back into their bipedal human forms.
“It looks like we’re going to a party,” Kim said. “The only thing that’s missing is crushers carrying trays of sherry and brandy.”
“Is that what goes on at your lab parties back home?”
“Yes, but with less sophisticated robots that wear tuxes. Usually, there are also fruits cut into flowers and chocolate truffles.”
“That sounds a lot classier than the bring-your-own-beer faculty parties I’ve been to. How come you never invited me?”
“I tried once. You were going to gaming night with your friends, I believe to slay a dragon threatening the castle, which was very important.”
“Did you mention the truffles and the flower fruits? I might have abandoned my friends for such luxurious fare.”
“You know you wouldn’t.”
“Ah, Professor Dabrowski,” came Sultan Shayban’s booming voice from the middle of the gathering.
He strode toward them wearing light and dark blue silks, a vibrant blue feather sticking up from the front of his turban. One of the crushers followed behind his shoulder, clearly on bodyguard duty. Shayban spread his arms wide and gave Casmir a hug while Zee sized up his mirror-image counterpart.
“Welcome back, good professor,” Shayban said. “You’re just in time for the talks. I know the people from System Hydra hoped to see you.”
“People?” Casmir looked at Kim. “I only know one person in System Hydra, and I doubt President Nguyen is here.”
“Her vice president is, actually. Vice President Phan. There’s also an android named Tork and a scholar in a monkey-droid body that I believe is related to Scholar Sato.” Shayban extended a hand toward Kim, who blinked in surprise.
“My mother is here?”
“Several representatives from System Hydra are, along with a number of scholars with expertise on—” Shayban lowered his voice and leaned close to him, “—the ancient wormhole gate that was discovered under the ice on a moon in System Lion. I’ve been learning all about it. Everyone you see here was invited because of their expertise on gates or because they’re government or Miners’ Union leaders willing to work together on this project. I was fortunate I learned of the gate so I could get involved—more than that, I offered to host the first talks. Did I tell you about that last time you were here? Perhaps not. You are from the Kingdom, and nobody wants to get the Kingdom involved. Also, you were building me crushers.” Shayban patted his crusher on the shoulder.
“I am a Z-6000 programmed to protect Sultan Shayban,” he stated.
“I am a Z-6000,” Reuben said, “programmed to protect Kim Sato and Casmir Dabrowski.”
“I am Zee,” Zee said. “Did you say my acquaintance Tork is in this system? And he did not contact me previously? He is an inferior android, but it is his turn in our game of Stars and Battleships.”
Shayban looked at him. “Your crusher is chattier than mine.”
Several of the other crushers were also looking at Zee with as much curiosity as their vague faces were designed to display.
“They tend to develop more personality over time,” Casmir said.
Kim was peering around the gathering. Looking for her mother?