Anvil, Christopher Strangers in Paradise

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The roboid devices cut them down with automatic efficiency.
Still more came forward.
"Shut it off!" said Roberts.
The roboid devices waited for a better shot, and suddenly the targets vanished in flying dives into the nearest
gutter, through cellar windows, and behind heaps of trash.
The three men stared at the screen and the unmoving bodies.
"Well," said Morrissey in a dull voice, "that sure didn't work."
Hammell said shakily, "Suppose we hit Kelty with an extra-strong dose of 'desire for peace'? He could call off the
police, couldn't he?"
Roberts thought a moment, then shook his head. "If the computer is in its right mind, so to speak, it will sack
Kelty if he tries that. The fanatics have apparently booby-trapped the roboid police so many times that any call
for peace will ring false."
"Damn it," said Hammell, "we can't influence the computer. The thing has no emotions to influence."
Roberts was frowning. "There's a thought."
"What do you mean?" said Hammell.
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Christopher Anvil - Strangers in Paradise.htm
Roberts glanced through the porthole, which was nearer Hammell than himself, at the patrol ship. "It just
occurred to me that if the want-generator won't influence the computer, maybe we've got something else here that
wiU."
"We have?" Hammell turned around, looked out, and froze.
"There are advantages," said Roberts, "to having something a Little stronger than a spaceyacht. We what's the
matter?"
Hammell drew in a slow deep breath. ;
"Have you been hearing a funny grating noise lately?"
"Now that you mention it," said Roberts, "I have. Why?"
"Ease over here a little, and look outside from a different angle. Don't make any fast move, or the thing may jerk
back and hurt the ship."
Frowning, Roberts carefully eased over toward Hammell
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to look directly into the cold calculating gaze of a pair of reptilian eyes as big as his fists. The thing had a large
pointed head. Roberts at once recognized the creature. This was the thing that had been looking down from the
thorn tree. Apparently it had coiled itself around the ship to climb up this high, and the pressure of its coils had
created the creaking noise.
Roberts carefully glanced aside, at his battle armor. Probably the best thing to do was to get into that, go out, and

Hammell murmured, "Oh, oh. Look "
CRACK/
The porthole transparent plate, frame, gasket, rims, and all smashed inward and clattered and bounced on the
deck.
The big head was right there in the ship beside them, looking at them and the want-generator coldly.
78
XIV. The Dukes of Desire
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Christopher Anvil - Strangers in Paradise.htm
There was a creaking grating noise and the head flowed in farther on its dark-green muscular neck.
Roberts, half-paralyzed, began to have the illusion that he was dreaming. This couldn't be real. With an effort, he
forced his mind to face the facts.
For him to try to quickly reach the battle armor now would only rivet the snake's attention. Any sudden motion
was a form of suicide. Yet, to stay still promised the same result after a slight delay.
Very gradually, he began to ease toward the armor.
The snake was feeding in another length steadily, but abruptly it froze, looking back past Roberts.
It dawned on Roberts that the snake had just spotted the battle armor standing against the wall. Its attention
riveted, the snake hung motionless.
Roberts' voice was barely a murmur.
"Morrissey."
"Sir?"
"Turn on 'desire for peace.' Focus it on the yacht here."
Morrissey, moving with slow careful motions, refocused the want-generator.
Roberts warily turned, very slowly, to look around.
A sleepy film suddenly seemed to come down over the snake's eyes.
At the same moment, Roberts felt an intense yearning for
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peace and quiet. Enough of conflict. For heaven's sake, the thought went through his mind, why can't everyone
get along together?
The snake was moving carefully, its huge head lowered and somehow suggestive of a dog expecting a kick. With
increasing speed, the length of neck went out the hole in the ship, followed by the head.
There was a grating, grinding, scraping noise, and Roberts cautiously put his head out, to see the creature drop
free at the base of the ship and rapidly head for cover.
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Christopher Anvil - Strangers in Paradise.htm
Roberts sucked in a deep breath, and glanced around.
"Morrissey?"
"Is there a timer in that circuit?"
"Yes, sir."
"Set it for a minute, and give us a stiff jolt of 'desire for sleep.' "
Morrissey bent briefly at the controls.
Roberts suddenly realized that he was worn out, dazed. The room spun around him, and he sat down, cradled his
head on his arms, sagged forward against the control panel. . . .
. . . Somewhere, tinnily, a bell was ringing, and Roberts dazedly sat up. He felt as if he had been dredged up from
a hundred fathoms down, but he was amazed at how his desire for sleep had evaporated. Now he felt rested,
refreshed, and
Suddenly he remembered something, and sprang to the porthole.
Outside, the huge snake lay motionless, half in and half out of the forest.
Hammell and Morrissey were both face-down on the control panel. As the timer's bell rang on, only Morrissey
began to stir.
The alarm kept ringing, and now Morrissey groped around dazedly but couldn't seem to connect with it.
Naturally, Roberts thought. He glanced around sourly. After a night spent in this bucket, who wouldn't be worn
out? Every time you turned around, some monster was coming in after you. Why not just live in a cheesecloth
tent, and get it over with quick?
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Morrissey finally found the timer, shut it off, and passed
out again.
So far, Hammell hadn't even moved.
Roberts leaned out to see what damage the snake might have done to the yacht in climbing up it, and at once he
heard a rustle overhead and felt the heat of the sun, shining down on his neck, abruptly cut off.
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Christopher Anvil - Strangers in Paradise.htm
There was a dazzle of light.
WRAP/
Roberts was inside so fast that he knocked Hammell half out of his chair, landed in a sprawl over the edge of the
want-generator's control panel.
The air outside the porthole was suddenly filled with huge blue and green feathers. There was a sizzling noise, a
smell of cooked meat and burnt pinfeathers, a kind of low popping sound, and a burnt-paint smell.
Cautiously, Roberts looked out to see one of the smaller turrets on the patrol ship swinging back into position.
Just what caused it, Roberts didn't know, but there was something about the patrol ship as he looked at it that
suggested reproach.
Roberts eased farther back and looked around. Morrissey and Hammell were still asleep. Roberts glanced at the
patrol ship. How had it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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