Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe Part 7

This feature was one of the minor advantages a Ninja suit gave him-wall- walkingIn the palms and knees of the suit were wafer-thin suction units that were activated when pressure was appliedThey were not very strong, but powerful enough that if he main-tained three-point contact with a surface, they would hold- provided he did not s.h.i.+ft his weight too sud-denly.

Though he could not see his watch, he had similar units built into the suit, which he used periodically to check the floor as he made his way along the wallAfter fifteen feet, he failed to get the warning tingle from his sensors and knew it was safe to use the floor again.

He was sweating profusely as he eased himself back down to a standing positionThe ventilation in a Ninja suit was not good, and wall-walking required considerable exertionHe considered turning off the suit, but decided against itFrom this point on, he was committed, and the suit was his best protection against detection.

Trusting his sensors to warn him of any additional alarms, he stepped boldly forward and turned the corner.

There, confronting him, was the unblinking eye of a security camera.

Cursing his carelessness, he lowered his head to hide the eye slits and hurried past the camera.

Very, very neat!

Anyone successfully bypa.s.sing the floor trap would be so swollen with self- confidence he would blunder right into the backup system-as he just had.

Invisibility had fringe benefitsNot only was it an invaluable aid for infiltration, it also hid embarra.s.sing mistakes, like the one he had just madeThe fact he had escaped detection had nothing to do with his skill and trainingThis time, the credit belonged to the Ninja suit.

Hosato breathed a silent prayer of thanks for this new addition to a Ninja's a.r.s.enal of weapons and equipmentHis ancestors in j.a.pan had worn baggy suits of black, white, and charcoal gray when under-taking a missionThe black or gray would blend with the shadows, and the white would vanish against snow, while the baggy fit would break up the telltale silhou-ette of the Ninja.

As technology progressed, so had the Ninja's gearThe current apex of that evolution was suits such as the one Hosato was wearingWhile not actually rendering him invisible, it was certainly the ultimate in camouflaging.

The cloth, which appeared at first glance to be a brightly colored velvet, actually was covered with mil-lions of light relays, each paired with a twin on the exact opposite side of the suitWhen activated, each relay would pick up whatever light reached it and display it on the opposite side of the suitThat is, whatever was behind him would be displayed on the front of his suit, and whatever was in front of him would be displayed on the back.

The suit was effective to the point that he could pa.s.s in front of a lamp without casting a shadowHe could still be detected by the human eye if he moved, but if he remained motionless, a casual gaze would sweep right past himFortunately, security cameras were easy to foolThe most someone monitoring a camera would see if he walked past would be a slight rippling of the picture, which would be disregarded as an electronic disturbance in the equipment.

The corridor ended abruptlySet in the right-hand wall was another metal door identical to the one he had first pa.s.sed throughHis scanners again gave no indication of alarms, so he cautiously opened the door a crack and peeked through.

Yes, this was itThe manufacturing area.

He slipped through the door and let it close behind him, standing silently in momentary awe at the spec-tacle before himUntil this moment, he had never truly comprehended the size of McCrae Enterprises or the epic proportions of the job before him.

The room was huge, easily as large as a s.p.a.ceport hangarPacked into the room, wall to wall, floor to ceiling, were the a.s.sembly linesThe place seemed to be one solid ma.s.s of machines, bins, conveyor belts, catwalks, and laddersIt was a study in perpetual mo-tion, with bits of partially a.s.sembled robots appearing and disappearing as the various pulleys ferried them along their destined course of completionThe din was unbelievable.

Hosato experienced a flash of despairIt was so big, so complicatedAnd it was only one of many such areas he would have to sabotage to halt productionHow could he possibly hope to stop it all by himself?

Angrily he halted that train of thoughtHis family had not failed to fulfill a contract in more than two centuries, and he wasn't going to be the one to ruin that recordSo it was complexComplexity meant vulnerabilityThere was a weak link here somewhere, but he wasn't going to find it standing here staring.

Steeling himself to the task, he began his circuitous tour of the facility.

An hour and a half later he paused on one of the high catwalks to take a breatherLeaning against the saftey railing, he surveyed the area as he tried to col- lect his thoughts.

Once in the manufacturing area he was relatively safe from surveillance and had unsealed the head of his suit to give himself better visibility and ventilationThe hands and feet he left sealed so that on the off-chance anyone appeared, he could reseal the suit in minimal time.

He was beginning to think Rick was right when he said nothing- could go wrong in the manufacturing areaAbout the only way Hosato could think of to disable the area would be to blow the whole mess sky-highExcept that he didn't have-and couldn't get-the necessary equipment.

If he sealed the doors, they could just cut new doors in the wall and keep producingIf he destroyed the stored components, they could quickly produce new onesThe a.s.sembly machinery was modularizedThe bulky maintenance robots with their forklift arms were ever vigilant as they roamed the floor and catwalksThey could quickly replace any damaged unit in mini-mal time, and production would continue.

The maintenance robots were small wonders in themselvesHosato had paused for a while to watch a dozen of them at workThey were apparently disman-tling one product-a.s.sembly line and rebuilding it to new specifications in preparation for the production of a new type of robot.w.a.tching them glide back and forth lifting and placing the heavy a.s.sembly modules gave him a new appreciation for the strength and versatility of today's robotsBut that wasn't solving his problem.

The various cables and power lines came up through the floor, feeding directly into the ma.s.sive pillars and girders that supported the maze of machinesIf he was going to try to go after those, he might as well blow the entire areaNor could he tamper with the control signalsIf Suzi was right in her a.n.a.lysis, they couldn't be jammed or distortedBesides, any jammer unit.

A subtle vibration in the rail he was leaning against captured his attentionOne of the maintenance robots was rolling swiftly at him down the catwalkHe had been so engrossed in thought he hadn't noted its ap-proach.

In one frozen moment he realized it wasn't going to stopWith a bound, he leaped up, to balance pre-cariously on the railing, waiting for the machine to pa.s.s byThen he saw the forkliftOne of its ma.s.sive arms was extended over the railingIn a moment it would knock him from his perch, to fall to his deathHe had one split second to look for an escape route.

He saw it and jumped for it in the same heartbeatDirectly overhead was another catwalkHis reaching fingers found purchase on the lip of the walk, and he pulled his legs up out of the way of the swiftly moving monster below.

The maintenance robot continued on its way with-out apparently noting his activities at all.

Hosato waited a moment, then swung his legs and dropped back onto the catwalk belowHe glared after the machine as he waited for his heart to resume its normal rhythmStrangeUsually heavy, mobile robots had built-in sensors that would not allow them to ap-proach a human at speeds like thatMaybe since these robots were being used in a manufacturing area where no humans were present, those sensors had been de-activatedIf so, Hosato didn't like it.i.t was dangerous.

Had he been a little less agile, the robot would have killed him.

He was suddenly eager to get back among other humans.h.i.+s mission here was over, anywaySuzi had been rightHe was going to have to hit the main com-puter and power-source building if he wanted to successfully complete his missionThat would take considerable preparation.

Returning to the floor level, he was heading for the door back for the access corridor when another door caught his eyeIt was clearly labeled "Prototype Room."

That stopped himHe fought a silent inner battle for a moment; then curiosity won out over cautionWith any luck, he might get an advance peek at Turner's new security robots, or at least get an idea of what direction their development was taking.

Resealing his hood to reactivate the Ninja suit, he opened the door a crack and peeked insideIt was a room not unlike the one he was currently in; smaller, no a.s.sembly lines, and more important, no humans or cameras.

Thus a.s.sured, he entered the room for a closer lookThere were no formal lines, but tables of various sizes with half-built robots on themSmall bins of com- ponents lined the walls, and the designer robots moved between the bins and the tables, gathering parts and adding them to the prototypes they were working on.

Hosato stepped to the first table and studied the work in progress thereThough he was no technician, he had enough general knowledge to understand some of what he was seeing.

The robot under construction would be humanoid in appearance, though noticeably larger than an aver-age manIt would have four cameras or sensory in- puts of some kind mounted on its head, giving it a 360-degree field of coverage without turningIt would probably be fast enough to.

Something caught Hosato's eyeA chill ran through him as he focused on the half- a.s.sembled arm lying on the table in front of himForgetting himself for the moment, he unsealed his right hand and picked the arm up for closer examinationIt looked like there was a blaster being built into the.

The designer robot nearest him suddenly extended a telescoping screwdriver arm straight at his chestWithout thinking, Hosato parried the advancing point with the prototype arm he was holdingIn the same motion, he stepped in close and riposted, smas.h.i.+ng his improvised weapon across the designer robot's face.

There was a brief flare of sparks, and the designer robot stopped, its lights dying and its gauges dropping to zero.

Hosato tossed the prototype arm back on the table and sprinted for the door, resealing his suit as he went.

That did itd.a.m.n his fencing reflexes anywayIf the breakdown of a designer robot didn't bring some-one into the area, nothing wouldIt wouldn't take a genius to realize someone had helped the robot to mal-functionHe had to clear out and establish his presence elsewhere fast.

As he ran, however, a thought occurred to himHe had almost been killed twice by robots in this missionIt would seem the robots were malfunctioning, and that could be dangerous.

The problem was, he couldn't report it to anyone without admitting he had been in an area he had no business being in!

"There is no record of the transaction you are refer-encing."

The impersonal monotone of the desk-robot was in-furiating, but Hosato kept his temperThe last thing he wanted to do was to cause a scene or draw atten-tion to himselfIn fact, that's why he was here in the Accounting Office, to try to avoid suspicion.

There had been no overt reaction to his abortive scouting mission yesterdayHe had successfully with-drawn from the manufacturing area, finding no in-dication of alarm or other alert as he did soStill, he was sure-and Suzi confirmed his feelings-that somewhere someone had noted the results of his ac-tivities and was hard at work trying to uncover the culprit.

Hopefully, it would be regarded as the result of the interoffice rivalries Turner had mentioned, though there would doubtless be a great deal of curiosity as to how the alarm floor and camera were bypa.s.sedStill, the bloodhounds would be looking for any un-usual behavior, which was why he was here.

"Look," he said firmly to the robot"It was last Wednesday nightI fed the card into the waiter robot myselfI know the charge was made, so why wasn't it shown on my pay stub?"

"There is no record of the transaction you are ref-erencingI have rechecked the records each time you asked," the robot replied without rancor"However, as this is the fifth time you have repeated the same question or a close variant thereof, I must a.s.sume you find my answer unsatisfactoryIf you wish additional clarification, so indicate and I will summon a human to deal with your problem."

"Please." Hosato sighed.

"That phrase is unclearDo you wish-?"

"Please summon a human," Hosato amended.

"Your request is being processedThere will be a short delay."

The desk-robot lapsed into silenceHosato sank back in his chair to waitHe was beginning to won-der if he was really pursuing the right course in this matterMaybe.

"Oh, hi!"

He swiveled his head toward the source of the voiceThe same pet.i.te redhead who had first wel-comed him to McCrae Enterprises had just entered the room.

"Are you the one with the problem?" she asked.

"Yes." He smiled"I must say that was quickWere you waiting outside, or what?"

She made a face at him"McCrae employees are always eager to serve your every need," she recited"Besides, it's not like I was busyThis is the second problem I've had to deal with this monthWhat's your gripe?"

"Well, actually it's more of an accounting problem than a personnel problem."

"That's okay," she insisted"I handle bothShows you how many problems we normally get, doesn't itI tell you, the machines are doing everything these days."

"Yes, well, it's nothing, reallyI charged a meal onto my account last Wednesday night, and it didn't show on my pay stub as a deductionI just wanted to be sure my records were accurate, that's all."

She c.o.c.ked her head at him"You know, you're a strange oneMost people wouldn't even notice what was or wasn't charged to them, and the ones that did sure wouldn't complain if a meal got charged to some-body else."

She stepped to the desk computer and started key-ing in data"What's your employee number?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Actually, if it's too much trouble-"

"Too late to change your mind now." She grinned"Now that you've confessed, we're going to see this throughCome on, this is probably going to be the high point of my week."

He gave her the number, and she keyed it into the robot.

"No," she said thoughtfully, scanning the view-screen"There's no record of that transaction."

Hosato shut his eyes for a moment as he fought back a sarcastic comment"Look,"

he said finally, "I was thereI personally fed my card into the waiter robotI know the charge exists somewhere."

"Don't get panicky," the girl a.s.sured him"We'll find itCould you give me a few details?"

"Well, Sasha and I had dinner at the mall restau-rant."

"SashaWell, well." She smiled at him and bent over the robot once more"Here it is."

"Where was it?" he asked.

"My friend, you've been flimflammedThursday morning your charming dinner companion used her security override to erase the charge from your record and had it added to hers instead."

Hosato felt a mild pang of annoyance"Well, just transfer it back," he ordered.

"Can't." The girl smiled"You'll just have to give her the money yourself if you want to pay for itI just wish I could be there when you try."

Hosato controlled his temper and forced a smile"Well, I guess that's between her and meThanks for your help, thoughI probably shouldn't have gotten you involved."

"Don't mention itSay, urn, HayamaMaybe I shouldn't say this, but about your girlfriend there."

"She's not my girlfriend," he corrected.

"ReallyGoodThat makes this a little easier to say, thenDid you know she's trying to get you re-placed?"

"What?"

"Now, don't blame herShe's probably under or-ders from on high to save a few bucks on the budgetYou know what they say, 'Never mix friends.h.i.+p with business.' You should hear her side of it before you tell her to drop dead."

"First," Hosato interrupted, "I think I' should hear your side of it."

"Well," she began eagerly, "remember I said this was the second special problem I had to deal with this monthWell, the other one was herShe called me up last Thursday and said she wanted me to send out a personnel-scouting request to all our field agentsYou'll never guess what for."

"A fencing coach?" Hosato supplied.

"Wrong," she said triumphantly"For a spyFor someone who specializes in espionage and sabotage, but-and here's the kicker-a spy who can double as a fencing coachIt looks like someone thinks your job should be doing double dutyThat's what hit me, you knowWe used to have two girls here, one handling accounting problems and one covering personnelThen."

Hosato wasn't listening as she rambled onThe Ninja trapSo that's what Sasha had up her sleeveInstead of proving the fencing coach had other tal-ents, she was simply putting out a call for a list of dubious characters who could fenceAll she would have to do would be to see if the existing coach were on itIf he were Would it workHow many of his contacts would supply his name in response to that requestWould she make the connection between Hosato and HayamaThere were a lot of j.a.panese in s.p.a.ce, but how many of them could fence?

"Hey!" The girl laid a hand on his arm, interrupt-ing his thoughts.

"I didn't meant to get you upsetEven if she finds someone, you can always find another job, can't you?"

"Sure," he said bitterly"As a professional duelistI was trying to leave that behindNot much job se-curity, and the retirement plan is rotten."

"Gee, I'd like to run interference for you, but well, you know, it's my jobStill," she said, "I do feel somehow responsibleTell you whatI get off at four, why don't we'

get together over drinks, and maybe be-tween the two of us we can come up with something."

"Okay." Hosato smiled"Where shall I meet you?"

"Why don't I drop by your room?" she suggested"And we can decide where we'll go from there."

Suzi will love that, he thought.

"Terrific," he said"I'll see you then."