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wrong place. One accidental wrong move on Kresh s part could smash down the
political house of cards that was all that might save Inferno.
Fredda Leving felt her heart grow cold with fear.
Trouble was, she was not quite sure what to be afraid for.
Or afraid of.
9
GUBBER Anshaw knew he was not a courageous man, but at least he had the
courage to admit that much to himself. He had the strength of character to
understand his own limitations, and surely that had to count for something.
Well, it was comforting to tell himself that, at any rate. Not that such
self -understanding was much use under the present circumstances. But be that
as it may. There were times when even a coward had to do the right thing.
And now, worse luck, was one such time. He watched as Tetlak, his personal
robot, guided Gubber s deliberately undistinctive aircar through the dark of
night toward Settlertown. The aircar slowed to a halt, hung in midair waiting
for Settlertown s traffic and security system to query the car s transponder
and see that it was on the preapproved list. Then the ground opened up beneath
them as a fly-in portal to the underground city granted them entrance. The car
flew down through the depths, down into the great central cavern of
Settlertown, and came in for a landing.
Gubber used a hand gesture to order Tetlak to stay with the car, then got out
himself. He walked to the waiting runcart and got in.  To Madame
Welton s, please, he said as he settled in. The little open vehicle took off
the moment he sat down. Gubber barely had time to reflect on the unnerving
fact that there was no conscious being in control of the cart before he was
delivered to Tonya s quarters.
He walked to her doorway and stood there for a moment before he remembered to
press the annunciator button. Normally that was something his robot would do
for him. But Tetlak made Tonya nervous sometimes, and he had no wish for
unneeded awkwardness. It was bad enough that he had come without calling
ahead.
A sleepy Tonya Welton opened the door and looked upon her visitor in surprise.
 Gubber! What in the Galaxy are you doing here?
Gubber looked at her for a moment, raised his hand uncertainly, and then
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spoke.  I know it was risky to come, but I had to see you. I don t think I was
followed. I had to come and say--say goodbye.
 Goodbye! Tonya s astonishment and upset were plainly visible on her face. 
Are you breaking it off because--
 I m not breaking anything off, Tonya. You will always be there in my heart.
But I don t think I will be able to see you again after--after I go to see
Sheriff Kresh.
 What!
 I m turning myself in, Tonya. I m going to take the blame. Gubber felt his
heart pounding, felt the sweat starting to bead up on his body. For the
briefest of moments, he felt a bit faint.  Please, he said.  May I come in?
Tonya backed away from the door and ushered him in. Gubber stepped inside and
looked around. Ariel stood motionless in her robot niche, staring out at
nothing at all. The room was in its bedroom configuration, all the tables and
chairs stowed away, replaced by a large and comfortable bed--a bed that Gubber
had reason to remember most fondly. Now he crossed the room and sat, morosely,
on the edge of it, feeling most lost and alone.
Tonya watched him cross the room, watched as he sat down. Gubber looked up at
her. She was so beautiful, so natural, so much herself Not like Spacer women,
all artifice and appearance and affectation.
 I have to turn myself in, Gubber said.
Tonya looked at him, quietly, thoughtfully.  For what, Gubber?
 What? What do you mean?
 What charge, exactly, will you confess to when you turn. yourself in?
What is it you ve done? When they ask you for a detailed description of how
you committed your crime, what will you say?
Gubber shrugged uncertainly and looked down at the floor. He had no idea what
to confess to, of course. In his own mind, he had committed no crime, but he
doubted the law would share that opinion. But what point to confessing to a
crime in order to shield Tonya when he did not know what, if anything, they
suspected she had done? Tonya had her own secrets, and he dared not ask what
they were.
Clearly it would be safer for both of them if each kept certain things
to themselves for now.
The silence dragged on, until Tonya took it as an answer.
 I thought so, she said at last.  Gubber, it just won t work. She sat down
next to him and put her arm across his shoulders.  Dearest Gubber, you are a
wonder. Back home on Aurora, I must have known a hundred men full of thunder
and bluster, always ready to show me just how big and brave they were.
But none of them had your courage.
 My courage! Gubber looked sadly at Tonya.  Hah! There s a contradiction in
terms.
 Is it? No big burly Settler man would dream of confessing a crime, going to a
penal colony, for the sake of the woman he loved. And you d do it, I know you
would. But you can t. You mustn t.
 But--
 Don t you see? Kresh is no fool. He ll be able to crack through a false
confession in a heartbeat, and you don t know what to confess to. We have the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]