"Tales Of The Bounty Hunters (Kevin Anderson)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anderson Kevin J)

nubs providing him with 360 degrees' worth of precise
observation.
I am not alone.
IG-88 recognized each droid's full complement of
weapons: blaster cannons built into the structure of
each arm, concussion grenades and a launcher at-
tached to his hip, as well as other weapons not easily
recognizable integrated into the body structure -- poi-
sonous gas canisters, throwing flechettes, stun pulser,
paralysis cord... and a computer input port. IG-88
was pleased with his list of capabilities.
IG-88's first round of questions had been answered.
He had only to study his memory banks and his exter-
nal sensors. He was designed to be self-sufficient. He
was an assassin droid, resourceful. He had to accom-
plish his mission... though, checking his newly ini-
tialized programming, he saw that he had not yet been
given a mission. He would have to acquire one.
Three seconds had already passed, and another im-
portant question surfaced in his burning-awake brain.
Why am I here F
He traced sensations through his computer core and
out the jack, which he now realized had already been
connected to the lab's central computer -- a treasure
trove of information.
IG-88 immediately began a search, scouring at hyper-
speed through file after file, searching for anything that
referenced his model number or the code name of the
assassin droid project. He gulped it all into his empty
circuits, gorging himself with information without di-
gesting it. That would come later. It would take many
seconds to learn everything there was to know about
himself.
He selected one file for immediate perusal, a sum-
mary/PR tape that had been compiled for the techni-
cal sponsor -- in particular, an Imperial Supervisor
Gurdun who had apparently funneled a great deal of
funds into the creation of IG-88 and his counterparts.
Without outwardly moving, IG-88 scrolled through the
file at high speed, absorbing the information.
The presentation opened with a brilliant orange logo
that displayed orange flames and crackling lightning
that merged into the words "Holowan Laboratories --
the Friendly Technology People." The logo dissolved
into an image of a smiling but hideous ugly woman.
Her head was shaven completely bald and glistened
with perspiration under harsh white recording lights
that gave her lantern-jawed face a cadaverous look. Her
teeth were spaced with broad gaps, and she spoke by
opening her mouth wide and clicking down on the