"Jim Farris - Pandora's Box" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farris Jim)

to re-arm the fastest system we had and destroy her and could hear the wyrm starting to suggest one
already, but she flicked her thumb and what we thought was a thermal detonator turned out to be a small
flashlight. "Comment: That was startling. Question: Are you okay?"


"Reply: I am fine. All systems are Happy except those already noted on the maintenance list.
Comment: You forget, I do not get frightened. Comment: The target's illumination source will not
allow her to see us until she is significantly closer. I estimate that we are fairly certain of
capture."


"Reply: Good. Anybody who startles us that badly deserves a little scare of her own before we add
her bones to the pile." I replied, ignoring the wyrm's protest that she doesn't get scared. I felt her
reaction, and it's as close to fear as an AI can get.


The female slowly advanced into the cave, drawing closer. I could feel the wyrm tensing to spring.
Suddenly the female's flashlight beam fell on the bone pile, and she stopped and stared in horror. The
bones of a thousand years of coyotes, snakes, rabbits, birds and hundreds of other animals who had tried
to use our cave and share our precious water lay there in a pile - the pile tended to drive off other
animals, and we usually weren't bothered by animal intruders more than once a year or so now. There
were also the bones of fifteen humans there, ranging in age from sixteen to forty-five. The oldest we put
there shortly after we were ordered to hold this cave. The newest was five hundred and sixty years old.
All were civilians, or claimed to be. The last ten tried to tell us the war was over. Since they didn't have
the passwords, we couldn't know it wasn't an enemy trick to draw us out. Besides that, we couldn't let
them go even if the war was over. We had our orders. Nobody was to know we were here.


The female looked around in the darkness, but still didn't see the wyrm. "Hello?" she called. We
waited, ready. "Iron Man Unit Number 666? Are you in here?"


"Command: Grab her, now!"


"By your command." the wyrm replied, rushing forward. The wyrm's hundred legs clattered and
scratched against the stone, shooting her forward. She lashed out with the number three manipulator, a
20-meter long 5mm thick tentacle designed for capture. It whipped around the female's body, pinning her
arms to her sides and lifting her off the ground. The female screamed as the tentacle drew her over the
bone pile and to the wyrm.


"Command: Gag her with the tip of the manipulator and back up away from the entrance to our
original position. Pick up that flashlight with the number four manipulator - its raw materials may come in
useful."


"By your command." the wyrm replied, stuffing the tip of the tentacle into the female's open,
screaming mouth. "Comment: This female is particularly fragile. Observe - she is disintegrating."
the wyrm susurrated as she backed up.