The Archivist by Tom D Wright Read Free Book Online Page B

Doc’s pack, where it sits propped against the rock wall. Random snippets of our conversations throughout the day come back to me, provoking a deep sadness. Crickets and stars come out as the dusk deepens into darkness. I keep my staff handy, listening to the wilderness around us to make sure there are no lurking surprises.
    “What the hell was that thing?” Danae eventually mumbles, through a half-full mouth. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Was it some kind of demon?”
    “Hardly. They’re called techbots, and they’re attracted to technology, the kind that gives off EMF.” Danae frowns and I remember that of course, she has no concept of electromagnetic radiation. That belonged to a world gone before her time. “EMF are signals kind of like sound, but so high you can’t hear them. Anyway, for them that kind of tech is like pollen to a bee, they just can’t resist it. My very smart friend says Intellinet left them behind to make sure they got a head start on us. There used to be a lot of techbots, but that’s the first one I’ve seen in years. I suspect it came from the crashed ship, and it’s probably what killed Wally.”
    Danae shivers and her eyes widen as she moves around the fire, closer to me. “Are there more of those—things—around? Do you think Intellinet is still around, watching us?”
    “No, why would they care?” I chuckle dryly. “We were probably about as interesting to Intellinet as an anthill. Even a single average machine was smarter than a roomful of human geniuses, so I can’t imagine what they were like as a network. Personally, I think they randomly picked a direction out there to go, kept going and never looked back.”
    “But if they were so far ahead of us, why did they have to crash everything when they left?”
    I cannot help sighing. “Some of my friends at the Archives have suggested a few different theories but really, no one knows. After going out on retrievals and seeing some of the things humans can do to each other, though, I can’t say that I blame them. And really, Intellinet isn’t entirely to blame, they just nudged us over the cliff. We put ourselves on that edge.”
    Even under her blankets she shivers some more; I pull Danae over to me and extend my duster to cover us both as I wrap my arm around her. She snuggles up silently and continues looking into the fire, her head nestled against my chest. After what happened this afternoon I know she just needs human companionship; right now I am not interested in a reprise of the previous evening, either.
    The fire crackles for the better part of an hour. I am contemplating digging out my pipe again when Danae gets up.
    She moves back into her own space, sitting straight up, and adds a few pieces of wood to the fire. Just in the little ways that she brushes back her hair and adjusts her clothing, I can tell that she is coming out of her shock. I need to bring a few things out in the open, and this is as good a time as any.
    “While I was disposing of our friends,” I gesture down the hill, “I thought about what happened. They knew exactly where we were and what we were looking for. It wasn’t a coincidence that the Disciple found us, is it?”
    She stiffens. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
    “Our buddy in black wasn’t keeping an eye on me back in your pub. He was watching you, to make sure you contacted me. When those thugs came around the corner after we left the tavern, they weren’t expecting a fight, they were merely following us. Just like they followed us this morning, on a trail you conveniently left for them every time you dropped back.”
    Danae opens her mouth to protest, then lets out a long, slow sigh that seems to physically deflate her. Slowly nodding her head, she stares at the ground while she responds.
    “You’re right. But I didn’t have a choice. The Disciple spoke to me in the afternoon just before you came in. He already knew about you, K’Marr, that wasn’t my