The Engineer Reconditioned by Neal Asher Read Free Book Online Page B

of the stuff had stretched the main onboard laboratory and required five Golem to come out of stasis to assist.
    "You note it only requires elements," said Chapra.
    "Confirmation that it can build all the molecules it wants, so long as it has the atoms," said Abaron. He was being very correct and very logical, very in control.
    "I wonder though ... "
    "What?"
    "That metal, the Jainite, and the niobium ... I've checked. There was nothing like that in the isolation chamber, nor in the tanks."
    "They could have been present in the escape pod."
    "No. I had Box check back on every scan. We were thorough."
    "What are you saying then?"
    "We missed something, or with that machine the Jain is able to synthesise atoms, even if in minute quantities."
    "It's Jain," said Abaron, as if that was all the answer required. Some hours later the Jain manufactured something else.
    "The device is a scanner," said Box. "It scanned the entire ship with some kind of neutron burst."
    "That's not possible," said Abaron.
    "It's Jain," said Chapra, relishing the moment.
    The device the Jain had built was about the size of a human head and looked like the bastard offspring of a whelk and the insides of an old valve radio. After using it the Jain saved one small component then fed the rest of it back into its bigger machine, its creation machine. Afterwards it fed in one of the large crustaceans. Then it came to the jetty and left something squatting there.
    "This I have to see," said Chapra, hurrying on her way. She glimpsed Abaron licking his dry lips as he reluctantly followed her. In minutes both of them were in hotsuits and walking out on the jetty. Judd strode behind them.
    "It's the crustacean. It's been altered," said Abaron, then he stepped rapidly back when the beast lifted its armoured belly up off the jetty and, walking on four armoured limbs, began to come towards them bull terrier fashion. After a moment Chapra moved back as well. The beast squatted down a couple of metres in front of them, waiting.
    "Look at its back," said Abaron.
    Chapra did so and there saw a triangle of ridged and pocked flesh. It was the negative of the end of the Jain's tentacles, she saw this at once.
    Judd said, "This was one of the crustaceans. It has been stripped of its digestive system and now has a small organic power cell. Its sensorium has been upgraded to eighty per cent of received spectra and there are additions to its primitive brain. Its blood is heated by metallic heating elements."
    "It's a probe," said Chapra. "I bet the additions to its brain are memory."
    "Cannot be determined," said Judd.
    "All right, I bet there are direct links between those additions and that triangle on its back." After a pause Judd said, "There are."
    Chapra turned to Abaron and tried not to notice that he had pressed himself up against the door.
    "I'll bet the intention is for it to wander around the ship then come back here. Once back here the Jain probably plugs in and reads off all the information it has gathered."
    "That seems likely," said Abaron, a quaver in his voice.
    "Okay, let's see," said Chapra, and she hit the door control. The beast got up again, advanced to the door, and through. They followed it into the lock, opened the next door into the ship. Beyond this door awaited the Golem named Rhys, who in appearance was an Australian aborigine.
    "Rhys will accompany our little guest on its tour around the ship," said Box. The beast moved off down the corridor, clicks and buzzes coming from a sensorium that was a mass of complex spikes, facets, brushes, and dimpled plates, all shifting and swivelling.
    "Is this a good idea?" said Abaron, and Chapra wondered how he had restrained himself for so long.
    "I think everything is under control, and won't be allowed to get out of control ... what is that on your belt, Rhys?"
    Rhys glanced back and tapped a hand on the gun holstered at his hip. In appearance it was a Luger made out of chrome, but with a few strange