Wings by Terry Pratchett Read Free Book Online

be down on him like a pound of bricks as soon as he answered 'Yes.' "
    "It's a sneaky trick, isn't it?" said Angalo, in an admiring tone of voice.
    "No, we don't want to do any overthrowing," said Masklin to the Thing. "We just want to steal one of their going-straight-up jets. What are they called again?"
    "Space shuttles."
    "Right. And then we'll be off. We don't want to cause any trouble."
    The bag bumped around and was put down. There was a tiny sawing noise, totally unheard amid the noise of the airport. A very small hole appeared in the leather. An eye appeared.
    "What's he doing?" said Gurder.
    "Stop pushing," said Masklin. "I can't concentrate. Now it looks like we're in a line of humans." "We've been waiting for ages," said Angalo.
    "I expect everyone's being asked if they're going to do any overthrowing," said Gurder wisely.
    "I hardly like to bring this up," said Angalo, "but how are we going to find this shuttle?"
    "We'll sort that out when the time comes," said Masklin uncertainly.
    "The time's come," said Angalo. "Hasn't it?"
    Masklin shrugged helplessly.
    "You didn't think we'd arrive in this Florida place and there'd be signs up saying 'This way to Space,' did you?" said Angalo sarcastically.
    Masklin hoped his thoughts didn't show up on his face. "Of course not," he said.
    "Well, what do we do next?" Angalo insisted.
    "We... we... we ask the Thing," said Masklin. He looked relieved. "That's what we'll do. Thing?"
    "Yes?"
    Masklin shrugged. "What do we do next?"
    "Now that," said Angalo, "is what I call planning."
    The bag shifted. Grandson Richard, 39, was moving up the line.
    "Thing? I said, what do we do -"
    "Nothing."
    "How can we do nothing?"
    "By performing an absence of activity."
    "What good is that?"
    "The paper said Richard Arnold was going to Florida for the launch of the communications satellite. Therefore, he is going to the place where the satellite is now. Ergo, we will go with him."
    "Who's Ergo?" said Gurder, looking around.
    The Thing flickered its lights at him. "It means 'therefore,' " it said.
    Masklin looked doubtful. "Do you think he'll take this bag with him?"
    "Uncertain."
    There wasn't a lot in the bag, Masklin had to admit. It contained mainly socks, papers, a few odds and ends like hairbrushes, and a book called The Spy with No Trousers. This last item had caused them some concern when the bag had been unzipped just after the plane landed, but Grandson Richard, 39, had thrust it in among the papers without glancing inside. Now that there was a little light to see by, Angalo was trying to read it. Occasionally he'd mutter under his breath.
    "It seems to me," Masklin said eventually, "that Grandson Richard, 39, isn't going to go straight off to watch the satellite fly away. I'm sure he'll go somewhere and sleep first. Do you know when this shuttle jet flies, Thing?"
    "Uncertain. I can talk to other computers only when they are within my range. The computers here know only about airport matters."
    "He's going to have to go to sleep soon, anyway," said Masklin. "Humans sleep through most of the night. I think that's when we'd better leave the bag."
    "And then we can talk to him," said Gurder.
    The others stared at him.
    "Well, that's why we came, isn't it?" said the Abbot. "Originally? To ask him to save the quarry?"
    "He's a human!" snapped Angalo. "Even you must realise that by now! He's not going to help us! Why should he help us? He's just a human whose ancestors built a store! Why do you go on believing he's some sort of great big nome in the sky?"
    "Because I haven't got anything else to believe in!" shouted Gurder. "And if you don't believe in Grandson Richard, 39, why are you in his bag?"
    "That's just a coincidence -"
    "You always say that! You always say it's just a coincidence!"
    The bag moved, so they lost their balance again and fell over.
    "We're moving," said Masklin, still peering out the hole and almost glad of anything that would stop the argument. "We're walking across