After a satisfying shave and a breakfast of shroomnuts, I’m ready to tackle problems. Those robots are really heavy and dragging them all the way back to Data Haven would be, well, a real drag. It took us a good two days to hike here without robots. “If Cor can safely turn on the functional robot, maybe we can have it pull the broken one,” I suggest. Otherwise we’ll need to dig a pit or build a blind to hide the robots until we can come back with more help from Data Haven.
“I think she can,” Cleve says. “She got the lights working. I was thinking some sort of litter. Wish we had a horse.” He considers for a moment, “No, no, a donkey would be way better.”
I laugh. “No, a pack of wolf beetles,” I jokingly suggest. My companions look unsure. “Like a dog sled!”
“I guess that would work…” Cor says haltingly.
“No, even better, a briar beast,” I continue. “We get a briar beast to carry them back!”
“If you can tame a briar beast, all the more power to you,” Cor says.
Cleve chuckles. “We’ll get out the siege worm whistle and—” We all laugh at the idea of riding the siege worm back, robots in tow. It’s good to clear out some of the earlier tension before we create new trouble for ourselves.
“I did actually try to turn it on already—I didn’t think it would be a problem,” Cor admits. “It doesn’t come fully on, though. We’re going to need to salvage parts from one of these to get the other back in action.” She explains that from her study of the equipment, she thinks the robots get regular miasma corrosion treatment. That’s what the one she and I knocked over was doing when we took it out, in addition to recharging. The one Cleve fought missed that treatment cycle. Cor asks for our help pulling pieces out of the busted robot to mend the more intact one.
Cleve sets to work prying open panels on the damaged robot, but I step over to the other one. If part of the problem is that the robot needs miasma gunk removed from it, maybe there is a non-traditional way I can help. “What part of this machine is messed up from the miasma? Is it everywhere? Or is there some sink?” I ask.
Crouched down next to Cleve, Cor looks up at me and raps a spot down low on the robot they’re both working on. “The power inverter is down here. They’re pretty heavy, so they’re installed low to the ground. That’s the important part. The rest… whatever. It’ll rust sooner or something.”
I kneel down next to the chosen robot and put my hands on the blocky unit just above the treads. I concentrate on sensing whatever life is there, to draw it towards myself. I feel something inside me, a twinge, but I’ve come to expect that now and just breathe through it. Then I smile in satisfaction as purplish-red sparkles flicker, coming out of the seams of the metal and flowing towards my hands. Once it all collects there, I flick my hands, just like you do to shake off water. The spores, or whatever they are, disperse, fading into invisibility shortly after separating from me. I’m not sure if I’ve gotten everything out of the power inverter, but I did something.
Cleve and Cor lug over some components from the other robot, and Cor hooks everything up, only to find that the power source itself has run out. “We need a fresh battery or some other way to charge this,” she says. “Like plugging it back in at the network node.” Cleve grimaces at the news, but Cor remains upbeat. “It’s just this part,” she says, ripping something out of the robot.
This means going back into the miasma—during the day when it is worst—and risking being caught. But surely no one from a Morgan dome could have gotten here already, even if we set off alarms. And it mustn’t take that long for the battery to charge. Cor figures half an hour or so. “But even with the robot fully charged, I don’t know that that will be enough for a three day hike,” she admits.
Cleve mulls this over for a moment and then declares, “I’ll sneak back and try to plug it in. I’m not high tech, but I figure I can handle that.”
“Okay,” Cor says, but she looks conflicted, like she wants to come and knows she can’t. We don’t have another shot of miasma blocker. She gives Cleve a quick rundown on the electrical situation. “And if you want to dash inside to see if there’s any spare powerpacks, that’d be great. You just have to go in through the roof because we locked the door back up.”
Cleve nods. Then he rattles around the pots by the fire, checking to see if there’s any leftover blue gunk from what they made to treat me. It’s a miasma attractor of some sort. He’s considering trying to use it to keep miasma away from his nose and mouth. “A decoy would be better than putting it on you,” I suggest.
“What, like hold it in front of me on a stick?” Cleve asks.
“Mariah, can’t you open up a path?” Cor interjects. “Part the mists?”
There’s trust and confidence in her voice, which is heart-warming to hear, but I snort in quiet amusement. “You make it sound like I’ve done that before! But, yeah, I’ll go with you, Cleve. I might be able to help.”
“All right.” He picks up his rifle and looks at Cor, considering for a moment who needs it more.
“I’ll be fine,” Cor assures him, whipping out her switchblade and flicking it back and forth a couple times. “A wolf beetle’s not going to bite me, okay? I’m very good with them. I’ll stay here and mind the robots.”
“And try not to turn them on while we’re gone,” I tell her with a smile. It might be a hard thing for her to resist.
“I mean, I already tried. If I could get them functional, that would be really incredible, wouldn’t it?” Hypercor counters as she adjusts her shades against the morning light.
“Do you want to fight two robots alone?” I ask.
“Good point,” she acknowledges.