The Start of Eternity/9

Major Marcel kicked open the office door and shouted, "Asimov! Asimov!" Marcel dragged a heavy wooden crate into the office.

Corporal Issac Asimov, having completed a personal mission to the latrine, came in the door behind the Major and was immediately puzzled by what he saw in the crate. He asked, "What's that?"

Marcel, jittery from what he had seen that evening, was startled and turned quickly. "Oh! There you are. Never mind what this is. I want every item in this box cataloged and then locked in the brig. There's more in the truck. I'm going home to eat and try to get a few hours sleep. When I get back I want this stuff all ready to be shipped. There is supposed to be a cargo B-liner coming in before noon."

Asimov knew that the Major had been called out to the Brazel ranch earlier in the day. When it had grown late, Asimov had assumed he would not see the Major again until morning. Having completed his clerical duties and eaten, Asimov had returned to the office to use the typewriter. Major Marcel looked at the papers Asimov had been working on. 'Schuylkill Cloak'? What the hell is this, Asimov?"

Asimov had previously been warned about using army resources for personal purposes. He sheepishly replied, "It's a story, sir."

The Major was too tired to argue with a bone head like Asimov. "Dammit, Asimov, this place is probably going to be crawling with MI in a few hours. Clean up your act! Good night." Marcel marched off into the night. Asimov watched the Major slip away into the dark and took note of the three military police who stood next to the truck smoking.

Asimov returned to the crate and lifted out the largest pieces of debris, setting them on his desk. A spark flashed and charred several pages of "Schuylkill Cloak", the story that had brought Asimov to New Mexico. He could have already left the army, but he had requested a transfer so that he could investigate White Sands.

Asimov picked up the object that had burned the pieces of paper. He was uncertain about what he was looking at. Its surface was of two distinct types. On on side it looked like human skin, or a simulated skin. On the side that had sparked it looked like something ripped out of am IBM card reader like those he had seen in Philadelphia. However, rather than normal resistors and capacitors, this had tiny components, almost like a rough knit fabric. He looked back in the crate and something glowing attracted his attention. He dug down into the pieces of -what?- and pulled out what looked like a head.

He guessed that it was a mannequin, probably used in some kind of air force flight test. By the look of it, it was expensive and probably loaded with sensitive equipment to measure pressure and other parameters. He put a fresh sheet of paper into the typewriter and typed: 1. mannequin fragments; head, limbs

He was alarmed by the mouth of the mannequin since it was moving. He leaned close and thought he could hear a voice. That was the last thing he remembered.

Asimov woke up in a comfortable room. As his head started to clear he remembered the mannequin head and knew that it had not been anything like a crash dummy. Something said with certainty: that was me...R. Fengtol.

Asimov jumped off of the luxurious bed he had been resting on. There was nobody else in the room. What had seemed like another person's voice was inside his own head. The door opened and what looked like a man stood there, but somehow Asimov knew that he was face to face with a robot. A functioning version of what Major Marcel had dragged in as a collection of fragments.

Jeeds spoke in Standard Intergalactic, but Asimov could understand it. The robot pointed to a closed door behind Asimov, I sense you need to empty you bladder, Corporal. When you are ready, I can feed you breakfast. Be quick, we're almost to the Moon."

Half of Asimov's consciousness was perplexed and amazed at his plight, but another side of his mind was quite at home and knew that they were on a spaceship. Asimov emptied his bladder and found Jeeds in the galley. The robot set a plate of what looked like squash and carrots in front of Asimov and said, "I'm Jeeds, cook and nanny. I suppose you have a few questions."

Asimov tried hard to remember how he had gotten where he was, but he could not remember anything more recent than Major Marcel showing up with the crate full of what he now knew to be robot parts. Even without trying, other memories flooded his consciousness. "What happened to me?"

Jeeds explained, "There was an accident. A damaged robot transferred some memories into your brain."

Asimov wondered if he was ill and fantasizing, but he was hungry. He tried the food and it tasted nothing like vegetables. He found that he did not want to stop eating. Jeeds cleared away the empty plate and the door to the control room opened. Creal looked in and said, "Asimov? Come on. Come with me."

Asimov followed Creal and Jeeds followed Asimov. They exited the ship and entered Moon Base. After they got through the air locks Creal said to Jeeds, "How is he reacting?"

Jeeds replied, "Good. I did not have a chance to explain anything. Maybe he can piece it together using what he got from Fengtol."

After several turns and stretches of corridors Creal took Asimov into what looked like a luxury hotel suite. Jeeds had not come in with them. Creal said, "Mr. Asimov, we're sorry to put you through all this, but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your brain was invaded by the mind of a telepathic robot. I'm interested in sorting out exactly what happened to your brain, but the details do not matter. I have to treat you like a potentially dangerous adversary."

Asimov objected, "It seems likely that you were in conflict with...Fengtol. I seem to have memories from Fengtol inside me, but that does not mean that I care to continue your conflict. Must you treat me like a prisoner?"

Creal gestured to the room they were in, "You'll be comfortable until we figure out if you are a danger." With that, Creal left the room. Asimov tried to open the door and was not surprised to find that he could not open it. Using memories from Fengtol, Asimov activated a virtual reality interface to the Moon Base computer network. asimov was delighted by the idea of instant access to data and computing power, but Fengtol was testing the security precautions that had been placed on Asimov's computer access.

Creal appeared in projection, "Fengtol, I suggest you not make things difficult for Mr. Asimov."

Asimov felt a brief struggle in his thoughts. He had no way of knowing that nanites were watching for attempts by Fengtol to take control of Asimov's neural networks. Asimov said, "I feel like there is a new side to my mind, but I think I'm getting some control over that."

Creal said, "Yes, it should continue to get better for you. You can make use of the computer. If you need help with anything just Call out. I'm Creal and Jeeds is also here." The image of the robot faded out of the virtual reality display.

Asimov felt like a kid in a candy factory and dove into study of the fantastic world he found himself in.

Asimov eventually given the chance to move around Moon Base. Meets Lorn-Kru and Fint. Reads "The sagas". Arranges to return to Earth. Meets "himself".