[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
thinking machine-that guide the war machines sometimes go-mad-when they don't
understand a situation."
Anyara laughed. "Some thinking machines! They certainly didn't think very well
today, did they?"
"No," said Blade. "At least not today."
Chapter 17
Blade knew that the Looter machines had made mistakes that day which they
probably would not make again. Nobody else seemed to care about this. Everyone
was feeling too good. After a few hours Blade gave up trying to remind them of
unpleasant possibilities. It didn't matter that much for now, anyway, as long
as they didn't get sloppy in keeping the guards and scouts posted.
Besides, they had done well, and it had really been a memorable victory. Six
Looter machines gone-four crippled and captured in usable condition, two
smashed to twisted wreckage by the errors of their own computers. Only one of
the people dead, and only a few minor injuries. They had won a battle, not a
war. But they had won, and winning had lowered the Looters' strength a good
deal and raised the spirits of the people even more.
Blade made a quick round of the sentries and scouts on horseback. Then he
dismounted, stripped, and joined those who were celebrating the victory in the
lake. He heard several people wishing there was some beer. But everybody was
already feeling too happy to need any.
The celebration went on for a good many hours, until night fell on the
expedition's camp. Then those who had guard duty took up their posts. Those
who didn't fell asleep with dreams of bigger and better victories to come.
Originally Blade planned to withdraw after the first successful encounter with
the Looters. But they had
been so successful that he decided on a new plan. They would stay in and
around Miros and wait for the next wave of Looters to move in. Blade was sure
there would be another one. If it was weak or badly commanded, the people
would fight. If it was strong and well commanded, they could disperse and lay
ambushes.
Some of the towers of the city were more than a quarter of a mile high,
Page 47
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
offering a magnificent view over the plain. The lake would provide water, some
of the bushes bore fruit and berries, and the neighborhood seemed rich in game
for the people and grass for the horses. They could sit almost in the lap of
luxury and wait for the Looters to appear.
That optimistic plan left out a few things, of course. Blade mentioned some of
them to Anyara.
"If they use one of the superbombs that make the flat topped clouds, they can
wipe out all of us. The only way we could avoid that is to disperse so far
that we could not attack effectively."
"What about their rockets?"
"I am less afraid of those. They are powerful, I admit, and they will do a
great deal of damage if we let them. But I doubt if the Looters bring very
many of them from their homeland. They probably cannot afford to fire them off
the way we fire arrows. If we do not give them a tempting target, I doubt that
we will have much to fear from them. I have even been thinking of ways of
attacking the big machines, the ones that carry the rockets and the red rays."
"That is something you did not speak of before."
"I did not expect that we would have any more of the smaller war machines to
use against the Looters.
But we do."
Blade had discovered that the legs of the captured machines could be retracted
manually by someone cranking a wheel inside the cabin. After that, all four of
the captured machines could move and fly almost as well as before. Blade,
however, was the only one who could fly a Looter machine.
"Their weapons do not work, Mazda, and I do not see how we are going to repair
them."
"We are not. But I do not think we will need the weapons if my plans work."
The next day Blade spent several hours maneuvering one of the captured
machines around the streets of
Miros. After that, he spent the rest of the day and all of the next working
with twelve particularly good fighters from the expedition. When he finished
that, he told Anyara that he had plans ready for meeting any of the big Looter
machines.
"But I do not know how much chance I have of coming out of that battle alive,"
he added.
"When will you know that, Mazda?" said Anyara, her face pale. "It is not good
to think of the death of
Mazda, even in victory."
Blade smiled grimly. "It may happen, Anyara, whether you find it pleasant to
think about or not. Accept that fact. As for when we shall know if I am going
to live or not-we shall know that the next time the
Looters come."
The Looters did not come during the rest of that week. The roof of the highest
building in Miros was
manned day and night by particularly keen-sighted fighters. They kept an
endless watch over the plain, waiting for the flash and flicker of metal to
break the even line of the distant horizon.
It never did.
Blade used the unexpected gift of time to start training several volunteers in
the basics of piloting a
Looter war machine. It was easy enough to learn, provided you weren't
paralyzed by fear of the power and weapons you had at your command.
This was hard for the younger people to do. They had never controlled anything
more powerful than a team of plow-horses. But some of them controlled their
fear well enough to learn faster than Blade expected.
Chara turned out to be the best of these new pilots. Blade gave her the job of
rescuing the watchers from the top of the tower when the fighting started.
After that she would ride with him as a spare pilot for his own machine.
Page 48
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The days ran on into the second week. Many of the people were openly wondering
if the Looters had lost their courage. Even Anyara could not help thinking out
loud.
"They sent six machines against Miros, and it must seem as though they have
all sailed away to another world in the sky. Those six are gone. This is not
something that has ever happened to them before. Are they brave enough to try
again?"
"I don't think their courage has that much to do with it," was all Blade would
say. In his own mind, he was far less certain. The empty horizon perhaps did
mean that the Looters were stunned by the disappearance of the six machines,
stunned and paralyzed.
It could also mean that they had finally realized a deadly enemy was lurking
somewhere out there, an enemy with new skills. They might be busily making [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
thinking machine-that guide the war machines sometimes go-mad-when they don't
understand a situation."
Anyara laughed. "Some thinking machines! They certainly didn't think very well
today, did they?"
"No," said Blade. "At least not today."
Chapter 17
Blade knew that the Looter machines had made mistakes that day which they
probably would not make again. Nobody else seemed to care about this. Everyone
was feeling too good. After a few hours Blade gave up trying to remind them of
unpleasant possibilities. It didn't matter that much for now, anyway, as long
as they didn't get sloppy in keeping the guards and scouts posted.
Besides, they had done well, and it had really been a memorable victory. Six
Looter machines gone-four crippled and captured in usable condition, two
smashed to twisted wreckage by the errors of their own computers. Only one of
the people dead, and only a few minor injuries. They had won a battle, not a
war. But they had won, and winning had lowered the Looters' strength a good
deal and raised the spirits of the people even more.
Blade made a quick round of the sentries and scouts on horseback. Then he
dismounted, stripped, and joined those who were celebrating the victory in the
lake. He heard several people wishing there was some beer. But everybody was
already feeling too happy to need any.
The celebration went on for a good many hours, until night fell on the
expedition's camp. Then those who had guard duty took up their posts. Those
who didn't fell asleep with dreams of bigger and better victories to come.
Originally Blade planned to withdraw after the first successful encounter with
the Looters. But they had
been so successful that he decided on a new plan. They would stay in and
around Miros and wait for the next wave of Looters to move in. Blade was sure
there would be another one. If it was weak or badly commanded, the people
would fight. If it was strong and well commanded, they could disperse and lay
ambushes.
Some of the towers of the city were more than a quarter of a mile high,
Page 47
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
offering a magnificent view over the plain. The lake would provide water, some
of the bushes bore fruit and berries, and the neighborhood seemed rich in game
for the people and grass for the horses. They could sit almost in the lap of
luxury and wait for the Looters to appear.
That optimistic plan left out a few things, of course. Blade mentioned some of
them to Anyara.
"If they use one of the superbombs that make the flat topped clouds, they can
wipe out all of us. The only way we could avoid that is to disperse so far
that we could not attack effectively."
"What about their rockets?"
"I am less afraid of those. They are powerful, I admit, and they will do a
great deal of damage if we let them. But I doubt if the Looters bring very
many of them from their homeland. They probably cannot afford to fire them off
the way we fire arrows. If we do not give them a tempting target, I doubt that
we will have much to fear from them. I have even been thinking of ways of
attacking the big machines, the ones that carry the rockets and the red rays."
"That is something you did not speak of before."
"I did not expect that we would have any more of the smaller war machines to
use against the Looters.
But we do."
Blade had discovered that the legs of the captured machines could be retracted
manually by someone cranking a wheel inside the cabin. After that, all four of
the captured machines could move and fly almost as well as before. Blade,
however, was the only one who could fly a Looter machine.
"Their weapons do not work, Mazda, and I do not see how we are going to repair
them."
"We are not. But I do not think we will need the weapons if my plans work."
The next day Blade spent several hours maneuvering one of the captured
machines around the streets of
Miros. After that, he spent the rest of the day and all of the next working
with twelve particularly good fighters from the expedition. When he finished
that, he told Anyara that he had plans ready for meeting any of the big Looter
machines.
"But I do not know how much chance I have of coming out of that battle alive,"
he added.
"When will you know that, Mazda?" said Anyara, her face pale. "It is not good
to think of the death of
Mazda, even in victory."
Blade smiled grimly. "It may happen, Anyara, whether you find it pleasant to
think about or not. Accept that fact. As for when we shall know if I am going
to live or not-we shall know that the next time the
Looters come."
The Looters did not come during the rest of that week. The roof of the highest
building in Miros was
manned day and night by particularly keen-sighted fighters. They kept an
endless watch over the plain, waiting for the flash and flicker of metal to
break the even line of the distant horizon.
It never did.
Blade used the unexpected gift of time to start training several volunteers in
the basics of piloting a
Looter war machine. It was easy enough to learn, provided you weren't
paralyzed by fear of the power and weapons you had at your command.
This was hard for the younger people to do. They had never controlled anything
more powerful than a team of plow-horses. But some of them controlled their
fear well enough to learn faster than Blade expected.
Chara turned out to be the best of these new pilots. Blade gave her the job of
rescuing the watchers from the top of the tower when the fighting started.
After that she would ride with him as a spare pilot for his own machine.
Page 48
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The days ran on into the second week. Many of the people were openly wondering
if the Looters had lost their courage. Even Anyara could not help thinking out
loud.
"They sent six machines against Miros, and it must seem as though they have
all sailed away to another world in the sky. Those six are gone. This is not
something that has ever happened to them before. Are they brave enough to try
again?"
"I don't think their courage has that much to do with it," was all Blade would
say. In his own mind, he was far less certain. The empty horizon perhaps did
mean that the Looters were stunned by the disappearance of the six machines,
stunned and paralyzed.
It could also mean that they had finally realized a deadly enemy was lurking
somewhere out there, an enemy with new skills. They might be busily making [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]