"Dune 03 - Whipping Mek (Short Story)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

Vergyl heard shouts, but could not squirm away. He stared up into the

implacable optical sensors of the robot, the face of the hated machine enemy. The

thinking machine was going to kill him—and this wasn’t even a real battle. What

a fool he had been.

Somewhere in the distance, familiar voices—two of them?—called out to

him. “Vergyl! Vergyl! Shut the damn thing off, Noret!”

He tried to lift his head and look around, but could not move. Chirox

continued to press the sharp point against his jugular vein. His muscles were

paralyzed, as if frozen inside a block of ice.

“Get me a disruptor gun!” He recognized the voice at last. Xavier.

Somehow, incongruously, Vergyl worried more about his brother’s disapproval

than dying.

then the mek straightened and removed the dagger blade from his

throat.

He heard more voices, the thumping of boots, and the clattering of

weaponry. Peripherally, Vergyl saw movement, and the crimson-and-green of

jihadi uniforms. Xavier shouted commands to his men, but Chirox retracted the

jagged dagger, its other weapons, and all four arms into its torso. The fiercely

glowing optic sensors dulled to a soft glimmer.

Zon Noret placed himself in front of the robot. “Don’t shoot, Segundo.

Chirox could have killed him, but didn’t. His programming is to take advantage

of a weakness and deliver a mortal blow, yet he made a conscious decision

against it.”

“I did not wish to kill him.” The combat robot reset itself to a stationary

position. “It was not necessary.”