"Lawrence Watt-Evans - War Surplus 01 - The Cyborg And The Sorcerers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

The building was adorned with rather more marble than was customary, and the cyborg guessed it to be
the seat of the local government and the meeting place of the Council he had been brought to see. Silner
did not hesitate upon reaching the top of the steps, but flung open the great black doors and marched
across the antechamber within, and then onward into the torchlit corridor beyond.

Slant followed, thinking of nothing in particular, noticing how very dim the torches seemed after the
brilliant sunlight outside. So far he was more or less letting events go as they would, taking the path of
least resistance. He was aware that this was not what was expected of an IRU cyborg, so that it was no
surprise when the computer said, "Cyborg unit is entering a building that must be assumed to be an
enemy stronghold. Programming indicates that such an action must be considered a high-risk operation
despite undercover status. All high-risk actions call for alert status, and cyborg unit should exploit all
opportunities to reconnoiter enemy stronghold in detail."

"I can't reconnoiter anything; I'm not alone. This person ahead of me thinks I'm one of his own personnel
from another base, per my cover story, and is taking me to the local authorities to obtain my clearance
for free movement within this installation. It's advisable to cooperate completely until such clearance is
obtained." That was a distortion of the truth, of course; the fact was that Slant didn't want to be bothered
with a lot of military nonsense on what he was sure was a wild goose chase. He had begun to think that
the gravitational disturbances were probably due to an instrument malfunction's causing a
misinterpretation of some natural phenomenon on this planet; he really couldn't imagine how the
disturbances could be artificial

The computer took a second or two before replying, and he worried for an instant that it might have
decided he was lying. It would probably consider that treason and kill him. He continued to march
mechanically down the corridor as he waited for its response.

"Explanation accepted; continue action."

Slant exhaled, noticing for the first time that he had been holding his breath.

The computer had a final comment to add. "Cyborg unit is within area of concentration of anomalies
representing enemy weapons research and approaching center of area of concentration. Extreme caution
advisable."
That confirmed Slant's suspicion that Teyzha was where he'd been heading in the first place; he
wondered if perhaps the ship's scanners had somehow misregistered something innocuous in the city,
such as oil lamps or brain waves, as gravitational disturbances. He had no idea whether such a screw-up
was possible, but it would serve to explain the matter. Whatever the situation, it appeared that he was in
the right place to resolve matters.

The corridor ended in a pair of heavy wooden doors; Silner knocked upon one, then stood and waited.
Slant, who had been trailing a few paces behind him, also stopped and stood.

The doors swung partway open, and a bearded face appeared between them.

"Oh, hello, Silner." The man spoke in a friendly and conversational tone, but the helmet that hid most of
his curly black hah- marked him as a guard of some sort. "What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Kirridin. I'm afraid I need an audience, as soon as possible. We picked up a stranger on the road,
and Huarram thought the Council should see him."