After an hour the Ewe halted. This was not a rest break; a dire wolf stood in the path ahead.
“And where there is one, there is a pack,” Brian murmured. “There will be more behind us. That’s how they hunt.”
Bunky bleated.
“Suddenly I have a desire to play my mirliton,” Brian said, surprised.
“Do it,” Mona said. “It must be the will of the sheep, translated by the Lamb’s telepathy.”
Brian lifted Bunky out of the harness and set him on the ground. Elasa stepped up to take the harness, then put Bunky in it; they had agreed to shift off periodically. The Lamb accepted this, but looked at her with an odd appraisal.
“Yes, I’m not flesh,” Elasa said. “But I am a woman.”
Bunky seemed reassured.
Brian lifted his instrument and played.
The wolf in front looked confused. Then it backed away, and soon was gone.
“Music has charms to soothe the savage beast,” Mona said. “A misquote, but relevant at the moment.”
Brian ceased playing, and the wolves did not return. That was a relief. But Brian held the mirliton ready for further play the moment it was needed. Wolves could be cunning.
They resumed their march. Elasa had little to fear for herself; her mechanical body would be virtually invulnerable to animal attack. But that was not the case for the others. She was glad the sheep knew the safe route.
“Uh-oh,” Brian said.
“Problem?”
“We’re headed into ogre country. They’re not necessarily friendly.”
“Trust the sheep,” Mona said tightly.
Elasa nodded, appreciating the relevance of the saying. Indeed, Bunky was not alarmed. Up this close, Elasa was coming to appreciate his moods. He was an ordinary lamb, with a couple of remarkable exceptions.
Soon the path was blocked again, this time by a huge hairy man shape: an ogre. He stood about half again as tall as Brian, and was broad in proportion. Elasa was amazed at the difference between the ogre and the elf; they were aspects of the same species? They could interbreed? That could be mischief of another nature.
The ogre spoke, addressing the Ewe. “This is Ogre Country, sheep. We’ll let you pass, per our pact, but what about these six other freaks?”
The Ewe bleated.
Evidently the ogre understood her. “Yeah? They still gotta pay. You know the rule.”
Pay? Elasa did not like the sound of this.
Bunky bleated. Elasa had heard that tone before.
Brian lifted his mirliton and played more classical music.
The ogre took stock. “Maybe so.”
More ogres appeared, but neither Ewe nor Lamb evinced alarm. Neither did Vulture or Python. “Something’s up,” Mona said.
Then one ogre bent down, put his arms about the Ewe, and lifted her into the air. She neither fought nor protested. In a moment she was supported by a harness similar to the one Elasa was now using with Bunky.
“Definitely up,” Elasa agreed. She knew that no one could even touch a sheep without approval, and not just because of the hidden knives. The precognition made it almost impossible. The Ewe was not merely tolerating this, she had expected it.
Then the other ogres closed on the other members of their party. One put his huge hands on Python, picked him up, and wrapped him around his body. Vulture flew up to perch on that ogre’s shoulder.
“They’re carrying us!” Mona exclaimed. “The Ewe made a deal!”
“Yes she did,” an ogre agreed. This one seemed to be female, but was almost as hulking as the males. “Transport for music.” Then she put her hands on Mona, lifted her up, and set her in a harness in front. She sat facing forward, her head just below the ogresses head, her body before the chest, cushioned by the massive bosom.
A male ogre picked Brian up, still playing his mirliton, and set him in a similar harness.
The last ogre came for Elasa, another female. She lifted Elasa together with Bunky effortlessly and set them in her harness. Now they were five ogres carrying seven members of the party.
They moved out. The pace seemed leisurely, but Elasa could see that humans afoot would have had to run madly to keep up. The forest foliage was fairly whizzing by.
“I believe I know you,” the ogress said to Elasa. “The metal maiden.”
Elasa had known the ogres could talk, but was nevertheless startled. “You are correct, but how did you know?”
“Word gets around. We knew there was a mission to Ram’s Island which must be special, because it is out of turn. The ewes are not breeding at the moment. That suggests exchanges from Earth, perhaps scientists coming to study the vampires. Then when I picked you up I was immediately aware that you are not flesh. You have to be a humanoid robot. Since you are not being employed as a fembot, you must be self-willed. There is only one such robot we know of.”
“The metal maiden,” Elasa agreed. “I am here to deal with a dangerous vampire variation, being invulnerable to their depredation. But my presence here, indeed my absence from Earth, is not being advertised. It’s a private mission.”
“It shall remain so. I asked only out of curiosity. We have not seen your like here before.”
“Hardly surprising,” Elasa agreed. “But I am surprised by you. I assumed—no offense intended—that ogres were relatively dull brutes. You do not seem at all dull or brutish to me now. May I ask your name? Mine is Elasa.”
“Mine is Oria, a variant of Oriana, meaning ‘girl of the white skin.’ My skin is white, if you could see it under my black body hair. We are human variants, and retained our minds despite the change in our bodies. All the variants did. Of course that may not hold true for the next ExplEvo. Meanwhile we do what we can, hoping for redemption.”
“Redemption?”
“From ignorance. My passion is science, but little of it manifests in the backwoods of a colony planet.”
“Science?” Elasa was surprised anew.
“Specifically, quantum mechanics, though I also have a general interest in other disciplines. All we know is what we knew when our fathers colonized this planet. We cherish that, but long for further information as it is discovered. Did they ever find the Higgs Boson?”
“Yes, they finally did,” Elasa agreed.
“So the Standard Model is confirmed?”
“Yes, but mysteries remain.”
“Oh, how I long to visit Earth and study those mysteries!”
“Just as my friend Mona, here, exchanged to study the precognition of the sheep. Maybe you can exchange similarly.”
“No. Student exchanges are extremely limited, I think because of budget cuts, and only normals are invited.”
“Normals?”
“Those who appear most classically human. Somehow an Elf qualified, in your friend’s case; we’re not sure how that happened.”
“Elen Elf seduced and married an exchange student from Earth. That qualified her.”
“I doubt that option is available to me. Ogresses are not winsome like Elves.”
“Yet it should be your mind that counts, as that is all that is exchanged.”
“What should be is not necessarily what is,” the Ogress said sadly. Elasa now thought of her as capitalized, as it seemed the Elves were also.
Bunky bleated.
“Oh?” Oria asked. “Are you sure?”
The Lamb actually nodded his head.
Elasa was startled again. “You understand him?”
“Well enough. It is not linguistic so much as feeling. He picked up my passion for Earth science, and indicates that you can oblige it if you choose.”
“I can authorize an exchange program that includes Ogres?”
“Yes. He is sure.”
“But I’m just a nobody, a housewife with no political or economic influence.”
Oria laughed. “You’re the first and only conscious humanoid robot. The whole world knows of you, and so do we, from the network that spreads out from the Normals’
village. Spacemen talk, especially when being entertained by pretty colony girls.” She frowned. “Just not about quantum mechanics. And the Ewe bowed to you, the second time in a decade.”
“Mona was the first,” Elasa agreed. “But we can’t say we properly understand what it means.”
“It means that your future actions will profoundly affect the sheep, and probably the planet. So you will have power.”
“I don’t see how,” Elasa said. “But I will promise you this: if by some mischance I do get the authority, I will see that the student exchange program is broadened to include the other human variants, here in Colony Jones.”
“Oh, thank you! That is the most wonderful news I have had in my life.”
“I only hope the sheep are right, this time,” Elasa said. “I am tremendously impressed with what they can do, but this does seem out of reach.”
“It is not. We trust the sheep.”
Elasa became aware of the route they were traveling, because her feet were getting wet. The ogres were fording a forest river. It came up to just below her bottom in the harness. She was glad that Mona did not have to endure the numbing chill water. She also saw that there were ripples in the water, as of lurking crocodiles. Brian continued playing classical music on the mirliton, paying the ogres for their service. Elasa was coming to really appreciate that service. This would not have been a pleasant excursion, on their own.
Farther along they came to a small desert, or at least burning hot black sand. The ogres handled it, barefooted. Beyond that was a pleasant pasture with fruit trees and tall grass. The ogres stopped. “Rest stop,” Oria announced. “Half an hour.”
It was clear that Brian and Mona were glad to stretch their legs and go into the brush to catch up on natural functions. So were Vulture and Python, though they remained close to Bunky, guarding him as they relaxed. Elasa checked the nearest tree, and found that its ripe fruit was like a cross between an apple and a pear. She harvested several, and presented them to Brian and Mona when they were ready. The Ewe merely grazed, efficiently.
Soon they were remounted and on their way again. Brian resumed his music. Elasa recognized the current piece: Marche Slav. The ogres were marching to it.
They came to a hot narrow valley. Here the ogres paused. The Ewe bleated. Satisfied, they moved on across the valley.
“That’s interesting,” Oria remarked. “The Lamb knows there is weather danger here, not the HiLo, but similar in its devastation. We had to have the Ewe’s approval, to be sure of safe passage.”
“You really do trust the sheep.”
“Oh, yes. They know.”
Then they came to something alarming: a sharply angled mountain slope leading down to a river of lava. “We need to cross this?” Elasa asked. It looked to be too steep to maintain footing.
“It is the route. The route changes with eruptions and quakes, but at present this is best.”
Now the ogres proceeded carefully. They stepped out on the slope, big bare feet seeming to grip the stone. They stepped ahead, forming a line.
Elasa remained absolutely still. She was invulnerable to most things, but not to boiling lava. If the Ogress slipped and they fell in, they were doomed. She was sure Brian and Mona were similarly nervous.
The ogres did not slip. They slowly made their way across, with their burdens, and resumed speed beyond the slope. They came to a broad orange plain flush with tall grass. Now the ogres paused to lift them down to the ground. “Journey over?” Elasa asked.
“No,” Oria said. “This is wolf country.”
“And they attack in packs,” Elasa said. “I have heard about that.”
“Yes. We can protect you, but we need to be free to use our weapons. You will walk in the center of our defensive circle.”
They made the formation, with the five ogres outside, wielding their giant clubs, the seven travelers inside. Elasa still carried Bunky; that would enable her to protect him. They started across the field.
Nothing happened. Did the presence of the ogres dissuade the wolves from attacking? Or were they simply gathering their pack?
When they were well into the field, the attack came. A dozen dire wolves charged in from all sides. Five clubs smashed into them so hard that their bodies flew back the way they had come, broken.
But the remaining seven leaped over the bodies of their comrades and smashed into the ogres before they could recover their swings. The ogres grabbed them and squeezed them in bear-hugs. Elasa could hear ribs cracking.
That left two wolves. One came at the Ewe and was promptly skewered. The other came at Bunky, and was met by Elasa’s small fist. Directly on the nose, staving it in. That made the giant beast pause momentarily. It evidently had not realized it was not dealing with a weak woman, but a machine. Then it tried to bite her. It still had not caught on. Elasa put both hands on its mouth, against its teeth, and moved them apart with a force no human could match. The jaw hinge was popped apart, leaving the wolf unable to bite.
She saw the Ewe looking at her. She realized that the sheep had known she would do that. So had Bunky. Elasa herself hadn’t known until the moment; she had simply done what offered. Normally she tried never to show her strength; it was not ladylike.
Then their formation moved on, leaving twelve hurting wolves behind.
“Fortunately it was a token effort,” Oria remarked beside Elasa. “They had to make a show of force, because this is their territory, but they knew they could not prevail while the sheep was with us.”
“A token effort!” Elasa exclaimed. “They are all dead or dying!”
“They sent expendable youngsters. If they had been serious, they’d have sent twice as many.”
“And we would have been lost?”
“No. The sheep would not have crossed the field. We trusted her to know the parameters.”
Elasa shook her head. This was not her world.
Beyond the field the ogres put away their clubs, picked up their burdens, and resumed their rapid trek as if it had never slowed. They waded through a quicksand bog almost with enthusiasm, and crossed a bridge over a vent that showed lava far down in its deep cleft.
How could their party ever have made this journey on its own? It seemed impossible. Then Elasa realized that the Ewe had known the ogres would help, and counted on it. It had always been part of the plan.
Not far short of nightfall they came to a larger body of water. The ogres halted well back from its bank. “Here we must leave you to your devices,” the ogre leader said. “We do not care to tangle with the vampires. But we will be ready when you return.”
Brian stopped playing his mirliton and set it aside. “Thank you, ogres. We truly appreciate your assistance.”
“Your music is lovely.” Then the ogres retreated.
“Let’s make camp for the night,” Elasa suggested. “We can tackle the vampires in the morning.”
The others were glad to agree.
Chapter 6:
Vampires
In the morning after they had cleaned and eaten, Mona surveyed the situation, walking along what turned out to be an inland sea with Brian and Elasa, but at a reasonable distance, so as not to evoke the vampires. The scene seemed placid, with fairly ordinary trees resembling oaks, elms, birch, beech, and hickory, buttressed by ordinary shrubs and grasses. In the sea was an island large enough to support a fair community of trees and creatures. That would be where the rams lived. There was nothing to suggest any horrible danger. That was of course one of the deceptive things about this whole planet: it masked its dangers.
They returned to the inlet where the paddle-boats were tied. There were three, and any one was large enough to hold their full party. Not that they planned to cross to the island. They would use one to go far enough out across the water to attract the vampires. Then Elasa would do her thing.
“Now I need to test the pheromones,” Elasa said. “I will need to borrow Brian.”
“Borrow him,” Mona agreed. What ch
oice did she have?
Elasa dabbed moisture behind her ears, like perfume. She went to stand before Brian. “Try to resist me,” she said.
“That should be no problem,” he said, sniffing. “You’re not my woman.”
Elasa merely waited. “Oh, damn,” Brian muttered. “I’m hard as rock.” Suddenly he grabbed her, kissing her and running his hands over her body. She acceded without showing emotion. “I don’t want to do this.” He ground his hips against hers. “Stop me!”
Elasa caught his wrists in her hands and held him helpless. “But if I let you, you’d be in me now.”
“Yes! I can’t stand it! I’ve got to have you!”
“Mona, wash me off.”
Mona dipped a cloth in the sea, and used it to wipe Elasa behind the ears. In moments Elasa let Brian go and he stumbled back, breathing hard. “It works,” he said.
“That is what I needed to know.”
He looked at Mona. “I’m sorry. I’m ashamed. It just--”
“I understand,” Mona said, kissing him. “It was a test. Now we know what makes the vampires so potent. Time to get on with the mission.”
“Time,” he agreed, relieved.
They selected a boat. “Now how many of us go out to sea?” Mona asked. “I don’t think we all need to board.”
“Brian must,” Elasa said. “To attune the vampires, assuming our theory is correct. That means you too, Mona, to shield him. And me, to tackle the male vamps. I don’t think the animals need to put themselves at risk for this.”
They looked at the four animals. The Ewe was grazing, with Bunky nibbling. Vulture and Python paused, then departed, doing their hunting. That meant that all was well, by their definition.
“Yet not necessarily easy,” Brian said. “They just know that we will handle it, one way or another.”
“Maybe also that their presence on the boat would mess up our project,” Mona said. “The male vamps might orient on some of them instead of us.”
“And we do want them orienting first on the human male,” Elasa said. “So that we can identify the exceptions and take them out. Shall we take our positions?”