But he responded with surprising grace to the agreement with Morado: the Astari would help the Neri gather materials needed by the factory, but the Neri would otherwise refrain from further salvage efforts on the ship. "Fair enough, if they are true to their word,"

Askelanda said. Apparently some of Harding's peacemaking efforts had had their effect on the Neri ahktah.

Their discussion was interrupted at that point by word that a sub had returned from the factory--not the sub carrying Nabeck and the robots, but the one that had been stationed to a.s.sist them. The sub's young pilot, Gilleum, was brought in to give his report. He was so nervous and exhausted that he had to repeat himself several times before everyone understood.

"... yes, that's right. The ledge over Nabeck's sub just seemed to crumble when the quake hit. I backed away, but Nabeck couldn't.

We were able to stay in voice contact for a while, and he seemed okay. But then when the silt cleared--" Gilleum looked around in apparent confusion.

"The sub was just gone?" L'Kell asked. "Or buried?"

"Buried, I thought at first. Except that there wasn't really that*

THE INFINITE SEA * 315.

much debris piled up. And a lot of it had"allen away from the spot, not onto it. The only thing we could guess was that Nabeck's sub had gotten swallowed up by the factory. But that seemed crazy."

"But you still had voice contact?" Askelanda repeated.

"Just for a few seconds. It was very scratchy and hard to understand.

He said he was all right, but blind. I thought he said his lights worked, but he couldn't see anything. Or say what had happened.

But I thought he said, 'There's no seawater outside the sub.

There's a yellow fluid.' "Gilleum raised his hands in bewilderment.

Bandicut looked at L'Kell. "Is that possible? Could he have been taken into the factory itself? You've got all of these amazing membranes-''

"I have never seen it happen," said L'Kell. "But the factory cer- tainly had docking ports, and various ways of loading cargo sub- marines, when it was fi-nctioning."

"But did it take subs right inside?"

L'Kell looked at Askelanda, who said, "Long ago, I believe it did.

But in my lifetime, it has only allowed subs to dock with it." Aske-landa spread his finger webs in uncertainty. "It may be that the obliq has information on this."

"So really we need to go down and see, yes?" Bandicut looked at L'Kell, thinking of the unspoken part of the question: if Nabeck and the robots weren't inside the factory, then they must have been swept over the ledge and into the abyss.

Askelanda conferred with L'Kell. "The subs are all being recharged. When one is ready, we'll go."

Bandicut sighed with impatience, despite his own bone-weariness.

"How long can Nabeck last, if he's really trapped in the factory? Don't your subs extract their air from the water?"

"Yes, of course," L'Kell said. "But--oh, I see. If the sub is no longer in Water, he'll be on reserve air..."

The elder Neri said, "He's alone, so he can last awhile. Maybe two days, maybe three. But it is no good going before the sub is ready. Or you are ready. Now, you must rest while you can. We will get you when it is time.."

Bandicut tried to sleep, but couldn't get 6ver a feeling of cold and loneliness. His friends were all elsewhere, planning their next activities.

Antares and Li-Jared would be going to help Kallan. Ik316 * .

would be leaving shortly with S'Cali; the Neri had reported that many of those still in the sunken ship needed help, and soon.

Bandicut tossed and turned under the Neri blankets, even after Char tried to help him relax. After a while, Li-Jared came in and sat in a corner of the room, staring silently into the night of the sea.

He seemed troubled, and didn't engage Bandicut in conversation; but his presence was like a storm cloud, silent and brooding. A little later, Antares came in, carrying her blankets from the room where she had slept previously. She spoke softly for a moment to Li-Jared, then spread her blankets out near Bandicut and lay down.

He looked at her questioningly. "He's thinking about Harding,"

Antares murmured. Bandicut nodded, and after a minute closed his eyes, blanket pulled around his neck.

This time he went to sleep almost instantly.

When he awoke, it was to the sound of urgent conversation. He focused on the sounds before he opened his eyes. It was Antares and L'Kell--Antares telling the Neri that she could feel that Bandicut needed more sleep. "Is it urgent enough to wake him? I know it's important, but will it make any difference if he learns just a little later?"

"'S okay," Bandicut mumbled, rolling over. "What is it?"

"Contact from your robots!" L'Kell cried, his voice rasping with excitement. "A recorded message."

"What? Where? How?"

"On the comm. Askelanda sent a scout-sub down, and they're picking up transmissions and relaying them. Do you want to hear what-they're saying?"

"What do you think?" Bandicut got to his feet with a groan.

Antares had been right; he definitely needed more sleep. He realized that she felt chagrined for trying to stop L'Kell, and he reached out to touch her arm. "Thank you, really. You were right. But I wouldn't miss this for anything."

As the three walked together to the communications room, he asked, "Why'd Askelanda send someone else?"

L'Kell looked at him as if he'd asked a stupid question. "You were sleeping quite soundly, my friend. As Askelanda pointed out, there are many here who are capable of undertaking a deep-water search, and summoning you if they found anything." L'Kell paused as Antares made a sound of a hissing chuckle. "He sent Targus and two others."THE INFINITE SEA * 317 "And have they found the robots and Nabeck?"

L'Kell's breathing slits flared in excitement. "Not precisely, but they've located the area. Somehow the robots are getting their signal out from below the seafioor. Here's the comm room." They crowded in, and the Neri at the panel made the necessary connections to play the recording. The room was filled with a hiss of watery static.., and then a robot's voice, in halting Neri: "This is Copernicus. We are unharmed, and inside the factory s.p.a.ce. Nabeck reports he is well, and finds sufficient oxygen in the fluid surrounding the submersible to maintain his breathing needs.

He estimates power will last four more days at his present low rate of use, with reserve for return. Napoleon is presently in contact with the factory head, and is attempting to restart production of nano-a.s.semblers and self-repair devices. Initial restart should be possible with materials on hand. However, the previously requested materials are needed as soon as possible. They need not be refined. Refining can be accomplished here, once self-repair is underway..."

The Neri operator cut off the playback. "Something new is coming in on the relay."

It was a Neri voice. "This is Nabeck. I hope you can hear me. I am well, and hopeful that the robots will arrange a way for us to leave the factory when they are done. It is very strange in here. We appear to be inside a large, flexible chamber. Ambient pressure is normal for this depth. I do not know the nature of the fluid surrounding us, but it is a clear fluid, with occasional swirls of a milky liquid. The robots believe that it is a transport medium for the invisible a.s.semblers that make the factory work. I hope it is not harming the hull of the sub."

Nabeck's voice stopped, and Copernicus's came on again, in English. "We do not know if you are receiving this signal, which we are broadcasting acoustically through the wall of the factory. If you can hear us, you may be able to reply by inserting a probe through the outer membrane where we originally made contact. We will continue to broadcast at intervals, to a.s.sist you in locating the spot. We do not know present conditions outside the factory. During the last seismic disturbance, we moved approximately ten meters forward, drawn by a mechanism from inside the factory. We have had no further information from the outside.

"A special note. The factory head's core programming contains numerous operating limitations. Certain of these might prevent it from performing nonspecified or abnormal activities, such as con-318 * *

tacting the mechanism of the abyss. This core programming is isolated and protected, and cannot be altered by Napoleon. He is still examining this problem; however, it appears that direct interface with a responsible authority may be required to override the factory head's limitations. Nabeck is unaware of any Neri trained in direct interface methods. However, John Bandicut is so trained. You may wish to consider this question.

"If anyone is receiving this message, please respond..."

The message began again, this time in the Neri tongue.

The Neri turned down the volume slightly. "That will probably repeat several times. When the robot pauses, we can transmit back to Targus in the sub. Would you like to send a reply?"

"Tell Targus, 'Message received,' "said L'KeI1. "Ask if they've located the entry point, and if they have attempted to establish two-way contact." L'Kell looked at Bandicut and Antares. "Anything you want to add?"

"Yes," said Bandicut. "As soon as you can get a message through to the robots, tell them, 'Well done, be careful, and come back out soon. '"

"Amen," said Antares.

L'Kell led them in search of Askelanda. The Neri leader was in an upper room pacing in conference with several others. When he saw L'Kell and his friends, he motioned to them to join in. L'Kell told Askelanda about the most recent message from Copernicus.

"You have heard this transmission from your robots?" Askelanda asked Bandicut.

"Yes."

Askelanda peered at him with eyes that seemed dusty with age, and yet sharp. "And are you capable of making a 'direct connection'

with the factory head, such as your robot spoke of?."

Bandicut felt a flashback welling up in him, taking him back to Triton, to the time when he'd just lost his neurolink ability, to the time of silence-fugues, to the time when a new individual in his life, the quarx, had made it possible to regain those kinds of connections.

He reeled with the memory, and realized that Char was watching intently, learning, understanding.

"/ So you can do this, yes?"/ /I can if you reach out and make the connection. You're my neu-rolink pathway./ "/That's no problem. "/THE INFINITE SEA * 319 /And of course, if the factory head's language is even remotely comprehensible to me. I'll have to count on the stones, and maybe the robots, to sort that out./ "John?" L'Kell asked.

He blinked. "Yes. Yes, I might be able to make that connec-tion-at least in principle. But--" he hesitated "--how the h.e.l.l are you going to put me physically in contact with the thing? Do you have any ideas about that?"

L'Kell and Askelanda looked at each other.

"Don't even think about asking me to go out in the water at that depth. It would kill me."

"I expect it would," Askelanda rasped dryly. "It's not so healthy for us, either. We can do it, at need, but there are better ways to die."

Bandicut shivered.

"Could you use a cable connection similar to the one the robots used?" asked L'KeI1.

Bandicut thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, we don't have the interface."

"/Say, why couldn 'I you--? "/ Bandicut blinked, suddenly antic.i.p.ating what the quarx was about to say./Yes, of course! It might--/He opened his mouth to speak, then thought,/But I don't even know how the d.a.m.n thing works. Submarines, at least, I understand./Nevertheless, he swallowed and said, "Our star-spanner bubble. I wonder if it might serve..."

L'Kell hissed. "The robots were well protected when we found them trapped down there in it. But how would that permit you to make contact?"

Bandicut described the way he and his companions had been able to stretch through the star-spanner bubble's membrane as though it were a rubber sheet. That had been in water much shallower than the depth of the factory, but perhaps it wasn't depth-dependent.

"/The stones think it might work.

It's worth a try, anyway."/ The Neri listened to his description without comment. They were accustomed to membranes that did things Bandicut regarded as miraculous. Askelanda finally said, "I will ask, then, that you prepare to try this, when the time comes."320 * .

"When the time comes?"

"At the moment it seems that your robots are doing all that can be done. It is best that you wait here until we receive word that the factory requires your presence."

"But--" Bandicut began, thinking how badly he wanted to get back down there and make contact, and put his hands on his to- bots. But he knew Askelanda was right.

Askelanda seemed to sense his thoughts. "John Bandicut, we have already asked more of you than any stranger--or visitor--should be asked to give. This might be our most dangerous request yet."

Bandicut frowned "I guess we're not strangers anymore, are we?

But it is absolutely necessary that this be done, yes?"

"Oh, yes," said Askelanda. "Without the factory--with the Maw threatening to destroy us, and I suppose the Astari, too--who knows what would become of us?" Askelanda blinked his great, dusty eyes and readjusted his stole. "But John Bandicut, I must ask this: Why do these things matter to you? Why do you risk your life for us?" Askelanda c.o.c.ked his head gazing at him.

Bandicut's mouth opened, and froze. He struggled to find words.

"I've wondered, too," L'Kell said. "I have been happy to accept your actions, and your friendship, but--" The Neri's voice faltered, and his gaze seemed to furrow inward, as though he were listening to his own stones. Were they starting to give L'Kell hints of their purpose? Would they be any clearer with him than Bandicut's had been?

Bandicut let his breath out slowly. "I can't tell you, exactly," he said at last. "All I can say is, I guess when I find myself in a situa- tion when I can do something to help--"

"/Or in a situation when you have to help--"/ /Yes./He cleared his throat. "I--well, I try to."

"And," said L'Kell, eyes refocusing, "you are put by your stones .. in the position of having to do these things, aren't you?"

Bandicut nodded uncomfortably. "But Askelanda--remember, too, I might be spending the rest of my life here under this sea with you." He swallowed hard. "I'm not acting completely selflessly.

Even if you weren't my friends, I'd have reason to want your people to survive.

Askelanda gazed at him for a moment without speaking. Finally he cupped his hand-webs in a gesture of approval. "Then you'll abide by my wishes, and rest here and prepare properly? I do notTHE INFINITE SEA * 321 want to lose you in vain--by sending you off too soon, or too tired to do what you have to do.'

Bandicut drew a breath. "Yes." And he let the breath out, and wondered how in the world he could stand the wait.

Copernicus... Napoleon...INTERLUDE JULIE STONE.

JULIE STONE CHECKED her suit monitors one last time, and stepped cautiously around the barricades that blocked off the inner cavern. The ice floor gleamed in her suit headlight.

Ahead of her, the translator squirmed and twisted in its own faint radiance. "All systems normal," she murmured into her helmet comm.

"Telemetry looks good," said Georgia Patwell. Julie's friend's voice could have been coming from light-years away, or inches. She was stationed across the cavern floor, monitoring remote sensors and comm, ready to send in a.s.sistance if necessary. Realistically, of course, if the translator did anything that would require her to need help, what were any of them going to be able to do?

"Ma.s.s readings are unchanged," Julie reported. "I feel nothing unusual."

"No? Then why the h.e.l.l is your heart pounding so loud I can hear it without the comm?"

Julie chuckled. "Just trying to keep you folks interested, is all."

The translator was a stark shape against the blue-white frozen nitrogen walls of the cavern. Its black and iridescent globes spun ceaselessly, like turbulent soap bubbles cl.u.s.tered together in the shape of a large top, pa.s.sing through one another in endless motion, the whole array balanced upon a single black globe. Julie wondered if it had ever tipped over, and what would happen if it did.