Tourian slumped uneasily against the wall outside the cubicle. Dr. Kreyin was in there, working on God only knew what. It had been a week since he had revealed his machine to the two of them, a week since he notified the Company that all was proceeding as scheduled, a week since he and Flurry had been tossed out of the lab.
"It's too dangerous for you to know about," Kreyin had said firmly. "I won't put you two in danger. Never." And he had closed the door.
His only appearance since had been to scramble for his pickup to get more supplies. Flurry left food at the door for him, unhappy and sulking at his seclusion.
Tremor prowled up and down the hall, rumbling furiously at being kicked out of his warm bed of clothing and his proper place as a cat -- and head of the household. Ayrmin whined hopefully at the door, and Jackdaw perched on his head, uttering rude cries. Flurry was seated somewhat farther down the hall, close to the door. Her arms were folded across her chest, expression dejected.
Tourian yawned, not sleepy, but yawning was another of those human mannerisms he'd been programmed with. "Flurry, how long do you think it'll take him to build that thing?"
Flurry started, turning to stare at him with deep unhappiness. "He could be done anytime." She frowned, flipping a bit of concrete across the floor. "We've got to get on that stupid machine."
Tourian shrugged. "What good will it do us if we don't know where to go?" He grimaced. "When to go, I guess."
"We can figure that out," Flurry muttered. She rose slowly, facing Tourian and leaning heavily against the wall. "You downloaded all those files, didn't you?"
Tourian blinked. "All what files?"
She tapped her foot impatiently. "The ones Dr. Kreyin found -- the Third Discovery."
Tourian shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like the files, and he found himself wishing he'd deleted them years ago. "I don't know, Flurry. I don't think --"
"You bet you don't," she snapped, jumping over and taking him by the arm. She jerked him down until they were face to face, no easy task, considering her size. "Listen, Tourian, I need those dates. We have the chance to solve all our --"
The door swung violently open, admitting a weary-looking and slightly disheveled scientist into their midst. Ayrmin jumped up, swiping his tongue at Kreyin's hand in a traditional dog's way. Jackdaw fluttered for a moment, trying to regain his balance, and Tremor promptly bolted for his sleeping place. Flurry released Tourian, who jerked upward so fast he stumbled against the wall.
"Need to get some supplies," Kreyin announced sleepily. "Tremor -- let's go."
"No!" Flurry said sharply. "You need rest. The machine won't get done any faster if you fall asleep on the job."
Kreyin looked up, expression suddenly testy. "Flurry, I've told you not to mother me."
She took on a stubborn look, suddenly stepping forward. "Listen to me for once. Go to bed. The computer, the schematics, the supplies -- they'll all be there in the morning."
The scientist could only stare at her for a moment. "All right, Flurry. I'll go to bed." He looked up at her, as stubborn an expression as she'd ever seen on his face. "But you wake me on time tomorrow, understood?"
She smiled sweetly, all innocence, and nodded quickly. "Of course, Dr. Kreyin. Now go to bed, and we'll see you in the morning."
She walked over, taking his arm in hers and leading him to his cot. Once he was settled in there, she hurried outside again. Snapping her fingers at Tourian, she stepped down the hall at a clipped pace.
"It'll take some time for him to go to sleep," she remarked. "Now tell me the dates on those files, Tourian."
He shook his head. "I -- all right. They're about two hundred years back, maybe more. But some of the information in the files is older. The original design, for instance. That dates back about half a century before all the rest."
"Get to the point. Don't worry about the original. We'll have to set the time gauge for around that time." Flurry was still for a moment, lost in thought. "Once he's asleep, we can --"
Tourian stared at her. "We can what?"
She glared right back at him. "You idiot. He's obviously got a time in mind. All we have to do is change it."
Tourian turned away. "I don't know -- I don't think this is such a hot idea."
"Don't chicken out on me now -- it was your idea in the first place."
He winced. "I know, I know." He paused, silent for a long moment. "I know what time to set. I'll do it. Once he's asleep."
On impulse, Flurry flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Tourian. I knew I could count on you."
To be suckered into your little scheme, naturally. "You owe me big for this," he informed her, disentangling himself. "We shouldn't be doing this."
"It was your idea."
He nodded. "Take Jackdaw on patrol, Flurry. I'll take care of this."
She rose quickly, whistling to Jackdaw, who fluttered irritably for a moment before winging his way to her shoulder. That done, she dashed off down the hall, hair flying wildly out behind her. Tourian stared after her worriedly, and Ayrmin lifted his head to whine softly. Tourian walked over to scratch his ears.
"What do you think, boy?" he asked. "I don't know. It's for the greater good, but only if it works." He sank to the floor next to the door. "I wish it didn't have to be done this way."
Ayrmin woofed softly, giving his tail a faint wag. The dog promptly turned his head away and shut down for a while. Tourian leaned his head back against the door. He took his helmet off absently and looked at it, musing. I wonder where my design came from, anyway. Would a robot made for peace-time be armored? Who am I? He gave a bitter chuckle. Who was I?
Gradually, he became aware of a faint whistling noise from beyond the door. Dr. Kreyin had fallen asleep, deep asleep, judging from the sound of it. He rose noiselessly, resting his hand on the doorknob. He gave a faint smile as he entered.
Kreyin lay sleeping on his cot, clumsily covered by his lab coat. Tourian frowned. Flurry was usually more careful about that. Tremor was crouched on the floor, glaring malevolently at him. Tourian crooked his finger, and the cat rose curiously, sniffing at the air to sense his intent. Tourian went down to his knees, and the cat trotted over to him. Without a moment's warning, he snatch Tremor around the middle and hurled the cat at the door. He shut the door behind the animal, smiling faintly. What a look on that cat's face! He turned to see if Kreyin had stirred, but the man still slept, murmuring unconsciously. Tourian nodded slightly, walking over to the computer.
The screen was still brightly lit, casting a faint haze of light over the room. He paused, tapping thoughtfully on the console. For some reason, the man had left all his files open. Tourian could access them as easily as --
He stopped, frowning. He scrolled down the screen, taking in the information faster than it could come up on the screen. He stopped again. The dates lay before him, sometime in the twenty-second century, as far as he could place it. They were set, just as he needed them. His mouth twitched faintly. Flurry would die when she heard this. He scrolled the screen back up to where it had been and hurried from the room. Morning would tell how it turned out.
Janus Kreyin opened his eyes, blinking the grimy feeling of sleep away. He stumbled out of the bed, stretching wearily. Flurry had been right. He had needed sleep. She was rarely wrong about those things, but he also rarely listened to her. She reminded him a great deal of his daughter. Of course, he had built her with that in mind. To help take some of that pain away. Only, it hadn't worked that way. His pain had doubled -- every time he saw her, he saw his daughter. Her every action -- her every mannerism -- was like his child.
He shook his head sadly. A foolish old man and his foolish ideas.
He glanced up at his computer. Well, back to work on that particular one.
The schematics of his time machine glared back at him balefully, cold and calculated, regardless of risk. He almost had the framework built -- in the small warehouse that connected to this room through his closet. Neither Flurry nor Tourian knew anything about it. They simply saw no reason for his closet to connect to anything.
Kreyin frowned. What had he been about to do last night? He nodded suddenly. Supplies, of course -- and she hadn't woken him up!
He pushed the door open violently, shouting for Flurry. He saw her jump and spin around to face him.
"Get over here, Flurry," he said sharply.
Wincing, she hurried up to him. Tourian had been talking with her, and he gazed at them curiously from down the hall.
"You didn't wake me up, Flurry."
She gaped at him. "You had another hour of sleep, Dr. Kreyin!"
He blinked at her for a moment, then fumbled in his coat for his watch. She was right. The timepiece read five-thirty, on the dot. He shook his head. "I apologize, Flurry," he said absently. "Let me get Tremor, and I'll go get those supplies.
Flurry had cocked her head at him, looking a little unhappily into his face. He smiled and patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"I'll be all right. I can handle the people at the hardware store."
She gave him a tiny smile for a response. "We want to help, Dr. Kreyin. Can't we do anything?"
He shook his head sharply. "No!" he snapped, a little more sharply than he intended. "It's too dangerous for you, both of you. We've been through this before. I will not back down on this one."
She nodded and turned slowly away, snapping her fingers at Tremor, who was seated, looking disgruntled, at the far end of the hall. The cat glowered at him for a moment before trotting up to join him. He turned quickly, locking the door behind him. With Tremor trailing behind him, he hurried down the hall, bidding Tourian a brief "good morning" and fingering the keys to his truck.
Tourian watched the door slam behind the scientist, and Ayrmin made a small muttering sound at the noise. Flurry slouched against the door to the lab, anger painting her face.
"If that's the way it's gonna be," he heard her say to herself, "that's the way it's gonna be."
Tourian couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. Maybe she had given up on that fool idea of hers. Then he saw the expression that flickered briefly over her face. Well, at least she won't try to break the door down. But as she turned about to stalk outside, he began to doubt even his assumptions about that.