"There isn't a chance," I said, seizing her thought before it was
uttered. "It would take ten of our lifetimes to reach our nearest
outpost on normal spacedrive. Forget it."
"But--"
"Come along," I said, "I'll need your help to modify these brutes."
* * * * *
Actually it wasn't a hard job. Their brains were well developed and
nicely compartmentalized. With our probes and instruments it was a
simple enough matter to implant the necessary organic extensions of
our instruments.
"That should do it," I murmured as I disconnected the leads I had
jury-rigged into the analyzer. "They're clean as a Fardel's tooth." I
was tired, but I had the pleasant feeling of accomplishment that comes
from working with organic matter. Possibly if I were not so interested
in History, I'd have become a medic. I do have a certain talent along
that line.
At any rate, we now had a pair of proxies. With only normal fortune
they would be completely undetectable.
"Is it all done?" Ven asked as she looked over my shoulder.
"Yes," I said. "But leave the probes in place until we test them." I
dragged my weary body once again into the control room and tried the
headgear and circuits. They functioned absolutely perfectly.
"What do we do now?" Ven's projection came to me.
"Remove the probes and send them back to their camp. There's no sense
in leaving them here."
"But Eu--"
"No," I said. "They are not toys. They're tools. They're to do a job
for us. Now stop acting like a child. When they bring us metal you can
play games with them--but not now. They're stressed, tired, and need
rest. And they're going to get it."
"Yes, Eu." Her projection was submissive.
"But don't worry," I added kindly. "You can monitor them. I installed
two extra circuits, one to the hypothalamus and the other to the
tactile centers. You will be able to feel every sensation they
experience. It will be just like having an extra body."
"Can I try it now?" she asked eagerly as she came into the control room.
"Go ahead," I said. "Put on a helmet and use the double control. Take
them back to their camp and then neutralize the controller. As for me,
I'm going to the refresher. I need it."