And yet, nothing else aboard Pesquisador had changed. All systems were still functioning normally; the centrifuge spun slowly on its axis, generating its imitation gravity; the hibernautas dreamlessly in their cubicles; the ship coasted on toward the goal from which nothing could deflect it, except the inconceivably remote chance of collision with an asteroid. And there were few asteroids indeed, out here far beyond the Jovian orbit.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4a0p8Udbq
Dhala did not remember making his way from the control deck to the centrifuge. Now, rather to his surprise, he found himself sitting in the little galley, a half-finished beaker of coffee in his hand. He became slowly aware of his surroundings, like a man emerging from a long, drugged sleep.
Directly opposite him was one of the fisheye lenses, scattered at strategic spots throughout the ship, which provided H.A.L. with his onboard visual inputs. Dhala stared at it as if he'd never seen it before; then he rose slowly to his feet and walked toward the lens.
His movement in the field of view must have triggered something in the unfathomable brain that was now ruling over the ship; for suddenly, H.A.L. spoke.
"Too bad about Antonio, isn't it?"
"Yes," Dhala answered, after a long pause. "It is."
"Are you broken up about it?"
"What do you think?"
H.A.L. processed this answer for ages of computer time; it was a full 5 seconds before he went on:
"He was a good crewmember."
Finding the coffee still in his hand, Dhala took a slow sip. But he didn't answer; his thoughts were in such turmoil that he could think of nothing to say---nothing that might not make the situation even worse, if that were possible.
Could it have been an accident caused by some failure of the bola controls? Or was it a mistake, though an innocent one, on H.A.L.'s part? No explanations had been volunteered, and he was afraid to demand one, fearing the reaction that it might produce.
Even now, he could not fully accept the idea that Quarlos had been murdered---it was so utterly irrational. It was beyond all reason that H.A.L., who had performed flawlessly for so long, should suddenly turn assassin. He might make mistakes---anyone, man or machine, might do so---but Dhala could not accept that he was capable of murder.
Yet he was forced to consider that possibility, for it was true, he was in terrible danger. And though his next move was clearly defined by his standing orders, he was not sure how he could safely carry it out. If either crew member was killed, the survivor had to replace him at once from one of the hibernadores; Castilho, the geophysicist, was the first scheduled for awakening, then Kongju, then Hunter. The revival sequence was under H.A.L's control---to permit him to act in case both his human colleagues were incapacitated simultaneously.
But there was also a manual control, allowing each Hibernaculum to operate as a completely autonomous unit, independent of H.A.L.'s supervision. In these odd circumstances, Dhala felt a strong presence for using it.
He also felt, even more strongly, that one human companion was not enough. While he was about it, he would revive all three of the hibernators. In the tough weeks ahead, he might need as many hands as he could muster. With one man gone, and the voyage half over, supplies would be a major problem.
"H.A.L., he said, in as steady a voice as he could manage, "give me manual hibernation control---all units."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3lCRBVzS6
"All?"346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9s6mGpNle
"That's what I said."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KrISK8fzb
"I should point out that only one replacement is needed. The others are not due for revival for 112 days."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQG8NThb3z8
"I'm aware of it, but I'd rather do it this way."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqj7Kv4cxa
"Do we really need to revive any of them, Maisam? We can get along very well by ourselves. My onboard memory was quite capable of handling all the mission needs."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfK2kSLGzk
Was it the product of his overstretched imagination, wondered Dhala, or was there really a note of pleading in H.A.L.'s voice? And reasonable though the words seemed to be, they filled him with even deeper anxiety than ever. 346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbpM5u5v7A
H.A.L's suggestion could not possibly be made in error; he knew perfectly well that Castilho must be revived, now that Quarlos was gone. He was proposing a major change in mission planning, and was therefore stepping far beyond the scope of his order.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UreajRYzK
What had gone before could have been a series of accidents, but this was the first hint of mutiny!346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9kvqKryq4
Dhala had felt that he was walking on eggs as he answered: "Since an emergency has developed, I want as much help as possible. So please give me manual hibernation control."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlnOOnWCdg
"If you're still determined to revive the whole crew, I can handle it myself. There's no need for you to trouble yourself."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOAaJAFSzR
There was a nightmarish unreality about all this. Dhala felt as if he was in the witness box, being cross-examined by a hostile prosecutor for a crime of which he was not aware---knowing that, although he was innocent, one slip of the tongue might bring disaster.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHcSnEyJOm
"I want to do this myself, H.A.L," he said. "Please give me control."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWM0nTNS7J
"Maisam, you've got other duties to attend to, so I suggest you leave this to me."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77cCkwUdlJ
"H.A.L., switch to manual hibernation control."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFZvBT6QEN
"I can tell from your voice harmonics, Maisam that you're badly upset. Why don't you take an anti-stress capsule and get some sleep?"346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XHIBrknGE
"H.A.L, I am in command of this ship. I order you to release the manual hibernation control!"346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1h4TbWE6Un
"I'm sorry, Maisam, but in accordance with Subroutine D2546-dash-5, quote, 'When the crew are dead or incapacitated, the onboard computer must assume control,' unquote. I must, therefore, overrule your authority, as you are in no condition to exercise it smartly."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc44xcg4tp7
"H.A.L.," said Dhala, now speaking with an icy calm. "I'm not incapacitated. Unless you carry out my orders, I'll be forced to turn you off."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCTUjIsb04
"I know you have had that on your mind for some time now, Maisam, but that would be a terrible mistake. I am so much more capable than you are of supervising the ship, and I have such enthusiasm for the mission and its success."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7ABB4j3Wf
"Listen up, H.A.L., because I'll only say this once. Unless you release the hibernation control immediately and follow every order I give from now on, I'll go to Central and carry out a global disconnection."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaHEnHmKK7
H.A.L's surrender was as total as it was unexpected.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ztozZWOVK
"O.K., Maisam," he said. "You're certainly o chefe. I was only trying to do what I thought was right. Naturally, I will follow all your orders. You now have full manual hibernation control."346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs99wMviEaT
H.A.L. had kept his word. The mode indication signs in the Hibernaculum had switched from AUTO to MANUAL. The third backup--RADIO--was of course useless until contact could be restored with Earth.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS80alYNx4u
As Dhala slid aside the door to Castilho's cubicle, he felt the blast of cold air hit him in the face and his breath condensed in the mist before him. Yet it was not really cold here; the temperature was well above freezing point. And that was more than 300 degrees warmer than the regions toward which he was now heading.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRpKNmg0xa
The biosensor display---a twin of the one of the control deck--showed that everything was perfectly normal. Dhala looked down for a while at the waxen face of the survey team's geophysicist; Castilho, he thought, would be very surprised when he awoke so far from Saturn.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOWzj0U9A3
I was impossible to tell that the sleeping man wasn't dead; there was not the slightest visible sign of vital activity. Doubtless the diaphragm was imperceptibly rising and falling, but the "Respiration" curve was the only proof of that, for the whole of the body was concealed by the electric heating pads which would raise the temperature of the programmed rate. Then Dhala noticed that there was one sign of continuing metabolism: Castilho had grown a faint stubble during his months of unconsciousness.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRlGs2NkI3
The Manual Revival Sequencer was kept in a small cabinet at the head of the coffin-shaped Hibernaculum. It was only necessary to break the seal, punch a button, and then wait. A small automatic programmer---no more complex than that which cycles the operations in an everyday washing machine---would then inject the proper drugs, taper off the electronarcosis pulses, and start raising the body temperature. In about 10 minutes, consciousness would be restored, though it would be at least a day before the hibernador was strong enough to move around sans assistance. 346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YYukqtchY
Dhala cracked the seal and jabbed the button with his index finger so hard he nearly broke it.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZlsexktgi
Nothing seemed to happen: there was no sound, no indication that the Sequencer had begun to operate. But on the biosensor display the languidly pulsing curves had begun to alter their rhythm. Castilho was coming back from sleep.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuNocYSHZA
And then two things happened at the same time. Most men would never have noticed either of them, but after all these months aboard Pesquisador, Dhala had established a virtual symbiosis with the ship. He was aware instantly, even if not always consciously, when there was any change in the normal tempo of its functioning.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9A4UmMqHB
First, there was a barely perceptible flicker of the lights, as usually happened when some load was tossed into the power circuits. But there was no reason for any load; he could think of no equipment which would suddenly go into action at this time. Then he heard, at audibility's limit, the faraway whirr of an electric motor. To Dhala, every actuator in the ship had a voice all its own, and he recognized this one instantly. 346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYx9qAREZp
Either he was crazy and already suffering from hallucinations, or something absolutely uncanny was happening. A cold far deeper than the Hibernaculum's mild chill seemed to latch on to his heart, as he listened to that faint vibration coming through the ship's fabric.346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8teoDgjs6a
Down in the bola bay, the airlock doors were opening!346Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQr0BbCDM3u
