Free Gravewalkers: Dying Time by Richard T. Schrader Page B

time the
ghouls are still kicking our asses.”
    She pointed at a set of
crates, “Their technology is about to become a lot less primitive
after you accomplish our initiatory objective.”
    Critias gave his attention
to her scientific equipment crates, “What is it we’re supposed to
deliver to them?”
    Carmen explicated their
prize cargo, “We have in our possession an unassembled Epsilon-R
technical android. That is clearly the most valuable technology in
our possession. Protecting it should be your highest priority.
While they might be able to reverse engineer a lot of advancements
from our other equipment and weapons, the android will already
comprehend the scientific principles involved in their outright
manufacture.”
    “ That much makes sense,”
he agreed. “I don’t think even all the space stations have their
own Epsilon-R. So we assemble this super arrogant egg timer then
drop him off at his new home with the great King Louie.”
    She cautioned him,
“Assembling it would be unwise since the Epsilon-R is extremely
capable intellectually, but nothing compared to me in hostile
environments.” She bent down to pick up an old aluminum frying pan
from among the junk that littered their shelter. While she held it
out with one hand, Carmen punched a deep dent into the center with
her other hand balled into a fist. “My skeleton is grade-five
titanium and this is the Epsilon-R’s face.” She handed him the
distorted frying pan. “The minimal combat stress tolerances of that
model make it vulnerable to irreparable damage from even a minor
impact to the head. Were we to activate it now, the infected may
destroy it before you can make delivery.”
    “ I see,” he understood,
“so he can’t be used rough the way you can.”
    Carmen flashed passionate
adoration at him in reference to the sexual pun, “That’s
true.”
    He eyed her with returned
suspicion that she behaved strangely. The company of a bi-polar
combat android made him uneasy. She had always been obedient and
mostly cooperative, but never genuinely affectionate and that made
him nervous. For the time being, he thought about how they were
going to move all the crates without a gunship to fly to their
destination. Distance was a factor, so he asked, “Do you know where
we are?”
    She did, “I arrived three
days ago and began moving everything down here for safety as it
arrived after me, including you. This location is rural farm
country hundreds of kilometers south of the Chicago city where
Colonel Walker will eventually build that reclamation center. King
Louie’s survivors are in another metropolis to the west of here,
about fifty kilometers.”
    Critias shook his head at
that unpleasant description, unable to believe King Louie was not
only surviving, but also doing it in a major city where the ghouls
were always at their worst. He hoped aloud, “I don’t suppose we
have a marshal gunship outside?”
    “ No, but the world in this
era is nothing at all like the one we are from, aside from the
obvious fact that both have a major problem with all the irate
infected. One of the first things you may notice is that some of
the ghouls in this time are still wearing pieces of human clothing.
In this period, the buildings, technology, and vehicles are still
usually functional and in abundant supply. Three more centuries
will have to pass before your ancestors’ civilization decays to the
decrepit condition that we are familiar with.”
    “ I like the sound of
that,” Critias saw many advantages in having equipment everywhere
that hadn’t rotted away to scrap. “That means that old fashioned
Earth food still exists in cans like the stories tell. I always
wanted to try some of that.”
    As Carmen moved close to
him, she wore a peculiar new expression that seemed to say that she
waited for him to say something important. “We have another four
hours until sunrise,” she informed him. “Go make yourself
comfortable and I’ll bring you the