Free Blood and Iron by Tony Ballantyne Page B

in the robots at the Top of the World?’ asked Karel. He smiled. ‘I suppose you do. You believe in the Book of Robots after all.’
    ‘I don’t believe,’ said Banjo Macrodocious. ‘I know it to be true.’
    Of course he did, thought Karel, it was woven into his mind. Banjo Macrodocious really would think that he had part of the plan for the original robots there in his head, he really would believe that he knew a little about how robots should behave.
    And yet, who was he to feel anything but envy? At the moment, Karel was certain of nothing more than the fact he wanted his wife back.
    ‘How much further?’ he asked, as they crested the top of another low hill.
    ‘Nearly there,’ answered Banjo Macrodocious, and they both looked down.
    The land fell into a wide sea inlet fed by a river that flowed from the south, the waters churning against the incoming tide. Across the way Karel saw more land, rocky cliffs and edges dressed in green grass. He felt caught between the elements, exposed to the choices of the world. Which way now? North beneath the vast expanse of the Moonshadow sea, down the river to the south, or follow the coast to where it took him? Then, further down the hillside, he saw the ancient remains of a town. Grey stone buildings, long broken by the elements. All the metal stripped away.
    ‘That was Presper Boole,’ said Banjo Macrodocious. ‘Across the way you can see Blaize.’
    Karel looked across the water and saw the other town. It looked much bigger than Presper Boole, and better constructed. The buildings rose higher, they were squarer and topped by spires and towers that gleamed white even under the dull skies.
    ‘Blaize must have been quite impressive in its day,’ he ventured.
    ‘Both cities were,’ said Banjo Macrodocious. ‘I have the memory of them woven into my mind. They were built of the riches that flowed down from the Top of the World.’
    Seeing the spectacular remains of the two cities there, Karel almost believed it was true. That there really were robots at the Top of the World.
    ‘Greetings, Karel.’
    The voice came from somewhere to his side. Karel turned to gaze at the strangest robot he had ever seen. Everything about it was different. The proportions of its body were all wrong: its arms far too long and jointless, they waved and rippled like snakes. Its head was the shape of a droplet of water turned upside down, rounded at the top and then curving inwards and downwards to meet at a sharp point well below its neck. It had two large black hemispheres for eyes, set wide apart, so that Karel gained the impression it could see behind as well as in front. It had a fat body, like a light bulb, bulging at the top and pinched in where the short legs joined on. It didn’t have feet as such, instead four rods curved out from its ankles like blunt claws. They pierced the grass as it walked towards Karel, making him feel deeply uneasy. He quelled the feeling.
    ‘Greetings,’ replied Karel. ‘You must be Morphobia Alligator.’
    Morphobia Alligator bowed in a complicated movement that made Karel’s gyros wobble. The other robot seemed to have joints in all the wrong places.
    ‘You are Karel, yes, yes? Formerly of Turing City, now stateless since the fall of the Northern Kingdom.’
    ‘Were you there?’ asked Karel.
    ‘No, no. But Banjo Macrodocious was. All of them were. When that place was on the brink of collapse, they were sent out to find safer lands so that the knowledge they held in their minds would be preserved. Some of them found me. Strange how old enemies work together in these times.’
    ‘Banjo Macrodocious is your enemy? You don’t believe in the Book of Robots?’
    ‘Oh, we believe what it says is the truth. Oh yes, yes! But that misses the point.’ His eyes brightened, and Karel sensed he was amused. ‘Anyway, I was told that you were nearby. I asked them to bring you to see me.’
    Karel was confused. The robot’s words made little sense. Even its