Human Company | Page 3

could watch without
being seen.
When she saw me, her eyes widened and she let her mouth fall open.
The protruding teeth betrayed her: she was human. I started to summon
a woman to chase her off, but then I remembered my own questionable
status. So I had to risk her bad luck by throwing pebbles at her until she
retreated down a dark tunnel.
However, she was too dumb to realize that no one wanted to share her
misfortunes. A few minutes later, I saw her across the cavern, peeking
out from a small tunnel set well above the main floor.

#
Soon my nose wrinkled as oily fumes wafted into the cavern. It's the
human girl, I thought, casting her baneful spell over us. But then a
sudden silence drew my attention back to the cavern where a pale white
mechanical crept onto the floor.
They say the mechanicals are gentle and intelligent. Even though they
couldn't speak, they once piloted ships between the stars. Still, the
crowd backed away: the mechanical was the ghost of every insect you
ever stepped on, come back to get you.
First, it was big: the rectangular slab of its body was about the size and
shape of a freight wagon. And it was unreal: gray shadows, moving
under the white, translucent surface, hinted at mysterious forces. And
like an insect, the legs seemed too thin and too long. Four straight
shafts emerged from each side and angled upwards to tower over the
body. At the top, the shafts formed a sharp 'V' before extending to
footpads on the ground. The insect like appearance was heightened by
manipulator arms extending from the front and by the two sensors
setting on stalks rising from the top.
Axeblade stood near the ledge with her arms raised. "Come, White
Mech, Come," she commanded.
A complex shuffle of legs glided the ghostly insect smoothly enough
across the cavern; however as it neared my alcove, its mechanical
nature was revealed. A trail of acid droppings sizzled on the ground
behind it, and seeping oil created yellow stains around the leg joints.
Axeblade made White Mech lower its torso to the cave floor, and when
assistants brought steps forward, Redblood helped Apogee onto the
mechanical's back. She laid him down on a cushion and strapped him
securely in place. Afterwards someone pulled away the steps and the
mechanical rose.
Everything happened too fast. Expecting a speech from Axeblade, I sat
on the ground to wait it out. But Axeblade simply raised her hand and

White Mech stepped forward and disappeared over the edge.
I didn't even get to see how the mechanical converted its legs into
wings. By the time I inched over to the edge and looked down, white
fabric was already billowing between them. They now formed the ribs
of rectangular wings that extended from either side of the body. I did
see the leg-ribs moving to tension the fabric and to adjust the shape of
the wings until they caught the air.
The mechanical soared out from the cliff face, and as it leveled off, it
began beating the wings against the air to gain altitude. It rose quickly,
and soon it was above us. When it reached a nearby peak, it wheeled
about in a tight circle and immediately headed back, coming straight at
us in a shallow dive.
The landing was something. At the last moment, the mechanical spread
its wings wide and braked sharply. With a loud crack, the fabric parted
from the rear set of legs, and as they sprang down to the ground, the
mechanical bounced and fell forward. Two more cracks, following in
rapid succession, freed the other legs to catch the body before it hit the
ground. The wing fabric -- it happened too fast to be sure -- seemed to
get sucked into the legs.
As the women swarmed to the mechanical, I realized the show was all
over. The flight, the whole ceremony, had lasted less than five minutes.
I didn't spit when Redblood took Apogee off, but I wanted to. What
was he thinking? The women might never let him have another ride,
and he hadn't done anything.
He looked pale and seemed unsteady on his feet, but Redblood seemed
not to notice. Instead of shaking his hand properly, she covered it with
hers and bowed so low she was practically kissing it.
"Rider," she called him.
#
I stayed in the alcove as the procession departed. The Mech Card had

promised me adventure, but all I had gotten was to watch Redblood
slobber over Apogee. That little human rodent was going to get it good
for ruining my luck.
Crouching down into the darkest shadows, I settled down to wait.
Slowly the noise from the procession faded,