  A huge woman was lumbering toward him down the dim corridor. There was something strange and unreal about her face and her awkward movements that gave Garry chills. Garry started running. He slammed into the water fountain, bruising his side. But he kept moving, and so did the woman stalker. Garry knew that the corridor was in the shape of a square and that if he kept turning corners he would arrive back at the dormitory. He wondered why a woman should frighten him, and it embarrassed him when he thought what the others would say when they found out. But the creature was so hostile—and somehow monstrous in her looks—that Garry was sure she meant to attack him. As he ran, Garry did not even look back to see if his adversary were still in pursuit. Finally, he turned the last corner and saw the dormitory straight ahead at the end of the corridor. He looked back around the corner in the direction from which he had just come. He’d outdistanced her. She wasn’t even in sight. By now his nerves were a little calmer, although his heart still drummed faster than usual. He began walking briskly, every now and then casting a look back over his shoulder. There was the dormitory at last. He felt a little silly now, as he reached for the button to open the door. He decided that he would not tell the others of his run and his fright lest they tease him about the incident. He would just tell them that he had seen the strange woman but would not reveal the embarrassing circumstances. He still wondered who she could be, especially since Captain Eaton had not even mentioned her before. Just as Garry pressed the door button, he heard a metallic clanking behind him. There was the woman, coming very fast, the dim lights revealing the dark hollows of her eyes. Garry saw her tight-lipped mouth, her hugeness—fully as tall as Mr. Klecker and almost as broad, it seemed. The unexpectedness of it caused Garry to cry out for the first time. As the door of the dormitory slid back, he scrambled inside, hurriedly pressed the button closing the door, then sank back against it, panting. The bright lights went on in the room. Garry’s eyes blurred in the sudden sharp brilliance. When they came into focus, Garry saw everyone sitting straight up in their bunks, their eyes squinting and staring at him in amazement. After a few tense moments, Captain Eaton asked from his bunk, “Garry, what’s the matter?” “A woman—a big woman’s out there!” he blurted. “She was after me!” Garry heard the men begin to laugh. “Garry, that’s Katrinka,” the captain explained. “She wouldn’t hurt a thing. She couldn’t. She’s not built that way.” “Not built that way?” Garry echoed. “What do you mean? She’s built pretty strong I think!” Captain Eaton chuckled. “She’s a robot, Garry.” “A robot!” Garry said. “So that’s why she looks so different!” “Yes, I made her as lifelike as possible,” Captain Eaton went on, “but I’m afraid I’m no Michelangelo as a sculptor.” “You built her?” Garry asked in surprise. “Yes. We needed someone to do our chores—you know, the things that men dislike doing in the nature of housework and cleaning up. But she’s quite controllable, Garry. She wouldn’t have harmed you. Something must have slipped in her mechanism so that she became activated. It happens once in awhile. I’ll go take a look at her.” “You don’t have to go far, Sir,” Garry said, rubbing away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. “She’s right outside the door.” As the captain climbed from his bunk and slipped into his robe, Garry avoided the eyes of the others in the dormitory. He had done just what he had hoped he would not do—shown his fear of a harmless robot. He knew they must think him squeamish, but they were not laughing now. Patch seemed to have been the only one who was not aroused by the excitement. Garry could see that he was still asleep in his bunk. Captain Eaton passed Garry, opened the door, and went outside. Garry followed a few steps behind. The robot still looked menacing to Garry. It stood, big and dark and unmoving, in the dimness of the corridor. Captain Eaton faced Katrinka and spoke in a clear, loud voice: “Closet! Closet!” Garry heard a humming sound coming from the robot. It shuffled about slowly on its ponderous feet and started walking away. “She’s obeying!” Garry gasped. “Yes, she’s all right,” Captain Eaton replied. “Probably just a crossing of the wires in her mechanical brain that activated her. Maybe a slight lurch of the ship did it. I’ll look her over thoroughly in the morning.” “I don’t see how you did it,” Garry said, still amazed. “How can a machine like that take orders like a person, just as if it had a brain like us?” “Katrinka’s brain is made up of electrical impulses in certain codes,” Captain Eaton replied. “There is a code disk for everything that she is able to do. For instance, there is one for making up the bunks, every step in that operation. There’s one for washing the dishes, mopping the floor, and so on. When I have the time, I make her even smarter by adding new codes and duties.” “But all you said was the word ‘closet,’ and off she went,” Garry said. “That was the code for her heading for the closet down the corridor where she stays when we have no need for her. When she goes inside the closet, an automatic switch will cut off her mechanism, and she will remain dormant until we need her. Just as if I gave you an order to go somewhere and your muscles would carry you to that place, so it is with Katrinka. The code words I give her activate the wires that control her movement in a certain way, whatever that activity is.” Garry nodded. “I understand it, but it sure must be a complicated thing the way she works.” “It’s complicated, all right,” Captain Eaton agreed. “Katrinka represents many years of scientific study, long before I ever thought of venturing into space. It was a hobby of mine, in between my duties as a teacher and head of a space shipping corporation. My first models were very clumsy and crude, but I have developed them over the years and have finally come up with Katrinka, my finest yet. Many people are interested in her—manufacturers and the government too.” The next morning Garry told Patch about Katrinka, and Captain Eaton gave them permission to watch him check out the robot. After breakfast the three went to the closet where the robot was kept. The captain pressed the door button, and the door slid open, revealing the hulking monster that had frightened Garry the night before. Even now, Garry felt chills along his spine. Captain Eaton spoke one word, “Follow,” and then turned on his heel, heading on down the corridor. The boys tagged along and were amazed to see and hear Katrinka clomping behind. “She is following, Garry!” Patch said. “Yeah, and I still don’t understand it,” his friend replied, with a shake of his head. “Why, that’s the easiest command of all I’ve given her to do,” Captain Eaton said. “The word ‘follow’ activates a sort of radar device in her and makes her follow the closest moving object. I believe that was what happened when she chased you last night, Garry. Something slipped, causing her to follow that particular action.” The captain chuckled. “She could have pursued you all night, but she never would have come closer than three feet.” The Carefree’s skipper entered a doorway leading off the corridor. “Here’s my workshop. I’ll have a look at Katrinka’s workings now,” he said. The shop was untidy, cluttered from top to bottom with electronic parts, tools, and metal plates. Captain Eaton gave Katrinka the command to stop and then with a screw driver removed a large plate from her back. He nosed about inside the robot for several minutes, making adjustments within the complicated network of wires and miniature parts. Then he replaced the plate. “Just a couple of wires got too close,” he said. “She won’t be chasing you any more, Garry.” “That’s a relief,” Garry replied with a nervous smile. “I wouldn’t want to go through that again, even if she is harmless!” “I’ll show you how I build commands into her system,” the captain said. “Let’s have a simple command, fellows.” “I know,” Garry replied. “Have her lift up Patch.” Patch backed off hastily. “Oh no you don’t!” he objected. The master of the Carefree laughed. “Be a sport, Patch. She’s very gentle. She won’t hurt you,” he said. Patch thought a moment, then replied, “Okay, if you promise it will be all right.” “I promise,” the captain said, and he set to work. He brought out tools and equipment of every kind. Then he removed some plates from various parts of the robot’s body. But instead of tinkering around inside, as he had done before, he opened up a big chart and began working from it, using pencil and paper. “What are you doing, Captain?” Garry asked after a few moments. “This is a map of Katrinka’s system, like the diagram of a radio or TV,” was the reply. “I have to figure out what connections I must bring together. You see, I must give her several actions that make up the command we have given her. There must be the action of walking over to Patch, of bending certain parts that serve as her muscles, and finally the action of lifting him up. Then I must activate these through the use of spoken words.” The captain worked for about an hour. The last thing he did was to take a small disk out of stock and drill holes in it at very carefully measured positions. Then he slipped the disk into place inside the robot. “Now let’s try her out,” the captain said. Captain Eaton faced the robot and spoke in a loud clear voice: “Lift.” Patch remained where he stood, but Garry could see that he was a little nervous as Katrinka began lumbering toward him. The robot stooped over and lifted the boy in her big metal arms. She stood motionless, holding him in a firm grip as Patch began to struggle impatiently after about fifteen seconds. “Tell her to put me down, Captain,” Patch begged. The captain winked at Garry mischievously. “My goodness, Patch, I forgot to give her a command to release you!” Patch began struggling vigorously, but he could not escape the robot’s iron grip. “Hey, somebody, get me out of this!” Patch cried, his face reddening from his exertions. Seeing that his fun had gone far enough, Captain Eaton barked out, as if he were a military commander: “Atten-tion!” The robot’s arms slipped straight down to her sides, and her body stiffened rigidly. Patch tumbled unharmed to the floor. Patch sat up. He turned and looked up at Garry and the captain. Fear still showed in his eyes, but, as he saw the playful smile on the captain’s face, a grin spread over his own. The captain laughed out loud. Then Garry joined in. Finally, Patch himself began laughing, having enjoyed the harmless experiment even if the captain had played a little joke on him. |
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