On the other hand, he had to admit, if the automatons suddenly decided to turn hostile, there was nowhere to run from them anyway. As tense as he was, indulging in fatalism was a great way to relax.

“Chiasa asked me to come and check on you. She is worried about you.”

Zimmer chuckled softly. “Chiasa always worries about me. Has even before we got married. Whether it’s when we’re hiking, preparing to give lectures, or making coffee, she’s always worried.”

“‘Coffee’?”

“If I’m hiking, I’m liable to fall and break a leg. If I’m preparing to give a lecture, I might forget my notes or some important component of the subject matter—and if I’m making coffee, I could get burned.”

Trying not to be too obvious, Dev indicated the alien machines resting nearby. “This is a little different from taking a hike, and these are not coffee makers. What are you finding out with regard to your—to your notion? Are you even able to communicate what it is that you want from them?”

“Oh yes. It’s proven to be surprisingly easy.” He regarded the trio of devices that formed a gleaming semicircle in front of him with an admiring gaze. “For one thing, just as the mechanicals assigned to this vessel can communicate and exchange information with one another nearly instantaneously, the same is as true of our rescuers. Which means that they, originating as they do from the same civilization, can likewise acquire information from their recently indentured colleagues. Everything that was known to the robots on this ship is now similarly known to the newcomers. Which means that among much else, they can now understand English.” Smiling, he gestured at one of the smaller twinned devices. “Go ahead. Try for yourself.”

Facing the machine, Dev found himself suddenly and uncharacteristically tongue-tied. “I—I don’t have anything to say.”

Once again Zimmer laughed softly. “You mentioned making coffee. Ask it for a cup of coffee.”

Once, at university, an assistant professor had asked Dev to find the solution to a common problem in physics. Dev had messed it up badly. That was how Zimmer was making him feel now, and he didn’t like it.

“I have got a better idea.” Shifting his focus from the smaller machine to the giant looming above the others, he stared evenly at the glistening visual receptors. “If you wished to inflict serious damage on the populated world nearby, what weapons would you employ?” He tensed.

Zimmer did not, but there was a new edge in his voice as he reacted. “Dear me, Devali Mukherjee: you are full of surprises. That is a question I have yet to ask.” Turning, he addressed the alien colossus. “My companion has posited a hypothesis. Resolve it.”