The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell

Chapter 20

I gently touched my ribs and yelped. "Sore, maybe broken—but there is nothing we can do about it now. And you?"

Berkk had climbed slowly to his feet and was hobbling painfully. "The same, I guess. I hurt from all that banging about. I panicked, didn't I?"

"It can happen to anyone."

"It didn't happen to you. You got me into the cage and into the pit—and got yourself into it as well."

"Let's say that I have had more experience at this kind of thing—so don't let it bother you. Most important is what do we do next?"

"Whatever you say we should do. You saved my life and I owe you—"

"But you saved mine when you tripped the thug who was trying to brain me. So we are even. Right?"

"Right. But you still decide what we should do now. Maybe I made the rebar cages, but it was you who made the plan work. What's next?"

I looked around. "Find out where we are, and try to do it without being seen. I have had more than enough excitement for one day."

We walked beside the moving belt, trying to look ahead into the red—lit darkness. A distant rumbling grew louder as we went. We passed one of the glowing pits that provided the feeble illumination and I looked into it. It was filled with a liquid, maybe water, and the glow was coming from the bottom. I dropped in a piece of rock. It splashed nicely then slowly vanished from sight as it went under. Another mystery, but not one of any great importance at the moment.

"Lights ahead," Berkk said, and so there were. White for a change—and they were on our side of the rumbling, moving belt.

"Wrong side," I said. "I would prefer to be in the dark when investigating. Think you can climb over this thing?"

"Lead the way."

It was easy enough once we had clambered, slowly and painfully, up onto the belt, since it wasn't moving very fast. We slipped and stumbled over the broken stone, jumped painfully down on the other side. Walked alongside it as we came closer to the lights, the rumbling getting louder all the time. We bent over as we walked, hiding in the shadows. Trying not to stumble over the bits of rock that had fallen from the belt. Reached the end of the belt and looked out.

It was about what I had expected. Seen one rock crusher you have seen them all. The belt ended and the crushed rock fell from the end into a wide hopper. Below this a series of paired metal rollers, each set above the other, crushed the rock into ever—smaller pieces. Undoubtedly ending up as the fine dust that I had seen dumped onto the sorting—tables. The rollers were set into a steel frame that vanished out of sight into an immense pit below. Spotlights were set into the pit walls to illuminate the scene. We bent over, then crawled the last bit and peered over the edge. Berkk pointed.

"Steps. Looks like they go all the way to the bottom."

I nodded agreement, leaning out so I could see. "Landings at various levels to service the machine. And what looks like a control area at the very bottom."

"See anyone?"

"No—but we are still going to be very careful. I'll take a look down the stairs—"

"No way! You move, I move. We're in this together."

He was correct, of course. There was no point in splitting up at this time.

"All right—but I go first. Stay behind and cover my back. Ready?"

"No," he admitted with a rueful grin. "And I doubt if I ever will be. But it's not going to get any better. So I guess that I'm as ready as I am ever going to be."

He was learning fast. I moved over against the wall and started down. When I reached the first landing I waved him after me, then stayed in the shadows of a great discarded and cracked roller. When he had joined me I pointed at the thick dust on the stairs. "Notice anything?" I shouted over the clattering roar of the rock crushers.

"Yes—the only footprints are ours."

"And the dust is centimeters thick. No one has been on these stairs in a very long time. But they could be waiting for us down below. Careful as we go."

The noise grew with each level we dropped, until it reached an almost brain—destroying volume. Still no one in sight—nor footsteps in the dust. I went faster now, driven on by the noise. Slower when I was just above the floor of the pit with the grouped instrumentation and controls. I waved Berkk to my side and pointed; he nodded agreement. There was no way that we could hear anything other than the eternal roar. But we could see where the dust had been disturbed, scuffed and covered with footprints in front of the controls. On the far side a jumbled trail of prints led beside a thick pipe that vanished into the wall.

Beside the pipe there was a sturdy metal door set into the same wall.

I pointed at the door and punched my fist into the air in a victorious gesture.

Now—out of the pit—before my brain was curdled. I let the cosh, still secured in place by its strap, slip into my hand. I crouched before the door and touched the big locking wheel that was set into it, then pointed to Berkk. He clutched it in both hands, exerted his strength. Muscles stood out in his neck with the strain.

Nothing happened. I pulled at his arm and when he looked around I made gestures of turning the wheel in the opposite direction, clockwise.

This worked fine. It turned and the door opened a fraction when I put my weight against it. Massive and heavy. I pushed it open enough to look through the crack into a small, metal~ walled room. Empty as far as I could see—with another door set into the far wall. We pushed it wide and went in, closed and sealed it behind us. As we did the sound was cut to a distant rumbling.

"It's like an airlock," Berkk said. I could barely hear because of the ringing in my ears.

"More like a soundlock"

There was still a rumbling sound. From overhead. I looked up at the thick pipe that passed through the room; the rumbling was coming from it.

"Try the other door?" Berkk asked.

"In a moment—when the jackhammer in my head goes away."

The room was featureless. Nothing on the walls, just a light in the ceiling next to the pipe. And a track of dirty footprints leading from one door to the other. Ending in a floor mat. I kicked my boots clean on it.

"There must be something a little more civilized on the other side. Keeping their floor clean—" I shut up as the wheel on the door in front of me began to turn.

"Behind the door!" I whispered as I plastered myself against the wall.

I could take care of one man all right. If there were more than one we were in trouble.

It opened wider. I crouched and raised my weapon. A metal foot and a metal leg appeared. I lowered the cosh as the robot stepped in. It ignored us completely as it turned and sealedthe door through which it had entered. I leaned forward and read the identification plate on the back of its shining skull.

"It's a compbot—707. Wonderful! It's little more than a meter reader with legs. Have you ever used one?"

Berkk nodded happily. "I ran a string of fifteen of them once, in an assembly plant that I managed. After they have been programmed they can do only what's in their memory. The thing has no idea that we are even here."

We watched as it sealed the door, went over to the other door and opened it. We covered our ears as the sound blasted in. then died away as the door swung shut.

"Now let's see what's on the other side," I said as I spun the inner wheel and opened the door a crack. A hall with no one in sight. I opened it wide, stepped through.

"Going to leave me here?" He sounded worried.

"Not for long. But we have to find out what we're getting into. Let me take a quick look."

What I got into was a long, well—lit corridor with the rumbling pipe running the length of it, just below the ceiling. Doors opened off it, and there was another door at the far end—which might very well open at any time. I hurried to the first door I had seen, tried the handle, found it unlocked. Took a breath, readied the cosh—then opened it.

A storeroom, shelves and boxes—and perfect for our needs. I hurried back to Berkk.

"Let's get Out of here. There's a storeroom we can get into."

With this last door closed behind me I slid down and sat on the floor. Berkk did the same.

"What do we do next?" he asked eagerly, as though I knew all the answers. I wished I did.

"Rest and plan. No, no plan. We can't do anything until we find where in hell—or Heaven—we are." I shut up because I was getting light—headed. All the banging, crushing, crawling, bleeding, clotting had not done me any good. "You rest," I said, clambering painfully to my feet. "I'm going to check out the other doors and find out what I can. Be right back." The first three rooms I looked into were spectacularly uninteresting. Cases of ball~bearing races, computer boards, miles of wire. Nothing that we could use, eat, or drink. But I hit the jackpot on the fourth, hurried back to get Berkk.

"All of the doors along the hallway open into storerooms but I found one that is not only filled with bogey wheels but also has a medical emergency box. So not only can we clean up and get some dressings on but some good person put a bottle of medicinal brandy in with the rest of the gear."

We drank the drinking medicine before we went on to antiseptics and bandages. Considering what we had been through we had gotten off lightly. Cleansed and purified—and half sloshed—I thought of the future.

"Rest, sleep if you can," I said. "I'm going to take a reccy."

"What's that? Is it a pill?"

"No, you civilian, it's a military term left over from my army career. Short for reconnoiter. I'll try not to take any chances and will be back as soon as I can. One person can do this far better than two, so don't argue."

He didn't "Good luck," he said.

"I don't believe in it. I make my own luck," I bragged. To lift his morale—or my own. I left.

The door at the end of the corridor opened into a very large open—plan room. The thick pipe carried on across to the center of the room where it made a bend and vanished down through the floor. I didn't like this room. I kept my eye to the crack for a long time. There were workbenches in there, with chairs before them. And chairs meant people. Instrument consoles glittered with lights and in the distance there was the sound of running motors. If it was empty for now—how long would it stay empty?

The waiting didn't help because nothing stirred, no one came. Muttering darkly I finally opened the door wide and slipped through. Slinked along between the workbenches, trying to look over my shoulder and in every direction at the same time. Through swinging doors and into an even bigger and brightly lit room. Still no one—though I found this hard to believe. I crept on, wondering how long my luck was going to hold out. I passed a door with a round window set into it, looked in carefully before going by. And swallowed.

A food and drink dispenser—it could be nothing else.

I was through it, the door closed behind me, and punching the button for drink. Caffeine—aide—exactly what I wanted, needed.

Paradisical… I drained two cups in a row before I slowed down. Triggered the controls that slipped a frozen catwich and a dogburger into the microwave while I sipped. I glanced out occasienally, but my heart wasn't in it. Food and drink first, more reccy later. I felt a slight twinge of sympathy for Berkk, but food washed it away. He was sleeping and resting and I would bring some of this back for him, or take him to it.

Stomach rounded, swishing inside as I walked, I decided to see what was around just one more bend before I returned.

Around the bend was something new. A stairwell leading down between rough concrete walls. And I remembered that the pipe with its contents of ground rock had gone down through the floor. Which meant its destination might be down here. Should I look? Why not? My stomach was full, caffeine was coursing through my blood—and I was very, very curious.

I went down the steps into a wide corridor that stretched away in both directions. There was a thick tubular thing hanging in the middle of it, running in both directions as well. It was made of polished metal and was much bigger than the groundrock pipe we had been following. The corridor walls were even rougher, with rock shapes under the plastering. It had been drilled and dug out of the solid rock. Heavy electrical cables hung in festoons and electronic gear was mounted on the metal tube. I could make no sense of it. I walked along it a bit and realized that tunnel and pipe were both curved. A steady, long curve that remained the same. I walked on and the curve, the radius, never changed. If it stayed like this it would eventually form an immense circle and I would be back where I started. A circular tunnel with a circular pipe in the middle of it. It seemed familiar and—

There was the sound of footsteps coming towards me along the tunnel. Time to leave—but they stopped. Leave, Jim, leave, while you are still in one piece!

Any sensible person would have beaten a hasty and silent retreat and saved curiosity for another day. I have always thought of myself as a sensible person.

Then why was I easing off my heavy working boots and stuffing them into my jacket? For what sane reason was I tiptoeing forward, trying to see around the curve.

I stopped, one foot raised, frozen.

My curiosity was satisfied in a rather large way.

There, just meters away, was Professor Justin Slakey peering through a window into the large tube's interior.