I looked at the back, and both battery pods were missing, and the two PFusion tubes were cracked and drained.I looked at the back, and both battery pods were missing, and the two PFusion tubes were cracked and drained. I climbed over the chestplate and tried to get in. Whoever wore this armor was a little shorter than I was, and a little heavier, but if I could find some stuffing, I could sew a new harness that would fit me. Wait a minute. I have no intention of wearing this armor. It doesn't work. I climbed back out and headed towards the other building. Horses. It was a stable, again with a robot Maintenance Unit. I asked the MU where its mistress was, but there was no answer. Damned SI, it's not programmed to respond to my voice. Oh well. There were three stalls, but only two had horses in them, one a grey stallion, the other a brown mare. Not knowing much about horses, that's all I could tell you. Except that they seemed to be in excellent condition, with good muscle tone and pelt color. They were shoed, and their teeth were whole and healthy. So what was the point of all this? Was it some sort of amusement park for suicidal Shardiks? If it was, it was a very poor job, I was not amused. So what then? The answer was right there, in front of my face. It would be some time before I figured it out, though. The pistol, the horses, the piano, the shredded powered armor, the beautiful girl. All pieces of a puzzle. Even the mountain. Time passes quickly when there's very little to measure it against other than the time of days. Of course, children grow up quickly, classes come to an end, even projects and spells have their durations, but when you're doing none of those things, but instead merely existing on a day-to-day basis, you don't notice the passage of time. |