One big disadvantage to living in a glass
house, even with opaque walls, was that the sun woke the
occupants very early. Maltin threw an arm over his eyes, then
growled and rolled out of bed. As he raised his arm he
encountered a dead, foul smell that reminded him that he needed a
bath too. He just finished the thought when he heard water
running. He looked up in alarm and found a new doorway.
"Son of a bitch," he said in admiration. "A
hotel that reads minds. I want coffee and toast," he said to the
walls around him. A tray slid out of the wall. He ran forward
and found exactly what he wanted.
"I want entertainment, visual and audible," he
said.
The far wall shimmered and a dozen alien
dancers waltzed across his wall, in shimmering lace. The aliens
were very human looking, in a fairy-like way. They were thin,
beautiful, and had four fingers on each delicate hand.
"I need to tell Mili about this," he mumbled.
The view of the dancers was suddenly replaced by Mili stepping
out of a glass and gold tub.
"Hi," Maltin said in embarrassment. She looked
up slowly. A look of disgust crossed her face, but she didn't
scream, which said a lot for her reflexes. She calmly took up a
towel and wrapped it around herself.
"And what do you want, Mister Peeping Tom?" she
asked as she picked up a sonic toothbrush.
"I was going to tell you that the room reads
your mind," he said in embarrassment.
"I know that," she held up the tooth brush,
then continued brushing her teeth.
"I didn't intend to tell you now," he growled
and looked at his room.
"Then go away," she said over her shoulder and
the view faded.
"Nice body," Maltin said, very impressed with
what he had seen.
"Thank you," Mili's voice came from the walls
around him. He ducked and went into his own new bathroom.
When Maltin finished his bath, he found his
uniform still sitting on the bench where he'd left it, but now it
was clean and mended.
"I had white socks?" he said in wonder while he
held them up to admire them. "I thought they were green."
Another pair of socks, this pair in official OD green, slid out
of the wall where the white pair had lain.
"I could die happy here," he said with a rush
of emotions. A loud, annoying half-note sounded from the ceiling
for several minutes, then shut off.
"What the hell was that about?" he asked,
rubbing his ears. When he finished all his necessaries, he
grabbed his rifle left by the front entrance to find Mili
waiting.
"This place is SO strange," Maltin said,
rubbing his ears again.
"You got the "improper thought" treatment?" she
asked, smiling.
"The what?"
"I wish my dead father was here," she said
slowly and distinctly. The loud, annoying half-note sounded
again. Mili had thrown her hands over her ears before it
started.
"Gee, thanks, Mili."
"That's the improper thought warning. Whenever
you have an improper thought or request, it goes off to annoy
you."
"I noticed. How did you find out?" he finally
asked as they made their way to the stairs.
"I wished that you-know-who was here already,"
she pointed at her stomach. The alarm went off again, surprising
and deafening them both.
Maltin growled and glared, then pushed past her
and made his way down the stairs without waiting.
"We need a restaurant," Mili called to Maltin.
A yellow line suddenly lit across the floor, leading to the front
entrance.
"Look's like we've found one," he said with a
grin. Mili stopped and gasped when she saw her packs. They were
laying exactly as she had left them, but cleaned and mended.
"This place is quite a magician," Maltin said
with a rueful grin. "Leave them, they'll be safe here," he waved
them aside and took Mili by the elbow.
The restaurant was automatic, just like their
rooms. They delighted in ordering the most exotic food
imaginable, only to find that it tasted exactly like they
expected it to taste, no better or no worse. If they didn't know
how a dish looked or should taste, no dish appeared.
They returned to Maltin's room, excited, but at
a loss for what to do next.
"Mili, we're playing in this wonderland, while
the world goes to hell around us. You wanted a computer," Maltin
said suddenly, "order one."
"Yeah, great idea. I need a computer
programmed in DEC Galactic Basic, which will interface with the
functions of this city," she said to the room at large. The room
darkened and the background hum of the city dropped
noticeably.
"Whoa, something's going on. Concentrate,"
Maltin encouraged her, "think about exactly what you want. I'll
try to help," he closed his own eyes, but the thoughts he wanted
to concentrate on somehow evaded him. He gave up with a grunt of
disgust.
Mili closed her eyes and tried to visualize
circuits, programming, keyboards, and everything else that went
into a computer. The light brightened slightly, but no computer
appeared. Suddenly a woman was standing in the doorway.
"Holy shit," Maltin brought up his weapon, then
noticed the intruder was a shapely blonde in a skimpy outfit.
"Restrain yourself," the woman said in perfect
English. Maltin's eyes bulged out as he studied each delicate
curve of her body. She was one of the fairies who had been
dancing on his wall a few hours earlier. He noticed her slender
four-fingered hands and nodded to himself.
"Hey, don't worry, lady, they couldn't pay me
enough to shoot you. Who are you?"
"The interface you requested."
"What?" Maltin asked.
"She's the computer," Mili said
breathlessly.
The cold blue eyes went to Mili, and the woman
nodded. "What is it that you wish?"
"Well listen, Ms. Interface, we have ourselves
one hell of a war out there," Maltin said as he laid the gun on
his bed.
"We are aware of this. That's why we sent you
the communication."
"You sent the lights?" Mili asked.
"Yes. Since you are obviously the intelligent
one, I will interface with you," the woman said to Mili. Mili
giggled and looked at Maltin over her shoulder.
"You two go ahead and interface," Maltin said
with a wave of his hand, "I won't look."
Mili scowled and turned to the interface.
"Does the city have defenses to keep the trolls out of the
city."
"Certainly. The defenses were active when you
gained access to the city. They were temporarily deactivated to
allow you to pass."
"Thank God," Mili breathed a sigh of
relief.
"Noted."
"Can you destroy the trolls who occupy the
space around this planet?" Maltin interrupted.
"We do not destroy unless directly attacked,"
the woman said coldly.
"Neither do we, but we've been directly
attacked almost to death over the past 8 months," Maltin said as
he sat on the bed.
"Noted."
"Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Maltin
spun around to face the woman.
"Your comment was noted for future action or
reference," she said unemotionally.
"Well note this. The human race is about to
become extinct on your planet, so the only occupants will be the
trolls, and the 9-16... hey, did you guys send those things
out?"
"The automatic security devices you refer to as
9-16's are being manufactured by the Northern city. We do not
anticipate the need for mobile defenses or condone their use. We
are... were," she blinked suddenly, showing the first signs of
uncertainty, "a passive race."
"Your race is gone now," Mili said
sympathetically. "We are the only occupants of this wonderful
city. I guess that makes us the new owners," she said, looking
at Maltin for support.
"So note that," Maltin pointed at her shapely
chest.
"I... noted," she finally said, blinking
quickly.
"Hey, are you all right?" Mili asked in
concern. She moved forward and placed a hand on the woman's
shoulder. She looked at Maltin in surprise.
"She's warm. She feels human."
"Oh really," Maltin said, rubbing his hands
together with a greedy smile on his face.
"You are such a pervert," Mili said in
disgust.
"There's nothing perverted about friendly sex.
You should know that," he pointed at her abdomen with a grin.
Mili covered her abdomen protectively and led
the woman over to sit on the bed.
"What's the matter?" Mili asked in concern.
The woman blinked at Mili as if seeing her for the first
time.
"I am assimilating the new information. The
City is mourning," she said sadly.
"I'm sorry. Do you want to go to my room and
rest?"
"No, I will remain here. Staff Sergeant Maltin
is in need as well, I am designed to fulfill those needs. Sex is
a pure and wonderful form of creation, the ultimate art form,"
the woman said in all seriousness. Mili's face showed her shock.
She looked at Maltin, who was equally shocked, and a little
frightened.
"Go Mil E, I will take care of this," the woman
said in a confidential tone.
"That's Mili, not Mil E," Mili said in a daze
as she left the room. When Mili was gone the woman turned and
looked at Maltin. She turned on an instantaneous artificial
smile and patted the bed next to her.
"Oh, what the hell," Maltin said, already
ripping off his uniform.