excepted, as well.

  T h e scouts had reported that they could see the sluggish ju n g le

  stream they called the creek w hen L ieu ten an t Kyle’s voice came over

  the phones again. As routinely as he had delivered his m ild rebuke to

  2900 he announced, “S ituation Red here. An ap p a ren t battalion-level

  attack h ittin g the N orth Point. L et’s suck it back in, p a tro l.”

  P inocchio swiveled 180 degrees by locking his right tread, and the

  squad turned in a clockwise circle around him . Kyle said distantly,

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  “T h e recoillesses d o n ’t seem to have found the range yet, so I ’m

  go in g ou t to give them a hand. Mr. Brenner w ill be h o ld in g dow n

  the radio for the next few m in u te s.”

  2900 transm itted, “ We’re on o u r way, sir.”

  T h e n 2910 saw a burst of au tom atic w eapons fire cut his scouts

  down. In an instant the ju n g le was a p an d e m o n iu m of sound.

  P in o cch io ’s radar had traced the bullets back to their source and

  his m ain arm am ent slam m ed a 155mm shell at it, but crossfire was

  suddenly slicing in from all aro u n d them . T h e bullets striking

  P in o cch io ’s turret screamed away like dam ned souls. 2910 saw

  grenades arc out of now here and som ething struck his th ig h w ith

  terrible force. H e m ade him self say, “ I ’m hit, 2909; take the s q u a d ,”

  before he looked at it. M ortar shells were d ro p p in g in now and if his

  assistant acknowledged, he did no t hear.

  A bit of jagged m etal from a grenade o r a m o rtar ro u n d had laid

  the thigh open, but apparently missed the big artery su p p ly in g the

  lower leg. T here was no spurt, only a rap id w elling of blood, and

  shock still held the injury num b. Forcing him self, he pulled ap art

  the lips of the w ound to m ake sure it was clear of foreign m atter. It

  was very deep but the bone was not broken; at least so it seemed.

  Keeping as low as he could, he used his trench knife to cut away

  the cloth of his trousers leg, then rigged a to u rn iq u e t w ith his belt.

  His aid packet contained a pad of gauze, and tape to hold it in place.

  W hen he had finished he lay still, h o ld in g his M-19 and looking for

  a spot where its fire m ight do som e good. P inocchio was firing his

  turret m achine g u n in ro u tin e bursts, sanitizing likely-looking

  patches of jungle; otherw ise the fight seemed to have q uieted down.

  2900’s voice in his ear called, “ Wounded? We got any w ounded?”

  H e m anaged to say, “ Me. 2910.” A HORAR w ould feel som e pain,

  but not nearly as m uch as a m an. He w ould have to fake the insensitivity as best he could. Suddenly it occurred to him that he w ould be invalided out, w ould not have to use the letter, and he was glad.

  “ We th o u g h t you bought it, 2910. G lad y o u ’re still a ro u n d .”

  T h en B renner’s voice cu ttin g th ro u g h the transm ission ju m p y

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  w ith panic: “We’re being overrun here! Get the P inocchio back at

  once.”

  In spite of his p ain 2910 felt contem pt. O nly B renner w ould say

  “the P inocchio.” 2900 sent, “ C om ing, sir,” and unexpectedly was

  stan d in g over him , liftin g him up.

  H e tried to look aro u n d for the squad. “ We lose m any?”

  “ Four dead and y o u .” Perhaps no other h u m an w ould have

  detected the pain in 2900's harsh voice. “ You c a n ’t walk w ith that,

  can you?”

  “ I co u ld n ’t keep u p .”

  “ You ride P inocchio th en .” W ith su rp risin g gentleness the

  plato o n leader lifted him in to the little seat the robot ta n k ’s director

  used w hen road speeds m ade ru n n in g im practical. W hat was left of

  the squad formed a skirm ish line ahead. As they began to trot

  forw ard he could hear 2900 calling, “ Base camp! Base camp! W h at’s

  your situation there, sir?”

  “ L ieu ten an t Kyle’s dead,” B renner’s voice came back. “3003 ju st

  came in and told me Kyle’s dead!”

  “ Are you holding?”

  “ I d o n ’t know .” More faintly 2910 could hear him asking, “Are

  they holding, 3003?”

  “ Use the periscope, sir. O r if it still works, the b ird .”

  Brenner chattered, “ I d o n ’t know if w e’re h o ld in g or not. 3003 was

  hit and now he’s dead. I d o n ’t th in k he knew anyway. You’ve got to

  h u rry .”

  It was contrary to regulations, but 2910 flipped off his helm et

  p h o n e to avoid hearin g 2900’s p atien t reply. W ith Brenner no longer

  gibbering in his ears he could hear not too distantly the sound of

  explosions w hich m ust be com ing from the cam p. Sm all-arm s fire

  m ade an alm ost incessant buzz as a background for the whizz—

  bang! of incom ing shells an d the co u g h in g of the c a m p ’s ow n

  m ortars.

  T h en the ju n g le was past an d the cam p lay in front of them.

  Geysers of m ud seemed to be eru p tin g from it everywhere. T h e squad

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  broke into a full run, and even w hile he rolled, P inocchio was firing

  his 155 in su p p o rt of the camp.

  They faked us out, 2910 reflected. His leg throbbed p ain fu lly but

  distantly and he felt light-headed and dizzy — as th o u g h he were an

  o rnithocopter hovering in the misty rain over his ow n body. W ith

  the light-headedness came a strange clarity of m ind.

  T hey faked us out. T hey got us used to little probes th at p u lled off

  at sunrise, and then w hen we sent P inocchio ou t they were g o in g to

  am bush us and take the cam p. It suddenly occurred to him that he

  m ig h t find him self still on this exposed seat in the m iddle of the

  battle; they were already ap p ro ach in g the edge of the m ine field, and

  the HORARS ahead were m oving into squad co lu m n so as no t to

  overlap the edges of the cleared lane. “W here are we going,

  P inocchio?” he asked, then realized his phone was still off. He

  reactivated it and repeated the question.

  P inocchio droned, “ In ju red HORAR personnel will be delivered

  to the C om m and Post for Synthetic Biology Service a tte n tio n ,”

  bu t 2910 was no longer listening. In front of them he could

  hear w hat sounded like fifty bugles sig n alin g for an o th er Enem y

  attack.

  T h e south side of the trian g u lar cam p was deserted, as th o u g h the

  rem ainder of their p latoon had been called away to reinforce the First

  and Second; but w ith the sw eeping illogic of w ar there was no

  Enemy where they m ight have entered unresisted.

  “ R equest assistance from Synthetic Biology Service for injured

  HORAR personnel,” P inocchio was saying. T a lk in g did not

  interfere w ith his firing the 155, but w hen Brenner did not com e out

  after a m inute or more, 2910 m anaged to sw ing him self dow n,

  catching his w eight on his good leg. P inocchio rolled away at once.

  T h e CP bunker was twisted ou t of shape, an d he could see where

  several near-misses had come close to knocking it o u t com pletely.

  B renner’s w hite face appeared in the doorw ay as he was ab o u t to go

  in. “W h o ’s that?”

  “2910. I ’ve been h i t— let me come in and lie d o w n .”

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  “T hey w o n ’t send us an air strike. I radioed for one an d they say

  this w hole p art of the co u n try ’s socked in; they say they w o u ld n ’t be

  able to find u s.’’

  “ Get ou t of the door. I ’m hit and I w ant to come in and lie

  d o w n .” At the last m om ent he rem em bered to add, “ S ir.”

  Brenner moved reluctantly aside. It was dim in the bunker but not

  dark.

  “ You w ant me to look at that leg?”

  2910 had found an em pty stretcher, and he laid him self on it,

  m oving aw kwardly to keep from flexing his w ound. “ You d o n ’t

  have to,” he said. “ L ook after some of the o th ers.” It w o u ld n ’t do

  for Brenner to begin p o k in g around. Even rattled as he was he m ight

  notice som ething.

  T h e SBS m an w ent back to his radio instead. H is frantic voice

  sounded rem ote and faint. It was ecstasy to lie down.

  At some vast distance, voices were succeeding voices, argum ent

  m eeting argum ent, far off. He w ondered where he was.

  T h en he heard the guns an d knew. He tried to roll onto his side

  and at the second attem pt m anaged to do it, a lth o u g h the

  light-headedness was worse than ever. 2893 was lying on the stretcher

  next to him , and 2893 was dead.

  At the other end of the room , the end that was technically the CP,

  he could hear B renner talk in g to 2900. “ If there were a chance,”

  Brenner was saying, “ you know I ’d do it, P lato o n L eader.”

  “ W h at’s h ap p en in g ?” he asked. “ W h at’s the m atter?” H e was too

  dazed to keep up the HORAR role well, but neither of them noticed.

  “ It’s a d ivision,” B renner said. “ A w hole Enemy division. We ca n ’t

  h o ld off that kind of force.”

  H e raised him self on his elbow. “ W hat do you m ean?”

  “I talked to th e m ...I raised them on the radio, and it’s a w hole

  division. They got one of their officers w ho could speak E nglish to

  talk to me. T hey w ant us to surrender.”

  “T hey say it’s a division, sir,” 2900 put in evenly.

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  2910 shook his head, trying to clear it. “ Even if it were, w ith

  P in o c c h io ... ”

  “T h e P in o cch io ’s gone.”

  2900 said soberly, “ We tried to counterattack, 2910, an d they

  knocked P inocchio out and threw us hack. H ow are you feeling?”

  “T h e y ’ve got at least a d ivision,” Brenner repeated stubbornly.

  2910’s m in d was racing now, but it was as th o u g h it were ru n n in g

  endless w ind sprints on a treadm ill. If Brenner were go in g to give up,

  2900 w ould never even consider disobeying, no m atter how m u ch he

  m ight disagree. T here were various ways, though, in w hich he could

  convince Brenner he was a h u m an b ein g —given time. A nd Brenner

  could, Brenner w ould, tell the Enemy, so that he too w ould be saved.

  Eventually the w ar w ould be over and he could go hom e. N o one

  w ould blam e him . If B renner were g o in g —

  Brenner was asking, “ H ow m any effectives left?”

  “ Less than forty, sir.” T here was n o th in g in 2900’s tone to

  indicate that a surrender m eant certain death to him , but it was true.

  T h e Enem y took only h u m an prisoners. (C ould 2900 be convinced?

  C ould he m ake any of the H O R A R S understand, w hen they had

  eaten and joked w ith him , knew no physiology, and th o u g h t all m en

  not Enemy demigods? W ould they believe him if he were to try to take

  command?)

  H e could see Brenner g n aw in g at his lower lip. “ I ’m goin g to

  surrender,” the SBS m an said at last. A big one, m o rtar or

  bom bardm ent rocket, exploded near the CP, but he appeared not to

  notice it. T here was a w ondering, hesitant note in his voice—as

  th o u g h he were still trying to accustom him self to the idea.

  “ Sir — ” 2900 began.

  “ I forbid you to question my orders.” T h e SBS m an sounded

  firm er now. “ But I'll ask them to m ake an exception this time,

  Platoon Leader. N ot to d o ,” his voice faltered slightly, “ w hat they

  usually do to n o n h u m a n s.”

  “ I t’s not th a t,” 2900 said stolidly. “ I t ’s the folding up. We d o n ’t

  m ind dying, sir, but we want to die fig h tin g .”

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  O ne of the w ounded m oaned, and 2910 w ondered for a m om ent if

  he, like him self, had been listening.

  B renner's self-control snapped. “ You’ll die any dam n way I tell

  you!’’

  “W ait.’’ It was suddenly difficult for 2910 to talk, but he m anaged

  to get their attention. “ 2900, Mr. Brenner h a sn ’t actually ordered you

  to surrender yet, and you’re needed on the line. Go now and let me

  talk to h im .’’ He saw the HORAR leader hesitate and added, “ H e can

  reach you on your helm et phone if he w ants to; but go now and

  fig h t.”

  W ith a jerky m otion 2900 turned and ducked ou t the narrow

  bunker door. Brenner, taken by surprise, said, “ W hat is it, 2910?

  W h a t’s gotten into you?”

  H e tried to rise, but he was too weak. “ Come here, Mr. B renner,” he

  said. W hen the SBS m an did not move he added, “ I know a way

  o u t.”

  “T h ro u g h the ju n g le?” B renner scoffed in his shaken voice.

  “T h a t’s absurd.” But he came. He leaned over the stretcher, and

  before he could catch his balance 2910 had pulled him down.

  “ W hat are you doing?”

  “ C a n ’t you tell? T h a t’s the p o in t of my trench knife you feel on

  your neck.”

  Brenner tried to struggle, then subsided w hen the pressure of the

  knife became too great. “ You — c a n ’t —do th is.”

  ”1 can. Because I ’m not a HORAR. I ’m a m an, Brenner, and it’s

  very im p o rta n t for you to understand th a t.” He felt rather th an saw

  the look of incredulity on B renner’s face. “ I ’m a reporter, and two

  years ago w hen the S im ulations in this g ro u p were ready for

  activation I was planted am o n g them . I trained w ith them an d now

  I've fought w ith them, and if y o u ’ve been reading the rig h t m agazine

  you m ust have seen some of the stories I ’ve filed. And since you’re a

  civilian too, w ith no m ore right to com m and than I have, I ’m

  taking charge.” H e could sense B renner’s swallow.

  “T hose stories were frauds— it’s a trick to gain p ublic acceptance

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  of the HORARS. Even back in W ashington everybody in SBS knows

  about them .”

  T h e chuckle hurt, but 2910 chuckled. “T h e n w hy’ve I got this

  knife at your neck, Mr. Brenner?”

  T h e SBS m an was shaking. “ D o n ’t you see how it was, 2910? No

  h u m an could live as a HORAR does, ru n n in g m iles w ith o u t tirin g

  and only sleeping a couple of hours a night, so we did the next best

  thing. Believe me, I was briefed on it all w hen I was assigned to this

  cam p; I know all about you, 2910.”

  “W hat do you m ean?”

  “ D am n it, let me go. You’re a HORAR, an d you c a n ’t treat

  a h u m an like th is.” H e w inced as the knife pressed cruelly

  against his throat, then blurted, “ T hey co u ld n ’t m ake a reporter

  a HORAR, so they took a HORAR. T hey took you, 2910, and

  m ade you a reporter. T hey im p lan ted all the m em ories of an actual

  m an in your m ind at the same tim e they ran the reg u lar

  instinct tapes. T hey gave you a soul, if you like, but you are a

  HORAR.”

  “T hey m ust have th o u g h t that u p as a cover for me, Brenner.

  T h a t’s w hat they told you so you w o u ld n ’t report it or try to

  deactivate me w hen I acted u n lik e the others. I ’m a m a n .”

  “ You co u ld n ’t be.”

  “ I'm telling you — ”

  “ People are tougher than you think, Brenner; y o u ’ve never tried.”

  “Take the bandage off my leg.”

  “ W hat?”

  H e pressed again w ith the p o in t of the knife. “T h e bandage. Take it

  off.”

  W hen it was off he directed, “ Now spread the lips of the w o u n d .”

  W ith shaking fingers Brenner did so. “ You see the bone? G o deeper if

  you have to. W hat is it?”

  Brenner twisted his neck to look at him directly, his eyes rolling.

  “ I t’s stainless steel.”

  2910 looked then an d saw the brig h t m etal at the bottom of the

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  cleft of bleeding flesh; the knife slid in to B renner’s throat w ith o u t

  resistance, alm ost as th o u g h it moved itself. H e w iped the blade on

  B renner’s dead arm before he sheathed it.

  Ten m inutes later w hen 2900 returned to the CP he said nothing;

  but 2910 saw his eyes and knew that 2900 knew. From his stretcher he

  said, “ You’re in full com m and n o w .’’

  2900 glanced again at B renner’s body. A second later he said

  slowly, “ H e was a sort of Enemy, w a sn ’t he? Because he w anted to

 

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