Read An Android Dog's Tale for Free Online

clandestine, unobtrusive
observer specifically required that he not draw attention to
himself. Field Ops might say he was defective. They could even
disassemble him for parts. At the very least, they would subject
him to extensive diagnosis to find out what caused his rash
reaction and then reprogram him to correct the problem. The effect
would be little different from his perspective.
    “ That wasn’t very doglike, ” the trade
android said.
    MO-126 received the message clearly, but it
took a moment for him to locate his partner visually in the crowd.
All humans still appeared much alike to him.
    He felt another human pat his head, finding
it surprisingly pleasant, but he could not let that distract him.
He needed to think of some way to justify his behavior. He just
began forming an identity and did not want to have to start
over.
    “ Um, dogs save people all the time. That
was included in my basic knowledge packet, ” he said. It was,
and the information was correct. There were several well-documented
observations of such behavior.
    “ True, but most dogs cannot leap over ten
meters into a deep, cold, fast moving river, drag someone out, and
survive. ”
    “ I could play dead if it would help, ”
MO-126 said half jokingly.
    Another villager petted him and told him
what a good dog he was. It was the sixth one since he emerged from
the water, and he found the experience strangely satisfying. Others
congratulated the trader for having such an exceptional dog.
    “ It’s too late, now, ” the trade
android said without humor. “ If something like this happens
again, just bark from shore. ”
    MO-126 tried another tactic. “ The boy
would have died if I didn’t go after him. No one else could get to
him in time. ”
    “ Probably. But people die every day, and
it is not your job to save them. Their lives are short. Few make it
to a single century. Most die before they reach much over half
that. You’ll see thousands die during the course of the project,
and it’s something you’re going to have to come to terms with.
Don’t get too attached to the primitives. ”
    The android dog did not reply, but something
about what the trader said seemed wrong, or maybe just unfortunate.
The people here seemed so, well, alive. That all of them would
shortly be dead seemed incredibly unjust. They did not deserve to
die. They did nothing wrong. They just happened to have been born
human. Was the trader saying that saving the boy was pointless
because he would die soon anyway? MO-126 found it difficult to
agree. If anything, it made saving him even more important. His
life would be far too short already.
    MO-126 shared none of these thoughts. He did
not wish to appear to be malfunctioning. “ I apologize if I’ve
created a complication, ” he said.
    “ I don’t think any harm was done, but I
have been offered good trades for any puppies you might
sire. ”
    “ I’d love to oblige, but I can’t provide
any the traditional way, and I can’t build any. No thumbs. Did you
conclude your trade with Oslan? ” He hoped to deflect the
conversation onto a topic other than himself.
    “ Yes. Some of the other primitives are
loading our gond now. We can leave soon. Did you have time for any
observations, or were you too busy being a canine hero? ”
    Okay. You’ve made your point. We can drop it
now, he thought to himself. It would be best not to be defensive,
so he simply reported what he observed. “ I saw a woman working
clay. ”
    “ Any sign of a potter’s wheel? ”
    “ No. ”
    “ Good. We’ll bring more jars and bowls
with us next time. After what happened here today, it shouldn’t be
too hard to convince Oslan that clay working is not worth the
trouble. Did you see any sign of boats? ”
    “ No, but they may be retting flax in the
river. ”
    “ We’ll bring more cloth with us next
time, too. The harvest is still underway, so we can come back in a
couple of weeks after we visit some other villages. We don’t