asked. "The David type, theWounded Soldier--what's the other?"
"We don't know." Klaus pointed up at the wall. On the wall were twometal plates, ragged at the edges. Hendricks got up and studied them.They were bent and dented.
"The one on the left came off a Wounded Soldier," Rudi said. "We gotone of them. It was going along toward our old bunker. We got it fromthe ridge, the same way we got the David tagging you."
The plate was stamped: I-V. Hendricks touched the other plate. "Andthis came from the David type?"
"Yes." The plate was stamped: III-V.
Klaus took a look at them, leaning over Hendricks' broad shoulder."You can see what we're up against. There's another type. Maybe it wasabandoned. Maybe it didn't work. But there must be a Second Variety.There's One and Three."
"You were lucky," Rudi said. "The David tagged you all the way hereand never touched you. Probably thought you'd get it into a bunker,somewhere."
"One gets in and it's all over," Klaus said. "They move fast. One letsall the rest inside. They're inflexible. Machines with one purpose.They were built for only one thing." He rubbed sweat from his lip. "Wesaw."
They were silent.
"Let me have another cigarette, Yank," Tasso said. "They are good. Ialmost forgot how they were."
* * * * *
It was night. The sky was black. No stars were visible through therolling clouds of ash. Klaus lifted the lid cautiously so thatHendricks could look out.
Rudi pointed into the darkness. "Over that way are the bunkers. Wherewe used to be. Not over half a mile from us. It was just chance Klausand I were not there when it happened. Weakness. Saved by our lusts."
"All the rest must be dead," Klaus said in a low voice. "It camequickly. This morning the Politburo reached their decision. Theynotified us--forward command. Our runner was sent out at once. We sawhim start toward the direction of your lines. We covered him until hewas out of sight."
"Alex Radrivsky. We both knew him. He disappeared about six o'clock.The sun had just come up. About noon Klaus and I had an hour relief.We crept off, away from the bunkers. No one was watching. We camehere. There used to be a town here, a few houses, a street. Thiscellar was part of a big farmhouse. We knew Tasso would be here,hiding down in her little place. We had come here before. Others fromthe bunkers came here. Today happened to be our turn."
"So we were saved," Klaus said. "Chance. It might have been others.We--we finished, and then we came up to the surface and started backalong the ridge. That was when we saw them, the Davids. We understoodright away. We had seen the photos of the First Variety, the WoundedSoldier. Our Commissar distributed them to us with an explanation. Ifwe had gone another step they would have seen us. As it was we had toblast two Davids before we got back. There were hundreds of them, allaround. Like ants. We took pictures and slipped back here, bolting thelid tight."
"They're not so much when you catch them alone. We moved faster thanthey did. But they're inexorable. Not like living things. They cameright at us. And we blasted them."
Major Hendricks rested against the edge of the lid, adjusting his eyesto the darkness. "Is it safe to have the lid up at all?"
"If we're careful. How else can you operate your transmitter?"
Hendricks lifted the small belt transmitter slowly. He pressed itagainst his ear. The metal was cold and damp. He blew against themike, raising up the short antenna. A faint hum sounded in his ear."That's true, I suppose."
But he still hesitated.
"We'll pull you under if anything happens," Klaus said.
"Thanks." Hendricks waited a moment, resting the transmitter againsthis shoulder. "Interesting, isn't it?"
"What?"
"This, the new types. The new varieties of claws. We're completely attheir mercy, aren't we? By now they've probably gotten into the UNlines, too. It makes me wonder if we're not seeing the beginning of anow species. _The_ new species. Evolution. The race to come afterman."
* * * * *
Rudi grunted. "There is no race after man."
"No? Why not? Maybe we're seeing it now, the end of human beings, thebeginning of the new society."
"They're not a race. They're mechanical killers. You made them todestroy. That's all they can do. They're machines with a job."
"So it seems now. But how about later on? After the war is over.Maybe, when there aren't any humans to destroy, their realpotentialities will begin to show."
"You talk as if they were alive!"
"Aren't they?"
There was silence. "They're machines," Rudi said. "They look likepeople, but they're machines."
"Use your transmitter, Major," Klaus said. "We can't stay up hereforever."
Holding the transmitter tightly Hendricks called the code of thecommand bunker. He waited, listening. No response. Only silence. Hechecked the leads carefully. Everything was in place.
"Scott!" he said into the mike. "Can you hear me?"
Silence. He raised the gain up full and tried again. Only static.
"I don't get anything. They may hear me but they may not want toanswer."
"Tell them it's an emergency."
"They'll think I'm being forced to call. Under your direction." Hetried again, outlining briefly what he had learned. But still thephone was silent, except for the faint static.
"Radiation pools kill most transmission," Klaus said, after awhile."Maybe that's it."
Hendricks shut the transmitter up. "No use. No answer. Radiationpools? Maybe. Or they hear me, but won't answer. Frankly, that's whatI would do, if a runner tried to call from the Soviet lines. They haveno reason to believe such a story. They may hear everything I say--"
"Or maybe it's too late."
Hendricks nodded.
"We better get the lid down," Rudi said nervously. "We don't want totake unnecessary chances."
* * * * *
They climbed slowly back down the tunnel. Klaus bolted the lidcarefully into place. They descended into the kitchen. The air washeavy and close around them.
"Could they work that fast?" Hendricks said. "I left the bunker thisnoon. Ten hours ago. How could they move so quickly?"
"It doesn't take them long. Not after the first one gets in. It goeswild. You know what the little claws can do. Even _one_ of these isbeyond belief. Razors, each finger. Maniacal."
"All right." Hendricks moved away impatiently. He stood with his backto them.
"What's the matter?" Rudi said.
"The Moon Base. God, if they've gotten there--"
"The Moon Base?"
Hendricks turned around. "They couldn't have got to the Moon Base. Howwould they get there? It isn't possible. I can't believe it."
"What is this Moon Base? We've heard rumors, but nothing definite.What is the actual situation? You seem concerned."
"We're supplied from the moon. The governments are there, under thelunar surface. All our people and industries. That's what keeps usgoing. If they should find some way of getting off Terra, onto themoon--"
"It only takes one of them. Once the first one gets in it admits theothers. Hundreds of them, all alike. You should have seen them.Identical. Like ants."
"Perfect socialism," Tasso said. "The ideal of the communist state.All citizens interchangeable."
Klaus grunted angrily. "That's enough. Well? What next?"
Hendricks paced back and forth, around the small room. The air wasfull of smells of food and perspiration. The others watched him.Presently Tasso pushed through the curtain, into the other room. "I'mgoing to take a nap."
The curtain closed behind her. Rudi and Klaus sat down at the table,still watching Hendricks.
"It's up to you," Klaus said. "We don't know your situation."
Hendricks nodded.
"It's a problem." Rudi drank some coffee, filling his cup from a rustypot. "We're safe here for awhile, but we can't stay here forever. Notenough food or supplies."
; "But if we go outside--"
"If we go outside they'll get us. Or probably they'll get us. Wecouldn't go very far. How far is your command bunker, Major?"
"Three or four miles."
"We might make it. The four of us. Four of us could watch all sides.They couldn't slip up behind us and start tagging us. We have threerifles,