cooperation, planted him by subterfuge of surgery am ong these

  H o m olog O rg a n is m s (,4rmy R eplacem ent S im ulations). But, he

  had continued, this is not actually the case. H u m o r is a prim e defense

  of the m ind, and k n o w in g that to strip the m in d of it is to leave it

  shieldless, the A rm y and the Synthetic Biology Service have wisely

  included a charm ing dash in the m ak eup of these synthesized

  replacements for h u m a n infantry.

  T h a t had been before he discovered th at the Army and the SBS had

  tried m ightily to weed that sense of the ridiculous out, but found

  that if the H O R A R S were to m ain tain the desired intelligence level

  they could not.

  Brenner was behind him now, to uching his shoulder. “ H ow are

  you? Feel all right?”

  He w anted to say, “ I’m half as scared as you are, you dum b

  D u tch m an ,” but he knew that if he did the fear w ould sound in his

  voice; besides, the disrespect w ould be u n th in k ab le to a HORAR.

  He also wanted to say sim ply, “ A-okay, sir,” because if he did

  Brenner w ould pass on to 2911 and he w ould be safe. But he had a

  rep u tatio n for originality to keep up, and he needed th at rep u tatio n

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  to cover him w hen he slipped, as he often did, sidewise of HORAR

  standards. He answered: “ You o u g h t to look in on Pinocchio, sir. I

  th in k h e’s cracking u p .” From the other end of the squad, 2909’s

  q u ie t chuckle rewarded him , and Brenner, the m an m ost dangerous

  to his disguise, contin u ed dow n the trench —

  Fear was necessary because the will to survive was very necessary.

  And a h u m an o id form was needed if the HORARS were to utilize

  the mass of h u m a n e q u ip m en t already on hand. Besides, a

  hum an -sh ap ed ( h o m o lo g ? no, that merely m eant similar, homo-

  logical) HORAR had outscored all the fantastic forms SBS had

  been able to dream u p in a super-realistic (public o p in io n w ould

  never have perm itted it w ith h u m an soldiers) test carried o u t in the

  Everglades.

  (Were they merely duplicating? H ad all this been worked ou t before

  w ith some greater war in mind? And had He Him self, the Scientist

  H im self, com e to take the form of H is creations to show that He too

  could bear the unendurable?)

  2909 was at his elbow, w hispering, “ Do you see som ething, Squad

  Leader? Over there?” Dawn had come w ith o u t his noticing.

  W ith fingers clum sy from fatigue he sw itched the control of his

  M-19 to the lower, 40mm grenade-launching barrel. T h e grenade

  m ade a brief flash at the spot 2909 had indicated. “ N o ,” he said, “ I

  d o n ’t see an y th in g n o w .” T h e fine, soft rain w hich had been falling

  all n ig h t was getting stronger. T h e dark clouds seemed to roof the

  world. (Was he fated to reenact w hat had been done for m ankind? It

  could happen. T h e Enemy took hum ans captive, bu t there was

  n o th in g they w ould not do to H O R A R prisoners. Occasionally

  patrols found the bodies spread-eagled, w ith bam boo stakes driven

  thro u g h their lim bs; and he could only be taken for a HORAR. He

  th o u g h t of a w atercolor of the crucifixion he had seen once. Would

  the color of his ow n blood be crim son lake?)

  From the CP the observation ornith o co p ter rose on flap p in g

  wings.

  “ I haven’t heard one of the m ines go for qu ite a w h ile,” 2909 said.

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  Planfejt Engineering

  T h en there came the p h o ny-sounding bang that so often d u rin g the

  past few weeks had closed sim ilar p ro b in g attacks. Squares of paper

  were suddenly fluttering all over the camp.

  “ P ropaganda shell,” 2909 said unnecessarily, an d 2911 clim bed

  casually ou t of the trench to get a leaflet, then ju m p ed back to his p osition. "Sam e as last week,” he said, sm oothing ou t the d am p rice paper.

  L ooking over his shoulder, 2910 saw that he was correct. For some

  reason the Enemy never directed his p ro p ag an d a at the HORARS, a lth o u g h it was no secret th at reading skills were im p lan ted in H O R A R

  m inds w ith the rest of their instinctive training. Instead it was always

  aim ed at the hum an s in the cam p, and played heavily on the distaste

  they were supposed to feel at being “confined w ith half-living flesh

  still stin k in g of chem icals.” Privately, 2910 th o u g h t they m ight

  have done better, at least w ith L ieu ten an t Kyle, to have dropped that

  appro ach and played u p sex. He also got the im pression from the

  p ro p ag an d a that the Enemy th o u g h t there were far m ore h u m an s in

  the cam p th an there actually were.

  Well, the A rm y—w ith far better o p p o rtu n ities to k n o w —was

  w rong as well. W ith a few key generals excepted, the Army th o u g h t

  there were only tw o __

  H e had m ade the All-American. H ow long ago it seemed. No

  coach, no sportsw riter had ever com pared his stocky, m uscular

  physique w ith a HORAR’s. And he had m ajored in jo u rn alism , had

  been am bitious. H ow m any men, w ith a little surgical help, could

  have passed here?

  “T h in k it sees an y th in g ?” he heard 2911 ask 2909. T hey were

  looking upw ard at the “ b ird ” sailing overhead.

  T h e o rnithocopter could do everything a real bird could except lay

  eggs. It could literally land on a strand of wire. It could ride therm als

  like a vulture, an d dive like a hawk. A nd the bird-m otion of its w ings

  was w onderfully efficient, saving pow er-plant w eight that could be

  used for zoom-lenses and telecameras. He wished he were in the CP

  w atching the m o n ito r screen w ith L ieu ten an t Kyle instead of standing

  w ith his face a scant foot above the m ud (they had tried stalked eyes

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  like a crab ’s in the Everglades, he rem em bered, bu t the stalks had

  become infected by a fu n g u s ...).

  As th o u g h in answer to his wish, 2900 called, “Show some snap

  for once, 2910. H e says He wants us in the C P .”

  W hen he him self th o u g h t He, H e m eant God; but 2900 m eant

  L ieu ten an t Kyle. T h a t was why 2900 was a p lato o n leader, no doubt;

  th at an d the irratio n al prestige of a ro u n d num ber. H e clim bed out

  of the trench an d followed him to the CP. T hey needed a

  co m m u n icatin g trench, but that was som ething there h a d n ’t been

  tim e for yet.

  B renner had som eone (2788? looked like him , but he co u ld n ’t be

  certain) dow n on his table. Shrapnel, probably from a grenade.

  B renner did no t look u p as they came in, bu t 2910 could see his face

  was still w hite w ith fear alth o u g h the attack had been over for a full

  q u arte r of an hour. He and 2900 ignored the SBS m an an d saluted

  L ieu ten a n t Kyle.

  T h e com pany com m ander smiled. “ Stand at ease, HORARS.

  Have any trouble in your sector?”

  2900 said, “ No, sir. T h e lig h t m achine g u n got one g ro u p of three

  an d 2910 here knocked off a g ro u p of two. N ot m uch of an attack

  on o u r front, sir.”

  L ieu ten an t Kyle nodded. “ I th o u g h t your plato o n had the easiest

  tim e of it, 2900, and th a t’s why I ’ve picked you to ru n a patrol for

  me this m o rn in g .”

  “ T h a t’s fine w ith us, sir.”

  “ You’ll have P inocchio, and I th o u g h t you’d w ant to go yourself

  an d take 2910’s g a n g .”

  He glanced at 2910. “ Your squad still at full strength?”

  2910 said, “ Yes, sir,” m aking an effort to keep his face im passive.

  He w anted to say: I sh o u ld n ’t have to go on patrol. I ’m h u m an as

  you are, Kyle, an d p a tro llin g is for things grow n in tubes, things

  fleshed o u t aro u n d m etal skeletons, things w ith no fam ily and no

  childhood behind them.

  T h in g s like my friends.

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  Plan[e]t Engineering

  He added, “ We’ve been the luckiest squad in the com pany, sir.’’

  “ Fine. L et’s hope your luck holds, 2910.” Kyle’s attention

  switched back to 2900. “I ’ve gotten under the leaf canopy w ith the

  o rnithocopter and done everything except m ake it w alk aro u n d like a

  chicken. I c a n ’t find a th in g an d i t ’s draw n no fire, so you o u g h t to

  be okay. You’ll m ake a com plete circuit of the cam p w ithout getting

  ou t of range of m ortar support. U nderstand?”

  2900 and 2910 saluted, about-faced, an d m arched out. 2910 cotdd

  feel the pulse in his neck; he flexed an d unflexed his hands

  unobtrusively as he walked. 2900 asked, “T h in k w e’ll catch any of

  them ?” It was an u n b en d in g for him — the easy cam araderie of

  anticipated action.

  “ I ’d say so. I d o n ’t th in k the C O ’s had long enough w ith the bird

  to m ake certain of an y th in g except th at their m ain force has pulled

  out of range. I hope so.”

  And th a t’s the tru th , he thought. Because a good hot firefight

  w ould probably do i t —ro u n d the w hole th in g out so I can get out

  of here.

  Every two weeks a helicopter bro u g h t supplies and, when they were

  needed, replacem ents. Each trip it also carried a correspondent whose

  supposed duty was to interview the com m anders of the cam ps the

  copter visited. T h e re p o rter’s nam e was Keith T hom as, and for the

  past two m onths he had been the only hu m an being w ith w hom

  2910 could take off his mask.

  T h o m as carried scribbled pages from the notebook under 2910’s

  air m attress w hen he left, and each time he came m anaged to find

  some corner in w hich they could speak in private for a few seconds.

  2910 read his m ail then and gave it back. It em barrassed him to

  realize that the older reporter viewed him w ith som ething no t far

  removed from hero w orship.

  I can get ou t of here, he repeated to him self. Write it u p and tell

  Keith w e’re ready to use the letter.

  2900 ordered crisply, “ Fall in your squad. I'll get Pinocchio and

  meet you at the south gate.”

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  “ R ig h t.” He was suddenly seized w ith a desire to tell som eone, even

  2900, about the letter. Keith T h o m as had it, and it was really only an

  undated note, but it was signed by a fam ous general at C orps

  H eadquarters. W ithout ex p lan atio n it directed that num ber 2910 be

  detached from his present assignm ent and placed under the tem porary

  orders of Mr. K. T hom as, Accredited C orrespondent. And Keith

  w ould use it any tim e he asked him to. In fact, he had w anted to on

  his last trip.

  He could not rem em ber giving the order, but the squad was

  falling in, lin in g u p in the rain for his inspection alm ost as sm artly

  as they had on the drill field back at the creche. He gave “At Ease”

  and looked them over w hile he o u tlin e d the objectives of the patrol.

  As always, their w eapons were im m aculate despite the dam pness,

  their massive bodies ram rod-straight, their uniform s as clean as

  con d itio n s perm itted.

  T h e L.A. Ram s w ith guns, he thought proudly. B arking “ O n

  P h o n es,” he flipped the switch on his helm et that w ould perm it 2900

  to k n it him and the squad together w ith P inocchio in a unified

  tactical un it. A nother order an d the HORARS deployed around

  P inocchio w ith the sm oothness of repeated drill, the wire closing the

  south gate was draw n back, and the patrol moved out.

  W ith his turret retracted, P inocchio the robot tank stood ju st three

  feet high, and he was no w ider than an autom obile; but he was as long

  as three, so that from a distance he had som ething of the look of a

  railroad flatcar. In the ju n g le his narrow front enabled him to slip

  between the trunks of the u n conquerable g ian t hardw oods, and the

  pow er in his treads could flatten saplings and bam boo. Yet resilient

  organics and sintered m etals had turned the rum ble of the old, m anned

  tanks to a soft hiss for P inocchio. W here the ju n g le was free of

  undergrow th he moved as silently as a hospital cart.

  H is im m ediate precursor had been nam ed “ P u n c h ,” apparently in

  the sort of sim pering depreciation w hich found “ S h illelag h ”

  acceptable for a w ar rocket. “ P u n c h ” — a bust in the m outh.

  But P unch, w hich like P inocchio had possessed a com puter brain

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  Plan[e]t Engineering

  and no need of a crew (or for th at m atter room for one except for

  an exposed vestigial seat on his deck), had required wires to

  com m unicate w ith the infantry aro u n d him . R adio h ad been tried,

  but the problem s posed by static, jam m in g , an d o u trig h t enemy

  forgery of instructions had been too m uch for P u nch.

  T h en an im proved m odel had done away w ith those wires and

  some im aginative officer had rem em bered that “ Mr. P u n c h ” had

  been a knockabout m ario n ette—and the wireless im provem ent was

  suddenly very easy to nam e. But, like P u n ch an d its fairy-tale

  namesake, it was vulnerable if it w ent ou t into the w orld alone.

  A brave m an (and the Enemy had m any) could hide him self until

  P inocchio was w ith in to u ch in g distance. A nd a w ell-instructed

  one could then place a h an d grenade or a bottle of gasoline

  where it w ould destroy him . P in o c ch io ’s three-inch-thick arm or

  needed the protection of flesh, an d since he cost as m uch as a sm all

  city and could (if properly protected) fight a regim ent to a stand, he

  got it.

  Tw o scouts from 2910’s squad preceded him th ro u g h the jungle,

  form ing the p o in t of the diam ond. Flankers moved on either side of

  him “ beating the b u sh ” and, w hen it seemed advisable, firing a

  p attern of flechettes into any suspicious-looking piece of u n d ergrow th. C heerful, reliable 2909, the assistant squad leader, w ith one other HORAR formed the rear guard. As patrol leader 2900’s

  position was behind Pinocchio, an d as squad leader 2910’s was in

  front.

  T h e ju n g le was q u iet w ith an eerie stillness, and it was dark under

  the big trees. “T h o u g h I w alk in the valley of the sh a d o w . . . ”

  M ade tiny by the phones, 2900 squeaked in his ear, “ Keep the left

  flankers farther o u t!” 2910 acknow ledged and trotted over to p u t his

  ow n stam p on the correction, a lth o u g h the flankers, 2913, 2914, and

  2915, had already heard it and were m oving to obey. T h ere was

  alm ost no chance of trouble this soon, but that was no excuse for a

  slovenly form ation. As he squeezed between two trees som ething

  caught his eye and he halted for a m om ent to exam ine it. It was a

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  The HORARS of War

  skull; a skull of bone rather th an a sm ooth HORAR skull of steel,

  and so probably an E nem y’s.

  A big “ E ” E nem y’s, he th o u g h t to him self. A m an to w hom the

  n orm al HORAR c o n d itio n in g of exaggerated respect bordering on

  w orship did not apply.

  T in y and tinny, “S om ething h o ld in g you up, 2910?”

  “ Be rig h t there.” Efe tossed the skull aside. A m an w hom even a

  HORAR could disobey; a m an even a HORAR could kill. T h e skull

  had looked old, but it could not have been old. T h e ants w ould have

  picked it clean in a few days, an d in a few weeks it w ould rot. But it

  was probably at least seventeen or eighteen years old.

  T h e o rn ith o co p ter passed them on flap p in g w ings, flying its ow n

  search pattern. T h e p atro l w ent on.

  C asually 2910 asked his helm et m ike, “ H ow far are we going? Far

  as the creek?”

  2900’s voice squeaked, “ We’ll work o u r way dow n the bank a

  q u arte r mile, then cut w est,” then w ith noticeable sarcasm added, “ if

  th a t’s okay w ith you?”

  Unexpectedly L ieutenant Kyle’s voice came over the phones.

  “2910’s your second in com m and, 2900. H e has a duty to keep

  him self inform ed of your p la n s.”

  But 2910, realizing that a real HORAR w ould n a t have asked the

  question, suddenly also realized that he knew m ore about HORARS

  than the com pany com m ander did. It was no t surprising, he ate and

  slept w ith them in a way Kyle could not, but it was d isquieting. H e

  probably knew m ore than Brenner, strict biological m echanics