shepherds from
the village would be no different. Few people ever traveled farther
than ten kilometers from the village in which they were born. This
behavior suited the needs of the corporation, and its agents took
some effort to ensure that new human settlements were not
established any closer than five times that distance to existing
ones.
He proceeded down the gently sloping hill,
his nose to the ground as he followed the scent line. It continued
away from the village, going another kilometer. The olfactory trail
turned almost ninety degrees for no apparent reason. He lifted his
head to see what might have caused the wayward sheep to change
direction. In the distance, the soft pink blossoms of a wild copse
of redfruit trees stood out against dark green leaves in the
setting sun. A brook gurgled from somewhere beyond them.
He scanned the area in infrared, ignoring
the signs of numerous small animals. An abundance of birds,
squirrels, rabbits, and other creatures inhabited the shady,
well-watered grove, but he searched for something bigger.
The heat signature of a relatively large
quadruped appeared on the other side of the wild grove, and then
another. He focused on them and increased the magnification. From
this distance, their infrared images were little more that bright
orange blobs on the far side of the trees, but there was no doubt
in his electronic mind. They were sheep, including three lambs. He
watched them a few moments.
Suddenly, something passed between him and
the sheep. He refocused his visual sensors and saw a dog just
beginning to enter the trees. Where did that come from? He should
have noticed it before now, especially since four others
accompanied it. They must have been behind the small hill to his
right approaching quietly from downwind.
Few large predators were native to this
planet and most of those were aquatic. The corporation included
only smaller predators in the bio-matrix transfer from humanity’s
home planet, and those were primarily to keep down the population
of other imported animals necessary for a human-adapted ecosystem.
The transplanted fauna did include dogs. The primitives and their
dogs shared a symbiotic relationship on their home planet, so they
were deemed essential for practical purposes as well as to comply
with galactic legal requirements. None were intentionally released
into the wild, but as the centuries passed, feral packs did emerge.
The dogs currently stalking the sheep were all larger than MO-126,
with longer fur and bigger teeth. The one nearest the trees clearly
outweighed him by a considerable margin. They were definitely
hunters, and the lambs were undoubtedly their intended prey.
He stood stiffly, raised his tail and the
hair along his spine, turned his ears forward, and barked
threateningly. ‘Piss off, poop-head. I was here first.’
The pack leader responded by lifting a leg
and watering a tree. Then it stared at his challenger. This was Dog
for, ‘Yeah; you and what pack, shorty?’
MO-126 did not expect to be able to scare
them off this easily, but it cost him nothing to try. He needed to
get those sheep back safely to the village. It could save the old
woman’s life, and adding three new lambs to the flock would make
that even more likely.
The wild dogs appeared to be a family pack
consisting of a breeding pair and three of their offspring,
probably from the previous year. The largest male continued to
stare at the strange new dog in its territory, obviously expecting
him to back down. Despite the wild dog’s larger size, MO-126 could
probably best him in a one-on-one fight. The android might even
prevail against all five, but not without taking damage. Because
they were a family, challenging the leader for dominance of the
pack would be unlikely to work. Somehow, he must convince them that
tonight’s menu offered better or at least cheaper options than
lamb.
He again scanned his surroundings in
infrared and soon located something that might
the village would be no different. Few people ever traveled farther
than ten kilometers from the village in which they were born. This
behavior suited the needs of the corporation, and its agents took
some effort to ensure that new human settlements were not
established any closer than five times that distance to existing
ones.
He proceeded down the gently sloping hill,
his nose to the ground as he followed the scent line. It continued
away from the village, going another kilometer. The olfactory trail
turned almost ninety degrees for no apparent reason. He lifted his
head to see what might have caused the wayward sheep to change
direction. In the distance, the soft pink blossoms of a wild copse
of redfruit trees stood out against dark green leaves in the
setting sun. A brook gurgled from somewhere beyond them.
He scanned the area in infrared, ignoring
the signs of numerous small animals. An abundance of birds,
squirrels, rabbits, and other creatures inhabited the shady,
well-watered grove, but he searched for something bigger.
The heat signature of a relatively large
quadruped appeared on the other side of the wild grove, and then
another. He focused on them and increased the magnification. From
this distance, their infrared images were little more that bright
orange blobs on the far side of the trees, but there was no doubt
in his electronic mind. They were sheep, including three lambs. He
watched them a few moments.
Suddenly, something passed between him and
the sheep. He refocused his visual sensors and saw a dog just
beginning to enter the trees. Where did that come from? He should
have noticed it before now, especially since four others
accompanied it. They must have been behind the small hill to his
right approaching quietly from downwind.
Few large predators were native to this
planet and most of those were aquatic. The corporation included
only smaller predators in the bio-matrix transfer from humanity’s
home planet, and those were primarily to keep down the population
of other imported animals necessary for a human-adapted ecosystem.
The transplanted fauna did include dogs. The primitives and their
dogs shared a symbiotic relationship on their home planet, so they
were deemed essential for practical purposes as well as to comply
with galactic legal requirements. None were intentionally released
into the wild, but as the centuries passed, feral packs did emerge.
The dogs currently stalking the sheep were all larger than MO-126,
with longer fur and bigger teeth. The one nearest the trees clearly
outweighed him by a considerable margin. They were definitely
hunters, and the lambs were undoubtedly their intended prey.
He stood stiffly, raised his tail and the
hair along his spine, turned his ears forward, and barked
threateningly. ‘Piss off, poop-head. I was here first.’
The pack leader responded by lifting a leg
and watering a tree. Then it stared at his challenger. This was Dog
for, ‘Yeah; you and what pack, shorty?’
MO-126 did not expect to be able to scare
them off this easily, but it cost him nothing to try. He needed to
get those sheep back safely to the village. It could save the old
woman’s life, and adding three new lambs to the flock would make
that even more likely.
The wild dogs appeared to be a family pack
consisting of a breeding pair and three of their offspring,
probably from the previous year. The largest male continued to
stare at the strange new dog in its territory, obviously expecting
him to back down. Despite the wild dog’s larger size, MO-126 could
probably best him in a one-on-one fight. The android might even
prevail against all five, but not without taking damage. Because
they were a family, challenging the leader for dominance of the
pack would be unlikely to work. Somehow, he must convince them that
tonight’s menu offered better or at least cheaper options than
lamb.
He again scanned his surroundings in
infrared and soon located something that might
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