Einstein Dog by Craig Spence Page A

inevitable tincture of sadness. Dogs know too much of the world’s undercurrent. They smell things and hear things outside the range of human senses. Theirs is a world troubled by shadows people never see, and it was from those shadows that Libra sought protection, not for herself but for her pups.
    Promise me, she insisted.
    I promise, he vowed, holding her gaze . I will never let anything happen to your pups, Libra.
    She lay her head down and sighed.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Elaine was saying.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œYou can touch them. Libra knows you. She won’t mind.”
    She and Ariel were both staring. How long had he been communicating with Libra? Long enough for them to notice, obviously. He laughed nervously. “Oh yeah,” he said, reaching down and stroking the downy fur of one of Libra’s pups. How indescribably soft! The dog yelped, but after sniffing his finger, settled back into sleep, nuzzling its littermate to get comfortable.

    Hindquist smiled, something he did not often do. This was a red-letter day. A giant red-letter day. The SMART dogs had been born, they’d all survived and one could reasonably presume they would live to maturity.
    Then what?
    His grin wilted ever so slightly, twisting into something resembling a grimace. Seeing this, Charlie Gowler’s cheerful countenance sagged, too. “What’s wrong Boss?” he asked.
    â€œThere’s nothing wrong, Charlie,” Hindquist said, flashing his most dangerous grin. “Do you think there’s something wrong?”
    â€œNo, Boss.”
    â€œWhat about you, Bob? Is there anything out of sorts in your little world?”
    â€œNo, Mr. Hindquist.” The younger Gowler did his best to blend in with the furniture.
    â€œAnd you, Doctor Molar?”
    The doctor shook his head, denying vigorously even the possibility of a flaw in his day.
    â€œGood!” Hindquist rubbed his hands together. “Then we can get on with Phase II of our little enterprise: the Acquisition Phase. You will all have key roles to play.”
    They watched warily from their seats around his board room table. He’d outlined the operation in previous meetings, but the time had come for step-by-step analysis and “tasking”, as Hindquist called it. Each of them would be given the precise information necessary to carry out his role, but only Hindquist would have the ‘big picture’, which involved the machinations of The Global Council.
    He frowned. Sometimes he wondered if he had the complete picture himself. Were Vladimir and the other Council members keeping something from him? Why were they so pig-headed when it came to the SMART project? They’d seen footage of Libra outwitting Bob Gowler in Campus Wood; the research data from Professor Smith’s computer projected intelligence measures right off the scale for Libra’s pups.
    What more did they need?
    The Gowler brothers and Doctor Molar watched nervously as Hindquist pondered. They didn’t like his dark moods.
    â€œHow is the K-Pack development coming along?” he asked suddenly.
    â€œVery well,” Dr. Molar said. “We are working on two models: one we’re calling the Combat Pack, the other the Spy Pack. The Combat Pack incorporates command-and-control technology into a bullet-proof vest and helmet. It will offer complete two-way communication, video reconnaissance, a full range of weapons, and real time tracking of the animal’s vital signs. The unit’s armor will be explosive, so the animal can be used as a weapon or destroyed if there is any risk of capture.”
    â€œImpressive!” Hindquist enthused.
    â€œThe Spy Pack retains many of the command-and-control functions, but the dog will be able to operate covertly. We have modified some of our miniaturized technology for implanting. The prototypes have been tested on lab animals and work well. A SMART dog rigged up this way could be in constant