Small experiences form the basis of our existence. This is calculable.

—Erasmus Dialogues

Karee Marques had departed after her visit, and Gilbertus had heard no word from Draigo Roget. The Headmaster felt very alone at the Mentat School, but he did have time for his own quiet work. He had made up his mind to take yet another risk for Erasmus.

He spoke to the independent robot’s shimmering memory core. “It has taken a great deal of effort, Father, but I have a surprise for you. I even bypassed your spyeyes to keep it a secret.”

Erasmus sounded delighted. “I have learned much from surprises.”

“It requires that you come with me.” He placed the spherical memory core into a valise and carried it outside, walking confidently to the little marina built out onto the broad marsh lake. No one asked the school headmaster where he was going.

Gilbertus boarded a small motorboat, tucked the valise under a bench, and launched the craft out onto the sunlit, greenish waters of the marsh lake. As he sped over the water, insects buzzed around him despite the electronic repellant system on the bow.

When he approached a small island adorned with tall reeds and gnarled trees, he circled to the far side, out of view from the school, and steered the boat into a narrow waterway overhung by drooping trees and vines that touched the water. The boat nudged the foliage out of the way as he slid past a muddy beach. After Draigo’s graduation and departure, Gilbertus had gone here several times, bringing components from the teaching storeroom, piece by piece, until he had assembled his surprise for Erasmus.

A concealed finger pier emerged automatically from the wall of plant life, giving Gilbertus a place to dock. He stepped out of the craft, carrying the valise, and opened the case so that the memory core’s optic threads could drink in the delicious details.

Tiny speakers projected the robot’s voice. “A new environment! Is this our destination?”

Carrying the core, Gilbertus pushed past thick, overhanging boughs, following a subtle but memorized path through the muck, until they arrived at the small wooden cottage that he’d had constructed as a private retreat. The school staff knew about his contemplation cottage, but not what he kept inside. The windows were covered, and the building well sealed.

He fished keys from his waistcoat pocket, unlocked the cottage door, and entered the one-room building. In the middle of the floor stood a battered, deactivated combat robot. “I did this for you—a new body,” he said. “It’s only temporary, but it can grant you mobility for a while.”

The robot’s voice answered after a long pause. “Very dangerous … but much appreciated. Thank you.” The simulated voice sounded a little giddy.

Gilbertus inserted the memory core into a port in the combat robot’s body, snapping the connections into place. He had already removed the mek’s original rudimentary control mind, and now Erasmus made his own new linkages. It would never be the same as the familiar flowmetal form he used to have, on which he loved to wear elegant robes and mimicked human expressions. The original Erasmus body had been destroyed on Corrin, but this would have to do for now.

Gilbertus felt a surge of excitement as the robot body began to move. The mek had been built for strength and power, not grace, and Erasmus took slow steps at first. The visual sensors activated, the speakerpatch thrummed to life, and the voice came out sounding blunt and unfamiliar. “This is … marvelous, my son.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t do better.”

“Not yet. But I have faith in you.”

Erasmus began to walk his new body around the small cottage, taking bold steps across the hardwood floor. “Some of the systems need fine-tuning, but I can perform the repairs internally.”

Taking the clumsy mek outside, Gilbertus led him along hidden trails through the marsh grasses. “This is a far cry from our casual strolls through your contemplation gardens on Corrin, but it’s the best we’ve had in a long time.”

“And our conversations can be just as stimulating.”

At their approach, an immense red-winged heron lifted off from the swampy water and soared into the sky.

“This gives you a chance to stretch your legs and remember how you were as an independent robot, but we have to be careful. If the Butlerians discovered this, they would destroy you forever.” The words caught in his throat, and he felt tears burning in his eyes. “I would never want that.”

In a pool of sunshine just offshore, two large green-and-black humps broke the surface of the water. Wary of the creatures that inhabited the marsh lake, Gilbertus took a step back from the shore, but Erasmus used the combat mek’s visual sensors. “Just paddle tortoises—I’ve studied them in the school’s science library, but there is little information available. Human biologists really should pay more attention to the diversity of this continent.”

“I’ll look them up when I get back to the school.”

The combat mek swiveled toward him. “No need. I shall capture one for study—we can dissect it together.” Impulsive and overly excited with his new freedom, Erasmus waded out into the water toward the tortoises. He sloshed his heavy body into the muck, and brown water rose to his chest.

“This is not necessary,” Gilbertus called. “The marshes here are unstable. I can’t guarantee the integrity of your body.” In fact, he had made certain the mek was not durable, just in case. And he had used a Mentat projection to predict how the independent robot would react. The lowlands around his contemplation cottage were surrounded by treacherous muck, an added security measure.

The robot lumbered into the soupy mud, intent on the slow-witted turtles dozing in the sun-dappled water ten meters from shore. The turtles raised their bullet-shaped heads and regarded the burly machine that trudged and splashed into their territory.

Erasmus raised one of the mek’s weapon arms. “The stun circuitry is not functional,” he said.

“Intentionally disabled,” Gilbertus admitted. “Remember the Butlerian requirements.”

“Then I shall capture a specimen manually.” He pushed deeper into the muck.

“Please don’t. Be content with your mobility here on the island. If you sink into the swamp, I may not be able to retrieve your memory core.” Despite the warning, he didn’t expect Erasmus to exhibit restraint.

The turtles grunted and splashed off, paddling into the morass of marsh grasses. Erasmus thrust the combat mek forward in a surge of speed, but his heavy body slowed and stopped in the quagmire. He tipped and sank, his circuits flickering. As he struggled, mud splashed in all directions.

“This body has lost its integrity!” Impossibly caught in the muck, the robot struggled, but more water leaked into the sensitive circuitry, shutting down several mobility systems.

Gilbertus retrieved a narrow suspensor canoe he stored at his cottage and, leery of predators in the water, he glided out to where the bulky mek stood mired and sinking. “It seems I have miscalculated,” Erasmus said.

“I could tell you were enjoying yourself, but obviously you aren’t ready for a new body yet.” Gilbertus reached the mek and saw with growing alarm how swiftly it was sinking in the swamp. He worked to remove the access panel, dipping his hands underwater. He saw two black ropy things slithering toward him from the shore: slick segmented leeches. As the robot’s shoulders dipped beneath the surface, sinking deeper into the slurry, Gilbertus finally removed the memory core and held it dripping out of the water. With a nudge, he glided the suspensor canoe out of the way as the ropy leeches arrived and circled the submerged mek, unimpressed with their prey.

He returned to shore, and carried the gelcircuitry sphere back to the contemplation cottage. “You overextended yourself,” he said. “I can’t risk smuggling another body away from the school—not for a long time.”

Though disappointed, the independent robot did express his excitement. “Despite the short duration, that was most enjoyable. A reminder of the things I can do once I am mobile again.”