'Steal Another Crystal'
There was silence in the control room. Garth was pointing his laser
gun at Varon. Miranda was waiting for Varon's reply. Omega was
working at the control panel.
'Omega knows everything,' said Varon at last. 'He can tell you
where it is. Why don't you go and bring the crystal yourself, Omega?'
'Zeron crystals are harmful to robots,' replied Omega. 'I cannot
touch a Zeron crystal.'
'At last,' said Miranda. 'At last you have told us that there is
something which you cannot do.'
'But you know where the crystal is,' said Garth to Omega. 'Tell me
and I will bring it to you.'
'I'll go and get it myself,' said Varon. 'But first, I want an
agreement.'
'What kind of agreement?' asked Garth and Miranda
together.
'We need this crystal to get us back to Earth. That's correct, isn't it?'
Garth and Miranda nodded their heads.
'But I was going to sell this crystal for many millions of credits,'
continued Varon. 'If we use the Zeron crystal to get us back to Earth, I
will have nothing. And you will be able to sell the computer you stole.'
'What agreement do you want?' asked Garth.
'You're not going to get any share of our money,' added Miranda.
'It is ours. We stole the computer.'
'I don't want any share of your money,' said Varon, 'I want
something much more valuable.'
'Tell us what you want,' said Garth.
'I must go back to Zeron.'
'Back to Zeron!' cried Miranda. 'You're mad.'
'I'm not mad,' said Varon. 'Think about it. Omega can teleport us
down into the Zeron strongroom. We can steal another crystal.'
Miranda's eyes looked cruel and greedy. Varon was not mad.
'Why only one crystal?' she asked. 'Why can't we steal one for each
of us? Then we will be the richest people in all the Universe.'
'We may not have time,' explained Varon. 'It is not easy to open
the compartments where the crystals are kept.'
'What do you mean?' asked Garth.
'Each crystal is locked in a compartment. There is only one crystal
in each compartment. And it takes time to open a compartment.'
Omega had been quietly listening to all they were saying. Now he
turned from the control panel and looked at them.
'I must warn the three of you,' he said. 'There is great danger on
Zeron. Death is waiting there for you.'
'There will be no danger,' said Varon. 'You can teleport us down
straight into the strongroom. We will take a crystal. Then you can
teleport us back.'
'We will take three crystals,' said Miranda.
'I cannot teleport you down to Zeron,' said Omega quietly.
'Why not?' asked Garth and Miranda together.
'I know that death is waiting for you on Zeron. I cannot send a
human being to his death.'
'We will order you to teleport us down to Zeron,' said Miranda.
'I have already explained to you,' said Omega. 'I am unable to obey
orders which I do not understand.'
The three humans looked at Omega. They each wanted to get
back to Zeron. Each one of them wanted a valuable Zeron crystal.
'There is something I may be able to do,' said Omega after a
moment's silence.
'What's that?' asked Garth.
'I may be able to change the controls of the teleporter,' explained
Omega. 'Then you will be able to teleport yourselves down into the
strongroom on Zeron.'
'And you will be able to teleport us back here to the ship?' asked
Varon.
'I do not think I will be able to do that,' replied Omega.
'Why not?' asked Garth.
'I think you will all die on Zeron.'
'Nonsense,' said Miranda. Her eyes were bright with greed. 'Varon
will open the compartments quickly. We will be in and out of the
strongroom before the guards know. And we will each have a crystal.'
'Good,' said Garth. 'That's agreed. We will now go back to Zeron.
We will teleport ourselves down and steal another crystal.'
'Three more crystals,' Miranda said eagerly.
'All right,' agreed Varon. 'We will try to steal three more crystals.'
Omega moved back to the control panel. A strong blue light was
shining on the screen.
'Life support systems at danger level,' said the voice of the ship's
21
warning system.
'You must hurry,' said Omega. The life support systems are
beginning to weaken. You have twenty minutes left.'
'I'll go and get the crystal now,' said Varon. 'Where's my sonic key?
I need it.'
Garth was holding the sonic key in his left hand. The laser gun
was still in his right hand.
'I'm coming with you,' he said to Varon.
'And I'm coming too,' added Miranda.
7
Omega Receives the Zeron Crystal
The three humans moved towards the door of the control room.
'Stop,' said Omega.
The three stopped and waited for Omega to speak.
'There are some things to do first. Do not bring a Zeron crystal
into this room until you have prepared me.'
'Prepared you?' asked Garth. 'What do you mean?'
'I have already told you,' answered Omega. 'Zeron crystals are
harmful to robots. You must prepare me to receive the crystal'
'And how do we prepare you?' asked Varon.
'You, Varon, are the only person who can do this.'
'Why me?'
'You have the sonic key,' replied Omega. 'You will need to use
your key. Here, in my right side, there is a small
22
compartment. You must open it with the sonic key.'
Omega touched his right side with his arm.
'Inside this compartment,' Omega went on, 'you will see a white
control switch. This switch is locked in the "on" position. You must
use your sonic key again. Unlock the switch and set it to the "off
position.'
'Is that all?' asked Varon.
'No,' replied Omega. 'When the switch is at the "off position, you
must put the Zeron crystal inside the compartment. Then you must
close the compartment.'
'And when that is done, will we have enough power to get back to
Zeron?' asked Miranda.
'We will have enough power to go anywhere in the Universe,' was
Omega's reply.
'Wait a moment,' said Garth. 'I remember that compartment.
When we stole this ship, we made the owner program Omega to obey
our commands. He opened his compartment and turned that switch
to the "on" position. And he locked it there.'
A loud humming noise came from the control panel. The blue
light on the display screen was flashing brightly.
'Danger, danger,' said the ship's warning system. Ten minutes of
power in life support systems.'
'If I do not get the Zeron crystal,' said Omega, 'the three of you
will die.'
'I don't like this,' said Garth. 'I don't trust Omega.'
'But he's a robot,' said Miranda. 'He cannot tell lies and he cannot
do harm to human beings.'
Time is passing,' said Omega. 'You must decide quickly.'
'Give me the sonic key,' Varon said to Garth.
'No, I'm not going to give you the key,' answered Garth. 'I don't
trust you. I will do it myself.'
'Don't be a fool,' said Varon. 'You can't use the sonic key. It is
programmed to my fingerprints. It will not work for anyone except
me.'
Garth stood holding the sonic key firmly in one hand and the laser
gun in the other.
'I must find a way of getting that gun from him,' Varon thought to
himself. 'If I don't kill him first, he will kill me.'
'There is no more time for argument,' said Omega. 'You must
prepare me now to receive the Zeron crystal.'
The humming noise was now much louder. The blue light on the
display screen was now flashing quickly on and off.
Garth slowly handed the sonic key over to Varon. He stood back a
little, but he still held the laser gun in his hand. It was pointing at
Varon. Omega raised his right arm away from his side.
Varon pointed the key at Omega's right side. He pressed the
button and held it firmly.
'Hurry,' said Miranda.
'Stop talking,' said Varon.
At last, there was a soft sound and the door of the compartment
opened.
Varon saw the white control switch. He pointed the key at the
switch and pressed the button. The switch slowly began to glow with a
red light. Varon held the key firmly. The red light changed to green. It
was now locked in the "off" position.
'Omega is now ready to receive the Zeron crystal,' said Varon.
'Let's get it quickly.'
The three of them hurried out of the control room. In a few
minutes they were back. Varon was carrying the small box with the
Zeron crystal inside. He opened the box and lifted out the crystal.
Garth and Miranda looked at it closely.
'It is beautiful,' said Garth.
'And it is valuable,' added Miranda.
'It was mine,' said Varon. 'Now I am losing it.'
'Hurry,' said Miranda. 'When we get back to Zeron, we will all
have one.'
Varon placed the crystal inside the compartment. He pointed the
sonic key and pressed the button. The door of the compartment
closed with a soft noise. A green light glowed on Omega's side then
faded.
'We've done it,' said Varon. 'Now, let's see what happens.