through the claws should be early in the
morning," Hendricks said.

* * * * *

The morning was crisp and clear. Major Hendricks studied the
countryside through his fieldglasses.

"See anything?" Klaus said.

"No."

"Can you make out our bunkers?"

"Which way?"

"Here." Klaus took the glasses and adjusted them. "I know where to
look." He looked a long time, silently.

Tasso came to the top of the tunnel and stepped up onto the ground.
"Anything?"

"No." Klaus passed the glasses back to Hendricks. "They're out of
sight. Come on. Let's not stay here."

The three of them made their way down the side of the ridge, sliding
in the soft ash. Across a flat rock a lizard scuttled. They stopped
instantly, rigid.

"What was it?" Klaus muttered.

"A lizard."

The lizard ran on, hurrying through the ash. It was exactly the same
color as the ash.

"Perfect adaptation," Klaus said. "Proves we were right. Lysenko, I
mean."

They reached the bottom of the ridge and stopped, standing close
together, looking around them.

"Let's go." Hendricks started off. "It's a good long trip, on foot."

Klaus fell in beside him. Tasso walked behind, her pistol held
alertly. "Major, I've been meaning to ask you something," Klaus said.
"How did you run across the David? The one that was tagging you."

"I met it along the way. In some ruins."

"What did it say?"

"Not much. It said it was alone. By itself."

"You couldn't tell it was a machine? It talked like a living person?
You never suspected?"

"It didn't say much. I noticed nothing unusual.

"It's strange, machines so much like people that you can be fooled.
Almost alive. I wonder where it'll end."

"They're doing what you Yanks designed them to do," Tasso said. "You
designed them to hunt out life and destroy. Human life. Wherever they
find it."

* * * * *

Hendricks was watching Klaus intently. "Why did you ask me? What's on
your mind?"

"Nothing," Klaus answered.

"Klaus thinks you're the Second Variety," Tasso said calmly, from
behind them. "Now he's got his eye on you."

Klaus flushed. "Why not? We sent a runner to the Yank lines and he
comes back. Maybe he thought he'd find some good game here."

Hendricks laughed harshly. "I came from the UN bunkers. There were
human beings all around me."

"Maybe you saw an opportunity to get into the Soviet lines. Maybe you
saw your chance. Maybe you--"