Just then Carol's amused laughter tinkled in the earphones. "Why, that harebrain machine thinks it's God!"
Randall started. "What?"
"I'm having a peek at its PM&R pack spill-off. It's lord and master of the universe! There's only one thing worthy of touching its pedal pad—the puppet barge. That's because the barge, being metal too, is a totem!"
The director shook his head and mumbled, "Most unusual." Then, "Carol! Can you see anything at all significant in its memory pack? Any evidence of—"
But in the next instant she screamed and lunged back away from a foot-long metallic crab that had drawn up before her.
"The Flora C&A!" Stewart made a grab for the thing, but it skirted his gloved hand and started forward again.
McAllister backed away until he came up against the outcropping beside the girl. Squirming qualmishly, he kicked out and caught the crab broadside, sending it skittering back.
Then he shouted in pain and gripped his instep with both hands. "My foot! It's broken!"
But, a moment later, Stewart was certain the injury was negligible, judging from the adequate support the foot provided in McAllister's sprint for the Photon.