Deathstalker 08 - Deathstalker Coda

you? Where do you come from? And why have the Illuminati got themselves so worked up over you?”
    Owen had to grin at the series of perfectly artless questions. “I am Owen Deathstalker, a traveler in time. I’m from your future. Don’t ask me exactly how far ahead; I’ve rather lost track of dates.”
    Hellen looked at him, wide-eyed and openmouthed. “I should have known the Illuminati wouldn’t get so excited over just anybody. A time traveler! That is just so . . . What a year this has been! First contact with aliens, and a time traveler! I may hyperventilate.”
    “Don’t ask me about the future,” said Owen. “I’m new to this whole time travel thing, but I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to talk about things like that.”
    “I’m just delighted to find out Humanity has a future,” said Hellen. “Sometimes you have to wonder . . . Can you tell me anything about what it’s like, where you come from?”
    “It’s . . . colorful,” said Owen. “Yes, definitely colorful. You said your robots weren’t very efficient. So why build them?”
    Hellen smiled, acknowledging the change of subject. “We built robots because we wanted to. Because we’ve always wanted to. Our scientific romances were always full of machine servants, in the shape of men. Besides, we like having servants, or maybe even slaves. Robots can be both, without any of the concomitant guilt. Some people say we let the robots do too much for us these days, that we’ve become soft and weak and far too dependent on them. Maybe. But life’s hard enough; you have to take your comforts where you can find them.
    “After the robots, we built improved animals. That’s a much better story. We took the animals we loved most, and made them intelligent, and finally equal citizens. Horses and dogs and cats came first, because we’d always liked them the most. We did it to the monkeys too, but they turned out to be ungrateful little shits. They’ve got their own city now, and throw their shit at tourists. And we did offer to do it to the whales and dolphins, but they said they were quite happy as they were, thank you very much. Of course, some people were rather surprised when the animals turned out to have wills and opinions of their own, and were more interested in being partners than pets. Idiots. That was the point. Would you like to meet some?”
    “Love to,” said Owen, fascinated by the thought of intelligent animals. “We do have horses and dogs and cats in my time, but mostly just out on the border worlds, and none of them are intelligent. Or if they are, they’re keeping really quiet about it.”
    “Then I guess the experiment didn’t work out after all,” Hellen sighed. “Such a pity. Let’s try one of the dogs. Cats can be a bit snotty with strangers, and horses always want to talk philosophy. Dogs always have time to talk to a human. But be warned: dogs are still dogs—they love goofing off.”
    She led Owen out of the park. Lucifer stayed behind. He’d gone very quiet since he landed. Owen and Hellen ended up talking to a large black and white spotty dog that sat at the edge of the street, having a very thorough and satisfying scratch. He broke off to have a good sniff at Owen.
    “Hello, Hellen,” he said, in a deep growly voice. “Who’s the rube? He smells funny.”
    “Such manners, Sparky,” Hellen scolded him, but still unable to keep the fondness out of her voice. “This is Owen. He’s just visiting.”
    “Oh, a tourist. Nice to meet you, Owen; welcome to the city, don’t steal anything, and no I don’t pose for photos.” He cocked his head to one side. “You really do smell different. Wrong. Not entirely human. Are you a threat? I may be civilized now, but I can still bite off your bits and gargle with your testicles.”
    “I’m no threat,” Owen assured the dog solemnly. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
    The dog wagged his tail dubiously. “Well, I can hear the truth in your voice, but still—you watch yourself. Hellen is a good sort, but far too trusting. People take advantage of her, and not just people either. I wouldn’t hang around with those fairy aliens if you paid me. They talk crap and their smell puts my teeth on edge. I just know they’d love to put a collar on me, the bastards.”
    “Do the people of this city treat you right?” said Owen.
    The dog shrugged. “More or less. I think we’d all be a lot happier if humans did a little less talking and lot more throwing