Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction
Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction
Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
New, Improved Grapes<br />
Hussein Daryadel studied <strong>the</strong> little orb he had just removed from<br />
his pants-leg, careful not to touch <strong>the</strong> short pin protruding from one<br />
side. That, he surmised, was <strong>the</strong> electrode that had just given him<br />
such a nasty shock. The sphere was yellow, with one hemisphere<br />
b<strong>and</strong>ed with black stripes, converging on <strong>the</strong> electrode. He spotted a<br />
seam in <strong>the</strong> shell, gave <strong>the</strong> gizmo a twist, <strong>and</strong> separated it into two<br />
halves.<br />
Mike Graffo swung through <strong>the</strong> hatch <strong>and</strong> drifted overhead,<br />
stopping himself with a gentle touch against a display panel.<br />
"Whatcha got, Hussein"?<br />
"Guess I'm a full-fledged member of <strong>the</strong> crew now," Hussein<br />
replied. "Unless I'm terribly mistaken, I've just been graped."<br />
Mike chuckled. "Beats some of <strong>the</strong> initiations mariners used to<br />
go through."<br />
"Oh?" Hussein replied. "Says who? This thing packs quite a<br />
punch. Nobody told me <strong>the</strong>y were rigged for electrocution. Look,<br />
see? It has a little voltage inverter on it."<br />
Mike took <strong>the</strong> tiny device. "Damn, you're right. Never seen one<br />
like that before. Usually <strong>the</strong>y're cold or wet. That's one of <strong>the</strong><br />
inverters we use to set off exploding bolts." He slapped Hussein on<br />
<strong>the</strong> back. "Congratulations, you're <strong>the</strong> first victim of a whole new<br />
tradition."<br />
Hussein eyed <strong>the</strong> device. "How's this thing work, anyway?"<br />
Mike pointed to a squat silver cylinder on one side. "The watch<br />
battery provides <strong>the</strong> power. There are four piezo fans arranged in a<br />
tetrahedron for directional thrust, <strong>and</strong> some myoelectric vanes to<br />
vector thrust for rotation. The chip's got an IR receiver, computer,<br />
<strong>and</strong> an inertial reference nanoplatform."<br />
"I could see that much," Hussein grunted. "What I really want to<br />
know is where can I get a remote control for this bloody thing?"<br />
"Oh, just execute GRAPECON on your terminal," Mike replied.<br />
"Should be pretty self-explanatory. Up, down, forward, back,<br />
sideways, pitch, roll, yaw."<br />
"I don't see a camera on it," Hussein observed. "How do you<br />
track your target?"<br />
"You have to be able to watch both <strong>the</strong> grape <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> victim,"<br />
Mike admitted, "but, hell, what's <strong>the</strong> point of graping someone if<br />
you're not <strong>the</strong>re to see it?"<br />
After his shift, Hussein re-assembled <strong>the</strong> grape, found <strong>the</strong> control<br />
software, <strong>and</strong> spent half an hour learning to control <strong>the</strong> device. On a<br />
212