The Thing Read Online Free Page B

immediate.
    "Pawn takes queen at knight four." Electronically manipulated pieces quivered slightly as they shuffled across the board.
    Macready's grin slowly faded as he examined the new alignment. Someone was pounding on his door. He ignored the noise while brooding over his next move, finally entering the instructions.
    Again pieces shifted. "Rook to knight six," said the implacable voice from the board's internal speaker. "Check."
    The pounding was getting insistent. Macready's teeth ground together as he glared at the board. He bent forward and opened a small flap on the side of the playing field. Colored circuitry stared back at him as he dumped the remnants of his drink over them. Snapping and popping burst from the machine, followed by a flash of sparks and very little smoke.
    "Bishop to pawn three takes rook to queen five king to bishop two move pawn to pawn six to pawn seven to pawn eight to pawn nine to pawn to pawn to pawnnizzzzfisssttt*ttt* . . ."
    Macready listened until the gibberish stopped, then rose and stumbled toward the door, mumbling disgustedly to himself.
    ". . . Cheating bastard . . . damn aberrant programming . . . better get my money back . . ."
    Carefully he cracked open the door. Heat burst past him, sucked toward the South Pole. Norris pushed through and past him, a rush of snow following like a white remora.
    "You jerking off or just pissed?" the geophysicist growled, slapping at his sides. "Why the hell didn't you open up?"
    Macready said nothing but gestured toward the still smoking board. "We got any replacement modules for these chess things down in supply?"
    "How the hell would I know? Get your gear on."
    The chess game was suddenly forgotten. Macready regarded his visitor with sudden suspicion. "What for?"
    "What d'you think for?"
    "Oh no." He started backing away from Norris. "No way. Not a chance. Huh-uh . . ."
    "Garry says—"
    "I don't give a shit what Garry says." Outside, the wind howled. To Macready it sounded hungry.
    Childs had one of the big torches out and was keeping it close to his body as he melted ice from the helicopter's rotors and engine cowling. Of all the outside jobs, melting off machinery was one of the most pleasurable. At least you could keep yourself defrosted along with the equipment.
    The wind howled around him as he worked. He glanced skyward. Despite Bennings's assurances he didn't envy whoever had to take the chopper up. No one would, unless Copper insisted. Childs smiled to himself. Plump old Doc Copper usually got his way. Because once he proposed something, none of the other macho types could very well back out without looking silly.
    He turned his attention back to the nearly de-iced copter and cut frozen water from its landing gear.
    The little cluster of heavily dressed men resembled a group of migrating bears as they wound their way through the narrow corridor leading toward the helicopter pad. They were already starting to sweat, despite the special absorptive thermal underwear. The clothes they wore were designed to be comfortable at seventy below, not seventy above.
    Dr. Copper carried a medical satchel. It was made of metal and formed high-impact plastic and could hold anything up to and including a portable surgery. Its standard color was yellow, but Copper had personally spray-painted it black. He was a bit of a traditionalist.
    Macready was studying a flight chart printed on a plastic sheet and grumbling nonstop, his own mental engine already flying over their intended route.
    "Craziness . . . this is goddamn insane . . . I don't know if I can even find this place in clear weather . . ."
    "Quit the griping, Macready," Garry ordered him. "The sooner you get out there, the sooner you're back."
    "If we get there," the pilot snorted. "It's against regulations to go up this time of year! I'm not supposed to fly again 'til spring. I'll put in a protest. Regulations say I don't have to go up in this kind of weather."
    "Screw regulations," Copper told him.