"People must live here," said Hermes. "Somebody's got to be doing all that shopping and governing and research. Not to mention the residing. "
"And someone had to make all these machines and maintain them."
"Then why haven't we seen anyone?"
Kino shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they can't go outside for... for religious reasons, or it's a holiday, or maybe they all come out at night and sleep during the day."
"That doesn't sound good," said Hermes with a mechanical shiver. "I've read things about people who only come out at night. None of them cheerful."
Kino hid a smile. "Maybe it's simpler than that. Maybe nobody lives in this area of town."
"You mean, they're all in the residential area?"
"Probably."
"Then let's go there!"
Kino shook her head. "No, not today. We wouldn't get back until after dark. We may be in a walled city – an empty walled city – but I don't want to drive in the dark."
"Ah! So, you think there might be someone or something that comes out at night, after all."
"I do not!"
"I saw the way you smirked when I suggested it. You thought I was being... irrational. But now you don't want to go out after dark."
"Because I'm sleepy, Hermes. Good night." She got up off the floor and stretched.
"Already? You don't usually go to sleep this early." His tone was suspicious.
Kino went to the chair on which she'd dropped her jacket and gun belt. She removed the guns from their holsters and walked languidly toward the bed, jacket in hand.
"Hermes, when I see such a beautiful bed, such a soft bed, such a cozy bed, it makes me want to lie right down and sleep."
And with that, Kino draped the jacket across the foot of the bed, tucked the guns under the pillow, and toppled over into the billowy comforter.
"Bliss," she murmured, and was sound asleep a moment later.
"Tourists," grumbled Hermes.
Kino woke at dawn. Her clean laundry was waiting in a neatly folded pile in the vestibule. All the clothes looked like new.
She began the day by cleaning her handguns. She had named the semiautomatic that nestled against her back the "Woodsman" because she'd once used it to take down a highwayman by shooting and severing a tree limb just above his unprotected head.
The Woodsman used .22 LR bullets and the clip cast a thin silhouette. The bullets didn't have much destructive force, but the long barrel and its additional weight gave the gun low recoil.
Details like that were especially important for someone Kino's size.
Kino removed the bullets from the Woodsman's magazine, put them into a new magazine, and reloaded the gun.
The gun Kino wore strapped to her thigh was a revolver she'd named the "Cannon" because of the amount of damage it could do with each shot. It was also somewhat of an antique; its single-action hammer had to be cocked manually between each shot.
The Cannon did not use a magazine. Instead, liquid explosive and bullets were loaded directly into the cylinder, which meant reloading involved stuffing liquid explosive and a bullet into each chamber and placing a percussion cap on the back of the cylinder. When the hammer struck the cap, it ignited the liquid explosive in the chamber and sent the bullet on its way.
Kino exchanged the Cannon's loaded cylinder for an empty one and practiced her quick-draw. Afterward, she took a second long, luxurious shower.
There was a buffet-style breakfast waiting in the empty restaurant near the lobby, laid out for the hotel's one and only guest. Behind the buffet table was a machine that was part frying pan and part robot. It offered to make any kind of omelet she desired.
Kino made certain the meal was included in the price of the room. Assured that it was, she made a point of eating enough food to last the entire day. Overstuffed, she returned to her room and tumbled back into bed for a while.
When the sun had risen far above the horizon, Kino slapped Hermes awake, loaded her sparse luggage onto him, and checked out of the hotel. Following the map, they headed for the residential neighborhood, which was actually a forest – an old, overgrown forest through which many small streams burbled. The woods were filled with birdsong, and the air was moist and refreshing. The broad, paved street soon dwindled to nothing and Hermes and Kino found themselves following a narrow gravel lane.
Every so often, they passed houses, each one of the same style: a sprawling one-story home tucked back into the trees with a comfortable distance from its nearest neighbor. Kino considered approaching one, but didn't want to leave the road.
They met no one.
Kino stopped Hermes near a house that was close to the road. It looked deserted, and yet didn't in some way that Kino couldn't quite define. Deserted houses always possessed a certain chill that made her feel lonely and a little sad, but this house was different. It felt warm, lived-in, like a house in any other city or town.
They watched it for a while but saw no signs of life. Eventually, Kino decided it was rude to stare if there was someone home and pointless if there wasn't, so they drove on.
At last they reached the western wall and, after following it for a distance, pointed themselves back toward the center of the town. The forest gave way to buildings, and the road widened, returning to pavement, but they had yet to see a single person, and the only vehicle they came across turned out to be another unmanned street cleaner.
Reaching the so-called Central Government Area, Kino and Hermes followed a whim and entered one of the tall buildings, taking an elevator to an observation deck on the top floor. The elevator was glass and afforded a stunning view of the city. But there was no one in the building to enjoy it.
From the observation deck, the vista was even more arresting: the pristine, elegant buildings, the green of meadow and forest and, in the distance, the almost cloud-like white of the city walls.
Kino turned to the neighboring building. Through the spotless windows, she could see machines cleaning empty offices. She took her sniper scope from the bag on Hermes' carrier. Shifting the magnification, she examined the houses in the forest.
"That's spying," muttered Hermes.
Kino ignored him, keeping her eye pressed to the scope. She frowned. Were her eyes playing tricks, or...? "There's somebody!"
"Really?"
"Yeah. He's standing in front of a house. Just an ordinary man. He's exercising. Oh! And there's a woman – middle-aged, I think. Different house. Doing... something in the garden. Ah, she went inside. There's another house with lights on in one of the rooms."
" Can you see if there's anyone in there?"
Kino lowered the scope. "Oh, but that would be spying, wouldn't it?"
"Ha ha. Very funny."
Kino returned the scope to the bag. "1 told you there were people here."
"Yeah, it seemed as if there had to be. I mean, what's the point of all this, otherwise? But why didn't we see them?" Hermes asked.
Kino sat down on the bench that ran the perimeter of the deck. "I don't know. At first I thought they were just not used to seeing strangers... or were maybe even afraid of them. But..."
"But?"
"If that were true, then you'd think we'd see them doing things together. I mean, even if the machines give everybody an endless vacation, you'd think they'd go out to eat. Go to concerts, movies..." She shrugged. "I get the impression these folks don't leave their houses. They're completely isolated from each other."
Kino looked out from the deck again at the neat, orderly streets. It was by far the most advanced town they had ever seen and one of the most beautiful. "Why?" she whispered.
Descending back to street level, Kino and Hermes headed for the industrial district. The guide who led them on a tour of a mechanical assembly line was, himself, a machine. Kino wondered if he was a product of this very plant, rolled off the line at the end of the long, low building. She didn't ask, feeling it would be somehow rude. She did ask, however, why they never saw any humans in this town. The robot wasn't offended or angry, it simply didn't acknowledge the question.
Around dusk, Kino and Hermes returned to the hotel they had stayed at the previous night. They could have looked for a different hotel, but Kino insisted they return all the way to the eastern gate. When pressed for a reason, she mumbled something about the tasty breakfast buffet, but in truth she felt a need for something familiar.
The next morning. Kino ate too much breakfast again – or at least, it was Hermes' opinion that she had. Then, with his tank filled and their provisions replenished, they headed west, through the center of town, making a beeline for the western gate.
The sound of Hermes' engine echoed through the morning forest as they passed through the residential area. Kino didn't want to make too much noise there, but this was as quiet as Hermes got. They went slowly, trying to keep the noise down.