I'm trying to remember the name and author of a short story I read back in the late 1970s.
Two men land on a planet.
With the exception of one small island, the planet is covered completely by a shallow ocean only a few feet deep.
They have a robotic boat they plan use on the planet.
But when they reactivate the boat its old program is still running and it thinks they are alien soldiers who need to be transported to some long-past war on some other planet.
The robot boat ignores their commands, refuses to believe they are human, takes over, and insists upon completing its mission to transport them to the war.
It tries to feed them some sort of noxious alien "food" called "giesel".
In the end they get away by drinking water (which the robot boat believes is poisonous).
They feign death and the boat gives them a burial at sea (dumps their bodies out of the boat).
They hike through the shallow water back to the island.
Two men land on a planet.
With the exception of one small island, the planet is covered completely by a shallow ocean only a few feet deep.
They have a robotic boat they plan use on the planet.
But when they reactivate the boat its old program is still running and it thinks they are alien soldiers who need to be transported to some long-past war on some other planet.
The robot boat ignores their commands, refuses to believe they are human, takes over, and insists upon completing its mission to transport them to the war.
It tries to feed them some sort of noxious alien "food" called "giesel".
In the end they get away by drinking water (which the robot boat believes is poisonous).
They feign death and the boat gives them a burial at sea (dumps their bodies out of the boat).
They hike through the shallow water back to the island.
