Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe

by Asprin, Robert

“Are you proud?” Hosato asked.

  “What?” James raised his eyes at last.

  “Are you proud of killing two menIf you get a chance, are you going to brag about it to the Hun-​garian?”

  The boy hesitated, then dropped his gaze once more and shook his head“No,” he said softly“They were just enemies I killedThey weren't people, I guessThey were just enemies.”

  “Look at me, James,” Hosato demandedHe fixed his eyes deep into James“They were people you killedThey weren't robots that you terminatedThey were two human beings, lives with loved ones, lives with dreams-​people capable of wonderful things, as well, of course, as killing youThey weren't just ene-​mies, they were human beings.”

  Hosato slid an arm around the boy's shoulders“James,” he said"Let me tell you what my grandfa-​ther told me, the same grandfather who trained me for this workHe said, 'You must learn to kill be-​cause it is necessaryTo be effective, you must kill coldly and without hesitationBut killing is not to be taken lightly nor is it to be taken pridefullyKill as well, as skillfully as you can, knowing that killing is man's fatal flaw.'

  “That's good advice, JamesListen to it.”

  They both turned, to find Sasha framed in the door.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but I think we've got something out here.”

  Hosato clapped James lightly on the back“Think about what I've saidThere's no rushNow, go on aheadThere's something I want to say to Sasha.”

  The boy's eyes darted between the two of them, and he smiled.

  “Okay, Hosato,” he said, vaulting down off the counter“I'll tell them you'll be there in a minute.”

  “The kid looks like he'll pull through this okay,” Sasha commented, watching James's departure.

  “Sasha,” Hosato began, “we've got to talk.”

  “No,” she said firmly“It's pointless to talk about the future until we know for sure if we've got oneNow, come on and join the groupThis is important.”

  She was gone before Hosato could reply, leaving him no choice but to follow her back into the other room.

  “There you are!” the Hungarian called“For a world-​saver, you spend a lot of time goofing off.”

  “What have you got?” Hosato asked, ignoring the jibe.

  “Well,” the Hungarian said, leisurely lighting his pipe, “the problem is that Turner didn't think things throughThat's always a mistakeThere's always the temptation to let the computers do our thinking for us because they do it so much fasterIt's quicker to rough out an idea and let the machines develop it, then fine-​tune it until it does what we want.”

  Hosato writhed with impatience, but knew from ex-​perience it was useless to try to rush the Hungarian.

  “That's what Turner did, and learned the bard way the price of turning development over to machinesThey think fast, too fastAny mistake that's made is carried out before you can correct your input, and Turner made a beaut.”

  “Which was. ?” Hosato prompted.

  “He changed the 'no-​kill' programNow, he wasn't completely stupidHe gave the computer specific pa-​rametersHe gave it the capacity to kill, to defend itself. if the computer or the manufacturing units were threatened.”

  “What's wrong with that?” James asked.

  “Two things,” the Hungarian replied“First of all, he didn't define completely what constituted a threat, so the computer came up with its own definition.”

  “So when Turner tried to shut down the operation, the computer interpreted it as a threat and had the prototypes kill him!” Sasha completed the thought with sudden awareness.

  “Exactly.” The Hungarian beamed.

  “That can't be all of it, Tinker,” Hosato insisted“I wasn't directly threatening the operation when the robots took their first two tries at me. and certainly the families in the living mall weren't a threatWhat happened there?”

  “That's Turner's second mistake,” the Hungarian announced, relighting his pipe"Actually, it involves a completely different command, way back at the begin-

  ning of the projectApparently Turner was afraid of anyone else stealing his idea, so he did two thingsFust, he put a voice lock on his program terminalSecond, he instructed the computer to keep the project secret from anyone who did not enter the program from his terminalHe was very explicit, instructing the computer to guard the Secret with every power at its disposal."

  “How was it supposed to do that?” Hosato asked.

  “By giving meaningless or misdirecting information when asked,” Sasha informed him“It's a very bright computer and can be incredibly evasive when it wantsWhat I don't understand is how that affects thingsMost of the line managers put in secret preserving instructions when they start a new projectThey're paranoid that wayWhat makes Turner's instructions any different?”

  “You're right, Sasha,” the Hungarian agreed“By itself it's quite innocentThe trouble comes when you add his later order giving the computer a kill capacityNow killing is within its power, and it is to do every-​thing in its power to preserve Turner's secretSee the problem?”

  “Oh, my God!” Sasha gasped as the enormity of the situation dawned on her.

  The group sat in stunned silenceOnly the Hungar-​ian seemed unperturbed, puffing on his pipe as he continued.

  “Actually, Hosato, there's a good chance you trig-​gered all thisIt might have been better if the ma-​chines had killed you.”

  “Wait a minute-” Hosato began, but the Hungar-​ian waved him back to silence.

  “I was merely pointing out that when you escaped from the manufacturing area, you signed the death warrant for everyone in the McCrae complexThe computer couldn't be sure whom you had talked to, so to preserve Turner's secret, it simply killed everyone.”

  “Now, don't try to hang this on Hosato!” Sasha intervened“He didn't program the damn computerBesides, all of us here got away from the robots, not just Hosato.”

  “True enough,” the Hungarian acknowledged“But that was to survive the attack triggered by Hosato's earlier escapeHowever, that does raise an interesting problemIf I'm correct, the robots massacred the hu-​mans at the McCrae complex to eliminate any infor-​mation leak Hosato might have causedNow, four of you escaped from the massacreExtending the same logic.”.

  “those things will try to kill every human in the universe,” Rick said softly“All to preserve Turner's bloody secret projectMother of God!”

  Hosato barely noticed the exchangeHis mind was already turning over plans for a counterattack, analyz-​ing them and gauging their strengths and weaknessesWhether or not mankind as a whole was being threat-​ened was inconsequentialHe had indirectly been the cause of the death of several hundred innocent peopleHe was now honor-​bound to destroy the murderers, to avenge those innocent deaths, even if his own life was sacrificed in the effort.

  To the Hungarian fell the lot of traveling to Griin-​becker's Planet on a preliminary scouting missionThe others hadn't liked it, but he successfully defended his suggestionNone could challenge his qualifications as a scout in this situationPerhaps most convincing was his argument that of the five of them, he was the only one whose descriptive stats weren't in the Mc-​Crae personnel-​data files.

  His plan was simple enough-​to join one of the tour groups visiting McCrae Enterprises and make his ob-​servations in the safe disguise of a touristIt was agreed that the planning of their counterattack would wait until his return, both for the data he would bring and for his expert counsel.

  In the interim, the weary refugees were forced to find activities to occupy their leisure timeRick found refuge in the Hungarian's extensive library, losing himself for hours in the stacks of text to the point that he frequently failed to appear for mealsSasha enlisted James's aid and took advantage of the Hun-​garian's small gymnasium and firing rangeIt was still her intent to participate in the final assault on McCrae, and to that end drilled herself mercilessly to adjust to the loss of her right armShe firmly rejected Hosato's offers of a
ssistance, preferring to practice alone or with James as a companion.

  Left to his own devices, Hosato made use of the workshop to check and prepare what was left of his equipmentIt soon became apparent to him, however, that he was in actuality stalling-​avoiding a duty he was reluctant to fulfill.

  Finally, however, he could no longer ignore his conscience and reluctantly locked himself in the Hun-​garian's communications room.

  It took a while to establish contact, which was not surprising, as long-​range communications equipment was not common on Musashi, but after many relays and delays he was confronted with the holographic image of his grandfatherThe figure of the elder Hosato, elegant in a simple black kimono, appeared floating inches off the floor in a seated positionThat, coupled with the fact his eyes focused at a point sev-​eral feet behind Hosato, indicated the transmission/ receiving gear was not adjusted properlyStill, it was an incredible technical feat to have the image this clear, considering the distances involved.

  The figure motioned to Hosato, indicating a place in the air directly in front of itHosato responded, kneeling on the floor, his hands resting on his thighs.

  “You are looking well, my son,” the image saidThe voice was strong and reverberant.

  “And you, grandfather,” Hosato replied.

  He was genuinely relieved to see his grandfather in such good healthThe elder Hosato was in his nineties but he sat ramrod straightHis tight unlined face rested on a sinewy pillar of a throat that loomed up from muscular shouldersIt had been five years since Hosato had last spoken to him directly.

  “Your mother and sister have been worried about you,” the image continued“It has been many years since we have heard from you.”

  “I apologize for any distress I might have caused themSince leaving home, I have traveled far, and on the occasions I could afford to communicate with you, proper facilities were not available.”

  “We are not wealthy,” his grandfather pointed out sternly“But we would have accepted the expense of such a communication to hear from our eldest son.”

  Hosato hung his head“Though I knew this, my pride would not let me impose such a burden on youForgive me.”

  The image waved a ghostly hand“Enough of such talk,” it said“Tell me of your adventures since you left us.”

  “Most recently, I had a supporting role in a pro-​duction of Down the Alley on Tansil,” Hosato re-​sponded.

  “I am not familiar with this play,” the image stated.

  “It is a very old scriptThe story revolves around a young criminal who.”

  To a casual observer viewing the conversation, it would seem to be a normal, though prolonged, ex-​change of pleasantries, gossip, and news between father and son.

  It wasn't.

  The Hosato family, true Ninjas that they were, were very close with their secretsThey did not en-​gage in idle conversationThe fact that Hosato con-​tacted his family at all was an immediate indication that he was facing a crisis, one that either required the family's counsel or was a direct threat to the family.

  As they spoke, Hosato and the image of his grand-​father, their hands and fingers moved minutely, con-​stantly changing positionIt was not the hand signals of the deaf-​mutes or the sign language of the Great Plains IndiansIt was the Hosato family code, which had been passed along for generationsIt was drilled into all members of the family until they were able to carry on two conversations simultaneously, one verbal, which served only to cover the real conversa-​tion passing between the subtly moving handsMany people spoke Japanese, but only the family knew this code.

  After Hosato's hands had finished explaining the current situation, his grandfather immediately formed the question he had been dreading.

  “What of your companions?” the fingers asked.

  “I seek advice on how to proceed with my mission,”

  Hosato countered“I am faced with a foe that threat-​ens-​the existence of mankind.”

  “Mankind has faced many threats,” came the reply from the image's hands“Yet it still survivesYour companions constitute a direct threat to our family.”

  “The mechanic does not possess sufficient knowledge of our activities to constitute a threat,” he explained.

  “And the woman and the boy?”

  There it wasHis grandfather had now asked the question directlyHosato could no longer evade the issue.

  “I was considering sponsoring them into the family,” he stated.

  The image's hands were motionless for several moments before replying.

  “A family member may sponsor only one outsider for membership.” The fingers formed the words with a crisp abruptness“It is the law.”

  “I was hoping that under the circumstances, an ex-​ception could be made to the law,” Hosato appealed.

  “It is the law,” came the firm answer.

  “As current head of the family, it is within your power to change or modify the law,” Hosato pleaded.

  “My son,” the image responded slowly, “the laws of the family are not to be changed lightlyPerhaps if you live to succeed me as head of the family, you will realize that.”

  “I do not ask lightly now!” Hosato insisted“I only ask-”

  “You ask me to change one of the oldest laws of the family,” the image interrupted“To save you from having to make a difficult decisionI will not.”

  Hosato experienced a sinking sensation in his stom-​ach as the image's fingers continued their statement“There are two outsiders who now possess enough information about our family to pose a threat to its continued existenceYou may sponsor only one for membershipThe other must be eliminatedAs you were the source of their information, it becomes your task to carry out the missionFail in this, and you will no longer be considered a member of the familyWe will speak no more of this.”

  “My grandfather,” Hosato motioned desperately, “I would ask that you keep an open mind on thisYou yourself have said the strength of a law is in its flexi-​bility.”

  “As to your mechanical foes”-the image continued ignoring him-“if you insist on involving yourself further in this affair, remember your trainingIf faced by an enemy possessing superior strength and speed, seek a way to use that strength and speed to your ad-​vantageDo not directly oppose, but yield and add your own strength and speed to that of your enemy to create a force greater than that directed against you.”

  Hosato paid only partial attention to the image's adviceThe rest of his concentration was focused on the problem confronting himHis grandfather would not reconsider or even hear additional arguments on the subject of Sasha and JamesHe simply dictated that one of them must die, then dismissed the matter.

  “I shall remember your advice, my grandfather,” Hosato signaled.

  “Do you have any further questions or need for counsel?” the fingers asked.

  Hosato thought for a moment.

  “How many members of the family have been ex-​communicated in the past?” he asked finally.

  There was a pause before the image's hands moved in answer.

  “I do not know,” it said“If a member is so ban-​ished, all references and records of him are stricken from the family history.”

  Hosato thought for a moment more.

  “I have no further questions,” he signaled at last.

  “I fear our time for conversation draws to an end my son,” the image said, returning to the verbal line of communication“You must contact us more often, nehIn the meantime, continue to conduct yourself in a manner your family can take pride inSayonara.”

  “I will remember, my grandfatherSayonara and domo!” Hosato replied, and watched as the image faded to nothingness.

  He remained motionless for long minutes after con-​tact was broken, lost in thought.

  Could he do itCould he coldly kill either Sasha or James to preserve the curtain of secrecy around the Hosato familyOr should he openly defy his father, and in doing so face banishment from his family?r />
  He tried to weigh the consequences of each action in his mind, but they merged and ran together La a confused kaleidoscope of indecision.

  ShimattaHe had made a mistake-​a big oneThe only question in his mind was whether the mistake was taking James and Sasha into his confidence or in seeking his grandfather's advice and approval.

  Finally he shook his headPerhaps Sasha was rightIt was foolish to consider the future until it was known if there would be a futureThere was every probabil-​ity the upcoming mission against the McCrae robots would solve the problem for himIf not, he could make his decision then.

  He rose and went to join the others.

  “That's some complex!” the Hungarian stated enthu-​siastically to the group, once they had reconvened“Do you think someday my little workshop here will grow up to be like that?”

  Hosato was in no mood for humorous banter“Come on,” he interrupted“We've been waiting for your report.”

  The Hungarian waved his drink at him“And you can't wait another five minutesNot even for a few social pleasantries?” he protested“I've been back only fifteen minutes, and you-”

  “Please.?” Sasha asked gently.

  “The impatience of youth!” The Hungarian sighed“Very well, my dearFor you, I'll start.”

  For effect, he paused to light his pipe, his eyes dancing mischievously at Hosato's impatient fidgeting.

  “First off,” he began finally, “I wasn't rushing my report, because I don't have that much to addAs might be suspected from the Ravensteel reaction, tour groups are still being processed through McCrae without any noticeable changeThere are no humans in sight, but it's my understanding there never were on these toursEverything is functioning normally, and if I didn't trust you all implicitly, I'd swear nothing such as you described ever took place at the com-​plex.”

  He paused to relight his pipe.

  “Believe me, Tinker-” Hosato began.

  The Hungarian silenced him with a vague wave.

  “I believe, I believe!” he said“I was talking about what the normal eye would seeFortunately, I have better-​than-​normal eyesYou know those cameras and sensors you told me to watch for?”