by Isaac Asimov
“Okay, okay, I’ll take your word for it. But you think you can learn it?”
“Gradually, I will develop some ability to speak with them, yes.”
Wayne finished dressing. “Well, I guess it’s time for breakfast. Let’s go out and try it. And let’s see if we can get some local clothes this time.”
“Yes, I agree we should do that.”
When they opened the door and entered the main room, Wayne saw that it was crowded with people.
Everyone who lived in the house turned to look at them, as did as many of their neighbors who could jam inside. Everyone fell silent.
The elderly woman spoke up, pointing to the big pot of rice gruel simmering over the fire.
“Fan,” said Ishihara, with a casual nod.
One of the younger women picked up a wooden bowl and ladled gruel into it. Another woman spoke quickly to several children, who got up and made room at the hearth. Wayne and Ishihara accepted their bowls and sat down.
Wayne ate in silence, but occasionally he met someone’s eyes and smiled slightly. Ishihara, however, attempted to make casual conversation. Wayne knew that Ishihara’s ability to learn the language far outstripped his, so he did not try to participate.
He watched with amusement, however, as Ishihara pointed to different people and objects around the room, apparently learning vocabulary. Their hosts were eager teachers, especially the children. Everyone smiled with approval at Ishihara’s successful efforts to communicate.
By the time Wayne had finished his second bowl of bland gruel, Ishihara was speaking and gesturing, frequently pointing upward. The villagers nodded with guileless wonder as they looked again at both their guests. Finally the conversation came to a pause.
“What did you say?” Wayne asked quietly.
Their hosts turned to him, fascinated by hearing him speak his strange language again.
“I have made some progress, I believe,” said Ishihara. “They are more convinced than ever that we have fallen from the sky as spirits. ‘Guei’ appears to mean an evil spirit, maybe an equivalent to a demon or devil. They do seem convinced that we are not guei. By the way, all the nouns seem to be collective, without a plural. You may need to pick up a few phrases.”
“You seem to be learning the language without much trouble,” said Wayne.
“The first stage is the most difficult,” said Ishihara. “As I hear more words and more varied sentence structures, my learning curve will rise sharply. Right now I am most effective when discussing physical objects, such as requesting more rice gruel. Concepts such as spirits and demons still make uncertain communication.”
The villagers watched them without speaking.
“I want to follow up the idea we had last time — of stopping Hunter and his team first,” said Wayne.
“Do you have a specific plan in mind for our current situation?”
“Maybe. Look, if we can interfere with Hunter’s team, then we’ll have a free hand to find MC 5. When we tried that before, you and I were acting alone. If our hosts, here, will help us in the belief that we’re, uh, good spirits, maybe we can really distract Hunter this time.”
“We must handle this very carefully,” said Ishihara. “I cannot allow any actions that might harm the people of this village or the human members of Hunter’s team.”
“All we have to do is slow down the bunch of them,” said Wayne. “Send them on a wild-goose chase or divide them so that Hunter spends his time trying to gather his team again instead of looking for MC 5.”
“By involving the villagers, we increase our chance of altering history in a significant way.”
“Well … you must admit, we’ve made numerous small changes already, and so has Hunter’s team.
Nothing seems to have changed, has it?”
“You and I have not been back to our own time to see if they have had an effect.”
“Our presence in Roman Germany had not altered the front between the Germans and Soviets in 1941.
Our collective activities in the time of the dinosaurs and in Jamaica in the 16005, before you joined me, had not made any visible alterations, either.”
“Granted, but I insist we must remain very careful. Do you have a plan?”
“Yeah, I think so. Can you tell them that we’re looking for Hunter and his team, and that Hunter is an evil spirit we must locate?”
“I believe I can convey that idea,” said Ishihara. “But I cannot identify Hunter’s human team as evil spirits. Doing so might endanger them too much.”
“Then tell them that Hunter, the evil spirit, has duped certain innocent humans into helping him, and they should not be hurt. Is that acceptable?”
“I will tell them that Hunter is a good spirit who is temporarily misguided.”
“Yeah, okay.” Ishihara turned to the elderly couple and switched to Chinese. He spoke to them for several minutes, sometimes shaking his head. Finally he turned to Wayne again. “I think I have conveyed my point.”
“Are they willing to help?”
“Most of the villagers have to work in the fields. However, some of them are going to the city market with produce to sell. They have no work animal, so they have to pull and push their cart on the road themselves. We can go with them and they will help.”
Wayne smiled, nodding approval to their hosts. “Thank you.”
Several of them nodded back, also smiling. They seemed to understand his meaning just tine.
Hunter walked through the streets with his team members after they had finished breakfast, with Jane beside him. Steve and Marcia actually led, to maintain the appearance of being the hosts, but Hunter quietly told them when and where to turn. His calculations indicated that MC 5 would probably return to full size somewhere within several particular blocks, rather than on the street, but the margin of error was too large to be certain. These blocks were similar to the ones near the inn — full of small shops and open-air eateries, with peddlers pushing carts up and down the street.
“Jane.” Hunter spoke in English. Since they were masquerading as foreigners anyway, being overheard here would not matter. “How do you think MC 5 might have behaved here if he has already returned to full size?”
“Well, these shops have all kinds of stuff, including clothes. He may find something to wear without too much trouble. After that, I don’t know. I know that his specialty in Mojave Center was administration of the city.”
“Do you think he might move toward the center of government administration here?”
“It would be a logical move for him,” said Jane. “But I don’t know exactly what that would mean in this society. He’d have to figure that out, too.”
“Marcia.” Hunter stopped walking. Steve and Marcia turned and joined Jane. “Do I understand that the center of government here is ultimately Kublai Khan himself?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” said Marcia. “He is surrounded by a huge Chinese bureaucracy, but he is the final authority. In fact —”
“Jane,” Hunter interrupted, turning to her. “Jane, would the imperatives of the Laws of Robotics impel MC 5 to seek out Kublai Khan?”
“That’s hard to say,” Jane said thoughtfully. “Well, let me think out loud for a moment. I was thinking that his own programming as a specialist in city administration would draw him in that direction. But of course, his underlying motive under the First Law would be to lessen the harm to humanity by improving the quality of government.”
“What else might he do?” Hunter asked.
“Well, he could get caught up in more mundane First Law activities, I suppose.”
“Huh? Like what?” Steve asked.
“Such as helping laborers avoid accidents. Or stopping fights he happens to see. Any sort of individual incident that might attract his attention.”
“Sounds to me like we should start spreading the word, like I suggested before,” said Steve. “Once we’ve offered a small reward to anyone who leads us to MC 5, we can just take casual str
olls up and down the streets.”
“I agree,” said Hunter. “You and Marcia will pick the people to approach.”
Steve glanced at Marcia. “Let’s get started.”
“Excellent,” said Marcia. “I suggest we offer a graduated system of rewards. To most people on the street, a single copper is worth enough to get their attention. Suppose we offer one copper for someone who reports a sighting of MC 5, two for someone who can lead us to him, and three for someone who brings him to us. If they bring him soon —”
“Hold it, will you?” Steve demanded. “Why do you have to make it so complicated? We can just —”
“Make it up as we go along?” Marcia raised one eyebrow haughtily. “Maybe you’re offended that I’m developing your own precious idea.”
Startled, Steve fumbled for something to say.
“Please proceed,” said Hunter. “Both of you.”
6
THE VILLAGERS HAD already postponed their normal routine in order to visit the good spirits who had graced their village. Wayne urged Ishihara to explain that they wanted to dress as fellow villagers for their walk into Khanbaliq. The villagers seemed amused and honored by this request.
Two men agreed to work in the fields bare to the waist so their guests could wear their shirts and hats.
After some consultation, a couple of women reluctantly brought out some old, tattered pants that had been discarded even by the peasants. Ishihara assured them that these clothes were sufficient, and the two of them changed clothes in their room.
Wayne was willing to go barefoot like the peasants, but Ishihara refused to allow this under the First Law. Instead, Ishihara borrowed a knife and cut both pairs of boots he had prepared for Roman Germany down into a sort of makeshift shoes. Then they joined the small group of peasants making the journey into the city. The strongest and healthiest men and women of the village returned to work in the fields for the day.
Lao Li, the village elder in whose house they had stayed, led the others to Khanbaliq. Most of the other peasants who accompanied them were elderly, too, except for Lao Li’s twelve-year-old grandson, Xiao Li. Ishihara told Wayne that “Lao,” which meant “old,” and “Xiao,” meaning “little,” were common honorific nicknames.
Wayne walked in silence, of course, since no one but Ishihara could understand him. The robot talked with the villagers, often with everyone waving, gesturing, and sometimes laughing as they tried to communicate. Ishihara was learning the language as fast as he could.
As they finally drew near the walls of the city, Ishihara turned to Wayne. “I am making good progress now. One of the villagers has told me that in many of their old fairy tales, good spirits come to earth like this in human form to travel in secret among people.”
“That means we fit right in.”
“Yes. I am very relieved that we are not, in fact, introducing new ideas to this culture but simply demonstrating existing ones.”
“Well, that helps explain why they’ve been so cooperative, too.”
“Still, we must remain very alert to the possibility that we may truly interfere historically with these peasants in some significant way.”
“I don’t think we have much to worry about,” said Wayne. “They’re going to market like they do every day, aren’t they? We’re just tagging along.”
By mid-morning, Hunter had led his team up and down every street in the foreign quarter. They passed more Turks and Arabs in colorful, embroidered Chinese gowns, Koreans wearing their topknots and with slightly different embroidery on their gowns, and stocky Mongol soldiers wearing their armor, swords, and daggers. Chinese citizens owned and worked in most of the shops, however, and they were the people most likely to cooperate.
Steve and Marcia spoke briefly to people on every block, describing MC 5. They approached many who worked in shops, but they also spoke to peddlers pushing their carts and to children who were old enough to remember their description of MC 5. Hunter had heard Steve grudgingly agree to Marcia’s system of rewards. While they spoke to passersby, Hunter and Jane hung back slightly in their pose as foreign visitors.
They passed merchants of all sorts. The shops and stalls sold fabrics and sturdy, simple furniture on one street and fine porcelains and iron cookware on the next. The third block they visited held stall after stall of different crafts, including a family that was boiling big vats of plant fibers to make paper. On every street, small children ran and played and peddlers pushed carts of small trinkets.
When Hunter realized that the team had seen the entire foreign quarter, he stopped and turned to his companions.
“We have saturated the neighborhood with our offers of rewards,” said Hunter. “Since we have been walking for some time, I suggest that we find a place to sit so that you three can rest. We can consider what to do next.”
“There’s a place back up this block,” said Steve. “They’re selling tea under the shade of two big trees.”
“A tea garden,” said Marcia. “That’s what the sign over the front entrance said.”
Steve glared at her in annoyance. She always seemed to show him up, no matter what he said. For the sake of the team, he decided not to make a scene about it.
“Good idea,” said Jane. “I could use a rest.”
“I’m hot,” said Marcia. “But they don’t have cold drinks here, unless you’re out in the country and find a mountain stream or something.”
“That is fascinating,” Hunter said quickly. He found Marcia’s spontaneous lectures on local history interesting, but he realized that Steve, in particular, really disliked listening to them.
“Come on.” Steve started for the tea shop at a brisk walk and the others followed.
“Shall we just rest up and wait for someone to find MC 5?” Jane asked as she hurried along.
“That is one possibility,” said Hunter. “For the first time since our trip to the Late Cretaceous, we have staked out the location where our quarry should return to full size. With the reward we have offered, the number of people around, and the stable nature of life here, we have far more potential help than usual.”
“I hear a ‘but’ coming,” said Jane. “I think I know what it is, too. You still can’t be sure if MC 5 has already returned to full size.”
“That is true,” said Hunter. “However, because of his European appearance in a society with very few Europeans, we are not likely to lose track of him completely with our offer of a reward circulating.”
Steve turned and waited for them to catch up. “I heard that. We could, you know … split up.” He grinned.
“That is unwise,” said Hunter. “You will remember that in the past —”
“It’s a joke, Hunter,” said Jane, grinning. “Every time we split up, we regret it. We both know that.”
“I see,” said Hunter. “Was this joke funny?”
“Skip it,” said Steve. “Look, it wasn’t totally a joke; I just didn’t think you’d go for it. But think about it.
Maybe splitting up won’t be as bad this time.”
“Why not?”
“Well, as you said, life is pretty stable here. Two of us could sit down in a prominent place and wait for someone to bring the good news that MC 5 has been found. The other two could keep up a more active search.”
As they reached the counter of the tea garden, Steve turned to order tea for them.
“Has everyone forgotten that we had a plan already?” Marcia asked impatiently. “We were going to look for the Polo family today, remember?”
“I had not forgotten,” said Hunter. “I merely raised the question of what to do next. Searching for the Polos is one option.”
“All right,” said Marcia. “I really didn’t think you’d forget.”
A young woman led them to a round wooden table under the trees, where they sat down on short, wooden benches.
“I kind of like the idea of meeting Marco Polo myself,” said Steve. “Just out of curiosity. But is he really important to
what we’re doing?”
“We discussed this last night,” Marcia said testily. “MC 5 probably knows about him, too, and may also try to contact him. Is that important enough?”
“Yeah, all right,” Steve muttered, shrugging.
“When you have rested and finished your tea, I suggest we search for the Polo family,” said Hunter.
As Wayne followed the peasants into Khanbaliq, he realized that they knew exactly where to go. They worked their way through the crowded streets to a block of open-air markets filled with fresh produce.
An empty stall with wooden shelves and a couple of benches waited for them. Lao Li and his companions quickly moved their produce from their cart to the shelves in the stall.
“Is this place theirs?” Wayne asked Ishihara.
“They rent it. Lao Li complained to one of the others that their rent will be due next week.”
“So that means they’re in the same place every day.” Wayne looked up and down the street. “They must know their neighbors on this block, then.”
“I suppose so. Is this important?”
“Maybe.” Wayne paused to estimate the length of the city blocks. “We’ll want to start spreading the word for people to find Hunter and his team. From what I can make out, the part of the city where MC 5
will return to normal size is fairly close. I think that neighborhood is maybe another couple of blocks east of here.”
“That is where Hunter will be.”
“Obviously.” Wayne looked at Xiao Li, as the boy arranged some stalks of sorghum on a low shelf.
“But we don’t want Hunter to find out where we are. We’ll need some help. Can they spare the kid, here?”
“I will ask.” Ishihara switched to Chinese, talking with Lao Li.
Their host spoke with his grandson, whose eyes widened with excitement. Lao Li talked to him in a stern tone of voice. Wayne guessed that he was admonishing the boy to obey these good spirits. Then Ishihara turned to Wayne again.
“He will do whatever we ask. Of course, I cannot allow him to take any significant risks.”
