Asimov's Future History Volume 3

by Isaac Asimov

  11

  STEVE LED MARCIA down the side of the road, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Since they had kept their lapel pins on, he and Marcia had overheard the reaction of Jane’s captors to his last conversation with Hunter. A moment later, they’d also listened to Jane’s exchange with Wayne and Ishihara, up to the moment her lapel pin had been suddenly switched off.

  “Jane’s in serious trouble now, isn’t she?” Marcia asked quietly.

  “Well, at least she’s safe with a robot,” said Steve. “Hey, look up ahead.”

  Steve saw the growing shadow of a large group of people down the road. They were running up the slope toward Steve and Marcia. Quickly, he grabbed Marcia’s arm and pulled her into the trees, then crouched with her in the underbrush.

  “Quiet,” he whispered.

  She nodded.

  The group of frightened men, breathing hard from the exertion of running up the mountain road, pounded past without seeing them. In another moment, they had rounded the next bend back toward the inn.

  Steve stood up, pulling Marcia with him, and returned to the road.

  “Well, I think Jane’s in trouble,” Marcia whispered. “We have to rescue her, don’t we?”

  “We have to get Hunter first.”

  “Do we have time? What are these other two going to do with her?”

  “Ishihara can’t violate the First Law any more than Hunter can, so Jane won’t be harmed. But he must be following Wayne’s instructions, which means that he won’t let us just take her away, either.”

  “How can you be surer’

  “Because Jane wants me to get Hunter, too.”

  “Oh, come on. She didn’t say that.”

  “She couldn’t say it plainly without giving away the message to Wayne and Ishihara.”

  “So what makes you think you heard it?”

  “She knew her lapel pin was on, until one of them took it. If she had wanted us to come running, she could have yelled for us. Since she didn’t, she was telling me she was okay for now.”

  “But how do you know that?”

  Steve sighed. “Because I’ve worked with her long enough now to know how she thinks.”

  Marcia finally fell silent again.

  As they walked, Steve tried to figure out what Wayne would want to do now. He had no way of knowing exactly where Steve and Marcia were, though of course Ishihara would have picked up his recent conversation with Hunter. So they knew Steve and Marcia were out here looking around.

  Wayne might be hustling Jane farther down the mountain road, going south, or taking her out into the forest itself. Then again, he could have ordered Ishihara to grab Steve and Marcia, too, though Steve doubted that a single robot could hold all three humans captive at once. Most likely, Wayne and Ishihara were running away with Jane while they had the chance.

  In any case, as Steve and Marcia hiked down the road, they saw no sign of them.

  “Steve,” Hunter called from the trees. “This way. Follow my voice.”

  Steve turned carefully toward the sound, picking out the direction. Hunter called out repeatedly so that they could find him. Steve glanced back to see that Marcia followed him through the branches and underbrush, then pushed forward.

  After a few minutes of hiking on rough, uneven ground, they reached Hunter. Hardly enough moonlight to see anything reached them here. Steve looked up high at the silhouette of Hunter’s head.

  “Aren’t you even taller than usual?”

  “Yes. I made myself as tall and thin as I can, to loosen the chains. However, I was still not able to get free. I can move my arms somewhat, though. Do you have any more information now about Jane?”

  “Not really,” said Steve. “Except that she didn’t scream for immediate help.”

  “Ishihara will protect her, of course. You have the poker you told me about?”

  “Yeah. But I don’t suppose I’m strong enough to do much with it.”

  “Give it to me. I have enough freedom of my arms now to use it.”

  Steve felt for Hunter’s hand and placed the poker in it. “You want me to do anything?”

  “Yes. I have felt the individual links of the chain I can reach already. In my other hand, I am holding the weakest one. These are not, after all, mass produced. As I hold the handle of the poker, please fit the point of it into the middle of this other link.”

  “Okay. Let’s see …. Got it.”

  “Please stand back. I will use the curve of the tree trunk as a fulcrum and attempt to pry the link open.”

  Steve backed away, moving Marcia with him. If the end of the poker slipped out of the link by accident, the point could swing around and club them both. Steve could barely see Hunter’s movements, but after a long moment, he heard the chain fall, clinking, to the ground.

  “Finished,” said Hunter. “I will return to my previous appearance.”

  “Now what are we going to do?” Marcia asked.

  “I shall attempt to locate Jane,” said Hunter. “I believe that Wayne and Ishihara arranged to have me trapped in order to break up our team and waste our time and energy. However, I am certain that they expected me to remain isolated much longer. They will not expect you to have released me so soon.”

  “The trouble is, now that they have Jane, we’re still split up,” said Steve.

  “How are you going to find her?” Marcia asked. “Her lapel pin is turned off.”

  “I am turning up my hearing to maximum,” said Hunter. “As we walk on the road, I believe I should be able to hear Xiao Li’s donkey. If they are moving through the underbrush, the donkey will make more noise than the humans. If the boy rides him on the road, I may hear his hoofbeats.”

  “Let’s get back out on the road,” said Steve.

  Jane said nothing as Ishihara led her slowly through the dark forest by a gentle but firm grip on her arm while Wayne walked beside them. She heard Xiao Li following them, walking the horse and donkey now that they were moving among the trees once more. Ishihara walked slowly, changing direction to avoid trees, boulders, and dense clumps of underbrush. When they finally stopped, she had no way of judging how far from the road they had gone, but she doubted it was very far. She waited to see what Wayne and Ishihara would do next.

  “Have you heard any communication between Hunter and Steve?” Wayne asked Ishihara.

  “No. I am surprised. I would expect Hunter to send a constant signal, so that he could be found. Or else I would expect ongoing conversation between them. I do not understand what they are doing.”

  Jane saw Wayne turn to her in the faint moonlight.

  “We haven’t really had a chance to talk, have we?” Wayne asked, in a casual tone.

  “No. That’s true.” She could barely see his silhouette in the moonlight that filtered through the leaves overhead. “What do we have to say to each other? Anything?”

  “May I speak to you as one roboticist to another?”

  “What choice do I have?” Jane demanded. She could afford to take a hostile tone with Ishihara here to protect her.

  “I just want to explain something to you.”

  “Well, I’m waiting.”

  “I only want to participate in the review and investigation of the Governor Robots.” He waited for her response.

  “Go on.” She tried not to react outwardly.

  “I can’t allow total strangers to take over my work and pass judgment on it without me. These robots are my creation. You understand that.”

  “Yes,” she said stiffly.

  “The problem is not science and engineering, but politics. I have no bargaining power unless I hold at least one of the component robots in my possession.”

  Jane said nothing.

  “What’s objectionable about this?” Wayne demanded. “Don’t you think I have a point?”

  “It sounds reasonable enough on the surface. How do I know that’s the whole story?”

  “You don’t trust me?” He sounded genuinely hurt.
>
  “You’ve kidnapped me. What do you expect?”

  “Wait a minute. Have you forgotten that trip we all made to Russia in 1941?”

  “Of course not.”

  “I saved both that other woman on your team and Steve from being shot by a Nazi guard — when I had a clear chance to get MC 4 instead.” His tone turned bitter. “Or didn’t any of you notice?”

  “Of course we did.” Jane felt a little embarrassed. “Everyone noticed — and I thank you for all of us.

  And I know I won’t be harmed with Ishihara here. But why don’t you consider just coming back and discussing the situation professionally?”

  “No!”

  “I think the Oversight Committee will be responsible. They should be allowed to do their job.”

  “This is logical,” said Ishihara.

  “Hold it right there,” Wayne said angrily. “I can’t afford to gamble my entire career on the committee’s integrity. I told you, I need independent bargaining power. And a chance to examine MC 5 myself, without interference.”

  “Listen to him, Ishihara,” said Jane. “You can see he isn’t being reasonable. You can’t possibly have a valid First Law reason to keep me here.”

  “Remember what I told you,” Wayne ordered sternly. “My First Law argument to you concerns the unnecessary harm Hunter’s team is doing to me. That’s the argument you accepted when you first agreed to help me on these missions.”

  “That is true,” said Ishihara.

  “What’s true?” Jane demanded.

  “I cannot shift my Second Law loyalty to you,” said Ishihara. “I have accepted the possibility that Wayne is being harmed by the actions of Hunter and his team. He requires my aid as a result of this.”

  “All right, look,” said Wayne. “Since I can’t convince her I’m right, she’ll have to come with us for a while. We have to get away from here, so Hunter won’t be right behind us every minute. Let’s go find MC 5.”

  “You mean return to Khanbaliq?” Ishihara asked. “Our horse is exhausted. The animal cannot make the return trip tonight, nor can the donkey. You and Xiao Li and Jane will need rest as well.”

  “We don’t have to go all the way back tonight,” said Wayne. “But I want to get started. Then we’ll find a place to sleep for the night.”

  “It’s too cold out here to get much sleep,” Jane said sourly. “We don’t have any protection from the elements. That’s not very good protection from harm, Ishihara.”

  “We’ll manage,” Wayne said quickly. “Ishihara, you take charge of our route. Include evasive action to avoid Hunter. Jane and I will not be harmed by a night in this weather.”

  “My options are limited,” said Ishihara. “Fleeing through the forested mountains in the dark is highly dangerous to you and Jane.”

  “Do what you can,” Wayne said sternly.

  Steve brought up the rear as Hunter led the way through the trees back to the road. Marcia walked with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering from the cold. Out on the road, Hunter waited for them.

  “I want to change frequencies now that we know Ishihara is listening,” said Hunter. “He has always listened in when we’re in the same time period together.” He altered the settings on their lapel pins. “I hope we will not separate again, but we must be prepared.”

  “He’ll just scan the frequencies again, won’t he?” Steve asked.

  “I assume so. However, we will not use the lapel pins often, so he may simply stop scanning because it wastes his energy. If he happens to scan the radio band when we are communicating through these, he’ll locate the new frequency, but perhaps not immediately. Any delay we can create in being overheard will help us.”

  “Okay.” Steve shrugged. “You know more about what a robot does than I do.”

  Suddenly Hunter straightened, turning to look down the road, to the south.

  “What —” Marcia started.

  Steve put a hand on her shoulder to quiet her. He heard nothing and could not tell if Hunter heard something or was receiving a radio transmission. Either way, Hunter certainly did not need any distractions. Marcia shoved his hand away but said nothing else. “I hear two sets of hoofbeats cantering down the road, back toward Khanbaliq,” said Hunter.

  “Two sets,” Steve repeated. “Shouldn’t there be at least three? Wayne and Ishihara must have ridden up here on horseback, plus Xiao Li’s donkey.”

  “And Jane is riding double with someone,” Marcia added. “I see.”

  “I hear two animals,” said Hunter. “One much smaller than the other, matching the gait of Xiao Li’s donkey, but the hoofbeats are heavier than before. That one is certain; two people are riding the donkey.”

  “What about the other one?” Steve asked.

  “By the gait and the weight, it is a horse,” said Hunter. “I cannot be sure if it is carrying two riders without having heard its hoofbeats earlier. It could simply be an usually large, heavy horse.”

  “You think two people are riding the horse, too?” Steve shrugged. “I guess it’s possible.”

  “Wayne and Ishihara could have found a mount as easily as we did,” said Hunter. “Perhaps financial limitations confined them to one horse.”

  “Those mounts are worn out from a long day’s ride already,” said Steve. “If they’re both carrying two riders, they won’t go far tonight, especially at a canter. They may not go far at all.”

  “I have considered that,” said Hunter. “I suggest that I begin jogging after them from here to maintain aural contact. You two can return to the inn for our horses and bring them. I know they are tired, too, but they will be able to carry us at least as far as the two mounts we are pursuing.”

  “That makes sense to me,” said Marcia.

  “I have a counterproposal,” said Steve. “Suppose we all return to the inn for a good night’s sleep. We know Ishihara can’t allow any harm to come to Jane. Then tomorrow we can go on to the Great Wall to find the Polo family.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Marcia wailed. “You’re just going to forget about her?”

  “Of course not!” Steve snapped. “But Jane is just as safe with Ishihara as she would be with Hunter.”

  “That may not be precisely true,” said Hunter. “Ishihara’s judgment is in some doubt, since he is obviously following Wayne’s instructions.”

  “You sure?” Steve asked. “As far as immediate harm to Jane goes, he can’t let her get hurt. Just how much leeway do you robots have in your interpretations?”

  12

  STEVE DOUBTED HE could change Hunter’s mind about a First Law interpretation, but he wanted to try. He trusted Ishihara to keep Jane safe. The team could save a lot of time.

  “Well, Hunter?”

  “I cannot go on without Jane,” said Hunter. “I agree that Ishihara would protect her from clear and immediate harm, but his judgment is in doubt regarding more complex situations. Further, I still remain responsible for Jane as part of my team. Also, if we can apprehend Wayne or even just Ishihara, we can eliminate further interference from them. That will make the rest of this mission and all of the next one much easier for us. I must pursue them and free Jane.”

  “Then we should split up,” said Steve. “I don’t know how many times I’ve suggested it already, but this time I’m really serious. You go after Jane, and Marcia and I can return to the inn for some sleep.

  Tomorrow we’ll go north for the Polos. When you have Jane, come after us.”

  “As you know, I consider dividing the team to be a mistake.”

  “You let Jane and me sail back to Jamaica on a pirate ship without you. This is a much safer environment. Our real trouble seems to have been instigated by Wayne, not the local situation. Even the people who grabbed you and Jane would never have acted without Wayne.”

  Hunter turned to observe Marcia. “You are very cold and tired, are you not?”

  “I’m afraid so,” said Marcia. “And what he says makes some sense. Besides, you could pr
obably help Jane a lot faster alone than you could with me along.”

  “And we’ll blend into the crowd,” Steve added. “Without you and Jane, we look like locals.”

  “The same people who kidnapped Jane and me have almost certainly returned to the inn. I cannot have them carry you two away. I suggest you take rooms at the other inn we saw.”

  “No need.” Steve grinned. “Now that we know they think you’re a spirit, we can manage them, I think.

  Anyhow, they’ve probably gone to bed. We’ll be careful about going back inside. If we don’t see them, we’ll go upstairs.”

  “This is also a great danger,” said Hunter. “At the very least, you should take a room at the other inn.”

  “Maybe not,” said Marcia. “I think they focused on you and Jane in part because of your European appearance. And they were running pretty fast when they passed us on the road a while ago. Maybe they’ve had enough.”

  “We’re wasting time,” said Steve. “Every minute we debate, Jane is being taken farther south. But I also want to return to the same inn because of the innkeeper. He made a point to come and tell me that Jane had been taken.”

  “You feel safer with him?” Hunter asked.

  “Yeah, you could put it that way,” said Steve.

  “I will return to the inn with you,” said Hunter. “If it is quiet, and you can return to your rooms unseen, then I will allow us to separate. Clearly, you both need to stay warm and get some sleep.”

  Steve hiked back up the road with Hunter and Marcia, relieved that Hunter had given in. The mountain air had grown very sharp, and by the time they returned to the inn, he was even more ready than before for a warm bed. Hunter stepped up to the front door, preparing to open it.

  “I should do it,” Steve said quietly. “If those guests are awake, they may react to seeing you.”

  Hunter moved back to make room for Steve.

  Steve found the front door of the inn barred. That was certainly normal for this hour. He rapped on it sharply.

  “Who’s there?” The innkeeper’s voice was cautious and fearful, but clearly wide awake.

  “Three of your guests,” Steve called. “We are well. Please open.”