by Isaac Asimov
Jane remained with Ishihara, looking around the village. People filled the narrow streets in every direction. She saw booths and shops offering food, clothing, pottery, and leather goods for sale.
When the wood had been unloaded, Emrys spoke to Ishihara and waved for Jane and him to get into the cart. Ishihara lifted Jane back into the empty cart, then climbed in after her. Emrys started the donkey again.
“He is going to buy us clothes,” said Ishihara. “He says he will do this as his appreciation for my help.”
“Thank him again for his hospitality,” Jane suggested. “We were trying to pay him back, after all.”
“I did,” said Ishihara. “I think he may also be embarrassed by our clothes. He will be happier once we blend in with everyone else.”
First Emrys took them to a shop that sold used women’s clothes. Jane found that all the gowns were made of wool. She chose a simple brown one. In a stall in the rear, she changed out of her outer Chinese robe, but kept the underrobe that Hunter had provided to make the Chinese robe more comfortable. It protected her from the scratchy wool of her new gown.
Emrys dickered with the shopkeeper and paid for the gown. Jane carried her Chinese robe and trousers out over her arm. Then Emrys drove the cart to another shop that sold only men’s tunics.
Jane stood patiently by the cart as Wayne and Ishihara tried on tunics and leggings. This would have been an ideal moment to escape them, if she had anywhere to go. However, Wayne and Ishihara knew as well as she did that Hunter had not arrived yet.
After Emrys paid for the new tunics, he drove to another street where food was for sale at each stall. He bought a bag of flour and a small earthenware jar of sea salt. Then he treated his guests to a midday meal of mutton stew and fresh buns.
Jane decided that Ishihara’s help had not made a big difference in Emrys’s life. Although they had certainly changed his life today, she felt he was simply taking a normal day in the village. He was probably doing what he would have whenever he had come into the village next.
Jane decided to take her Chinese robe back to the hut and give it to Ygerna as a gift. If Ygerna did not want to wear it, she might be able to use the material to sew something else. Women here did not seem to wear trousers, but Jane felt that Ygerna could use the material to make something useful for herself or for her children.
After they had finished eating, they all mounted the cart again. Emrys drove them out of the village, back down the cobbled road to the base of the tor. Jane leaned against the back of the cart and gazed at the peaceful countryside. This time, Ishihara rode in the front of the cart behind the front seat. No one spoke until the cart had passed through the main gate of the outer earthwork. Then Emrys spoke over his shoulder to Ishihara.
Emrys and Ishihara conversed for several moments.
“What is it?” Wayne asked. “Are we going somewhere else today?”
Jane sat up, straining to hear.
“No,” said Ishihara. “We are returning to his hut. However, he remembers that in years past, the palace of Artorius requires the most wood when soldiers are gathering here in the spring. They must be fed and kept warm at night.”
“What soldiers?” Wayne asked.
“He says that every spring, soldiers from allover the land of the Britons come here from their winter homes. During the winter, only Artorius’s personal troop lives here. Then, as spring progresses, Artorius will gather his army and lead it against the Saxons.”
“So is Emrys one of these soldiers?” Wayne asked. “Is he going to report in?”
“No,” said Ishihara. “He says that if the palace needs so much wood now, they will need meat, too.
Instead of waiting until the soldiers arrive, he wants to drive some of his flock back here tomorrow and sell the sheep ahead of his fellow shepherds. The others are still waiting to hear that the men have moved back to the palace.”
“That one building can’t hold a whole army,” said Wayne. “How many are coming?”
“That is unclear,” said Ishihara. “However, the seven hectares of the enclosed tor offer a wide expanse of open land below the walled village. I expect his soldiers sleep out there.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Jane did not move or speak, but she felt her heart beating faster with excitement. Wayne expected MC
6 to return to full size tomorrow, and that mean Hunter would probably reach the same conclusion. If Hunter’s team arrived tomorrow, then Wayne and Ishihara would want to ride back to the village with Emrys. If they took her, she could look for an opportunity to escape them, or at least to alert Hunter to her whereabouts. If they left her in the hut, she would simply leave after they had gone. She only had to hope that Wayne would not order Ishihara to stay at the hut with her.
Wayne said nothing more.
Jane wondered if Hunter would think that Ishihara’s labor at Emrys’s woodpile was going to create too great a change in the lives of Emrys and his family. The coins he had received today, and the food, were not too extravagant. If he got the jump on the other shepherds, however, he might become substantially more wealthy than he would have been if Ishihara had not cut all the extra firewood.
At first, she could not reach any conclusion about it. Ishihara did not seem disturbed by the problem.
Then she realized that Emrys still could sell only the wood and sheep he already owned. Maybe he would only benefit modestly from Ishihara’s help.
Jane smiled to herself. Tomorrow she would look for Hunter at the tor.
Steve felt himself tumble gently on his back to damp, soft ground. Overhead, low, gray clouds covered the sky. In the west, a diffuse glow revealed the setting sun behind the clouds.
He pushed himself up to a sitting position. The land nearby combined rolling hills with occasional stands of trees. On some distant hills, he saw flocks of sheep with shepherds and dogs.
“You are both unharmed?” Hunter looked at them as he stood up.
“I’m fine,” said Steve.
“Yes, of course,” said Harriet cheerfully. “Mm, smell that rich earth. Springtime in England. It’s so green and fertile here.”
Hunter helped her to her feet. “I will begin calling Ishihara at intervals. I do not expect him to respond, even if he is here, but I must attempt to reach him.”
“Why wouldn’t he answer you?” Harriet asked.
“Wayne will almost certainly instruct him either to shut off his reception or to listen but not answer.
Whatever plan Wayne has in mind will rely on evading us.”
“I don’t see a castle,” said Steve, suddenly alarmed. “Are we in the wrong place?”
“No.” Harriet pointed to a large hill not too far in the distance. Large earthen ramparts ringed its base. A small walled town sat on its summit. “In the medieval sense, no castle ever stood at Cadbury. The modern term, Cadbury Castle, refers to the entire walled tor and its village. While we remain in this time, we might call it Cadbury Tor, instead.”
“So that’s where we’re going?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “It is farther than it looks. We must begin.”
“Okay.” Steve hoisted the cloth bag over his shoulder. “Lead the way.”
Hunter led them across the open grassland toward a narrow dirt track that wound toward the tor. As they walked, Steve looked up at the tor again. Some people rode horseback, drove wagons, or plodded out of the main gate. He supposed they were on their way home to other villages or huts in the countryside. Others walked or rode into the tor from outside, including two men in steel caps holding spears as they rode.
“Is that what a Roman fortress here looked like?” Steve asked. “It resembles the temporary camps we saw the Roman legions build in Germany, but this one looks permanent. I thought the Romans would build something more impressive than this.”
“This is a post-Roman construction,” said Harriet. “The village on the plateau is fortified in part by unmortared stone, including Roman masonry b
rought from elsewhere. The gatehouse has touches of Roman architecture, too. But the overall design is Celtic.”
“You mean now that the Romans don’t rule here anymore, the Britons are doing everything their way again?”
“In practical matters, Britons never forgot their own traditions,” said Harriet. “Further, funding was an issue. Roman administrators at the height of their power could pay many men to quarry, move, and cut stone, and hire others to build with it. Post-Roman Briton rulers had to make do with ramparts of rammed earth.”
Steve nodded. She pointed to a similar hill much farther in the distance to the north. “That’s Glastonbury Tor. It still exists in our own time, as well.”
“So with the Romans gone, the Britons are back where they started in fighting the Saxons?” Steve asked. “Except for what you said about Roman cavalry tactics?”
“Not completely. The Britons still have some advantages from their Roman cultural experience, including roads, cities, and towns. However, hordes of Saxons have already settled along the eastern coast.”
“You said this Artorius, who uses Roman cavalry tactics, is the historical basis for King Arthur. Back in Room F-12, we agreed to pretend we wanted to sell horses to him. So he rules here? Or what?”
“Artorius is a charismatic cavalry captain with some Roman-style training. He has become Riothamus, or High King, of the Britons by leading the Celtic fight for their homeland against the Saxons.”
“If the Saxons landed on the eastern coast, along the English Channel, why is he here?” Steve asked. “If we’re in what’s central southern England in our own time, then we’re a long way from the Channel.”
“That’s right,” said Harriet. “You see, the Saxons have been coming for many decades. They have conquered and settled considerable territory on the eastern side of Britain.”
“All right, I get it. Now the Britons are fighting the Saxons along some boundary that runs through the middle of the country.”
“Yes. Of course, the boundary is jagged and uneven, usually represented by rivers or ridges. And because of constant fighting, it is in flux throughout these years. Artorius had to establish his base far enough behind the border to have a wide buffer zone.”
Steve nodded. “Since the Saxons are on foot, it would take them a lot longer to march all the way here than it would take his cavalry to ride out to meet them.”
“Correct.”
“Hunter, I have to ask you the question that comes up in every mission,” said Steve. “We know that MC 6 will return to full size around here somewhere, but exactly what’s he going to do? Where should we look for him?”
“That is usually Jane’s area of expertise, of course,” said Hunter. “Without a roboticist to call upon, I will have to make a judgment. Based on my experience in how Jane has made her earlier appraisals, I expect that MC 6 will want to stop the war between the Britons and the Saxons that causes so much suffering.”
“Yeah, that sounds like what she’d say,” said Steve. “We found MC 3 and MC 4 trying to stop wars, too. Of course, we prevented that.”
“We must prevent MC 6 from doing it, as well,” said Hunter. “According to the history I took from the city library, Artorius held the Saxons at bay during his lifetime but they eventually overwhelmed his successors. If MC 6 succeeds in working out a long-term settlement, however, the England of medieval, Renaissance, and ultimately modern times will never develop, deeply changing the course of history.”
“Oh, piddle.” Harriet laughed lightly. “That possibility is preposterous.”
“It is?” Steve looked at her in surprise. Her bluntness startled him. “Why?”
“You see, the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes invaded Britain because of tremendous population pressure on the Continent north of the Roman Empire and their displacement by the movement of more powerful tribes, such as the Franks and the Goths.”
“Why did they come to Britain in particular?” Steve asked. “Couldn’t changes in what happens here cause them to go somewhere else?”
“As a matter of fact, they moved into Gaul in this era, as well, to settle on the Loire,” said Harriet. “But by comparison, Britain was lightly populated at the time. The desperation of the Saxons to migrate and the comparatively modest numbers of the Britons to protect their island dictated this period of British history. No agreement among individuals could stop these forces.”
“That makes sense to me,” said Steve. He liked the logic of this argument. It fit the fact that the team’s appearance in the past on other missions had not, to their knowledge, disrupted their own time.
“I have already acknowledged that I cannot measure the degree to which chaos theory can be applied to history,” said Hunter. “And I accept this history as accurate. However, the First Law requires me to consider the danger of changing history, no matter how remote it may be. After all, as a robot, MC 6 can expect a much longer life than any human, barring injury. If we do not take him away soon enough, he can remain in this time to continue working out compromises as new hostilities develop. Of course, in any case we have to take him before he reaches the time he left and explodes with nuclear force.”
“You ‘re the boss, as I said earlier,” said Harriet. “I’m just doing my duty as your historian in reporting my opinions to you.”
“As far as our search is concerned, the First Law would still impel MC 6 to attempt an end to war, no matter how hopeless his long-term chances are,” said Hunter. “Following the judgment that Jane made about earlier component robots, I believe this imperative would take him to Artorius or maybe even the Saxon leaders.”
“I have no argument with that,” said Harriet. “You would know more about robots.”
“I also feel that the creation of Arthurian legend will almost certainly change if the history upon which the earliest chroniclers based it no longer occurs in the same way. This is possible even if the historical events do not change. The legend seems to be quite important in British culture and its branches in the United States and other parts of the former British Empire.”
“Now, that I agree with,” Harriet said emphatically. “Arthurian legend — of course it could change if historical events alter. That legend has had great cultural influence over the centuries and must not be allowed to change.”
“I wouldn’t want to lose it, either,” said Steve. “I followed it as a kid — the stories of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table, and Lancelot and Guinevere.”
“Of course, we will not find them here,” said Hunter. “They are legend, not history.”
“So we agree with you about not letting MC 6 change history after all,” said Harriet. “We will find him.”
“I guess if Ishihara had responded to your call, you’d have told us by now,” said Steve.
“That is correct,” said Hunter. “I have heard nothing.”
6
BY THE TIME they reached the main gate at the base of the tor, torches burned in brackets over it. Sentries in leather jerkins and leggings picked up their spears and began to swing the solid wooden doors closed.
They waited, however, as Hunter strode up to them.
Steve, remembering that no Britons here had seen anyone of Chinese descent, hung back in the shadows with his head down.
“We seek shelter, friends,” Hunter called out cheerfully in British. “You have lodging in the village, do you not?”
“We have inns here,” said one of the sentries. “What is your business?”
“I breed horses in Gaul,” said Hunter. “I seek new land in which to breed my horses. Even in Gaul, we have heard of the great cavalry leader Artorius. I would speak with him and ask if he will accept some of my finest stock.”
“Yes? Where are your horses? Still in Gaul?” The sentry grinned. Next to him, his companion laughed.
“We took ship from Gaul with five horses, but rough seas cast them overboard.”
“Yes?” The sentry eyed Hunter cautiously.
“Have yo
u crossed the Channel, friend?” Hunter asked. “At this time of year?”
“No,” said the sentry. “Rough, is it?”
“The same rains that fall here in the spring can rage over the seas even harder,” said Hunter.
The sentry nodded, looking over Hunter’s tunic. Then he glanced at Harriet and Steve. “We are far inland here. How did you come?”
“We landed on the southern coast at Devon, then followed the roads here.”
“How did you know which way to come?”
“Every shepherd and villager on the way knows how to find Artorius.”
The sentry nodded again.
“Who are your companions?”
“My wife and our servant, a man from the farthest side of the Roman Empire.”
“Very well. Welcome, friends.” He stood aside for them to enter.
Steve still kept his head down as he followed Harriet through the gate. In the darkness, broken only by flickering torchlight over their heads, he knew the sentries could not see him clearly. In any case, they did not bother to look; they were closing the gates behind him.
Hunter led them up a long, cobbled road to the village at the top of the tor. The sentries at the main gate of the wall also watched them approach by torchlight. When Hunter stopped in front of the gate, Steve lowered his head again and remained back in the shadows.
“We seek lodging,” said Hunter. “The sentries below passed us.”
“I thought as much,” said the man in front of him. “Are you the last in for the night? If so, we’ll close this gate behind you.”
“Yes, we are the last.”
“Come in, then.” He, too, stood aside.
Hunter led Harriet and Steve through the gate into the village.
The streets of the village were lit by torches over a few of the doors. People still walked through the streets, especially outside taverns. The mood seemed peaceful.
“It’s not like the peasant villages in medieval China, is it?” Steve asked. “Those were just homes for farmers. This is more like a small town.”
