Asimov’s Future History Volume 13

by Isaac Asimov

  SINCE ONLY A FEW ROBOTS WERE ASSIGNED CERTAIN JOBS - THERE WERE POLICE-ROBOTS, A ROBOTIC FIRE SQUADRON, AND SIMILAR DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS - MOST OF THEM HAD TO FIND USEFUL ACTIVITIES BY THEMSELVES. THEY DID SO EASILY, BECAUSE IN SERVING HUMANS, ROBOTS FELT A KIND OF SATISFACTION. THEY WORKED IN ALL PARTS OF THE JANUTIAN SOCIETY.

  FINALLY, THERE WAS THE LAW OF ROBOTIC MISUSE: ON A PLANET WHERE SETTLERS AND SPACERS LIVE TOGETHER, THE MISUSE OF ROBOTS IS A SEVERE CRIMINAL OFFENCE AND WILL LEAD TO THE EXPULSION OF THE RESPONSIBLE PERSONS FROM THE PLANET.

  THE EFFECT OF THIS SETUP FOR THE SPACERS WAS THE WITHDRAWAL OF THEIR PRIVATE SLAVES, WHILE THE SETTLERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAD TO TOLERATE THE PRESENCE OF ROBOTS. SOME SAID IT WAS THE PERFECT COMPROMISE.

  Chapter Four

  ABRAHAM PHILEMON WAS not surprised. He had firmly expected that things would finally turn out this way, his way. Furthermore, he strongly believed that the new resolution presented to the Executive Committee earlier that morning would be for the good of all people on Janus.

  Philemon glanced over his copy of the new statute with a feeling of deep satisfaction. He had worked on this project for almost a year, ever since he had come to Janus. He remembered very well the time he had left Baleyworld, one of the major Settler foundations, to seek opportunities to let his dreams and beliefs become reality. Political affairs on his home planet had become stagnant in the firm grip of a few old delegates who were far more anxious not to lose their influence than prepared to make the necessary transitions to lead civilization into the next century.

  Philemon had therefore been one of the first volunteers to enlist for the Janus Project, eagerly hoping here to at least be able to move political matters according to his vision of the future. He was sixty-two years old and feared that time was running out for him. His hair, once black as the night, had turned white, and the countless wrinkles in his face frustrated him even more. However, it was only his body that had weakened. He knew his mind was working more efficiently than ever. He had made his way through the very hectic and complicated beginning stages of the reunification project, and then had accumulated considerable political influence by joining the Settler Foundation Party and by using his outstanding negotiating abilities. Now he was a member of the Executive Committee, the highest commission on Janus.

  The visioner on his desk beeped. Philemon looked up to the small, flat screen which showed the bright, smiling face of Executive Mendez. He was a slim man with dark eyes and even more dark hair, and was about forty-five galactic standard years old. Philemon’s eyes narrowed, and this time it was not because he had misplaced his glasses. He momentarily put a finger on his lower lip before deciding to answer the call.

  “Connection complete,” said a recorded female voice. The visioner automatically switched into two-way communication mode.

  “Good day, Executive Philemon. I trust you are feeling quite well. May I congratulate you on your efforts this morning?”

  “Thank you, Executive Mendez. Although the Committee has not yet made a decision on the subject, I feel it is turning in the right direction. Anyhow, we will have to wait for the judgment of the Parliament.”

  “Ah - you know very well that they always agree to the decisions of the Executive Committee. There will be no contradictions.” Mendez smile got even brighter, his white shining teeth looking rather unnatural. Mendez was about a decade younger than Philemon and apparently in a much better condition. He was known to underline his youthful image with a perfect fitting and expensive wardrobe.

  Philemon was about to reply with something about the principles of democracy, but quickly decided otherwise. No need to get in another argument now. Instead, he said, “To remind you, the only thing we have decided upon is to admit the subject to be further discussed in the next meeting.”

  Secretly, Philemon was surprised at his demeanor. What was Mendez up to? He was one of the Executives who had voted against the statute.

  “Frankly, I do not like your idea. Considering the fact that several relatively influential people are potentially going to lose their property if your proposal gets approved by anyone whatsoever, this decision was made quite hastily.”

  Philemon’s reaction came instantly: “Let me recite your words from the meeting. You are implying ‘that it is unlawful to confiscate belongings or properties from certain members of our communities.’ Well, unlawful is not quite the correct word. As a matter of fact, it will be according to the law if the proposal is approved. A good term in your sense, then, would be ‘unethical dispossession,’ wouldn’t you agree?” Philemon remarked with a sneer. There was no reaction in Mendez’s face. “But let us be serious. To show you the moral aspect, let me remind you that it was by far more improper of the first colonists to claim nearly everything there as their own. Land, lakes, plant life, you name it. And this just because they were able to buy a ticket for a starship that left ahead of the others. And please keep in mind that they will still be owners of their properties.”

  “To say it bluntly, I do not consider the step of transforming someone’s estates into a ‘commonage’ - community land to be controlled by a organization of neighborhoods - as a justified move,” Mendez replied equally sharply, “It shows some close similarities to an ancient political configuration called ‘communism’ that had disastrous effects on economy and society.”

  “I understand your concerns completely, Executive. But I hope you do not mind me saying that I regard them as too far-fetched. See, this community land will not be - as you lined out - governed by some neighborhood hen-parties, but is merely going to be administrated by local politicians. Nothing more. Since Janus is a completely new planet there simply cannot exist something like ownership of land by individuals. At least not in my opinion. Everything should belong to everybody.” Philemon watched the face on the flat screen closely. “I assure you, this political step will help to create positive relationships between two populations with totally different educational backgrounds and lifestyles.”

  Mendez waited for a few seconds before he asked, completely ignoring Philemon’s explanations, “Are you going to force this statute through, Executive?”

  Philemon did not hesitate with the answer. “Yes, I will.”

  “Executive, please think about it. People will not willingly give up on something they just acquired. There will be an uproar. Have you thought of that possibility?”

  “They did not acquire it in a fair way, Executive Mendez.”

  The face on the screen watched Philemon with staring eyes for a moment longer than expected.

  “There is obviously no other way. I will have to talk to every member of the committee in order to find a majority in my favor. I think the implementation of this statute would be a disastrous move and would quite certainly endanger our social stability.”

  “You are free to do whatever you want,” Philemon replied.

  Mendez was scarcely in the best mood when he ended the conversation: “Otherwise, I can only hope that your vision comes true, Executive. But I would not bet on it. Good day.”

  With this, the connection was over. Philemon leaned back in his chair, frowning. “It will not be easy to please everybody. Maybe impossible,” he said in soliloquy.

  Databank-Chapter Five

  THE JANUS HOLYE WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CIA CONFERENCES. ASIDE FROM THE DEMANDING TASK OF SETTING UP A COMMON BOOK OF LAW FOR PEOPLE OF TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CIVILIZATIONS, IT WAS AN EVEN MORE BURDENSOME ACT TO COMPOSE A CONSTITUTION FOR THE PLANET.

  NATURALLY, A FORM OF DEMOCRACY WAS CHOSEN, THE MOST STABLE POLITICAL SYSTEM EVER INVENTED BY MANKIND. IT WAS AN ARRANGEMENT UPON WHICH BOTH SIDES COULD AGREE. POLITICAL POWERS WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR DIFFERENT SECTIONS. ALL LEGISLATIVE POWER WAS INVESTED IN THE JANUS PARLIAMENT WITH ITS TWO-HUNDRED REPRESENTATIVES THAT WERE ELECTED FOR A TERM OF THREE YEARS. SESSIONS WERE HELD ON A DAILY BASIS IN AN ECCENTRIC YET REMARKABLE PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN THE VERY CENTER OF JANUS METROPOLIS.

  AS
WELL, THE BUILDING SERVED AS THE SITE FOR CONFERENCES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WHICH TOOK CARE OF ALL EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS, ALWAYS SHARPLY SUPERVISED BY THE PARLIAMENT. THE COMMITTEE CONSISTED OF EIGHT EXECUTIVES TO BE ELECTED FOR A FOUR-YEAR TERM. THE JUDICIAL POWERS WERE PASSED ON TO THE JANUS SUPREME COURT, THE MAIN JURISPRUDENCE OF THE PLANET, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO BE AS INDEPENDENT FROM ANY POLITICAL INFLUENCE AS POSSIBLE.

  FINALLY, ALL ETHICAL SUBJECTS WERE HANDLED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL ENDEAVORS, WHOSE TASK WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO ARISING ETHICAL QUESTIONS. SINCE SUCH QUESTIONS COULD USUALLY BE RESOLVED IN THE LONG RUN, THEY WERE COLLECTED FOR PUBLIC REFERENDUMS WHICH TOOK PLACE THREE TIMES A YEAR. WITH A THREE-FOURTHS MAJORITY, A PROPOSAL BECAME LAW WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF INTERFERENCE FROM PARLIAMENT OR THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF CONSISTED OF HUNDRED DELEGATES, INCLUDING SCIENTISTS, PROFESSORS, ECCLESIASTICAL INDIVIDUALS, AND BUSINESS PEOPLE, BUT NO POLITICIANS. DELEGATES WERE APPOINTED FOR LIFE.

  STILL, THE MOST CENTRAL AND UNIQUE ASPECT OF THE CONSTITUTION WAS THE FACT THAT SETTLER AND SPACER INTERESTS WERE TO BE EQUALLY CONSIDERED IN EVERY POSITION. THE KEY OBJECTIVE OF THE CIA WAS TO AVOID ARGUMENTS AND CONFLICTS BASED PURELY UPON CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. THE PARLIAMENT THEREFORE CONSISTED OF EXACTLY HUNDRED SPACERS AND HUNDRED SETTLERS, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF FOUR SPACERS AND FOUR SETTLERS AND SO ON. THEORETICALLY, ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN SPACERS AND SETTLERS WOULD THEREFORE HAVE TO BE RESOLVED BY A COMPROMISE.

  Chapter Five

  IT WAS A perfect day. By now, both Janutian suns stood low in the pink-colored sky, creating a rather artificial atmosphere. There was certainly no need for the internal climatization systems anymore, Gordan deducted.

  Such hot and humid days were extremely rare on Janus. The temperatures usually varied just slightly around twenty-five degrees Celsius in summertime and around ten degrees in the deepest winter days. Temperatures above thirty or even forty degrees scarcely ever occurred, and then one simply had to cope with such circumstances. Obviously, some people could not. The most disgusting result was to be seen right on this spot. Numerous parts of two former hover capsules were scattered over the fly-way, which had to be closed for two hours.

  It never should have happened. Every hover capsule - or ‘hoo-cap,’ as most people referred to them - was technically amply equipped. For instance, a robotic driver system alone would have prevented this accident - if only one of them had been left active. But as Calvin’s aides had discovered rather quickly, the systems in both vehicles had been switched off.

  The reason for this was the Frankenstein Complex - the irrational fear of robots - of the two now heavily injured drivers in the robotic machine. Two Settlers, no doubt about that. Calvin could not understand them. What reason was there to fear a system that was designed to help and support humans? He instantly checked his records, but found nothing about failures of robotic hoo-cap pilot systems. Why had the humans switched them off?

  Calvin still had enormous problems in getting a good grasp of the Settlers’ fear of robotic technology. He knew roughly that these fears were well-founded in the history of the robotic development on the Settlers’ home planet. There, the use of robots had culminated in severe social disturbances. But why? Robotic intelligence was supposedly just a device to aid and assist human beings. From where did the austere mistrust originate? He understood from some book-films that the main reason for this outcome had been the considerable quantity of robots on the planet, which left no work for humans. Well, why did they want to work? This argument seemed not quite logical.

  Ironically, it was medical robots that had saved the Settlers’ lives. All of them were brought to the nearest hospital immediately and Calvin reasoned that they should be out of critical condition by now.

  Calvin turned around. His job was done. Holograms of the accident had been taken, and the process had been reconstructed. His aides would take care of the rest. He walked back to his hoo-cap and programmed the driver system to fly back to Janus Metropolis. No need to waste his own resources for such trivial work.

  Databank-Chapter Six

  JANUS METROPOLIS WAS NOTHING LIKE A GROWN CITY. IT WAS DESIGNED BY A COMPUTER WITHOUT HUMAN INTERFERENCE, PERFECTLY PLANNED AND ORGANIZED WITH THE SMALLEST DETAILS TAKEN CARE OF.

  THE STARPORT WAS LOCATED RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE CAPITAL; ONLY THE IMMENSE TERMINALS OF THE CARGO-STARPORT REMAINED OUTSIDE THE CITY. LYING AROUND THE STARPORT IN FORM OF A TRIANGLE WERE THE THREE MAIN SECTORS. EACH OF THEM COULD BE SEEN AS ITS OWN FULL-SIZE CITY, WITH LOW-RISE RESIDENTIAL AREAS, WIDE-SPREAD OPEN SQUARES, COMMUNITY HALLS, ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS, CHURCHES, SOCIAL AND LEISURE FACILITIES AND SIMILAR CONSTRUCTIONS. DUE TO THE FACT THAT SPACE WAS PLENTIFUL, THERE HAD NOT BEEN THE NECESSITY FOR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS OR A NARROW DEVELOPMENT, A FEATURE SUPPORTED BY A PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM THAT WAS FAST AND COMPLEX ENOUGH TO ALLOW SUCH EXTENSIVE ARCHITECTURE. THE FLYWAYS - NUMEROUS STRAIGHT ROADS LEAVING THE CITY IN ALL DIRECTIONS - CONNECTED THE THREE SECTORS. ADDITIONALLY, HIGH-SPEED UNDERGROUND TRAINS WERE RUNNING DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH. A SMALL RIVER SYSTEM LINKED THE SECTORS, AS WELL.

  YET THE MOST POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE BLUEPRINT WERE NOT AS MUCH THE OVERALL STRUCTURE AS THE TINY FEATURES THAT HAD BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. THE LOCATIONS OF KINDERGARTENS AND SHOPPING CENTERS HAD BEEN OPTIMIZED IN RELATION TO THE INHABITANTS’ HOMES AND DEMOGRAPHICS, AND A LARGE VARIETY OF SPORTS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, AS WELL AS PARKS AND WOODLANDS, HAD BEEN PLACED ACCORDING TO PREDICTED COMMUNITY INTERESTS.

  WHEN THE PLAN WAS PRESENTED TO THE CIA, IT WAS APPROVED INSTANTLY. IT SUITED ALL THE DIFFERENT GROUPS - THE COMPUTER HAD TAKEN CARE OF THEM ALL - AND WAS UNIVERSALLY FAVORED IN COMPARISON TO ALL THE OTHER CONCEPTS AND PROPOSALS IN THE OFFICIAL COMPETITION. BECAUSE THE COMPETITION WAS CONDUCTED ANONYMOUSLY, NOBODY IN THE JURY WAS AWARE OF THE FACT THAT IT WAS A COMPUTER-DESIGNED PLAN UNTIL IT WAS EFFECTIVELY CHOSEN.

  THE COMMITTEE WENT ONE STEP BEYOND WHEN IT ANNOUNCED THAT THE ENTIRE CITY WOULD ALREADY BE ESTABLISHED DURING THE TERRAFORMING PERIOD. BECAUSE OF THE UNBEARABLE WORKING CONDITIONS, THIS MEANT CLOSE PARTICIPATION OF ROBOTS. ALTHOUGH THE SETTLERS HAD NOT BEEN TOO PLEASED WITH THIS IDEA, IT WAS DONE EXACTLY SO. IT WAS JUDGED MANDATORY TO BEGIN THE TROUBLESOME EXPERIMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. POLITICAL PRESSURES WERE GETTING HIGHER AND THE GOVERNMENTS DID NOT WANT TO HAVE TO DECIDE UPON SUCH A DELICATE MATTER ANY CLOSER TO THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS. ALSO, THIS TIMING TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE MOMENTUM OF SPACER/SETTLER COOPERATION CREATED DURING THE WORK ON INFERNO.

  BY THE TIME THE FIRST WAVE OF SETTLERS AND SPACERS SET THEIR FEET ON JANUS, THE CITY HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THEM. EVEN THE BOULEVARD MAGAZINES WERE IN PLACE, COMPLETE WITH STORIES CALLING JANUS THE ‘BIGGEST GHOST TOWN’ IN HUMAN HISTORY.

  Chapter Six

  IT WAS DARK, although there was some light shimmering weakly. Gordan was looking at the ceiling. White and without any remarkable feature, he noted. When he began to turn his head, Gordan’s eyes were flickering. He stopped immediately; his head ached ferociously. A deep and heavy pain went through his brain. All he could think of was the white ceiling and his aching head. Slowly, very slowly, he finally managed to roll his head sideways and take a look around.

  He was in a nearly completely white and sterile-looking room with few furnishings. To his right he noticed a table, an uncomfortable looking chair, a visioner, and some other things which he could not identify exactly. At least he could not identify them now, while the pain in his head hampered his very attempts to think. On the wall was a hideous painting in a still more awful frame on the wall, to his left was a curtain in front of an immense window, and before that stood a robot.

  “Good evening, Mr. Kresh,” his pleasing voice stated, “I hope you are feeling quite right for the moment.”

  Gordan coughed, rapidly bringing back the pain he had shortly forgotten about.

  “Please do not move if you are feeling uncomfortable,” the robot said. It was a C-35 model, Gordan noticed. Evidently, it was also his personal aide as sheriff. C-35 models
were built especially for duties and situations dealing with the “dark” side of human behavior, including crime, misery, violence, theft and similar spheres. Since the positronic brain operated on a basis of shifting positronic potentials that were continuously verified according to the Laws of Robotics, the average robot had severe difficulties in such situations. In complex or extreme conditions, it would simply shut down due to a positronic boost in its circuits. When programming C-35 model units, emphasis was laid upon a high endurance towards crime and human suffering. Gordan thus reasoned that the C-35 would provide ideal assistance in police operations.

  “I am fine, I promise,” Gordan lied. “What is your name?”

  “My official registration code is CA-3571-B. Most humans call me Calvin.”

  Calvin did not move. The robot was clearly taller than two and a half meters, and relatively slim. His metal body had a deep blue color that seemed to shimmer from time to time. While his legs made a rather simple impression, his huge arms were considerable tools. Looking into its red, motionless eyes, Gordan figured that Settlers would find the robot especially irritating. It was the desired effect. Like all C-35 models, Calvin was designed to illicit fear and respect from the humans he had to deal with.

  “Okay Calvin. Tell me what happened.”

  “As I was informed by my colleagues, sir, you were in the spaceport arrival hall arguing with two people who had arrived on the same ship. One of them attacked you before my colleagues could interfere. They had to be sent to maintenance for a brain check-up, since they were not able to prevent human suffering, meaning…”