Robots and Empire trs-4

by Isaac Asimov

  Daneel said, “An isolated place then, absolutely isolated and free from any possible intrusion; the sort of place one would surely come across when working one’s way through ancient reference material on fission and would then recognize at once as an ideal base where absolute secrecy was required; and with a three-word name of which ‘mile’ is the second word. That must be the place, madam.—Could you tell us how to get there and could you arrange some way of allowing us to leave the City and be taken to Three Mile Island or its nearest possible vicinity?”

  Quintana smiled. She seemed younger when she smiled. “Clearly, if you are dealing with an interesting case of interstellar espionage, you can’t afford to waste time, can you?”

  “No. Indeed we cannot, madam.”

  “Well, then, it comes within the purview of my duties to take a look at Three Mile Island. Why don’t I take you by air-car? I can handle an air-car.”

  “Madam, your work load—”

  “No one will touch it. It will still be here when I return.”

  “But you would be leaving the City—”

  “And if so? These are not old times. In the bad old days of Spacer domination, Earthpeople never left their Cities, it’s true, but we’ve been moving outward and settling the Galaxy for nearly twenty decades. There are still some of the less educated who maintain the old provincial attitude, but most of us have become quite mobile. There’s always the feeling, I suppose, that we might eventually join some Settler group. I myself don’t intend to, but I fly my own air-car frequently and five years ago I flew to Chicago and then, eventually, flew back.—Sit here. I’ll make the arrangements.”

  She left, very much a whirlwind.

  Daneel looked after her and murmured, “Friend Giskard, that, somehow, did not seem characteristic of her. Have you done something?”

  Giskard said, “A bit. It seemed to me when we entered that the young woman who showed us in was attracted by your appearance. I was certain that there had been the same factor in Madam Quintana’s mind last night at the banquet, though I was too far from her and there were too many others in the room for me to be sure. Once our conversation with her began, however, the attraction was unmistakable. Little by little, I strengthened it and each time she suggested the interview might come to an end, she seemed less determined—and at no time did she seriously object to your continuing it. Finally, she suggested the air-car because, I believe, she had reached the point where she could not bear to lose the chance to be with you for a while longer.”

  “This may complicate matters for me,” said Daneel thoughtfully.

  “It is in a good cause,” said Giskard. “Think of it in terms of the Zeroth Law.” Somehow he gave the impression, in saying so, that he would be smiling—if his face allowed such an expression.

  97

  Quintana drew a sigh of relief as she landed the air-car on a concrete slab suitable for the purpose. Two robots approached at once for the obligatory examination of the vehicle and for repowering if necessary.

  She looked out to the right, leaning across Daneel as she did so. “It is in that direction, several miles up the Susquehanna River. It’s a hot day, too.” She straightened, with some apparent reluctance, and smiled at Daneel. “That’s the worst of leaving the City. The environment is totally uncontrolled out here. Imagine allowing it to be this hot. Don’t you feel hot, Daneel?”

  “I have an internal thermostat, madam, that is in good working order.”

  “Wonderful. I wish I did. There are no roads into this area, Daneel. Nor are there any robots to guide you, for they never enter it. Nor do I know what might be the right place within the area, which is a sizable one. We might stumble all through the area without coming upon the base, even though we passed within five-hundred meters of it.”

  “Not ‘we,’” madam. It is quite necessary for you to remain here. What follows might conceivably be dangerous and since you are without air-conditioning, the task might be more than you could easily bear, physically, even if it were not dangerous. Could you wait for us, madam? To have you do so would be important to me.”

  “I will wait.”

  “We may be some hours.”

  “There are facilities of various sorts here and the small City of Harrisburg is not far.”

  “In that case, madam, we must be on our way.”

  He sprang lightly from the air-car and Giskard followed him. They set off northward. It was nearly noon and the bright summer sun sparkled from the polished portion of Giskard’s body.

  Daneel said, “Any sign of mental activity you can detect will be those we want. There should be no one else for kilometers about.”

  “Are you certain that we can stop them if we encounter them, friend Daneel?”

  “No, friend Giskard, I am by no means certain—but we must.”

  98

  Levular Mandamus grunted and looked up at Amadiro with a tight smile on his thin face.

  “Amazing,” he said, “and most satisfactory.”

  Amadiro mopped his brow and cheeks with a piece of toweling and said, “What does that mean?”

  “It means that every relay station is in working order.”

  “Then you can initiate the intensification?”

  “As soon as I calculate the proper degree of W particle concentration.”

  “And how long will that take?”

  “Fifteen minutes. Thirty.”

  Amadiro watched with an air of intensifying grimness on his face until Mandamus said, “All right. I have it. It’s 2.72 on the arbitrary scale I have set up. That will give us fifteen decades before an upper equilibrium level win be reached that will be maintained without essential change, for millions of years thereafter. And that level will make certain that, at best, Earth can maintain a few scattered groups in areas that are relatively radiation-free. We’ll have only to wait and, in fifteen decades, a thoroughly disorganized group of Settler worlds will be meat, for our slicing.”

  “I will not live fifteen more decades,” said Amadiro slowly.

  “My personal regrets, sir,” said Mandamus dryly, “but we are now talking of Aurora and the Spacer worlds. There will be others who will carry on your task.”

  “You, for instance?”

  “You have promised me the headship of the Institute and as you see, I have earned it. From that political base, I may reasonably hope to become Chairman someday and I will carry through those policies that will be necessary to make certain of the final dissolution of the by-then anarchic worlds of the Settlers.”

  “That’s pretty confident of you. What if you turn on the W particle flow and then someone else turns it down in the course of the next fifteen decades?”

  “Not possible, sir. Once the device is set, an internal atomic shift will freeze it in that position. After that, the process is irreversible—no matter what happens here. The whole place may be vaporized and the crust will nevertheless continue its slow bum. I suppose it would be possible to rebuild an entirely new setup if anyone on Earth or among the Settlers can duplicate my work, but if so they can only further increase the rate of radioactivity, never decrease it. The second law of thermodynamics will see to that.”

  Amadiro said, “Mandamus, you say you have earned the headship. However, I’m the one to decide that, I think.”

  Mandamus said stiffly, “You are not, sir. With respect, the details of this process are known to me, but not to you. Those details are encoded in a place you will not find and, even if you do, it is guarded by robots who will destroy it rather than allow it to fall into your hands. You cannot gain credit for this. I can.”

  Amadiro said, “Nevertheless, getting my approval will hasten matters for you. If you were to wrest the headship from my unwilling hands, by whatever means, you will have a continuing opposition among other members of the Council that will hamper you through all your decades in the post. Is it just the title of head you want or the opportunity to experience all that comes of true leadership?”

&nbs
p; Mandamus said, “Is this the time to talk politics? A moment ago, you were all impatience over the fact that I might linger fifteen minutes over my computer.”

  “Ah, but we are now talking about adjusting, the W particle beam. You want to place it at 2.72—was that the figure?—and yet I wonder if that can be right. What is the extreme range you can handle?”

  “The range goes from zero to twelve, but it is 2.72 that is required. Plus or minus 0.05—if you wish further detail. It is that which, on the basis of reports from all fourteen relays will allow a lapse of fifteen decades to equilibrium.”

  “Yet what I think is the correct figure is twelve.”

  Mandamus stared at the other in horror. “Twelve? Do you understand what that means?”

  “Yes. It means we will have the Earth too radioactive to live upon in a decade or a decade and a half and we will kill a few billion Earthpeople in the process.”

  “And make certain a war with an infuriated Settler Federation. What can you want of such a holocaust?”

  “I tell you again. I do not expect to live another fifteen decades and I want to live to see the destruction of Earth.”

  “But you would also be assuring the maiming—maiming, at the very least—of Aurora. You cannot be serious.”

  “But I am. I have twenty decades of defeat and humiliation to make up.”

  “Those decades were brought about by Han Fastolfe and Giskard—and not by Earth.”

  “No, they were brought about by an Earthman, Elijah Baley.”

  “Who has been dead for more than sixteen decades. What is the value of a moment of vengeance over a man long dead.”

  “I do not want to argue the matter, I will make you an offer. The title of head at once I will resign my post the instant we return to Aurora and nominate you in my place.”

  “No. I do not want the headship on those terms. Death to billions!”

  “Billions of Earthmen. Well, I cannot trust you, then, to manipulate the controls properly. Show me—me—how to set the control instrument and I will take the responsibility. I will still resign my post on our return and will nominate you in my place.”

  “No. It will still mean the death of billions and who knows how many millions of Spacers as well. Dr. Amadiro, please understand that I will not do it on any terms and that you cannot do it without me. The setting mechanism is keyed to my left thumbprint.”

  “I ask you again.”

  “You cannot be sane if you ask me again despite all I have said.”

  “That, Mandamus, is a personal opinion of yours. I am not so insane that I have failed to send off all the local robots on one errand or another. We are alone here.”

  Mandamus lifted a corner of his upper lip in a sneer. “And with what do you intend to threaten me? Are you going to kill me now that there are no robots present to stop you?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, Mandamus, I will if I have to.” Amadiro produced a small-caliber blaster from a pouch at his side. “These are difficult to obtain on Earth, but not impossible—if the price is right. And I know how to use it. Please believe me when I tell you that I am perfectly willing to blow your head off right now—if you do not place your thumb on the contact and allow me to adjust the dial to twelve.”

  “You dare not. If I die, how will you set the dial without me?”

  “Don’t be an utter fool. If I blow your head off, your left thumb will remain intact. It will even be at blood temperature for a while. I will use that thumb, then set the dial as easily as I would turn on a water tap. I would prefer you alive, since your death might be wearisome to explain back on Aurora, but it would not be more wearisome than I could bear. Therefore, I give you thirty seconds to make up your mind. If you cooperate, I will still give you the headship at once. If you don’t, it will all go as I wish, in any case, and you will be dead. We start now. One—two—three—”

  Mandamus stared in horror at Amadiro, who continued to count and stare at him over the leveled blaster with hard, expressionless eyes.

  And then Mandamus hissed, “Put the blaster away, Amadiro, or we’ll both be immobilized on the plea that we must be protected from harm.”

  The warning came too late. Quicker than the eye could follow, an arm stretched out to seize Amadiro’s wrist, paralyzing it with pressure, and the blaster was gone.

  Daneel said, “I apologize for having had to inflict pain on you, Dr. Amadiro, but I cannot allow you to hold a blaster pointed at another human being.”

  99

  Amadiro said nothing.

  Mandamus said coldly, “You are two robots with, as far as I can see, no master in view. By default, I am your master and I order you to leave and not return. Since, as you see, there is no danger to any human being present at this moment, there is nothing to overcome your necessitated obedience to this order. Leave at once.”

  Daneel said, “Respectfully, sir, there is no need to hide our identities or abilities from you, since you know them already. My companion, R. Giskard Reventlov, has the ability to detect emotion.—Friend Giskard.”

  Giskard said, “As we approached, having detected your presence at quite a distance, I took note, Dr. Amadiro, of an overwhelming rage in your mind. In yours, Dr. Mandamus, there was extreme fear.”

  “The rage, if rage there was,” said Mandamus, “was Dr Amadiro’s reaction to the approach of two strange robots, especially of one who was capable of meddling with the human mind and who had already badly—and perhaps permanently—damaged that of Lady Vasilia. My fear, if fear there was, was also the result of your approach. We are not in control of our emotions and there is no reason for you to interfere. We again order you to withdraw permanently.”

  Daneel said, “Your pardon, Dr. Mandamus, but I merely wish to ascertain that we may safely follow your orders. Was there not a blaster in Dr. Amadiro’s hand when we approached—and was it not pointed at you?”

  Mandamus said, “He was explaining its workings and he was about to put it away when you took it from him.”

  “Then shall I return it to him, sir, before I leave?”

  “No,” said Mandamus without a quiver, “for then you would have an excuse to remain here in order to—as you would say—protect us. Take it with you when you go and you will have no reason to return.”

  Daneel said, “We have reason to think that you are here in a region which human beings are not allowed to penetrate—”

  “That is a custom, not a law, and one which, in any case, holds no force over us, since we are not Earthpeople. For that matter, robots are not allowed to be here, either.”

  “We were brought here, Dr. Mandamus, by a high official of Earth’s government. We have reason to think that you are here in order to raise the level of radioactivity in Earth’s crust and do grave and irreparable damage to the planet.”

  “Not at all,” began Mandamus.

  Here Amadiro interrupted for the first time. “By what right, robot, do you cross-examine us? We are human beings who have given you an order. Follow it now!”

  His tone of authority was overwhelming and Daneel quivered, while Giskard half-turned.

  But Daneel said, “Your pardon, Dr. Amadiro. I do not cross-examine. I merely seek reassurance, in order that I may know that I can safely follow the order. We have reason to think that—”

  “You need not repeat,” said Mandamus. Then, in an aside, “Dr. Amadiro, please allow me to answer.” To Daneel again, “Daneel, we are here on an anthropological mission. It is our purpose to seek the origins of various human customs that influence behavior among Spacers. These origins can be found only here on Earth and it is here, then, that we seek them.”

  “Do you have Earth’s permission, for this?”

  “Seven years ago, I consulted the appropriate officials on Earth and received their permission.”

  Daneel said in a low voice, “Friend Giskard, what do you say?”

  Giskard said, “The indications in Dr. Mandamus’s mind are that what he is saying is not i
n accord with the situation as it is.”

  “He is lying, then?” said Daneel firmly.

  “That is my belief,” said Giskard.

  Mandamus said, his calmness untouched, “That may be your belief, but belief is not certainty. You cannot disobey an order on the basis of mere belief. I know that and you know that.”

  Giskard said, “But in Dr. Amadiro’s mind, rage is dammed only by emotional forces that are barely up to the job required of them. It is quite possible to slit those forces, so to speak, and allow the rage to pour out.”

  And Amadiro cried out, “Why do you fence with these things, Mandamus?”

  Mandamus shouted, “Do not say a word, Amadiro! You play into their hands!”

  Amadiro paid no attention. “It is demeaning and it is useless.” With violent anger, he shook off Mandamus’s restraining arm. “They know the truth, but what of that?—Robots, we are Spacers. More than that, we are Aurorans, from the world on which you were constructed. More than that, we are high officials on the world of Aurora and you must interpret the phrase ‘human beings’ in the Three Laws of Robotics as meaning Auroran.

  “If you do not obey us now, you harm us and humiliate us, so that you will be violating both the First and Second Laws. That our actions here are intended to destroy Earthmen, even large numbers of Earthmen, is true, but is, even so, utterly irrelevant. You might as well offer to refuse to obey us because we eat the meat of animals we have killed. Now that I have explained this to you, leave!”