Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time 6 - Invader

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Invader - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F Wu

Don’t miss the first five books in Isaac Asimov’s Robots In Time

PREDATOR

The robot called Hunter’s first target is hiding somewhere in the age of

dinosaurs. He must catch a robot forced to fight for survival…a robot turned

Predator.

MARAUDER

Hunter’s second mission sends his team to an age of pirates and cutthroats.

Their target is a robot determined to survive…a robot branded Marauder.

WARRIOR

In the chaos of the Roman Empire’s collapse, Hunter and his team search for a

robot who will risk all of history to escape them…a robot Warrior.

DICTATOR

In the midst of the Second World War, Hunter and his team must outwit Nazi

soldiers and Soviet agents to accomplish their mission…in the time of the

Dictator.

EMPEROR

Hunter and his team chase their prey to ancient China during the reign of

Kubla Khan…China’s greatest Emperor.

ISAAC ASIMOV’S

ROBOTS

IN TIME

WILLIAM F. WU

THE LAWS OF ROBOTICS

A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being

to come to harm.

A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such

orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not

conflict with the First or Second Law.

ISAAC ASIMOV’S

ROBOTS

IN TIME

INVADER

WILLIAM F. WU

Databank by Matt Elson

This novel is dedicated to the memory of my maternal grandmother,

Mae Franking,

Who passed her English and Scottish descent to me and became the first

novelist in the family.

Special thanks are due during the time of writing this novel to Dr. William Q.

Wu and Cecile F. Wu, my parents, for indulging my lifelong interest in

history; Riucia Mainhardt; Bridgett and Marty Marquardt; Michael D. Toman;

and John Betancourt, Leigh Grossman, Keith R. A. DeCandido, and Byron Preiss.

R. Hunter, a humaniform robot, waited as Steve Chang looked up at him angrily.

They stood in the small office of Mojave Center Governor, in the underground

city of Mojave Center. Steve began to pace.

“I hardly slept at all, Hunter,” Steve growled. “Jane could be anywhere in the

world, at any time in history. That’s the toughest kidnapping to solve anyone

could imagine. We have to start looking for her. Once we get going, I’ll get

back to normal.”

“You know that R. Ishihara cannot allow her to be harmed under the First Law

of Robotics,” said Hunter. “That will not change, no matter where they are.”

“I know, I know—’A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction,

allow a human being to come to harm,’ “ Steve droned impatiently. “But

Ishihara is working for Wayne Nystrom, renegade roboticist,” said Steve. “That

tells us how great Ishihara’s judgment must be. I don’t trust him to follow

the First Law responsibly.”

“Dr. Nystrom apparently convinced Ishihara to help him under the First Law,”

said Hunter. “Once he had done that, Ishihara had no choice but to obey him

under the Second Law. However, Ishihara will protect both Jane and Dr. Nystrom

from immediate harm.”

“So who cares if the Second Law of Robotics says, ‘A robot must obey the

orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with

the First Law,’ if the human giving orders can’t be trusted?”

“I do not predict that Jane will be with them long,” said Hunter. “Wayne

Nystrom will be searching for MC 6 in the same time and place we will. That

narrows the search for Jane considerably. Our search for MC 6 will take us to

them.”

“Well, we know about when and where to find them, then,” said Steve. “So

let’s go!”

“Not so fast.” Hunter turned and eased his body into the desk chair.

“Why not?”

“We must prepare this mission with the same care we used in the others. Since

we are going back to fifth-century Britain, I will retain my present

appearance. It is consistent with the gene pool of the local people we will

meet.” A brawny six feet six inches tall with short blond hair and blue eyes,

Hunter had been designed with the ability to change his shape and appearance

at will.

“All right, fine. That’s your department; it won’t matter to me. What else do

we have to do?” Steve put both fists on his hips and glared at Hunter. “I’ve

already taken the vaccines you arranged this morning. I assume you’ve prepared

period clothing, just as you did before.”

“Yes. I took the clothing to the Bohung Institute while you were trying to

sleep. However, I have hired Harriet Lane, a new historian, to join us.”

“Well, where is she?”

“She is due here in a few minutes; I arranged for her to receive her vaccines

from R. Cushing, the medical robot who tended your head injury after our

fourth mission. Together, we will have to decide how to explain your Chinese

descent to Britons who have never heard of China or seen anyone of your race

and ethnicity.”

“Well, we told the ancient Germans in Roman times that I was a slave from the

eastern Mediterranean. That should be good enough.”

“Perhaps. My internal clock says the time is 7:38 P.M. While we wait for

Harriet, I must report to the Governor Robot Oversight Committee.”

“All right, I’ll shut up.” Steve folded his arms across his chest and

continued pacing anxiously. “I just hope she shows up soon.”

Nodding, Hunter called the city computer and instructed it to contact the

four members of the Governor Robot Oversight Committee for him. Then he waited

while they were located for the conference call. In front of him, Steve still

stomped back and forth across the small room.

Hunter could not avoid making reports to the Oversight Committee. He had been

designed and built specifically for the committee in order to search for

Mojave Center Governor, one of six experimental gestalt robots who were

supposed to be running certain cities. All the other Governor robots had

mysteriously shut themselves down. However, MC Governor had suddenly divided

into the six component gestalt humaniform robots out of which he was comprised

and vanished. No one knew why.

Dr. Wayne Nystrom, an eccentric roboticist, had designed and built the

Governor robots. However, the Governor Robot Oversight Committee had been

studying their performance and judging their efficiency. When the Governors

began to fail, Wayne Nystrom had apparently felt that his career was in

danger. He had been trying to beat Hunter to each of the component robots of

MC Governor in order to dismantle and examine them for the mysterious flaw

that had shut down the first five Governors before Hunter could reassemble MC

Governor and turn him over to the Oversight Committee to complete their study.

When Hunter had arrived in Mojave Center, he had learned that MC Governor had

modified an existing piece of technology in the Bohung Institute into a time

travel device. Then each of his component robots had miniaturized themselves

to microscopic size and fled back in time to a different era, intending to

hide forever. Jane believed their motivation was the Third Law of Robotics, “

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not

conflict with the First or Second Law.” Unknown to them, however, a flaw in

the miniaturization caused each of them to return to full size at different

times, wherever they happened to be.

At that point, they had to masquerade as human. Two dangers presented

themselves as a result. The first was that they could alter the direction of

history by living throughout the centuries and causing people to act in

different ways, driven by the Three Laws of Robotics. Hunter had to prevent

that in order to avoid harm to all humans by having the timeline of history

significantly changed.

In addition, when the component robots or their material remains reached the

approximate time they had left, they exploded with nuclear force. As Hunter

prepared to go back with his team to find MC 6, he also was monitoring the

news broadcasts of a mysterious nuclear explosion in south-central England.

Only his team members knew that it had been caused by MC 6 exploding.

Now Wayne had a robot named R. Ishihara helping him. Originally, Hunter had

instructed Ishihara to apprehend Wayne if he returned from the past to the

time travel sphere in Room F-12 of the Bohung Institute. Somehow, the

roboticist had used an argument involving the Three Laws of Robotics to induce

Ishihara to cooperate with him.

On five separate missions, Hunter had led his team of humans in pursuit of the

other five component robots. All five had been caught. Now they were here in

the office of MC Governor, where they stood merged and shut down, waiting for

the last component robot in order to complete MC Governor again. Once he had

been put back together, the Oversight Committee would investigate why the

other Governors had shut down and why MC Governor had divided and fled.

Hunter had reported to the Governor Robot Oversight Committee on his progress

after each mission. However, he felt that the existence of time travel held

incalculable potential harm for all humans. For that reason, he had kept it a

secret from all except the humans and robots whose help he required.

Certainly if the scientists on the Oversight committee learned of the time

travel, it would never remain a secret. The discovery would be too valuable

for a committee of scientists to ignore. Wayne Nystrom had discovered MC

Governor’s development of time travel on his own, before Hunter had learned of

it. Hunter could not do anything about that.

“Hunter, city computer calling. The Governor Robot Oversight Committee is

ready for your conference call.”

“Thank you. Please connect me.”

As before, the faces of the four committee members appeared on Hunter’s

internal video screen in split portrait shots from their various locations.

Everyone exchanged greetings. Then Hunter began his report.

“The first five component robots are in custody and merged,” said Hunter.

“That’s great,” said Dr. Redfield, the tall blonde. “I suppose this has been

an easy assignment for you. You began less than two weeks ago.”

“I must repeat once again that past success does not predict the difficulty of

the final mission,” said Hunter. “As always, I cannot promise that the

remainder of my work will be completed within a similar period of time.”

“Where did this mission take place?” Dr. Chin asked. “Previously, you have

reported quite a wide range of locations around the world.”

“In northern China,” said Hunter. “On the border of Mongolia.” He remained

deliberately vague in his reports. So far, his reserve had forestalled

persistent questioning from the committee members.

“Northern China.” Professor Post nodded, idly stroking his black beard for a

moment. “Well, that’s interesting. Do you have a lead on MC 6?”

“I must investigate the British Isles,” said Hunter. “This is preliminary

information.”

“Which one?” Dr. Chin asked.

“I shall begin in England. On previous missions, a certain amount of travel

has been involved.”

“Wait a minute,” said Dr. Chin. “Haven’t you heard about the big explosion?

Won’t that interfere with your search?”

“I will take it into account as I make my plans,” said Hunter.

“Do you think MC 6 may have been destroyed in the explosion?” Professor Post

asked calmly.

“It is an inescapable consideration,” said Hunter. “However, I can only

proceed and find what i may.”

“I am not surprised,” said Dr. Khanna, in his Hindi accent. “However, your

work has been completed very quickly to date. We are all impressed.”

“I must repeat that I can make no guarantee of my schedule to come,” said

Hunter.

“Yes, I heard you the first time,” said Dr. Khanna, with a trace of annoyance

in his tone. “You repeat that warning in every report. However, you continue

to complete each mission in the same length of time. What would make this

final mission any different?”

“The explosion, and its after-effects,” said Dr. Redfield. “He may have a

harder time now.”

“My original point remains valid,” said Hunter. “I have no prediction about

the challenges that my team will face. Anything can happen.” Hunter realized

that he had made a mistake. Before, he had never told the committee members

that he was going to an area where a nuclear explosion had occurred.

“We note your caution,” said Dr. Chin. “And as always, we wish you good luck.”

“That will be fine, Hunter,” said Dr. Redfield. “I suggest we allow you to get

to work.”

“Thank you,” said Hunter. “I am ready to begin. Do you have any final

questions?”

No one did.

“Good luck,” said Dr. Chin.

“Thank you. Good-bye.” Hunter broke the connection and turned to Steve,

speaking aloud. “Report completed.”

“Good!” Steve glanced impatiently at the closed door of the office. “So

where’s our historian?”

“I expect her at any time.”

“All right, all right. What do we do in the meantime? Do we know what MC 6’s

specialty was, within MC Governor’s responsibilities? Jane always seemed to

think that was important.”

“I have that information,” said Hunter. “The data the committee originally

gave me about MC Governor provides the original divisions of expertise among

the gestalt robots. Since Jane correctly identified the specialties of the

first five component robots, I know by process of elimination that MC 6 is the

portion of MC Governor that specialized in maintaining social stability among

humans.”

“Yeah? What does that mean, exactly?”

“In Mojave Center, that meant keeping track of various human needs, not only

for survival and protection from harm, but for emotional satisfaction: leisure

pursuits, choices of education and career, and career organization to

encourage challenges and accomplishments.”

“Okay. But Jane also used to guess that a component robot’s choice of where

to hide related to his specialty in Mojave Center.”

“Yes, I remember. Using the same sort of logic Jane expressed prior to

earlier missions, I surmise that MC 6 therefore deliberately fled with the

question of social instability in mind. However, England is an unusual case;

since 1066, it has had a relatively high degree of stability for an Old World

nation, despite some occasional turbulence. However, I calculate that MC 6

will return to his full human size from miniaturization in the late fifth

century, in a time of extreme social turmoil and political instability. Since

he did not plan that, the timing is ironic, to say the least.”

Steve started to answer. When he heard footsteps approaching the office, he

stopped and glanced at Hunter, who nodded. Steve opened the door.

“Oh—you startled me.” Harriet smiled and came in as Steve stepped back. She

was tall and slender, about forty years old, with short, wavy brown hair.

Hunter introduced them. “Harriet specializes in late Roman and post-Roman

Britain.”

“I love the period,” Harriet said cheerfully. “And I’ve had my dinner and my

vaccinations, as you instructed. What comes next?”

“Have you both successfully taken your sleep courses in ancient British and

Latin?” Hunter asked.

“Yes,” said Harriet. “I was familiar with both languages, but the course will

help me speak them.”

“I took the British, too,” said Steve. “And I updated the Latin from our third

mission because Hunter said it had changed some in the centuries that had

passed. But what is this British language, anyhow? Did it turn into English

later?”

“Not really,” said Harriet. “It’s the language that was spoken in Britain

before the Romans arrived, and it coexisted with Latin during their

occupation. It later evolved into Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. But what we call

English was based originally on Anglo-Saxon and Norman French.”

“But we’ll still need the Latin this time, too?” Steve asked.

“We’ll find a lot of Latin in the time we’re visiting,” said Harriet. “But it

doesn’t stay for many more years. Except for some monasteries and place names,

Latin disappears and then reenters English again much later.”

“Oh. Shows what I know about it.” Steve turned to Hunter. “Have you told

Harriet about Wayne and Ishihara? How they’re trying to beat us to MC 6 and

why?”

“Yes, he has,” said Harriet. “He also told me that they kidnapped your friend

Jane on your last mission. I’m sure you’re worried about her.”

“Well, yeah. That’s true.” Steve looked at Hunter. “Can we go yet?”

“We will go to the Bohung Institute. The Security vehicle is waiting outside.”

“Good.”

Hunter drove them through the calm, clean streets of the underground city.

Steve sat next to Harriet, too tense to speak. The electric motor of the

vehicle hummed softly as they drove by humans and robots on their daily

routines who were unaware that the secret of time travel, with all its

potential danger to change history, lay in their midst.

Before the first mission, Hunter had closed the Bohung Institute. He had

arranged for a detail of Security robots to guard it. They allowed his team

inside, of course, and they walked to Room F-12.

Steve looked around the familiar room. Room F-12 was a large facility that

housed an opaque sphere about fifteen meters in diameter. With its console,

the sphere could both miniaturize humans and robots to microscopic size and

also send them back through time, in either normal or microscopic condition.

Countertops lined the rest of the room, filled with computers, monitors, a

communication console, and miscellaneous office equipment.

Hunter introduced Harriet to R. Daladier, a robot he had left in the room to

apprehend Wayne Nystrom and Ishihara if they returned unexpectedly.

Steve waited anxiously, knowing the team would have to discuss the mission

further and change clothes before Hunter would actually take them back in

time.

“I arranged to have period costumes made for us earlier today,” said Hunter.

He pointed to four neatly folded stacks of clothing on one counter. Four sets

of leather boots stood next to them. “Please check them for authenticity. No

synthetics have been used.”

“I see four outfits,” said Steve. “We only have three of us this time.”

“We will take a full costume for Jane,” said Hunter. “I expect to find her,

but she may need period clothing. She left China in the time of Kublai Khan

wearing a robe and trousers from that culture.”

“Right.”

Harriet lifted a long, brown tunic and shook it out. “Tunics for you two.

Wool, of course; that’s right. A rope belt. Loosely cut, longer than

kneelength. It looks fine.” She lifted another. “This white undertunic is made

of cotton. It was expensive in ancient Britain. A sign of prosperity. And I

see the shift I will wear under my wool gown is also made of cotton.”

“Underclothing of cotton will be fur more comfortable for you two than wool,

fur, or any other acceptable choice,” said Hunter. “I believe the comfort will

increase your efficiency. Besides, suggesting a hint of prosperity can be part

of the roles we will play.”

“As you decide.” Harriet lifted her gown, also of brown wool. “Full-length,

loose, and blousy... long sleeves. Yes, this will be fine, too.”

“What about the boots?” Steve asked.

Harriet picked up one of them. “About these roles, Hunter. What are they?”

“From the historical data I have taken from the city library, I suggest that I

play the role of a horse trader from Gaul. You two will masquerade as my wife

and servant. Unless you find a flaw in this plan, I would like to say that I

wish to move away from the crumbling, unstable Roman Empire in Gaul and raise

my horse herds in Britain.”

“Go on.” She put down the first boot and studied another one.

“I learned that southern England in this time has ideal horse-grazing land and

that Artorius, the man upon whom the legend of King Arthur was based, led a

troop of cavalry. He would have to be concerned about a reliable source of

mounts for his men.”

“Hold it,” said Steve, grinning in spite of his eagerness to get on their way.

“We aren’t taking any horses with us. You can’t horse-trade without them.”

“I propose to say that I am looking for land in Britain before bringing my

herd over the Channel,” said Hunter. “Would this sound reasonable?”

“The boots are acceptable, too.” Harriet paused thoughtfully as she put the

last boot down. “Yes, your story will be plausible, though you could improve

on it. However, bringing something to trade would be more convincing. You

could be an ironworker, a trader in silver, a soldier...the list of

possibilities is very long.”

“I chose the role after due consideration,” said Hunter. “I must playa role

that will carry some prestige without having to take material objects into the

past. We must take some coins and our clothing, but every item we take

increases the chance of influencing history in a way we do not intend and

cannot predict. The role of soldier might put Steve into greater danger than I

would prefer.”

“Ah—you’re a believer in chaos theory as applied to the events of history.”

She smiled, amused.

“I no longer believe in the most pure and extreme form of chaos theory,” said

Hunter. “My team has made five missions into the past without altering our own

time in any way that I can detect.”

“Good. Then you’re coming around to my way of thinking about this.”

“Not entirely,” said Hunter. “I tell each historian I hire that I do not know

where the threshold of significant change lies. If I can go into the past as a

horse trader so that we do not have to take any merchandise with us, then we

take the least risk.”

“I do not believe in it at all,” said Harriet, casually. “But you’re the boss.

I accept your priorities.”

“I still say a horse trader would take horses with him,” said Steve. “Even

just one stallion to show off. The people we see are going to expect that.”

“We can claim we brought a couple of horses that were lost in a storm as we

sailed across the Channel,” said Harriet. “That was not unheard-of in these

times.”

“Am I correct in concluding that Artorius must value the source of his

mounts?” Hunter asked.

“Oh, yes. The single greatest advantage the Britons have over the Saxons is

their training in Roman cavalry strategy and tactics. You see, the Saxons in

this time are unmounted but numerous. Artorius had to keep his men supplied

with good, healthy horses.”

“Good,” said Hunter. He pointed to three cloth pouches on the counter. “We

also have a small pouch of coins from this period for each of us to carry.”

“Late Roman coins?” She pulled one open and drew out one of the coins. “Since

we will claim to have come from Gaul, that would be our currency. Britain

primarily still uses the same, but some native coins had to be minted, too.”

“Our coins are all late Roman. Also, we have a small bag for Steve to carry.

It contains a change of underclothing for each of you and some bread, cheese,

and dried meat. I do not know how long it will take us to find food for you.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” said Harriet. “Southern England remained heavily

Romanized culturally and densely populated for many years after the Romans

left Britain on its own.”

Steve picked up the bag and looked inside. “Okay. I’ll put Jane’s clothes and

boots in here.”

“I will prepare the console. Please take turns changing your clothes in the

next room.”

Steve waited while Harriet changed first. Hunter walked to the console that

controlled the sphere and altered the settings. Steve began to pace again.

“Are you taking us back at night again?” Steve asked, glancing up at Hunter.

“Since we’re leaving in the evening?”

“I feel this works best,” said Hunter. “We arrive in near-darkness to avoid

notice.”

“I’d rather go back in daylight so we can start looking for Jane right away.”

“You will be ready to sleep in several more hours,” said Hunter. “If we go

back at a time that conflicts with your own sleep schedule, then you and

Harriet will be inefficient. Matching your schedule to arrive in daylight

would now require waiting until tomorrow morning to leave.”

“Well—forget it, then. Let’s just go.”

Harriet returned from the other room, wearing her long gown and leather boots.

“How do I look?”

“Very authentic,” said Hunter.

Harriet laughed lightly. “I don’t think that’s what I was asking, but thanks,

anyway.”

Steve grinned but said nothing as he went to change in the adjoining room. He

emerged wearing the long tunics and boots, which felt similar to the tunic he

had worn to ancient Germany in Roman times.

“The console is ready,” said Hunter. “Harriet, you should know that I have the

belt unit that will trigger it, even from the time to which we are going.

After we arrive, I will carry it in a hollow space within my torso.”

“All right.” Harriet nodded, tugging at her gown to straighten it over her

rope belt. “Hunter, when we first discussed the mission, you told me we would

visit the site of the archaeological dig now known as Cadbury Castle in the

time of Artorius. How about telling us now exactly when in time our

destination is?”

“And tell me where Cadbury Castle is,” Steve added. “I’m still in the dark.”

“Cadbury Castle lies in Somerset, in central southern England,” said Hunter.

“The modern town of South Cadbury lies immediately to the north. Farther

north, but within sight, is the city of Glastonbury. We will arrive on the

evening of April 21, in A.D. 459.”

Steve grinned. “I still don’t know where we’re going, except that we’ll be in

England.”

“It won’t be the England most people think of,” said Harriet “The Roman Empire

left Britain to fend for itself against invading barbarians in A.D. 410. The

same Celtic tribes who lived there before the Romans arrived still remained,

but now they had a strong Roman cultural and military influence. By A.D. 459,

when we’ll arrive, the Britons will have been resisting the Saxons who had

invaded and settled along the Humber and Wash rivers in southeastern Britain

for half a century. The failing Roman Empire still just barely exists across

the English Channel in Gaul.”

“I think I got the gist of that.” Steve shrugged, still grinning.

“I’m sure we’ll all manage just fine.”

Hunter opened the sphere. He helped Harriet climb inside first. By this time,

the routine was familiar to Steve; as always, he slid down the curved interior

surface to the bottom, where Harriet already sat. Hunter climbed in, closing

the sphere after him to leave them in darkness.

Jane Maynard landed with a thump on wet grass. A cold drizzle fell from a

dark, overcast sky. She pushed herself up and brushed her long, brown hair

out of her eyes. Wayne Nystrom got up on her right; Ishihara, still holding

her right arm in one hand, remained on her left.

“Foul weather,” Wayne muttered.

“Where are we now?” Jane demanded. A few moments ago by subjective measuring,

Wayne and Ishihara had forcibly taken her away from the palace grounds of

Kublai Khan in thirteenth-century China. First, to escape Hunter, they had

simply jumped a few hours ahead, to the peasant village where they had been

staying. Then Wayne had taken a few moments to reset his belt unit before

bringing them here, wherever it was.

“We’re in Britain, two-thirty in the afternoon of April 19, A.D. 459,” said

Wayne.

Ishihara stood, then helped Jane to her feet. “This cool, damp weather is

potentially harmful to humans. We must find shelter for you, especially before

nightfall.”

Jane looked around, tugging her Chinese robe tightly around her. Beneath it,

she also wore matching baggy trousers. Shepherds sat huddled under trees in

the distance, surrounded by their flocks in the drizzle; none were looking

this way. Most of the terrain was open, rolling grassland, with clumps of

trees scattered here and there. Some tilled fields lay among them, with young

shoots too small to identify from here. In the distance, she could see two

high hills, one much farther away than the other. A small village lay on the

plateau of the nearer hill, and an outer wall of earth and wood surrounded its

base.

“That’s why I brought us here in the middle of the afternoon,” said Wayne. “We

have some time before sundown.” He smiled suddenly. “We have even more time

before Hunter gets here.”

“What do you mean?” Ishihara asked.

“I guess it doesn’t matter if Jane hears this. I estimate that MC 6 will

return to his full size in a couple of days. Hunter has repeatedly arrived

within twenty-four hours of the time when the component robots return to

normal size.” Wayne handed the belt unit to Ishihara.

“What about it?” Jane asked casually, as though the point meant nothing. She

watched Ishihara put the belt unit inside his Chinese peasant blouse. Then,

under the cloth, he opened his torso and hid the unit inside.

“Therefore, we should have a few days to learn our way around, establish some

contacts, and be prepared for both MC 6 and Hunter’s team before they arrive.”

Wayne shook his head. “I should have tried this before, but in places like a

buccaneer town and the Russian front in World War II, I didn’t want to stay

any longer than I had to. And in the dinosaur age and in ancient Germany, I

hadn’t figured it out yet.”

“But you planned to make friends with those peasants in China?” Jane asked.

“No, it just worked out that way,” said Wayne. “But now, when Hunter arrives,

he must consider your welfare, too. Combining some earlier preparations with

that problem for him gives me the best chance I have had yet. Ishihara, I

instruct you to shut off your radio reception now and keep it off until I

order otherwise.”

Jane understood. When Hunter arrived, he might attempt to communicate directly

with Ishihara. Wayne did not want any communication between them.

Wayne looked around. “Ishihara, suggest where we should go.”

“I propose we walk to the nearest peasant hut.” He pointed to a hut from which

a narrow, lazy trail of smoke drifted low in the air. A narrow road meandered

among the hills, passing by the hut. “Before we can communicate with more than

gestures, I will have to begin learning the local language. If the response is

hostile, we can walk along the road to meet someone else, perhaps in that

village.”

“Maybe we should try the village first. That looks a more likely place for MC

6 to show up.”

“A village offers more potential harm, as well,” said Ishihara. “If we can

find lodging elsewhere, then we can visit the village later.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Ishihara led them through the drizzle toward the hut he had chosen. He did not

bother to take Jane’s arm. She walked behind him, with Wayne next to her.

Jane knew Ishihara had no reason to fear she would run away from them right

now. Until she knew that Hunter and Steve had arrived, and where they were,

she had nowhere to go. She would certainly be safer in Ishihara’s company than

anywhere else here, and she saw no chance she could get the belt unit out of

Ishihara’s torso.

For now, she would just have to bide her time.

As they approached the hut, Jane could smell bread baking. She was not hungry,

but she liked the familiar aroma. A donkey grazing behind the hut stopped and

looked up at them. Near it, a small farm wagon had been left under a tree. The

entire scene made the locale seem less strange.

“Hold it,” said Wayne, stopping. “Does anybody know what language they speak

here?”

“No,” said Ishihara.

Jane said nothing. She blinked drizzle out of her eyes and rubbed her arms

together.

“My history isn’t too good,” said Wayne. “Are the Romans still here?”

“The Roman Empire ceased to defend Britain in A.D. 410,” said Ishihara.

“If the Romans left, I suppose no one speaks Latin here any more,” said Wayne.

“I took that sleep course in Latin for that trip to Roman Germany. You

accessed Latin then, too. Maybe some people here still speak it.”

“We can make an attempt to communicate with Latin,” said Ishihara.

Jane had also taken the Latin sleep course before the mission to ancient

Germany. Since Wayne and Ishihara did not ask her about it, however, she

chose not to volunteer the fact. She had no specific plan in mind, but keeping

her facility with Latin a secret seemed like a good idea.

“Please go first,” Wayne said to Ishihara.

“Of course.” Ishihara walked toward the front door of the hut.

Suddenly a couple of dogs barked in the distance behind them. Ishihara stopped

and turned. Jane looked, also, and saw two shepherds hurrying down a nearby

hill from their flock of sheep. Their dogs, both large and black, ran ahead of

them.

“We must wait here,” said Ishihara quickly. “Do not alarm the dogs by moving

suddenly. I will speak to the men when they reach us.”

A woman came to the door of the hut. Four children peered from around her

long, full skirt made of some rough cloth. The youngest was a toddler, the

eldest maybe ten or eleven years old. None of them spoke. All of them stared

cautiously at the strangers.

“It’s our clothes, I guess,” Said Wayne quietly. “Jane has a fancy Chinese

robe and pants and we have Chinese peasant outfits. We’ll never explain them.”

“Maybe we can use the clothes to our advantage,” said Jane. “I’m richly

dressed by peasant standards. They may be afraid of us as strangers, but they

might not want to turn away an important lady. And only our clothing is

strange. We looked more out of place in China, no matter what kind of clothes

we wore.”

“Well, that’s true,” Wayne said slowly. He turned to study her face. “But why

are you so willing to cooperate all of a sudden?”

“I need food and shelter as much as you do. We can’t just spend the next few

days standing out in the rain.”

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Invader-IsaacAsimov'sRobotsInTime-WilliamFWuDon’tmissthefirstfivebooksinIsaacAsimov’sRobotsInTimePREDATORTherobotcalledHunter’sfirsttargetishidingsomewhereintheageofdinosaurs.Hemustcatcharobotforcedtofightforsurvival…arobotturnedPredator.MARAUDERHunter’ssecondmissionsendshisteamtoanageofpiratesandcu...

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