Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time 5 - Emperor

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Emperor - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F. Wu
ISAAC ASIMOV’S
ROBOTS
IN TIME
by
WILLIAM F. WU
THE LAWS OF ROBOTICS
1.
A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being
to come to harm.
2.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law.
3.
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
EMPEROR
WILLIAM F. WU
Copyright © 1994
Databank by Matt Elson
This novel is dedicated to
The memory of my paternal grandfather, Yuan San Wu, who passed the story of
the building of the Great Wall to me through my father
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; Ricia Mainhardt; Robert L. DeCandido of the New York Public Library
(Research) Preservation Division, for assistance with the descriptions of
papermaking; and John Betancourt, Leigh Grossman, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and
Byron Preiss
1
R. Hunter sat in the office chair of Mojave Center Governor, the robot he had
been assigned to reassemble. Hunter had to decide what appearance to use on
his next mission. He wore his usual northern European physiognomy now, with
short blond hair and blue eyes. A brawny six feet six inches tall, he had been
designed with the ability to change his shape and appearance at will and might
have to do so for the next trip back into the past, to China in 1290.
First, however, he would discuss the question with the humans on his team.
His internal clock told him the time was 6:49 P.M. They were having dinner now
and would join him here soon.
After four previous missions into the past, Jane Maynard, the roboticist, and
Steve Chang, the general assistant, had a routine established now. Since their
return last night from the outskirts of Moscow in 1941, they had each had a
good night’s sleep. They had spent the day relaxing in Mojave Center, this new
underground city in the Mojave Desert. Then Jane had called Hunter about an
hour ago to say they were meeting for dinner before coming to see him.
While they rested, Hunter had hired a historian who specialized in China
during the time of Kublai Khan to join the team. Marcia Lew had arrived from
her home in Houston a short time ago. She had agreed to join Hunter here soon
to meet the rest of the team.
Hunter had been especially designed and built to lead the search for Mojave
Center Governor, the missing experimental gestalt robot who was supposed to be
running Mojave Center. However, without warning, he had abandoned his
responsibilities. MC Governor had divided into the six component gestalt
humaniform robots out of which he was comprised and vanished.
Each gestalt robot had fled back in time to a different era. Hunter had led
his team of humans on successful missions in pursuit of the first four
component robots. Now they stood here in the office of MC Governor, merged
and shut down, waiting for the last two in order to complete the Governor
robot again.
“Hunter, city computer calling. The Governor Robot Oversight Committee is
waiting for you on a conference call.”
“Excellent. Please connect me.”
The faces of the four Committee members appeared on Hunter’s internal video
screen in split portrait shots. As usual, they did not waste any time with
social amenities. They exchanged greetings briefly, then Hunter got right to
his report.
“MC 4 has been joined to the first three components who were already in
custody,” said Hunter.
“You’re as efficient as ever,” said Dr. Redfield, the tall blonde. She smiled
approvingly. “You’ve progressed so quickly that I suppose it has been fairly
easy for you.”
“As I have said before, this does not predict the difficulty of the next
challenge. I still cannot guarantee that the remainder of my work will be
completed at the same speed.”
“Where was MC 4?” Dr. Chin cocked her head to one side, looking at him with
curiosity. “Nearby, this time?”
“In western Russia,” said Hunter. He had not informed them of the time travel
device and hoped that the necessity of doing so would not arise. He was
deliberately vague in his reports. So far, his rapid success had satisfied
them.
“We have very little to criticize.” Professor Post stroked his black beard for
a moment. “Nothing, in fact, that I can see. Where do you expect to go next?”
“I have a lead in East Asia,” said Hunter.
“Really?” Dr. Chin said. “This is quite a change in geography.”
“I have only preliminary information,” Hunter said cautiously.
“Your information has always been good,” said Dr. Khanna, speaking with his
Hindi accent. “Your success could not have come about so quickly otherwise.”
“I feel I must repeat that I can make no guarantee of my progress to come,”
said Hunter.
“Yes, yes,” said Dr. Khanna impatiently. “You say that every time we speak
with you. I will ask you the same question I posed last time. Do you have any
reason to believe that the next mission will be more difficult than the
previous ones?”
“I can only rephrase my original point,” said Hunter. “I cannot predict the
challenges that my team will face.”
“We note your caution,” said Dr. Chin. “And, as always, we wish you good
luck.”
“I’m satisfied, Hunter,” said Dr. Redfield. “Maybe we should let you get on
with your duties.”
“I agree,” said Hunter. “Do you have any more questions?”
No one did.
“Good luck,” said Professor Post.
“Thank you. Good-bye.” Hunter broke the connection. He could hear footsteps
approaching the office door and recognized Steve’s and Jane’s patterns. “Come
in,” he called out, before they knocked.
Jane came in first, grinning. “Hi, Hunter.” She shook her head, and her rich
brown hair swayed. “Even after all the time we’ve spent together, you still
surprise me sometimes. Was it our footsteps, our heartbeats, our voice
patterns, or...” She shrugged. “I don’t know what else.”
“I recognized your footsteps,” said Hunter.
Steve came in behind Jane. “Evening, Hunter.”
“Good evening. How does your head wound feel?”
Steve grinned. “I wouldn’t call it a wound, exactly. I still have a bump on my
head, but that painkiller I got last night from R. Cushing took care of the
headache.”
“I contacted Cushing today, and he told me your medication will remain in
effect for several days. At the end of that time, he expects you will be
healed to a point where further medication is unnecessary. Do you feel well
enough to join us for the mission to find MC 5?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine. But I want to discuss whether you need me or not. Before
the last mission, I wanted out because I didn’t feel I was necessary.”
“Oh, not again,” said Jane. “We’re a team. We don’t have to talk you into
going again, do we?”
“I’m not mad like I was last time,” said Steve. “But I don’t want to be taken
for granted, either. Hunter, we know a nuclear explosion has eliminated
Beijing, and you told us we’re going to the time of Kublai Khan. I followed
the news for a while myself this afternoon. But do you need me or not?”
“Yes, I believe so,” said Hunter, as he heard the sound of footsteps
approaching. “My concern is how to blend in with the local people as much as
possible. I hired a historian named Marcia Lew who—”
“Right here,” said a woman’s voice.
Jane and Steve moved out of the way and Marcia came into the office. A young
woman of Chinese descent, she wore a fashionable and precisely tailored black
business suit. Her shoulder-length black hair was simply parted in the middle.
She offered her hand to Jane and Steve in turn, as they introduced themselves.
“I apologize if I interrupted,” said Marcia, in a precise and formal tone.
“Hunter explained when we met earlier today that I’m the one who will need the
most briefing, so he gave me a short introduction then about how Mojave Center
Governor divided himself and how his components fled in time. I understand you
two have already participated in four of these projects.”
“That’s right,” said Steve.
“Hunter also told me that we are actually traveling in time, a concept that I
have difficulty accepting. However, I have no choice but to believe all of
you.” She folded her arms and looked at Hunter.
No one spoke for a moment. Hunter saw that Steve was staring at Marcia in
surprise. However, Hunter was not sure of the reason.
“Hunter, go on with your point,” Jane said finally. “Explain why we need
Steve. Then we can continue the rest of our briefing.”
“We are going to China in A.D. 1290,” said Hunter. “According to the
historical data I took from the city library earlier today, we will be going
to the city of Khanbaliq in a time of peace. Is this correct?” He glanced at
Marcia.
“Yes.”
“Hold it,” said Steve. “Khan—what? Beijing is the city that just vanished
under a mushroom cloud. Why aren’t we going there?”
“ ‘Beijing’ is the modem name for the same city,” Marcia said primly. “A very
old city on the same location called Yenjing was burned to the ground by
Genghis Khan as he conquered northern China prior to the time we will visit.
This is why no existing buildings in Beijing predate that time. When Kublai
Khan ordered his new capital to be built just north of the remains, it was
called ‘Khanbaliq,’ meaning ‘city of the khan,’ in Mongolian. When the
Mongols were overthrown by the Ming Dynasty in 1368 that title no longer
applied. It was renamed ‘Beijing,’ which means ‘Northern Capital,’ as opposed
to ‘Nanjing,’ which is ‘Southern Capital.’ In fact, the modern city of Xian
was once called ‘Xijing,’ or ‘Western Capital’ and—”
“Okay, okay, I get the point,” said Steve. “It was just a simple question; I
don’t need a lecture on the subject, all right?”
“And the characters for Tokyo mean ‘Eastern Capital,’ “ she finished calmly.
“Thank you,” said Hunter, observing that Steve and Jane were glancing at each
other. He could not read the exact meaning in their expressions. However, he
understood that they were not happy with Marcia so far.
“You were discussing Steve’s importance to the mission,” Jane said.
“Steve, my concern is how to explain Jane’s presence. You and Marcia, being
of Chinese descent, will blend into the population just as Jane has done in
our trips to seventeenth-century Jamaica, Roman Germany, and twentieth-century
Russia. I must decide whether to maintain a European appearance or to alter
myself to another look.”
“So do you have a plan?” Jane asked.
“I will present a tentative one,” said Hunter. “I understand that the capital
of Kublai Khan in this time was a very international city.”
“Correct,” said Marcia. “Many Persians, Turks, Mongols, and other tribal
nationalities were well represented. This is also the time of Marco Polo’s
presence in Khanbaliq, with his father and his uncle. In general, however, the
international visitors will be from eastern and central Asia and possibly the
Middle East. If you are thinking of European visitors, the Polo family may be
the only ones.”
“I propose that I maintain my European appearance and travel with Jane as a
married couple.”
“This would be acceptable,” said Marcia. “If three members of the Polo family
made the trip, one more pair of Europeans could have, too.”
Hunter glanced at Steve for his reaction to the next part of this proposal. “I
also suggest that Steve and Marcia present themselves as a similar couple,
hosting us in what appears to be their country. The four of us would have a
rationale for traveling together.”
Steve glared at Hunter but said nothing.
Marcia glanced at Steve haughtily. “I suppose this makes sense. We have to fit
into their society as smoothly as we can. I can tolerate some masquerading.”
“Steve, do you agree this is logical?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“We should present ourselves as visitors from a southern province,” Marcia
added. “This will explain any accent in our speech and unfamiliarity with
details of Khanbaliq that never appeared in the history I have studied. We
don’t want to present ourselves as native to the city and then reveal our
ignorance at the wrong moment.”
“Which province do you suggest?” Hunter asked. “We should agree on one now.”
“I recommend Guangdong, which is the southernmost province. We won’t be likely
to run into others from there who will expose us.”
Steve nodded.
“And you must have some career, in case people ask what you do.”
“Okay.” Steve shrugged. “Like what?”
“A peasant or ordinary working man isn’t likely to travel across the country
in that time. I think you should be a scholar seeking a government
appointment.”
“Me? A scholar?” He grinned, glancing at Jane self-consciously.
“The top bureaucratic appointments in this time went to foreigners because
Kublai Khan did not trust the Chinese. Many of the Turks and Persians I
mentioned were in high government posts. Also, many of the established
scholars refused to serve the Mongol government, even at the provincial and
local levels. However, some young Chinese scholars managed to get into the
lower ranks of the imperial offices. You’re the right age.”
“This sounds reasonable to me,” said Hunter.
Steve sighed. “Okay.”
“Marcia, I have much more to explain to you,” said Hunter. “Time travel is
the exciting part of the mission, but I must inform you of some background
information. Have you been following the news today? Particularly, the
explosion that destroyed Beijing? Millions of people died and China is in
chaos, and has no government.”
“The nuclear explosion? Of course. It’s all over the news media right now.
What does that have to do with a component robot in 1290?”
“The explosion was caused by MC 5. When the component robots reach the
approximate time at which they fled back into the past, with a margin of error
of several days, they explode with nuclear force.”
“They do? Why?” Marcia’s dark eyes widened with horror.
“Their atoms become unstable because of a problem they did not predict. They
have miniaturized themselves to microscopic size with the same device that
sent them back in time. This is what made them unstable.”
“Why did they do that?”
“Apparently, they wanted to remain microscopic forever so they would not be
involved with humans. They intended to avoid contact so they would not cause
possible harm to people by changing the course of history.”
“Of course. The First Law of Robotics says that ‘A robot may not injure a
human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.’ “
“That’s right,” said Jane.
“And I suppose if they were masquerading as humans, they would be in danger of
being given instructions by humans that they would have to obey. As I recall,
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.’ “
“Show-off,” muttered Steve, rolling his eyes. “All right, give us the third
one, too. Get it over with.”
Marcia arched one eyebrow at Steve and spoke in a monotone. “The Third Law of
Robotics says, ‘ A robot must protect its own existence as long as such
protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.’ Now may we get on
with this briefing, please?”
“The sooner the better,” said Steve.
“I’m almost finished with this part,” said Jane. “Marcia, the new problem is
that the miniaturization turned out not to be permanent. The instability of
that process has caused each component robot to return to full size at a
different time in history.”
“I believe I understand. At that point, of course, their interaction with
humans becomes virtually inevitable.” Marcia turned to Hunter. “Is this how
you decide which period in history to visit?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “The site of the explosion in our own time reveals where
to look. I made calculations from the records in the console of the time
travel sphere that tell me when MC 5 was likely to return to his normal size.
We must go back and try to apprehend him as soon as we can, before he
influences anyone significantly. Returning him to our time with the time
travel sphere will prevent him from exploding.”
“I see,” said Marcia.
“We’re almost done with this background stuff,” said Steve. “Then we can head
for the Bohung Institute. Tell her about Wayne, Hunter.”
“Perhaps you can summarize that problem for us.”
“I don’t feel like it.” Steve turned away from Marcia. “I’m just the hired
hand, remember? I don’t handle this theoretical stuff.”
2
Steve could hardly believe that Hunter had hired someone as stuffy and pompous
as Marcia. Though he felt bound by Hunter’s genuine need for him on this
mission, Steve already disliked Marcia more than any team member since he had
first met Chad Mora, the paleontologist who had joined them on their first
mission, back to the Late Cretaceous in the time of dinosaurs. Having to
pretend he was married to her was going to make this trip even worse.
“I’ll explain Wayne,” Jane said quickly. “Dr. Wayne Nystrom invented the
Governor robots, and he is angry that the Oversight Committee is leaving him
out. He wants to get at least one of the component robots under his power so
he can try to find out what went wrong himself.”
“How does he intend to do that?” Marcia asked. “Is he trying to break in here
or something?”
“No,” said Jane. “Before Hunter got here, Wayne found the time travel sphere
and has arranged to use it himself. He can apparently move through time
without returning here. But on one occasion, he came back here and found a
robot we had left here to apprehend him.”
“What happened?” Marcia looked from Jane to Hunter. “You mean this robot
didn’t catch him?”
“No,” said Jane. “We don’t know exactly what happened, but we instructed the
robot, R. Ishihara, to hold Wayne. We explained these instructions on the
grounds that Wayne’s actions in the past threaten harm to humans by changing
history—the same concern we have over the component robots. That First Law
imperative should have been sufficient to convince Ishihara to obey under the
Second Law.”
“Then why didn’t it work?”
“I can only surmise,” said Jane. “My best estimation is that Wayne somehow
created doubt in Ishihara’s mind that Wayne was causing a clear First Law
imperative. That would eliminate the power of our Second Law instructions and
allow Wayne to give him new ones.”
“Robots are so logical and direct,” said Marcia. “You really think this Wayne
guy could talk Ishihara out of his direct orders?”
Jane shrugged. “He must have. After all, he’s a roboticist; he’s had plenty of
experience with robot logic regarding the Three Laws.”
“Wayne should be easy to spot. Marco Polo’s family and Hunter and Jane may
well be the only other Europeans in the capital.”
“His family?” Steve reluctantly turned to Marcia. “I’ve heard of Marco Polo,
but...was his family there?”
“He traveled to China with his father, Niccolo, and his uncle Matteo,” said
Marcia. “Marco will be, let’s see, thirty-six years old in 1290. In 1292, he
and his family started their trip back home to Venice.”
“Hunter,” said Steve, “can we get on with it? We won’t find MC 5 by talking
here.”
“Yes. You probably saw the Security vehicle waiting outside. I will drive us
to the Bohung Institute. But I must ask all three of you if you have received
the vaccinations I arranged for you. And have you completed your sleep courses
in spoken Chinese, Mongol, and Italian of this time?”
Steve and Jane both nodded.
“Yes,” said Marcia. “I took the vaccinations a little while ago, and I
arranged the sleep courses last night after I spoke to you from Houston. From
your selection of Italian, I suppose you intend to meet the Polos?”
“I want to be ready for this eventuality,” said Hunter. “I noticed in Marco
Polo’s book that he gives no indication that he ever learned Chinese.”
“That’s correct,” said Marcia. “He seems to have managed for his entire
seventeen years in China speaking Persian and Mongol, though I believe he must
have picked up a few phrases of Chinese along the way.”
“I would think so,” said Jane. “But if Steve and Marcia are masquerading as
southern Chinese, why did you want them to know Italian?”
“I want them to be able to understand what they may hear if we meet the
Polos,” said Hunter. “Obviously, Jane and I would do the talking in Italian.
Now, I believe we are ready to go the Bohung Institute.”
“Hunter, hold it,” Steve said in confusion. “You’re thinking of meeting Marco
Polo? A guy who wrote a book? We could really change history if we influence
him, couldn’t we?”
“We must handle any meeting with the Polos carefully, of course,” said Hunter.
“Marcia, do you feel the danger of affecting Polo’s book would be
prohibitive?”
“No,” Marcia said thoughtfully. “As long as we’re careful, as you say.
Frankly, he said just before he died that he had not told half the wonders
that he had seen. For instance, he never mentioned the Great Wall, even though
he lived close to it in Khanbaliq for many years. He probably saw the western
end when he arrived from Europe and again when he went home. He never wrote
about tea, though it had been a common drink in China for centuries.”
“Good,” said Hunter. “If we meet the Polos, we will simply exercise extreme
care not to be worthy of appearing in his book.”
“One more question, please,” said Marcia. “Maybe the rest of you know this,
but I don’t. Why are we leaving at night, after a day’s activity? Shouldn’t we
leave in the morning, when we’re fresh?”
“We must arrive in the evening, when dusk will mask our sudden, unexplainable
arrival from any potential witnesses,” said Hunter. “We will therefore leave
this evening, so that your schedules of sleeping and waking will match those
of the society in which we will be a part.”
“Where will we land?” Steve asked. “Out in the middle of nowhere again, I
suppose.”
“Yes—to avoid being seen by local humans,” said Hunter. “Since I am unfamiliar
with the exact details of the city, we must arrive in the countryside. This
will minimize the chance of appearing right in front of people; if we do land
near peasants, I hope the near-darkness will also disguise us. Our first task
will be to find a safe place to sleep. In the morning, we will begin our
search for MC 5.”
Marcia nodded. “All right. I understand.”
As the team left the office, Steve walked out last, wondering how much of a
burden Marcia was going to be. By the end of the first mission, he and Chad
had earned a mutual grudging respect. On the other hand, Rita Chavez, the
historian on the second mission, had caused more problems than she’d solved.
The other two, Gene Titus and Judy Taub, had been pleasant and reliable.
However, tolerating Marcia’s personality was going to be a trial.
Hunter drove the team through the clean, peaceful streets of the underground
city.They were brightly lit, full of shops and restaurants. Hunter drove among
both robot and human pedestrians, as well as other vehicles. The robots and
humans who lived in Mojave Center pursued their daily routines, unaware of
anything unusual happening in their midst. Steve wondered what they would
think if they knew a device that could send humans and robots through time
existed right in their city. Hunter had insisted on keeping their time travel
a secret, however, and Steve had agreed that was a good idea.
When Hunter had first started his assignment in pursuit of Mojave Center
Governor, he had arranged to shut down the Bohung Institute. A city Security
detail guarded the exterior, and another robot, R. Daladier, had been assigned
to replace Ishihara in Room F-12, where the sphere was located, in the
unlikely event that Wayne Nystrom appeared there. When the team entered Room
F-12, Steve saw that Hunter had already prepared their clothing and money for
the trip.
“I had two sets of clothing made today,” said Hunter. “I was not certain if we
would masquerade as people of some wealth or not, so I prepared one set to
imply wealth and one to convey modest means. Also, I have provided two outfits
in each set, so we will have a change of clothes with us. Marcia, please check
them for authenticity. I can assure you that no synthetics have been used, of
course. You will each have a radio communicator in the form of a lapel pin, as
before.”
“We should wear the better clothing,” said Marcia briskly, glancing at the two
stacks.
Steve watched as Marcia walked over to the stack of neatly folded black and
gray silk. She lifted a long black robe and held it out at arm’s length. The
robe was shaped in a rough triangle, flared at the bottom with a neck that
simply overlapped, like a bathrobe. From its size, Steve could see that this
was for Hunter.
“This is fine,” said Marcia, folding it again.
“What about the neck?” Steve asked. “In all the old pictures I’ve seen—and the
movies set in pre-industrial China—the gowns had these tight collars that
stand straight up around the person’s neck.”
“They’re called Mandarin collars,” said Marcia, as she set Hunter’s gown aside
and shook out a pail” of baggy trousers. “They came into style many centuries
later.” She glanced over the trousers, turning them in her hands. “Your
research has served us well.” She set those down and picked up an identical
set of clothes in Steve’s size. “If these are in the same style, I don’t need
to examine them.”
“They are identical except for size,” said Hunter. “Will wearing identical
colors be acceptable? The social acceptability of this was not mentioned in
the history I found. Also, embroidery was available but I felt we should
appear to be moderately successful rather than very wealthy. So I chose
clothing in solid colors.”
“I agree,” said Marcia. “Appearing modestly well-to-do is wise. It will fit
the roles of merchant and aspiring scholar that we have chosen. Further, black
is good, a sign of prosperity. Since the number of dyes was limited in the
society we will visit, most people in a given economic level wore fairly
similar clothes.”
“What about ours?” Jane pointed to the pile of gray clothes.
“They should be similar.” Marcia lifted a plain dark blue robe and then a
matching pair of loose trousers. “Yes, these are fine.”
“Similar?” Steve shook his head. “The cut is exactly the same, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “The styles were very loose. No form-fitting was
involved.”
“These are fine,” said Marcia. “But I don’t see any coats. What time of year
are we going to visit?”
“Late summer,” said Hunter. “It would be August according to our calendar,
though of the course the Chinese are using their lunar calendar.”
“Khanbaliq is pretty far north. The nights could be chilly even in summer.”
“My data shows that fur coats would be commonly used in cold weather,” said
Hunter. “This is a problem we faced on an earlier mission. We do not use real
fur in our time and I dare not take artificial fur back with us. So if we need
coats, we must buy them there.” Hunter pointed to a small pile of coins. “I
have gathered authentic coins from that time for us to use, as we have on
earlier missions.”
Marcia picked up a coin and looked at it, nodding. “Paper currency was in use
during this time. I should think it would be easy to imitate.”
“I did not attempt to locate any surviving bills to use as models. The
likelihood of their surviving to our time was too low.”
“I’m going to change,” Steve said impatiently, picking up his clothes and
heading for the adjacent room.
“You do not have your shoes,” said Hunter. “Or the under robe.”
“Huh?” Steve stopped and turned around again, looking at Marcia.
She picked up a pair of shoes from the counter. As she turned them over in her
hands, all Steve could see was flimsy black cloth over flat, heelless soles.
She held them out to him.
“Those are shoes? What are they made of?” Steve asked doubtfully, as he took
them from her.
“The soles are woven hemp,” said Hunter. “The rest of each shoe is just
cloth.”
“That is an authentic design,” said Marcia.
“However, under pressure from the First Law, I arranged for the inside of the
shoes to have some arched shaping and padding for your feet,” Hunter added.
“This is an improvement that I must hope does not influence anyone in the
past, but I believe the likelihood of anyone noticing the inside of our shoes
is very small.”
“Fine with me. I just want to get on with it.” Steve also accepted a plain
white under robe from Marcia, and went to change in the adjoining room.
The robes and trousers felt more uncomfortable than the clothing Steve had
worn on earlier missions. The baggy trousers and flowing robe, even after he
had tied the sash, felt weird. The shoes fit all right, at least. He rejoined
the others with a self-conscious scowl.
Jane glanced at him and took her turn without saying anything. Marcia took no
notice of him, instead looking closely at each coin. Hunter gave Steve a cloth
bag containing the change of clothes for everyone.
Steve waited in silence. He hoped that this mission would end more easily than
the others. Between Marcia’s arrogance and these bulky, uncomfortable clothes,
he did not expect to enjoy this one very much.
When they had all changed clothes, Hunter opened the big sphere and helped
them inside. He took a moment to set the console and then joined them. When he
closed the sphere, they all slid together in the darkness, jumbled in the
curved bottom.
A moment later, Steve tumbled to the ground among some green plants. The air
felt cool but not uncomfortable. To his right, the sun was low over the
horizon. Hunter, Jane, and Marcia had landed right next to him.
They were sitting up on fairly level ground in some sort of cultivated field.
Steve did not recognize the tall green stalks around them, which blocked their
visibility beyond a few meters. He pushed himself up to a sitting position.
“Is anyone hurt?” Hunter asked.
“I’m fine,” said Marcia.
“Me, too,” said Jane. “I’m okay.” said Steve, getting to his feet and pulling
his robe straight. Now he could see over the stalks around him. “But we don’t
have much daylight left. Where are we going from here, Hunter?”
Hunter stood up and pointed to the west. The glare of the sun nearly hid the
sight of some high walls and towers in that direction. “That is Khanbaliq.”
“Let’s get going,” said Steve, hoisting the cloth bag. He pushed his way
through some of the stalks. “ Anybody know what this stuff is?”
“Chinese sorghum,” said Marcia, glancing at it as she stood and adjusted her
own robe. “It’s a common crop here, and closely related to the western
variety.”
Now that Steve was standing, he could see people walking toward the city on a
nearby road. “We’re lucky we landed in this field, Hunter. Otherwise, we would
have landed in plain sight of those people.” A dry breeze blew dust along the
ground.
“That’s true,” said Jane, brushing dust off her robe. “If they see us walking
out of the sorghum field, I hope they don’t ask us what we were doing here.”
“Lodging for the night is a bigger worry,” said Hunter, pushing his way
forward through the plants. “Steve is right. We must walk.”
“Is it always so dusty?” Jane asked.
“Yes,” said Marcia. “The soil is called loess, comprised of deep layers of
dust brought here by prevailing easterly winds from the west.”
Rolling his eyes impatiently, Steve gestured for Jane and Marcia to follow
Hunter. As usual, Steve went last. Gradually, they picked their way through
the stalks and reached the dirt road.
Poorly dressed, barefoot peasants were leaving the city. Some rode empty carts
pulled by ponies or donkeys. Others led their work animals on ropes at a walk
because their carts still contained some unsold produce.
Other people, better dressed, walked or rode on the way into the city. Many of
them stared at Hunter and Jane in astonishment. The remainder plodded past
without noticing them, perhaps too weary to look up.
Steve strode up next to Jane as the team began walking on the road toward
Khanbaliq. “I can see that the people leaving town are farmers. But who are
all these people going into the city with us?”
“I don’t know.” Jane turned to Marcia. “Is this a normal day, do you think? Or
is something special happening?”
“In this time of peace and relative prosperity, I would say this is a normal
day. I believe the people heading back into the city are merchants and maybe
even scholars. They either have arrived from other cities the way we will
claim to have done, or else they made day trips to nearby villages.”
“Commuters, you mean.” Steve grinned.
“Well—yes,” she said stiffly.
Steve laughed, not at his little joke but at the fact that Marcia didn’t even
seem to recognize it as a joke. Jane elbowed him, scowling. Steve shook his
head, openly showing his amusement.
“Marcia, do you expect we will have any problem finding lodging?” Hunter
asked. “If the city has many visitors, they may have filled the inns already.”
“I don’t expect a problem,” said Marcia.
Hunter turned to Jane. “Do you have any thoughts about where we should begin
searching for MC 5?”
“Well, MC 5 specialized in the administration of Mojave Center. I think he
will almost certainly be drawn to the heart of the government.”
“In this society, that is ultimately the Emperor himself,” said Marcia.
3
The team walked in silence as they slowly drew closer to the towering walls of
Khanbaliq. The sun sank lower in the west beyond the massive walls. Steve was
glad he did not have to listen to another lecture from Marcia.
As the team approached the city gate, Steve saw several guards impatiently
waiting for sundown, when they could close the gate for the night. They wore
full armor and sword belts, and each had a spear in one hand. As they leaned
on their spears, they talked quietly to each other.
“Maybe the guards can direct us,” said Hunter.
“Possibly so,” said Marcia.
摘要：

Emperor-IsaacAsimov'sRobotsInTime-WilliamF.WuISAACASIMOV’SROBOTSINTIMEbyWILLIAMF.WUTHELAWSOFROBOTICS1.Arobotmaynotinjureahumanbeing,orthroughinaction,allowahumanbeingtocometoharm.2.Arobotmustobeytheordersgivenitbyhumanbeings,exceptwheresuchorderswouldconflictwiththeFirstLaw.3.Arobotmustprotectitsown...

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