Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time 3 - Warrior

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

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

WARRIOR

WILLIAM F. WU

Databank by Matt Elson

This novel is dedicated to

Daniel Carnahan

who will understand Marcus’s dilemma.

Special thanks are due in the writing of this novel to Ricia Mainhardt, John

Betancourt, and Byron Preiss.

Additional help during the period in which this was written came from Michael

D. Toman, Laura J. LeHew, and Bridgett and Marty Marquardt.

Steve Chang followed Jane Maynard into the office of Mojave Center Governor,

the gestalt robot who was supposed to be running the underground city of

Mojave Center. Now the office was temporarily occupied by R. Hunter, the robot

who had been specifically designed and built to lead the search for the

missing Governor Robot.

“Good morning,” said Hunter. “I trust your breakfast was good.” He was already

standing, six and a half brawny feet of humaniform robot in a northern

European physiognomy now, with short blond hair and blue eyes, though he could

change his shape and appearance at will. “Steve, Jane—this is Professor Gene

Titus, our historian on the team for this mission.”

“Pleased to meet you both.” Gene was a tall, pleasant-looking man, only a

little older than Steve, with bushy brown hair. He smiled broadly as he shook

hands with them. “I’m a specialist in Roman history, especially the early

imperial period. From what Hunter tells me, this trip we’re about to take

should be quite an experience.”

“We’ve done two of them already,” said Jane. “There’s nothing like it.”

“Hi,” said Steve. He hung back a little, waiting to see what sort of guy Gene

would turn out to be.

“So Hunter was telling me.” Gene turned to the weird object standing against

the wall. “So these are two of the six gestalt robots we’re looking for?”

Steve said nothing. This was Jane’s specialty.

“That’s right,” said Jane. “Mojave Center Governor split into his six

component robots and these are the two we have brought back from the past so

far.”

“And so what is this, exactly?”

“This thing in front of us is what MC 1 and 2 look like, physically merged and

shut down. If we get the other four back here to merge with them, we’ll have

MC Governor put back together again. At that point, he’ll actually be

humaniform.”

“Not ‘if’ we bring them back,” said Hunter soberly. “When we bring them back.”

Steve grinned. “That’s the right spirit. But, if you don’t mind my asking...”

“Yes?”

“You look kind of young to be a professor.”

“I just received my first position this year. My doctoral degree is so new,

the ink’s wet.” He winked.

Jane laughed.

“I see.” Steve smiled too, pleased at Gene’s casual attitude. He had expected

Gene to be a little more stuffy in his manner.

Gene turned to Jane. “Hunter has only started to brief me. You’re the

roboticist?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I guess you can explain something to me. The Laws of Robotics must be

dictating the robots’ behavior somehow, but I don’t quite see the connection.”

“Hunter, do you want to finish the briefing? Or does it matter?”

“Go ahead,” said Hunter. His manner was serious and direct, telling Steve that

he did not want to waste time with unnecessary talk.

“The Third Law of Robotics says, ‘ A robot must protect his own existence as

long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law,’ “

said Jane.

“What about it?” Gene asked.

“MC Governor is one of a small number of experimental Governor Robots that

were being tested recently. All the others have malfunctioned. The Governor

Robot Oversight Committee, for whom Hunter is working, needs to get hold of MC

Governor to find out what may have happened to them all. MC Governor has split

into his component robots and fled. Without interviewing him, I can only

surmise his reasons, but I believe that under the Third Law, he split to avoid

experiencing the same malfunction as the other Governor Robots. Also under the

same Law, I think he fled in order to avoid being dismantled during a study of

the problem.”

“I see. So that’s why they fled to different times in history.” Gene nodded

soberly. “I’ve already given Hunter my promise to keep the existence of time

travel confidential. If time travel became widespread, history would be very

vulnerable to all the people who might change it. But do the other Laws apply

to the robots’ decision to flee?”

“Oh, yes. The component robots miniaturized themselves to microscopic size

when they used the time travel device. Their intention was to avoid receiving

any instructions from humans—in the case of MC 1, who went back to the

dinosaur age, he was anticipating survival into the human era. 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.’ “

“And if humans couldn’t see the robots, they wouldn’t give them any orders.”

“That’s the idea,” said Steve.

“Then what’s the problem?” Gene looked back and forth between Jane and Hunter.

“There are two problems,” said Hunter. “The first is that the miniaturization

process was flawed. All the component robots return to full size at some point

back in history, without their desire or control. When they do this, they

begin to interact with humans. Since they have to obey human orders, they may

change history. Even worse, their obedience to the First Law of Robotics might

even guarantee that they will make certain changes.”

“The First Law says, ‘ A robot may not injure a human being, or, through

inaction, allow a human being to come to harm,’ “ said Jane.

“Yes, I see the connection,” said Gene.

“I arranged hypnotic sleep courses in Latin and ancient German for Steve and

Jane,” said Hunter. “In the case of German, we had to use a probable

reconstruction of the language based on what our finest linguist robots could

surmise. I assume it went well?”

“Adfirmo,” said Jane, smiling. “I affirm.”

“We won’t really know until we try speaking to the natives,” said Steve.

“Gene, were you able to use the lesson packages I sent you when we made our

arrangements?” Hunter asked.

“Yes. I used them while I slept on the plane on my way here. The flight wasn’t

as long as a good night’s sleep, but I concentrated on the German since I

already had to learn Latin as part of my education.”

“Excellent. I have accessed these languages thoroughly myself. Now, then. I

have arranged for a Security detail to take all of us to Room F-12 of the

Bohung Institute. I left your clothing and lapel pin radios there during the

night, after I received them from the robots who made them.”

“You still want me to review them for authenticity?” Gene asked. “You

mentioned that when you first contacted me.”

“Definitely,” said Hunter. “Let us go.”

Hunter was deliberately keeping the tension he felt from the humans. The First

Law imperative was driving him hard to get back into the past as fast as

possible, but of course he knew that all of the team’s preparations had to be

made first. Now, as he led the humans out of the office to the waiting

Security vehicle, he opened his internal communication link to the city

computer.

“Please contact all the members of the Governor Robot Oversight Committee in a

conference call.”

“Acknowledged,” said the city computer.

Hunter felt that his responsibilities to the committee required that he report

on the progress of his missions. However, he had not shared with them the fact

that time travel was involved. If the ability to travel through time were to

become widely known and used, the potential harm to humans would be immense.

His judgment of how to follow the First Law in this matter therefore prevented

him from explaining the details to the Committee. He also wanted to confer

with them alone, so that the human members of his team would not mistakenly

reveal the existence of time travel.

The team rode the electric cart silently down the broad, clean thoroughfares

of Mojave Center. Around them, robots and humans pursued their daily routines,

unaware that in the Bohung Institute, the first and only device for time

travel was among them. The underground city, beneath the Mojave Desert in

California, remained calm and safe.

“Have you briefed Gene about Wayne Nystrom?” Steve asked Hunter.

“Not yet,” said Hunter.

“That name is familiar to me,” said Gene. “Has he been in the news or

something?”

“Not lately,” said Jane. “But from time to time, he has appeared in the

scientific news because of his advances in robotics. He invented the Governor

Robots.”

“Is he going to be joining the team?” Gene asked.

“I wish.” Steve grinned and shook his head. “He’s operating on his own, trying

to get the component robots away from us. He wants to conduct his own

investigation of their malfunction, without us.”

“His own? Is he able to go back in time, too?”

“Up to now,” said Steve.

“What do you mean?”

Steve looked at Hunter. “You know the technicalities better than I do.”

“I do not know all the particulars myself,” said Hunter. “However, Dr. Nystrom

has appeared in the past during both of our previous missions.”

“Does he have a second time travel device?”

“No,” said Hunter. “The device we have all used was initially created by MC

Governor, accomplished by modifying an existing piece of research equipment.

The component robots all used it, and Wayne Nystrom followed them, preceding

us. We were the last to use it.”

“You didn’t get hold of him when he returned to this time?” Gene was puzzled.

“No. On our first mission, I did not realize he was a factor in this project,”

said Hunter.

“May I ask what happened, or is that prying?” Gene glanced at all three of the

others, uncertainly.

“Of course you may ask,” said Hunter. “You are part of the team. I had

Security robots guard the Institute and stationed a robot just outside the

door. Wayne apparently returned from the Late Cretaceous to Room F-12 and

quickly reprogrammed the console to send him back to the time of Captain Henry

Morgan. That’s where we became aware of him next.”

“And now?”

“When we returned, I moved a robot named Ishihara to the inside of the room

with orders to apprehend Wayne and to report to me when he appeared.”

“But Nystrom hasn’t come back?”

“No,” said Hunter.

“What about that, Hunter?” Steve asked. “Do you think he’s still back in

Morgan’s time, in the 1600s? Now that we have MC 2 safely here, maybe we

should go after Wayne.”

“He has no reason to remain there,” said Hunter. “And from what I can tell,

our history has not been changed except in regard to the explosions. I believe

he may have some other plan in mind that is beyond my anticipation for now. So

our best plan of action is to continue our mission to recover MC 3, as

planned.”

“Explosions?” Gene eyed Hunter carefully. “I caught a news item on my way here

about a mysterious explosion in Germany—come to think of it, in the general

area we’re about to visit. Is there a connection?”

“That is correct,” said Hunter. “When the component robots reach the

approximate time from which they first journeyed back into the past—in other

words, about now—they explode with nuclear force. This is caused by the

instability in their atomic structure caused by the flawed miniaturization.

The destruction to human life acts as a First Law imperative on me.”

“I get it,” Gene said grimly. “We have to go back and get that one right now.

That’s MC 3?”

“You are correct again,” said Hunter.

All night, while he had prepared the clothing and new communicators for the

team, he had monitored the news. Millions were dead in northwestern Germany,

just east of the Ems River and the Weser River r in a heavily populated

industrial area. The radiation was beginning to spread over most of Europe.

Worst of all, some news analysts were concerned that terrorists might be

attempting to disrupt world peace. Hunter feared that old, mutual fears and

accusations by different nations could cause additional violence. The First

Law required that he eliminate the cause of the explosion without delay.

The Security vehicle pulled up in front of the Bohung Institute. Hunter led

the team silently inside the building, through the robot Security detail

guarding it. He had arranged to shut down the Institute as soon as he had

realized the importance of the experimental time travel device that MC

Governor had created.

Inside, Hunter took his team to Room F-12 and introduced Gene to Ishihara.

This large room housed an opaque sphere about fifteen meters in diameter. The

remainder of the room was lined with countertops, most of them occupied with

computers, monitors, a communications console, and miscellaneous office items.

Clothing was stacked on one counter near the door to an adjacent room.

Ishihara passed out oral vaccines to the humans, which Hunter had chosen and

requisitioned during the night. These vaccines could not guarantee protection

from disease, because the modern microbes had mutated considerably in the

millennia that had passed since Roman times, but Hunter knew they would

improve the humans’ chances of avoiding serious illness. The humans took them

immediately.

Ishihara waited impassively by the door. Everyone turned to Hunter for

instructions. He pointed to the stack of clothing he had left earlier.

“Gene, please examine the clothing for authenticity,” said Hunter. “You will

find tunics, heavy cloaks, and boots for male costumes; Jane has a full-length

gown, cloak, and boots. If you pass them, Steve will look them over to make

sure they are sturdy and practical enough.”

“And here are our new communicator pins,” said Jane, picking up small silver

broaches. She held one out to Gene, showing him the button to be pressed to

activate the radio. “We can use them to hold our cloaks on.”

“That is my intention,” said Hunter. “When the clothing has been approved,

take turns changing in the adjacent room.”

Hunter received a message through his internal link. “City computer calling R.

Hunter.”

“Hunter here.” While the humans examined their new clothes, he would have time

to respond without disturbing them.

“I have the Governor Robot Oversight Committee on a conference call for you.

“Please connect me.”

Instantly, the four faces of the Committee members appeared on his internal

video screen in split portrait shots. Everyone exchanged polite, perfunctory

greetings. Then Hunter got to the point.

“I am pleased to report that MC 2 is safely in custody,” said Hunter.

“Excellent,” said Dr. Redfield, the pretty blonde. “Where did you find him?”

“In the West Indies,” said Hunter. He decided not to mention Jamaica, because

that would set a precedent of being specific. Being vague with the Committee

was the only way to avoid having to tell them, sooner or later, about the time

travel device. “He is well, but has been instructed to merge with MC 1 and

shut down. They are in a secure location.”

“You’ve been very efficient,” said Professor Post, scratching his black beard

thoughtfully. “Do you know where you will find your next quarry?”

“I have a lead in Europe,” said Hunter.

“Where?” Dr. Chin moved a strand of her long black hair away from her face.

“Which country?”

“I do not have an exact location,” said Hunter. That was technically true,

since he had not yet heard a report on ground zero of the explosion and the

coordinates he had obtained from the console of the time travel device did not

match those of any known town or city. Still, he was aware that he was very

close to telling them an outright lie.

“You have found the first two component robots in only a few days,” said Dr.

Khanna. “What is your estimate for completing your assignment?”

“I would be unwise to predict that I can apprehend each of the remaining

component robots in only one day,” said Hunter. “Matters have proceeded well

so far, allowing me to move quickly. Still, the first two pursuits were quite

different and I expect the remaining four to be very unpredictable as well.”

“I understand,” said Dr. Khanna.

“I’m sure we’re all very impressed with your efficiency so far,” said Dr.

Redfield.

“I should begin the next mission,” said Hunter. “If you have no more

Questions, I shall get started.”

“Of course,” said Professor Post. “Good luck.”

Everyone signed off.

After Gene inspected each item of clothing, he passed it to Steve. Then Steve

held it up, shook it loose, and tugged at the seams. Hunter had explained that

they were going to a forested mountain area in autumn, the rainy season in

northern Germany. They would need warm clothes. The cloaks and outer tunics

were made of wool, while the undertunics were made of linen.

“Yours are fine,” said Steve, handing Jane her outfit. She went to change

first.

All the clothes passed inspection. When everyone had changed, Hunter passed

each of the humans a small leather pouch filled with common Roman coins from

the era to which they were going. All the communicator pins were in place,

fastening the humans’ cloaks at the neck.

“Well, Gene,” said Jane. “I know you said the clothes are authentic—but how do

we look?”

“You look perfect,” said Gene. “As a matter of fact, you will look right at

home in the mountains of central Europe in this period.”

“We shall masquerade as traveling merchants,” said Hunter, adjusting his own

long brown cloak. Since his radio links were internal, he fastened his cloak

with an ordinary silver pin. “I shall be somewhat vague in order to avoid

being tripped up in a small mistake, but r shall present us as visitors from

Roman Gaul seeking trade in silverwork with the German tribes across the

Rhine.”

“You have some?” Gene asked.

Hunter pointed to a leather bag, sitting on a counter where the clothing had

been. “Each item inside is a relatively inexpensive piece of jewelry that I

shall present as samples and gifts. None is authentic, but I had some of the

robots here in Mojave Center develop them last night from authentic models.

The metallic content and style of art and design are accurate. I believe that

their presence in Roman Germany will not cause any alteration of history or

culture. Gene, please look them over and see if you agree. Steve, the leather

bag has a shoulder strap so you can carry the jewelry in it conveniently.”

“Come to think of it, Hunter,” Steve said with a grin, running a hand through

his black hair, “that works for you three just fine. When we come into contact

with Romans or Germans, how are you going to explain having someone of East

Asian descent with you? We better have our story straight about who I am.”

Hunter looked at Steve. His boots, tunic, and cloak were certainly acceptable,

but he was right that his Chinese features would stand out in ancient Germany.

“Gene, what do you suggest?”

“Well...” Gene thought a moment, looking up from the jewelry box. “You know,

even though Rome had no official contact with China, some Roman merchants were

aware of Han Dynasty China. They traded through the Parthians for Chinese silk

and sold it to the wealthiest Romans. So maybe Steve could be a slave who

accompanied his merchant owners through the Parthian Empire with a load of

silk and then was sold.”

“Okay.” Steve laughed. “If that will hold up with the Romans, it’s good enough

for me.”

“Very well,” said Hunter. “Gene, what do you think of the silverwork?”

“It looks fine to me,” said Gene. “I’m not a specialist in Roman art as such,

but I certainly don’t see any glaring problems.” He closed and latched the

box.

“Good.” Hunter looked at each of them. “Unless you have questions, I believe

we are ready to go.”

“This way.” Steve picked up the leather bag. Then he slung the bag over his

shoulder and moved to the big sphere that dominated the room. It was a solid

metal globe fifteen meters in diameter. First he helped Jane and Gene climb

inside. Then he followed, sliding down into the curved bottom with them.

Hunter set the coordinates and the timer on the console. When he had finished,

he hoisted himself inside and closed the sphere. For a long moment, the team

sat crowded together in the dark.

Steve felt himself land on hard, rocky ground. He pushed himself up and saw

that Hunter, Jane, and Gene were doing the same. They were on a steep, grassy

slope, in a dense forest. The leaves were an autumn blaze of orange, red, and

yellow. Overhead, the sky was cloudy and gray. Steve smelled rain. Far below,

he could see a gray river winding its way between the bluffs on each side of

it, reflecting the subdued sunlight.

“Is that the Rhine?” Steve asked.

“The Weser River,” said Hunter. “The Rhine is well west of here.”

“This is quite a view.” Steve got to his feet. The forest was full of both

evergreens and hardwoods. “Well, Hunter? Where do we go?”

“We shall have to explore some,” said Hunter. “In all likelihood, MC 3 will

return to normal size out in the forest somewhere, which is most of the

surrounding territory. According to the history I accessed through the city

computer, the German tribes have a mixed economy, based on tilled fields,

cattle, and hunting. Each tribe has a number of separate villages. Gene, does

that match your information?”

“Yes, it does.” Gene got to his feet and helped pull Jane up. “Generally

speaking, they will be the ones who actually know the forest and routinely

move through it.”

“What about the Romans?” Jane straightened her gown. “They’ve conquered this

area, as I understand it. Why aren’t they going to be in the forest, too?”

“The Romans haven’t really been here very long,” said Gene. “They don’t have a

settled presence here, with families and merchants. All they really have is an

army of occupation. They’re outnumbered and limited in the range of territory

they actually walk or ride through. In most cases, they will only march out in

a troop large enough to defend itself.”

“Come on, Hunter,” said Steve impatiently. “Which way do we go?”

“I believe that friendly contact with the Germans will most likely facilitate

our mission,” said Hunter. “According to what you have said, Gene, do you

agree?”

“Yes, I do,” said Gene. “And they shouldn’t be hard to locate. Instead of

looking for them, I think that if we simply start hiking, then warriors,

hunters, or sentries of the Cherusci tribe are likely to find us.”

Hunter nodded and began to hike up the slope, eastward away from the Weser,

pushing through thick branches. Jane and Gene followed in single file over the

rocky ground. Steve deliberately took up the rear. After all, he had to look

like their slave.

“Hey, Gene,” Steve said, as they continued up the uneven slope. “Is all the

country here this rough?”

“Most of it. This province goes east to the Elbe River and west to the Rhine.

We’re in the middle of it here. It’s very mountainous, and many of the valleys

are swamps. It includes part of modem Westphalia.”

Up ahead, Hunter stopped at a small, level clearing. The three humans caught

up to him. Steve could not see or hear any reason for them to have halted

already.

“Nine humans are nearby,” Hunter said quietly. “They are moving quietly,

without speaking, ahead to our right. From the sound of their movements

through the brush, I believe that they are still unaware of our presence.

However, this is the contact we want.”

‘We don’t want to be mistaken for deer and shot,” said Steve. “Should we start

talking loudly or something?”

“We shall start using Latin,” said Hunter, switching to that language, “to

support the idea that we have just crossed over from Gaul. Stay close and keep

talking.” He started walking again.

“Do you see anything yet?” Jane asked, trying out her own Latin.

“Specto,” said Hunter. “I am looking. So far, I can only hear them. They are

still at a distance that is beyond human hearing, but they are drawing

closer.”

The forest was dense, with thick underbrush and many fallen logs blocking

their way. In the rare patches of direct sunlight, the air was warm, but most

of the ground was shaded by the canopy of trees. Steve’s cloak kept snagging

on branches until he got used to keeping it pulled tightly against his body.

In the lead, Hunter, because of his height, found the going slow as he worked

his way through the tree branches. Every so often, Gene leaned over and freed

Jane’s cloak from a snag.

“Veni, vidi, vici,” muttered Steve. “I’m a slave from foreign parts. It’s

understandable if my Latin is bad, right?”

“Yes, it is understandable,” said Hunter, pushing through some thick pine

branches and holding them back for the others. “But we should not be overheard

speaking English unless we simply cannot communicate our point to each other

without it. Do continue talking, however.”

“Keep talking,” Steve said cheerfully, in Latin. “Talk so they know we’re

human and not tonight’s dinner. What shall we talk about?”

“Gene,” said Jane. “Exactly who are these Germans, anyway? Who’s about to find

us?”

“They’re barbarian warriors,” said Gene. “Semipastoral nomads, technically.

Right now, they aren’t really very different from the Gauls across the Rhine,

but they will be.”

“Hunter, are they any closer?” Jane asked. “You’ll hear them before we will.”

“I think they have heard us,” said Hunter. “The pattern of their footsteps is

changing. They have begun to spread out some as they approach us.”

“Gaul on one side of the Rhine and Germany over here,” said Steve. “France as

opposed to Germany. That’s centuries in the future, though.” He stepped over a

thick, exposed tree root. “Right?”

“Yes and no,” said Gene. “Their divergent history has already begun. A

generation ago, Julius Caesar established the Rhine River as the border

between Roman-held Gaul and the land of the independent German tribes across

it. In 9 B.C., the younger stepson of Caesar Augustus, a man named Drusus,

invaded the land across the Rhine and pushed the border eastward to the Elbe

River because it’s a more defensible border from the Roman side. That’s the

territory where we are now.” He paused to point out a slippery, moss-covered

rock to Jane, who stepped over it.

“So it’s a Roman province,” said Steve.

“Well, so far. A Roman named Publius Quinctilius Varus is governor right now.

He considers the province thoroughly subdued and is overconfident—to say the

least—of his power.” Gene held another branch back out of the way for Jane and

Steve.

Ahead of them, Hunter had stopped for a moment, looking around carefully.

“They are very close,” he whispered in English. “I also hear the sound of

small animals, probably hunting dogs.” He began walking again.

Steve could not hear any sign of the other people. “Dogs? Why aren’t they

barking and howling and coming after us?”

“They’re well trained,” said Gene. “To flush game sometimes and to sneak up

quietly at other times.”

“Simply remain calm,” Hunter said in Latin, this time in a normal tone.

“Continue our conversation if you wish. Lower your voices, though, if you go

on discussing history. We do not want to give our friends ideas they do not

already have.”

“Not much chance of that,” said Gene. “These events are already in motion.”

“What do you mean that this is a Roman province ‘so far’?” Jane asked Gene.

“The province doesn’t stay Roman very long,” said Gene. “ A German prince of

the Cherusci tribe, called Arminius, has been granted Roman citizenship. He’s

been dealing with Varus in this new province, representing the Cherusci. In

fact, the entire tribe has been given the privileged position of a federated

state within the Roman Empire. For this reason, many of the Cherusci have

Latin names, like Arminius himself.”

“But what happened to the Romans?” Steve ducked under another low branch,

hurrying to keep up. He looked around for the Germans that Hunter could hear,

but still saw no direct sign of them. Then he noticed some birds suddenly

fluttering out of a tree a short distance away. He realized that they might

have been disturbed by humans walking near them.

“This year,” said Gene, “Arminius leads an uprising against the Romans. The

Cherusci Germans and some allied tribes ambushed Varus in the Teutoburger

Forest, destroying him and his entire army. The Roman border will be pushed

back to the Rhine until the Empire falls completely. As a result, Gaul will be

culturally and linguistically Romanized to a degree that Germany never will

be.”

“What of it?” Steve demanded. “I mean, the Roman Empire was huge. This one

province couldn’t have meant that much to the Romans, could it?”

“Not to the living Roman Empire,” said Gene. “But think of it this way. If

this province had remained within the Roman Empire, then maybe more of Germany

would have been conquered by the Romans. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the

Germanic tribes that helped bring it down might have been culturally Latinized

and much more like the tribes in Gaul, which became France, than the Germany

of our history. The history of the new Germany would have been extremely

different forever after, altering major world events in many different

centuries.”

“So the real difference would came later,” said Steve. “I see.”

“When was the ambush in Teutoburger Forest?” Hunter asked.

“It—” Gene stopped as an arrow whistled in front of Hunter and hit a tree

trunk.

Hunter stopped immediately. He heard the humans on his team halt behind him.

No one spoke.

Nine strange young men stepped into view. Some appeared in front of the team,

while others moved out of the trees on each side. Black and gray dogs stepped

out with them, their noses quivering. Hunter was alert for violence, the First

Law dominating his thoughts.

None of the Germans was as tall as Hunter, but they were heavyset muscular men

wearing fur tunics and leather leggings. All had long, shaggy hair. Most were

blond, while a few had red hair. Each of them held a long, heavy spear. They

carried bows on their shoulders; quivers of arrows and long knives hung on,

their belts.

Hunter waited patiently, neither speaking nor moving. A tall, hulking German

with bushy red hair and a full beard that matched stepped up in front of

Hunter. In addition to his weapons, he carried some sort of steer horn on a

thong over his shoulder. While his companions held their spears ready for

action, he rested the butt of his spear confidently on the ground. He looked

over Hunter with quick blue eyes.

“Hail, strangers,” the German said stiffly in Latin. “I am Vicinius, of the

Cherusci. Who are you?”

“Hail, Vicinius,” said Hunter. “I am called Hunter, but we are not hunting

today. We seek the Cherusci tribe in friendship. You can see that we are

unarmed.” He turned and introduced the humans on the team by their first

names.

Vicinius nodded politely to each of them, though his eyes widened slightly in

surprise at the introduction of Jane. None of his companions lowered their

spears. They did not smile or speak, either. Steve glanced at one who was

glowering suspiciously at the group.

“You seek us?” Vicinius asked. “Why?”

“We come seeking friends with whom to trade,” said Hunter. “We have only a few

poor samples of gifts today, but now we seek friends for the future.”

“Where are these gifts?” Vicinius glanced at all of them. “I see no

packhorse.”

Steve unslung the leather bag from his shoulder, expecting Hunter to call him

forward.

“This is a poor place to talk,” said Hunter. “May we find a spot that is more

comfortable?”

Vicinius had glanced at Steve when he had shifted the leather bag, so the

question about the presence of gifts was answered. Steve now realized that

Hunter was angling for an invitation back to the home village of these

hunters. Holding the bag uncertainly, he said nothing.

Vicinius seemed to understand Hunter’s meaning, as well. He looked over the

group again, appraising them. His companions waited for him to speak.

“Hunter,” Gene said quietly, switching to English so the Germans could not

understand. “I suggest some warrior-bonding. Compliment his weapons and his

skill at arms. If he offers you a chance to show off, do well but don’t

embarrass him. And try speaking German to him.”

“You have fine spears,” said Hunter politely in German. “Your companions are

all very fit.”

“You speak our language.” Vicinius smiled for the first time, looking Hunter

in the eye again, and some of his companions murmured among themselves in

surprise.

“We all speak it to some degree,” said Hunter. “Vicinius, we have heard that

the men of the Cherusci tribe are great hunters and warriors. As traders, we

are impressed by this reputation. Would one of your party be so kind as to

demonstrate this skill with weapons?”

Vicinius grinned in appreciation of this compliment, and so did some of his

companions. He turned and looked around among the trees for a moment. Then he

hefted his spear, reared back, and heaved it through the air.

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Warrior-IsaacAsimov'sRobotsInTime-WilliamFWuISAACASIMOV’SROBOTSINTIMEbyWILLIAMF.WUTHELAWSOFROBOTICS1.Arobotmaynotinjureahumanbeing,orthroughinaction,allowahumanbeingtocometoharm.2.Arobotmustobeytheordersgivenitbyhumanbeings,exceptwheresuchorderswouldconflictwiththeFirstLaw.3.Arobotmustprotectitsowne...

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Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time 3 - Warrior

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