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
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
WARRIOR
WILLIAM F. WU
Copyright © 1993
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.
1
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.
2
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.
3
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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时间：2024-12-19
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