RIT5 - Emperor, Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time - William F Wu

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Emperor - 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

EMPEROR

WILLIAM F. WU

Databank by Matt Elson

This novel is dedicated to

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Emperor - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F. Wu

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

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.”

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“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.”

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“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

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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

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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

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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.”

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,

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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?”

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“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

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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.”

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Emperor-IsaacAsimov'sRobotsInTime-WilliamF.WuISAACASIMOV’SROBOTSINTIMEbyWILLIAMF.WUTHELAWSOFROBOTICS1.Arobotmaynotinjureahumanbeing,orthroughinaction,allowahuman\beingtocometoharm.2.Arobotmustobeytheordersgivenitbyhumanbeings,exceptwheresuch\orderswouldconflictwiththeFirstLaw.3.Arobotmustprotectitso...

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RIT5 - Emperor, Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time - William F Wu

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