RIT2 - Marauder, Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time - William F Wu

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Marauder - 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.
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Marauder - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F Wu
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
MARAUDER
WILLIAM F. WU
Copyright © 1993
Databank by Matt Elson
This is dedicated to
William Q. Wu
My father, who bought me a red plastic pirate ship full of toy buccaneers for a dollar at the
Menora Medical Clinic gift shop when I was little.
Special thanks in the writing of this novel are due to Michael D. Toman, Ricia Mainhardt, John
Betancourt, and Byron Preiss.
1
R. Hunter sat in the chair of Mojave Center Governor, in the Governor robot’s office, considering
his next move. The office was located in the underground desert city called Mojave Center.
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Marauder - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F Wu
Hunter was the new, specially designed humaniform robot who had recently been finished and
programmed according to the specifications of the Governor Robot Oversight Committee.
The scientists on the Oversight Committee had created Hunter to find and return Mojave Center
Governor. One of six experimental Governor robots designed to run complete, self-contained
cities like Mojave Center, Mojave Center Governor was missing. In his absence, the city
computer and individual positronic robots had taken over his responsibilities.
The other five experimental Governor robots had malfunctioned at approximately the same time,
suggesting a basic design flaw. Since Mojave Center Governor was the only exception, the
committee members wanted to study him as part of their investigation of the problem. To avoid
being taken apart, MC Governor had fled.
Each of the Governor robots could divide at will into six component humaniform robots. One of
the component robots who comprised MC Governor now stood motionless, shut down, in one
corner of the office. Hunter and his team of three humans had brought him back from the distant
past. The other five had also chosen to hide in earlier times.
For the last several minutes, Hunter had been monitoring the news through his internal receiver.
“A nuclear explosion on the southern coast of Jamaica yesterday continues to pile up casualties,”
said the announcer. “Fatalities are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and within the next
few hours, tidal waves will strike the coasts of other islands throughout the Caribbean. Over the
coming week, these tidal waves are expected to strike heavily populated areas in Haiti, Puerto
Rico, many other islands, and the coasts of Central and South America, causing incalculable
destruction. Little time remains for emergency measures to prevent even more flooding and the
suffering that will follow....”
Hunter shut off the reception. The extent of the disaster was clear. He had a lot of work ahead to
prevent that explosion.
First Hunter had to brief the committee on his progress through a conference call that was linked
to him through the Mojave Center city computer.
“Good day,” said Hunter, as the four familiar human faces of the Governor Robot Oversight
Committee appeared on his internal video screen.
The committee members greeted him with eager anticipation.
“You have good news, I hope.” Dr. Redfield, a tall, slender blonde, spoke first. “What have you
learned? Have you located MC Governor already?”
“Part of him,” said Hunter, responding with precise accuracy.
“Part of him,” Professor Post repeated thoughtfully. He stroked his pointed, black beard. “I take
this to mean, then, that MC Governor divided into his component robots before your team could
apprehend him.”
“Yes, that is correct,” said Hunter. “However, we have apprehended MC 1, the first gestalt robot,
and returned him safely here.”
“That was fast,” said Dr. Chin, surprised. She was the short, pretty Chinese American with long,
black hair. “Where did you find MC 1?”
Hunter hesitated, at least by his fast robotic standards. He and his team of human colleagues had
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Marauder - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F Wu
followed MC 1 back in time to the Late Cretaceous Period of prehistory using a modified device
in Mojave Center. They had found MC 1 in a forest full of dinosaurs.
The reality of time travel was a revolutionary discovery; Hunter did not want to mention it
casually, without considering the long-term effects such a device might have on humans. The
other members of the team had agreed to keep the secret until he chose to reveal it. Any
significant action in the past might change human history in the present, creating unimaginable
harm to people. The First Law of the Three Laws of Robotics that governed all robots’ behavior
said, “A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come
to harm.”
For the present, Hunter decided not to reveal the existence of the time travel device.
“We found MC 1 in Alberta, Canada,” Hunter said simply. His statement was true; the event just
happened to have occurred many millions of years in the past.
“Shouldn’t you be looking for the others there, too?” Dr. Chin asked.
“No,” said Hunter. “Our information is not complete, but the other component robots appear to
have separated.”
“I don’t understand something,” said Dr. Khanna, in his Hindi accent. “You captured MC 1 very
quickly, considering that he was in Alberta and you were assigned to the task only yesterday.
Now you have returned to Mojave Center already. How did you manage to work so efficiently?”
“I have a very capable team,” said Hunter cautiously. They had returned to the present only a
short time after they had left, though they had actually spent several long, difficult days in the
past trying to capture MC 1. So to anyone in the present, they had not been gone from Mojave
Center very long at all. “However, Chad Mora has completed his work for me. I will need a
replacement for him, this time a specialist in the history of the Caribbean.”
“Please give us a report on your first mission,” said Dr. Khanna.
“I would prefer to give you a complete report on concluding my assignment,” said Hunter.
“I think if we are expected to continue hiring assistants for you, we can require a report at this
stage,” said Dr. Khanna, raising one eyebrow.
“I remind you that I am not a human seeking to keep a job,” said Hunter. “I can work most
efficiently with a team of human experts. You may decide how much efficiency you are willing
to allow me.”
“All right, hold it,” said Dr. Chin. “I think we can wait for a complete report. The important thing
is to get MC Governor back in one piece.”
Dr. Khanna shrugged, frowning.
“How is the rest of your team?” Dr. Redfield asked. “Everyone worked out, I assume.”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “The roboticist, Jane Maynard, is definitely a help. Steve Chang, our general
assistant, has a range of pragmatic experience that I and the more highly educated specialists
simply lack. No amount of library data accessible to me can substitute for their combined
contributions. They are still here in Mojave Center and will continue working with me.”
“Even so,” said Dr. Khanna. “I don’t understand exactly how you are conducting your search.”
“I don’t think it matters,” said Professor Post. “Since MC Governor has divided into his
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Marauder - Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time - William F Wu
components, the assignment we gave Hunter is now six times as difficult. The fact that he
succeeded so quickly with the first part of it convinces me that his judgment is sound.”
“I agree,” said Dr. Redfield. “I can wait for your report too.”
“So can I,” said Professor Post.
“Very well,” said Dr. Khanna. Hunter was relieved. If they had given him direct orders, he would
have had no choice but to obey them. The Second Law of Robotics was, “ A robot must obey the
orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.” He
also decided not to report to the committee that Dr. Wayne Nystrom had appeared on the scene,
trying to get control of MC 1 before Hunter could. If the committee members knew more, they
might change their minds and try to participate more directly after all.
“Tell you what,” said Dr. Redfield. “We will authorize you to make direct contact with the new
assistant you need to hire, instead of giving us the list as you did last time. Have this individual
contact us for financial arrangements. Is this acceptable?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “Thank you. Is there anything else?”
“Can you give us an estimated time of completion?” Dr. Khanna asked.
“No,” said Hunter.
After completing the call, Hunter paused to consider what he had done. That final answer to the
Committee was not entirely true. If the time travel in all the future missions turned out as well as
it had in the first mission, he could estimate completion in five days. The team could accomplish
that by returning from each mission the same day they left, no matter how long the missions took
in the past. However, a five-day estimate might further trigger Dr. Khanna’s curiosity.
Furthermore, Hunter was not sure how to give them a suitable final report without revealing the
use of time travel. At the moment, in his own mind, he was just barely able to justify not giving
the committee an estimated time of completion. He had decided that if Dr. Khanna placed
obstacles in his way, it would interfere with his ability to prevent harm to humans as a result of
potential changes the robots might bring about in the course of history. That interpretation of the
First Law could be debated, but it had allowed him to avoid giving the estimate.
Hunter had the city computer use its access to employment agencies and lists of scholars to find a
historian. Most of them, of course, were not technically available; the best ones were employed in
schools or research centers, or pursuing independent projects of their own. However, time travel
altered the possibilities a great deal.
Hunter now realized that he would in all likelihood bring his team back to the present only a few
moments after they had left, just as he had last time. That meant anyone who was willing and
able to travel to Mojave Center and back home the same day would have enough time for the job.
The fee was considerable, especially for a task that would not take any time from their other
commitments. Some danger would exist, of course, but with Hunter leading the team, the First
Law would require him to give as much protection as a very large, powerful, state of the art robot
could provide.
The immediate problem was persuading anyone of this without revealing the secret of time travel
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Marauder-IsaacAsimov'sRobotsInTime-WilliamFWuISAACASIMOV’SROBOTSINTIMEbyWILLIAMF.WUTHELAWSOFROBOTICS1.Arobotmaynotinjureahumanbeing,orthroughinaction,allowahuman\beingtocometoharm.2.file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Princess%2...%20Robots%20in%20Time\%20-%20William%20F%20Wu.htm(1of126)11/19/2005...

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