Isaac Asimov - Robot City 6 - Perihelion

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Isaac Asimov's Robot City 6 - Perihelion

ISAAC ASIMOV’S

ROBOT CITY

BOOK 6: PERIHELION

WILLIAM F. WU

Special thanks for help in writing this novel are due to David M. Harris, Rob

Chilson, my wife Diana Gallagher Wu, and of course Isaac Asimov for supporting

the Robot City project.

THIS NOVEL IS DEDICATED TO

CHELSEA, WITH LOVE

ROBOTS IN COMBINATION

ISAAC ASIMOV

I have been inventing stories about robots now for very nearly half a century.

In that time, I have rung almost every conceivable change upon the theme.

Mind you, it was not my intention to compose an encyclopedia of robot nuances;

it was not even my intention to write about them for half a century. It just

happened that I survived that long and maintained my interest in the concept.

And it also just happened that in attempting to think of new story ideas

involving robots, I ended up thinking about nearly everything.

For instance, in this sixth volume of the Robot City series, there are the

“chemfets,” which have been introduced into the hero ‘s body in order to

replicate and, eventually, give him direct psycho-electronic control over the

core computer, and hence all the robots of Robot City.

Well, in my book Foundation’s Edge (Doubleday, 1982), my hero, Golan Trevize,

before taking off in a spaceship, makes contact with an advanced computer by

placing his hands on an indicated place on the desk before him.

“And as he and the computer held hands, their thinking merged...

“...he saw the room with complete clarity—not just in the direction in which

he was looking, but all around and above and below.

“He saw every room in the spaceship, and he saw outside as well. The sun had

risen...but he could look at it directly without being dazzled...

“He felt the gentle wind and its temperature, and the sounds of the world

about him. He detected the planet’s magnetic field and the tiny electrical

charges on the wall of the ship.

“He became aware of the controls of the ship...He knew...that if he wanted to

lift the ship, or turn it, or accelerate, or make use of any of its abilities,

the process was the same as that of performing the analogous process to his

body. He had but to use his will.”

That was as close as I could come to picturing the result of a mind-computer

interface, and now, in connection with this new book, I can’t help thinking of

it further.

I suppose that the first time human beings learned how to form an interface

between the human mind and another sort of intelligence was when they tamed

the horse and learned how to use it as a form of transportation. This reached

its highest point when human beings rode horses directly, and when a pull at a

rein, the touch of a spur, a squeeze of the knees, or just a cry, could make

the horse react in accordance with the human will.

It is no wonder that primitive Greeks seeing horsemen invade the comparatively

broad Thessalian plains (the part of Greece most suitable to horsemanship)

thought they were seeing a single animal with a human torso and a horse’s

body. Thus was invented the centaur.

Again, there are “trick drivers.” There are expert “stunt men” who can make an

automobile do marvelous things. One might expect that a New Guinea native who

had never seen or heard of an automobile before might believe that such stunts

were being carried through by a strange and monstrous living organism that

had, as part of its structure, a portion with a human appearance within its

stomach.

But a person plus a horse is but an imperfect fusion of intelligence, and a

person plus an automobile is but an extension of human muscles by mechanical

linkages. A horse can easily disobey signals, or even run away in

uncontrollable panic. And an automobile can break down or skid at an

inconvenient moment.

The fusion of human and computer, however, ought to be a much closer approach

to the ideal. It may be an extension of the mind itself as I tried to make

plain in Foundation’s Edge. a multiplication and intensification of sense-

perception, an incredible extension of the will.

Under such circumstances, might not the fusion represent, in a very real

sense, a single organism, a kind of cybernetic “centaur?” And once such a

union is established, would the human fraction wish to break it? Would he not

feel such a break to be an unbearable loss and be unable to live with the

impoverishment of mind and will he would then have to face? In my novel, Golan

Trevize could break away from the computer at will and suffered no ill effects

as a result, but perhaps that is not realistic.

Another issue that appears now and then in the Robot City series concerns the

interaction of robot and robot.

This has not played a part in most of my stories, simply because I generally

had a single robot character of importance in any given story and I dealt

entirely with the matter of the interaction between that single robot and

various human beings.

Consider robots in combination.

The First Law states that a robot cannot injure a human being or, through

inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

But suppose two robots are involved, and that one of them, through

inadvertence, lack of knowledge, or special circumstances, is engaged in a

course of action (quite innocently) that will clearly injure a human being—and

suppose the second robot, with greater knowledge or insight, is aware of this.

Would he not be required by the First Law to stop the first robot from

committing the injury? If there were no other way, would he not be required by

the First Law to destroy the first robot without hesitation or regret?

Thus, in my book Robots and Empire (Doubleday, 1985), a robot is introduced to

whom human beings have been defined as those speaking with a certain accent.

The heroine of the book does not speak with that accent and therefore the

robot feels free to kill her. That robot is promptly destroyed by a second

robot.

The situation is similar for the Second Law, in which robots are forced to

obey orders given them by human beings provided those orders do not violate

the First Law.

If, of two robots, one through inadvertence or lack of understanding does not

obey an order, the second must either carry through the order itself, or force

the first to do so.

Thus, in an intense scene in Robots and Empire, the villainess gives one robot

a direct order. The robot hesitates because the order may cause harm to the

heroine. For a while, then, there is a confrontation in which the villainess

reinforces her own order while a second robot tries to reason the first robot

into a greater realization of the harm that will be done to the heroine. Here

we have a case where one robot urges another to obey the Second Law in a truer

manner, and to withstand a human being in so doing.

It is the Third Law, however, that brings up the knottiest problem where

robots in combination are concerned.

The Third Law states that a robot must protect its own existence, where that

is consistent with the First and Second Laws.

But what if two robots are concerned? Is each merely concerned with its own

existence, as a literal reading of the Third Law would make it seem? Or would

each robot feel the need for helping the other maintain its own existence?

As I said, this problem never arose with me as long as I dealt with only one

robot per story. (Sometimes there were other robots but they were distinctly

subsidiary characters—merely spear-carriers, so to speak.)

However, first in The Robots of Dawn (Doubleday, 1983), and then in its sequel

Robots and Empire, I had two robots of equal importance. One of these was R.

Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot (who could not easily be told from a human

being) who had earlier appeared in The Caves of Steel (Doubleday, 1954), and

in its sequel, The Naked Sun (Doubleday, 1957). The other was R. Giskard

Reventlov, who had a more orthodox metallic appearance. Both robots were

advanced to the point where their minds were of human complexity.

It was these two robots who were engaged in the struggle with the villainess,

the Lady Vasilia. It was Giskard who (such were the exigencies of the plot)

was being ordered by Vasilia to leave the service of Gladia (the heroine) and

enter her own. And it was Daneel who tenaciously argued the point that Giskard

ought to remain with Gladia. Giskard has the ability to exert a limited

mental control over human beings, and Daneel points out that Vasilia ought to

be controlled for Gladia’s safety. He even argues the good of humanity in the

abstract (“the Zeroth Law”) in favor of such an action.

Daneel’s arguments weaken the effect of Vasilia’s orders, but not

sufficiently. Giskard is made to hesitate, but cannot be forced to take

action.

Vasilia, however, decides that Daneel is too dangerous; if he continues to

argue, he might force Giskard his way. She therefore orders her own robots to

inactivate Daneel and further orders Daneel not to resist. Daneel must obey

the order and Vasilia’s robots advance to the task.

It is then that Giskard acts. Her four robots are inactivated and Vasilia

herself crumples into a forgetful sleep. Later Daneel asks Giskard to explain

what happened.

Giskard says, “When she ordered the robots to dismantle you, friend Daneel,

and showed a clear emotion of pleasure at the prospect, your need, added to

what the concept of the Zeroth Law had already done, superseded the Second Law

and rivaled the First Law. It was the combination of the Zeroth Law,

psychohistory, my loyalty to Lady Gladia, and your need that dictated my

action.”

Daneel now argues that his own need (he being merely a robot) ought not to

have influenced Giskard at all. Giskard obviously agrees, yet he says:

“It is a strange thing, friend Daneel. I do not know how it came about...At

the moment when the robots advanced toward you and Lady Vasilia expressed her

savage pleasure, my positronic pathway pattern re-formed in an anomalous

fashion. For a moment, I thought of you—as a human being—and I reacted

accordingly.”

Daneel said, “That was wrong.”

Giskard said, “I know that. And yet—and yet, if it were to happen again, I

believe the same anomalous change would take place again.”

And Daneel cannot help but feel that if the situation were reversed, he, too,

would act in the same way.

In other words, the robots had reached a stage of complexity where they had

begun to lose the distinction between robots and human beings, where they

could see each other as “friends,” and have the urge to save each other’s

existence.

There seems to be another step to take—that of robots realizing a kind of

solidarity that supersedes all the Laws of Robotics. I speculated about that

in my short story “Robot Dreams,” which was written for my recent book, Robot

Dreams (Berkley/ Ace, 1986).

In it there was the case of a robot that dreamed of the robots as an enslaved

group of beings whom it was his own mission to liberate. It was only a dream

and there was no indication in the story that he would be able to liberate

himself from the Three Laws to the point of being able to lead a robot

rebellion (or that robots, generally, could liberate themselves to the point

of following him).

Nevertheless, the mere concept is dangerous and the robot-dreamer is instantly

inactivated.

William F. Wu’s robots have no such radical ideas, but they have formed a

community that is concerned with the welfare of its members. It is pleasant to

have him take up such matters and apply his own imagination to the elaboration

and resolution of the problems that are raised.

CHAPTER l

THE COMPASS TOWER

Derec stood on the high, flat top of the Compass Tower, looking down from the

great pyramid at the endless geometric wonders of Robot City beneath its blue

and brilliant sky. Ariel leaned against him, still clutching his arm in both

hands. Mandelbrot the robot and Wolruf, the little caninoid sentient alien,

waited behind them.

“It’s changed so much,” Derec said quietly. They had just teleported back to

the planet by using their double Key to Perihelion. Mandelbrot had carried

them all here. “Keep the Key. It’ll be safest with you.”

“Yes, Derec,” said Mandelbrot.

Derec turned around to gaze in the other direction. The sight was the same:

the lights and shapes of Robot City, stretching to a skyline barely limned by

the reflected sunlight against the blue horizon. He could not escape it in any

direction. His destiny seemed to be here.

“What’s changed?” Ariel asked. Her voice was meek. She had not recovered from

her ordeal on Earth. A critical illness had reached fullness there, destroying

her memories and her entire identity with them. They had not been there by

choice, but fortunately he had been able to place a new matrix of chemical

memories into her mind. They were to grow on the residue of her old memory,

but they were still developing. She had not had time to get used to them, to

integrate them, to understand who she was.

Derec squinted into the warm breeze that blew up the front face of the

pyramid. It tossed his sandy hair. Once brush cut, it had grown out to a

golden shag. “They’ve done it. The robots have built the city out in all

directions. It could cover the entire planet by now.”

“So it didn’t before.” She nodded, as if to herself, looking all around as he

was.

“No. Still, we aren’t exactly strangers here. We know how to get along. And if

we’re lucky, we can get this trip over with and leave again before long.”

Derec turned to Mandelbrot. “We have to find some shelter before we’re

noticed. Can you still use your comlink to reach the city computer?”

“I will try.” Mandelbrot hesitated a few seconds, quite a long time for a

robot. “Yes. The city computer has changed the frequency it uses, but I have

identified the new one by the simple expedient of starting with the original

and sending a variety of signals that run up and down the entire range of—.”

“Fine, excellent, thank you.” Derec grinned at his enthusiasm, gesturing with

his hands palm forward. “Believe me, I trust your competence. My next

question is this: When Ariel and I first came to Robot City, I found an office

in this pyramid, down below. It had been recently occupied. I think we can

find Dr. Avery there, but we have to be careful. Can you find out from the

city computer if the office is still in use?”

“I will try.” Mandelbrot then shook his head. “The computer will not reveal

any information about the office. It will not even confirm that the office

still exists.”

“All right. “ Derec sighed.

“What if it’s gone?” Ariel asked.

“I’d be very surprised,” said Derec. “Avery just didn’t want his private

office on file anywhere. We’ll have to take our chances and just go right in

if we can. “

Ariel held her hair out of her face. “Just go in? How?”

“The ceiling of the office had a trapdoor that opened right up into this

platform we’re on.” He got down on his hands and knees. “Come on, let’s find

it.”

“Derec.” Ariel’s voice was a little stronger, showing some of her old spirit.

“You’ve been growing weaker because of those...things Dr. Avery forced into

your body. Just be careful, will you?”

“Can you find it?” he demanded irritably. “You’re not in the best condition of

your life, either.”

“Well, I’m not sick anymore!” She folded her arms. “I’m well now, at least

physically.” She watched him for a moment. Then, as if to prove the point, she

knelt down and started feeling around the surface of the platform herself.

“You don’t even remember being here before, do you?” Derec asked accusingly.

The tension was making him irritable.

“Do you?”

“Yes!”

“Well...you haven’t known who you are for the entire time I’ve known you.

You’ve had amnesia since....” She shook her head, shaking off the thought. “I

may not have adjusted to everything, but at least I have something.” Then she

hesitated, searching his face. “I didn’t mean to say that. Not out loud,

anyway. Did I get that right? Or did I remember wrong?”

Derec shook his head shortly and turned away. “That’s right.” She had even

phrased it much the same way on earlier occasions. He shifted around on his

knees, feeling for an irregularity in the smooth surface. “Mandelbrot, can you

see anything?”

“Here,” said Mandelbrot, walking to a far corner of the platform. “My vision

has identified a small square outline that likely represents the opening.”

“Good.” Derec walked over to Mandelbrot and knelt at the robot’s feet. He slid

his hands along the sides of a rectangular hairline break in the platform

floor until he felt a small depression in the surface, no larger than a

thumbhold. He braced himself and started to slide it to one side.

“Allow me,” said Mandelbrot.

“No, I got it—” Derec stopped, as the robot gently grasped his forearm and

pulled it away. He turned to look up. “Mandelbrot, what are you doing?”

“How much have the chemfets in your body weakened you?” Mandelbrot asked.

“Not that much! Now let’s quit talking and get down there. Avery put ‘em in me

and he’s the only one who can get ‘em out. Come on!” Derec pulled away from

the robot again.

“Derec?” Ariel said tentatively.

“Mandelbrot,” said Derec, “carry Wolruf and come down last. Help Ariel over

the—”

“I cannot. I must open it and go first.”

“What?”

“The First Law of Robotics,” said Mandelbrot mildly. “I can’t harm a human or

let one come to harm—”

“I know!” Derec shouted angrily. “Don’t you lecture me on the Laws. I put you

together, remember? I know those Laws inside out, outside in, upside down—”

“I said it for Ariel’s benefit,” said Mandelbrot. “Perhaps her memory of the

Laws is not clear.”

“I remember that one.” Ariel looked embarrassed by the confrontation. “Uh—is

the Second Law the one that says a robot must obey orders from a human?”

“Yes, unless the orders conflict with the First Law.” Mandelbrot nodded.

“Then the Third Law must be the one that says a robot can’t let itself come to

harm or harm itself. “

“As long as this doesn’t conflict with the First or Second Laws,” Mandelbrot

finished. “Correct.”

Ariel smiled faintly.

“Let’s get going,” said Derec impatiently. He reached for the thumbhold again,

though he did not expect Mandelbrot to let him open the door now, either.

“I will determine this situation,” said Mandelbrot firmly. “With all due

respect, the Laws require it.”

“How do you figure that?” Derec demanded.

“Your motor control of your own body is gradually failing because of the

chemfets in your body. Ariel is disoriented because of her memory transfer,

and Wolruf’s body is unsuited to climbing down at this steep angle. We are

about to enter the office and possible temporary residence of your nemesis.

The likelihood of harm to you is high; therefore, I shall go first.”

Derec glared at him, unable to argue with his robotic logic.

Wolruf looked up at him, cocking her doglike face to one side. “Arr ‘u going

to carry me down?”

“I will enter alone, first,” said Mandelbrot. “Derec’s knowledge of Robot

City makes him the best able to handle unexpected developments, so he will

follow me if the room offers no danger. I will carry you down if we all go.”

Wolruf nodded assent.

Derec watched Mandelbrot in the faint light. The robot hesitated just a

moment, probably looking with infrared sensors and listening for signs of

habitation or danger within. Then he bent down and slid the trapdoor open

slightly. After another pause, he opened the trap fully and climbed down a

metal ladder inside the door.

Derec waited, hardly daring to breathe. Avery could easily have a trap waiting

for them. Wolruf moved to his side. Ariel stood quietly, but seemed relaxed,

as though she did not understand the gravity of the situation.

After what seemed like a long time, a light came on in the room, throwing a

cone of light upward. Mandelbrot called up softly. “It is here and unoccupied,

apparently safe for everyone.”

Derec let out a breath of relief and took Ariel’s arm. “You go next. Never

mind what he said about me handling the unexpected; he can protect you better

if anything happens. And he’ll help you if you have trouble with the ladder.”

“All right.” Ariel started climbing down carefully.

Wolruf came to the edge of the opening and peeked down cautiously, being

careful not to get in the way.

Derec took the time to move with similar caution to the edge of the Compass

Tower. So far, he could see no changes down below that indicated an alert.

Wolruf went next. Then Derec started down, hoping his hands and feet would

obey him. He descended slowly into the room, holding the ladder tightly. When

he was fully inside, he slid the door shut over his head.

The ladder was firm and not difficult to negotiate. Just before he reached the

floor, however, the muscles of his right leg failed to respond. His foot

slipped off the bottom rung and he stumbled back into the arms of Mandelbrot.

Derec pulled himself away, glaring at the others, who were all watching him.

“I just slipped, all right?”

None of them answered.

“Come on, come on. Let’s find out what we can.” Derec moved past Mandelbrot to

pace around the office, looking around.

At first glance, it was just as he remembered. The only other time he had been

here, Ariel had remained inside only a moment or two, so she would have few

memories of the interior even at her best. The other two had never been here

at all.

The walls and the ceiling were entirely viewscreens, displaying a panoramic

view of Robot City at night on all sides. It was nearly identical to the view

Derec had seen from the platform just above the room. The buildings of Robot

City sparkled in all directions as far as he could see. In the ceiling, they

could see the blue sky still above them.

The office was furnished with real furniture, all brought from another planet;

easy chairs, couch-bed, and an iron-alloy desk, instead of the simple

utilitarian furniture made in Robot City. A blotter with paper and two zero-g

ink pens were on the desk. As before, a small, airtight shelf full of tapes

was intact. They were separated by subject and then by planet, as he recalled,

representing all fifty-five Spacer worlds. If anyone had used them, they had

all been replaced in order. Nothing seemed changed since his last visit until

he turned and saw the plant.

Before, an unfamiliar plant had been flourishing under a growth light. The

light was still in place, but the plant beneath it lay limp and dried in its

pot. Its stalks were lavender, but he had no idea if that was a sign of recent

dessication or its normal color in death. He crumpled a dead leaf thoughtfully

in one hand.

“Someone just let it die,” said Ariel, joining him.

“I don’t think anyone’s been here,” said Derec. “Mandelbrot, Wolruf —does

anyone see any sign of recent habitation here?”

Ariel looked around the room, and then down into a small waste basket. “This

is empty.”

“Someone has been here since I was here last, then,” said Derec. “But that was

a long time ago.” He turned back to the desk with a sudden memory. Before, a

holo cube with a picture of a mother and baby had been on it. The cube was

gone.

“Maybe rrobot emptied mash,” said Wolruf.

“No.” Derec shook his head. “The first time I was here, Ariel and I were led

here from the meeting room of the Supervisors. We had entered the Compass

Tower from the ground below. But we came the last part of the trip alone.

Robots aren’t even allowed near this office. I doubt that they have any idea

what this room is. Entry would obviously be forbidden.”

“Then except for Dr. Avery himself,” said Ariel, “this is an ideal hiding

place.”

“If we can find a source of food for you three,” said Mandelbrot. “Also,

efforts to locate Dr. Avery will involve inherent risk.”

“Let me check something.” Derec moved to the desk and opened the big well

drawer on the right. An active computer terminal was still housed within it.

“Ah! This terminal has no blocks of any kind. It’s where I first learned the

causes behind the shapechanging mode of the city.” He sat down at the desk and

entered the question, “Does this office have any sensors reporting to the

outside?”

“NEGATIVE.”

“Order: Do not leave any record of activity on this terminal in the city

computer.”

“AFFIRMED. “

“Is there a source of human food available in this room?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

“Where is it?”

“THE CONTROL PANEL SLIDES OUT FROM THE UNDERSIDE OF THE DESK SURFACE WHERE IT

OVERHANGS THIS DRAWER.”

“Is there a Personal facility?”

“YES.”

“Where is it?”

“THE DOOR IS SET INTO THE VIEWSCREEN BEHIND THE LADDER. IT IS GOVERNED BY THE

DESK CONTROL PANEL ALSO.”

Derec felt under the overhanging edge of the desk and slid out a wafer-thin

panel with raised studs. He pushed the one marked “Mealtime” and turned around

at a faint hum from the wall. Near the ladder, a rectangular panel had moved

out of the view screen on the wall to reveal the receptacle of a small

chemical processor. On the front of the drawer, the panel still showed its

share of the outside view of Robot City.

He let out a long breath, and grinned at Ariel. “If it works, this buys us

some time. If the tank has no raw nutrients, it can’t help us at all. I’ll try

it.”

“No, let me.” Ariel moved to the control panel quickly. “I can test my memory

with stuff like this. Let’s see....” She punched a sequence of keys, paused to

think, and hit another series.

“Okay,” said Derec. “What’s it going to be?”

“I’m not telling. I want to see if you can recognize it.” She smiled impishly,

but with a bit of worry, too.

Derec punched another button on the control panel, and watched a narrow door

slide open in the viewscreen, next to the chemical processor. It was a very

small Personal, as clean and tidy as the rest of the office. He closed the

door again.

A few moments later, a small container slid into the food receptacle. Derec

inhaled the aroma. “Ha! Magellanic frettage again? Not bad.” He touched the

container carefully. “And hot, too. Smells good.” He looked at her over his

shoulder. “Good job.”

Ariel smiled, wiping perspiration off her forehead with the back of one hand

“‘Ungrry, too, please,” said Wolruf politely. “Of course. Coming up next,”

said Ariel.

Derec was starting to lift the dish out of the receptacle when he saw Ariel

blink quickly, repeatedly, and stagger backward. She fell, and Mandelbrot

moved behind her just in time to catch her and lift her gently from the floor.

He turned and laid her carefully on the couch.

CHAPTER 2

MEMORIES AND CHEMFETS

Derec moved quickly to her side and knelt down. “Ariel?” he said softly.

She was breathing in quick, shallow breaths and perspiring freely. Her eyes

were closed.

“Mandelbrot?” Derec said quietly. “Have you got any idea what’s wrong with

her?”

“No, Derec. My human medical knowledge is very limited.”

“Maybe iss jusst tirred,” Wolruf said softly. “Hass been verry sick. Needs

resst.”

“I hope so,” said Derec. He felt a deep sense of panic. The ordeal she had

undergone on Earth had been extremely draining, and their landing back here

must have caused her more stress than he had realized. “Up till now, she was

acting almost normal.”

Wolruf came to stand next to Derec. She looked at Ariel’s face. “Suggesst ‘u

brring food.”

“Mandelbrot,” said Derec.

The robot brought over the container of Megallanic frettage and handed it to

Derec. Eating utensils were attached to the side of the container. He simply

held it, letting the aroma rise into the air near her.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe this isn’t what she needs. She isn’t responding at all.” He glanced at

the others questioningly.

“Water?” Wolruf suggested.

“Must find the stranger,” Ariel muttered. Her eyes were still closed, but she

tossed restlessly.

“What?” Derec asked gently. “What stranger?”

“Draw him to us. aotta be hungry by now.” She squirmed, the sweat on her face

shining in the light of the room. “Have to make it better. Have to make him

like it. Has to smell right.” She threw her head from side to side.

“Who?” Derec insisted. “Avery? We’ll find him. Do you mean Dr. Avery?” Then

he realized that she might be dreaming about Jeff Leong, the marooned stranger

who had been turned into a cyborg when they were here before. Derec and his

companions had helped capture him when the transformation had adversely

affected Leong’s mind, and had aided the robot in restoring him to human form.

They had sent him off the planet in a craft one of them could have used.

“Iss not hearing ‘u,” said Wolruf. “Verry ssick.” Derec stood up and set the

container of food on the desk, still watching her. She stopped talking, but

her legs were moving slightly. He had seen people move like that when they

were dreaming. “I guess we’ll have to let her sleep. Maybe that’s all she

needs. I think I could use some rest, myself.

“That couch can be unfolded into a bed,” Derec observed. “Whatever is wrong

with Ariel is in her mind and memory, not her body. She won’t be harmed if you

will lift her for a moment.”

Mandelbrot bent down and gently lifted Ariel in his robot arms as though she

was a baby. Derec fumbled for a moment with the couch, then succeeded in

pulling on a single strap that unfolded it to full size. It was a simple, non-

powered device that was popular among frequent travelers because it did not

force the owner to match power sources or worry about complicated repairs

“All right,” said Derec.

Mandelbrot laid her down just as carefully as before. Derec sat down beside

her to loosen her clothing. She was lying quietly now, as though she was

sleeping.

“I am aware,” said Mandelbrot, “that a potential First Law conflict may be

developing.”

“What is it?” Derec asked. This did not seem like the time to hassle over the

Laws of Robotics.

“I recall from our presence here before that Robot City possesses a very high

level of human medical skill and technology. The First Law may demand that I

put Ariel in contact with the robot called Human Medical Research 1, lest I

allow her to come to harm through my inaction.” He trained his photosensors

squarely on Derec.

“But you can’t! We don’t dare, at least not right away!” Derec jumped up and

paced behind the desk. “They’re almost certain to alert Dr. Avery, and then r

II be harmed through your action. And so will she, probably. The guy has to be

crazy.”

“I know,” Mandelbrot said ruefully. “I also feel a resonance from the First

Law dilemma I faced in certain events before our recent return here. I welcome

suggestions that will avoid this contradiction. “

Derec stared at him. “Suggestions? Hell, I don’t know.” He ran both hands

through his hair and closed his eyes. “Look, I’m tired, too. Suppose you stay

in an alert mode, monitoring the city computer, while the rest of us get some

sleep.”

“As you wish,” said Mandelbrot. “I will also turn out the light when you are

ready.”

Wolruf was already settling comfortably into one of the chairs. Derec sat

softly next to Ariel, trying not to disturb her, and pulled off his boots.

Moments later, he was stretched out in the sunlight, surrounded visually by

the strange beauty of Robot City. He felt strangely naked without visible,

opaque walls around him, despite the secrecy of this room and the efficiency

of Mandelbrot, who was a match for any other robot they might encounter.

“Mandelbrot,” said Derec.

“Yes.”

“See if you can figure out how to turn off these viewscreens. That sunlight is

bright, and we don’t exactly have curtains in here.”

“Yes, Derec.”

Derec was certain, the more he thought about it, that they would be safe here.

One of the few certainties about the mad genius named Dr. Avery was that he

was truly paranoid, and possibly becoming more so as time passed. He surely

knew that Derec had been in this office once before, and he obviously knew

that he had been in Avery’s laboratory. A true paranoid would not continue to

use either one after his “opponent” had learned their locations.

His body was tired, more tired than it should have been. He hated to admit it

to himself, but his time to find Dr. Avery was quickly growing shorter. Worst

of all, he might reach the point where he could think clearly but would be

unable to carry out any plans. As sleep approached, his mind went to his basic

problem: the chemfets in his body.

Dr. Avery had captured him when they had been on Robot City before. At that

time, however, Ariel’s illness had been entering a critical phase. Derec had

escaped and fled from Robot City, hoping to find a cure for her disease. They

had wound up on Earth. Only then had he realized what Dr. Avery had done to

him in the laboratory while he had been a prisoner.

The chemfets were microscopic circuit boards with biosensors that interfaced

his body. These tiny circuit boards were capable of preprogrammed growth and

replication, and apparently Dr. Avery had programmed them. He had also

planted a monitor in Derec’s brain that told him what they were and what was

happening now: a tiny Robot City was growing inside his body.

Derec had no idea why Avery had done this to him, but the monitor had made one

fact clear: the number of chemfets was growing, and some of them were joining

together to grow larger. They were already interfering with his ability to

coordinate his movements normally, and they were going to kill him from the

inside—paralyze him, he suspected—if he didn’t get rid of them.

Only Dr. Avery could do that. Derec had no idea how he could convince the man

to do so.

Derec woke up spontaneously, looking at a plain ceiling of light gray. For a

moment, he was completely disoriented. Then, remembering he was back in

Avery’s office, he sat up with a start of near-panic and looked around.

Ariel was sitting at the desk. She flinched in response to his movement and

looked at him. Her expression was at first blank, then relaxed to a shy smile.

“Ariel! How are you feeling?” Derec smiled in embarrassment himself at his

sudden awakening, and ran a hand through his hair to brush it out of his eyes.

“I feel all right. I just...get confused sometimes.” Her voice was apologetic.

Derec swung his feet over the edge of the bed and looked around. Mandelbrot

had found a way to opaque the walls, which were the same light gray as the

ceiling, and now stood motionless with his back to Derec. Wolruf was awake,

sitting quietly in the chair where she had been when he had gone to sleep.

“How are you?” Ariel asked. “I’m able to get several decent dishes out of the

chemical processor, by the way. My memory was a little weak, but I learned

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IsaacAsimov'sRobotCity6-PerihelionISAACASIMOV’SROBOTCITYBOOK6:PERIHELIONWILLIAMF.WUCopyright©1988SpecialthanksforhelpinwritingthisnovelareduetoDavidM.Harris,RobChilson,mywifeDianaGallagherWu,andofcourseIsaacAsimovforsupportingtheRobotCityproject.THISNOVELISDEDICATEDTOCHELSEA,WITHLOVEROBOTSINCOMBINAT...

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