Robot City - Perihelion Part 21

Dr. Avery had backed away toward the fireplace. "You must save us!" he shouted at the Hunters. "Kill them!"

"Listen to him," Ariel called out, now more in control. "His orders violate the First Law. You can't trust his orders any more. Orders that violate the Laws of Robotics also violate the Second Law of Humanics, which says humans will not give robots unreasonable orders. Listen to him, and you'll understand that he can't be followed anymore." If the Hunters had learned how she and Jeff and Derec had shut down Pei, they wouldn't listen to her, either.

The remaining Hunters had not moved. One held Jeff and Wolruf. The other was in a stand-off with Mandelbrot, as each tried to reach the manual controls of the other to shut him down.

"Acknowledged," said the Hunter holding Jeff and Wolruf. "Dr. Avery's instructions cannot be followed. However, the central computer also directs us. We are still under orders to detain the members of your group without harming them."

Dr. Avery had cowered into a corner, still shouting.

"I am Robot City now," said Derec. "The chemfets in my body have matured and I have reprogrammed them." He visualized the computer console in his mind. Maybe he wouldn't always have to do that, but right now it made the task easier. "Central computer," he thought. "Eliminate the orders to the Hunter robots regarding Derec or David Avery, Ariel Welsh, the robot Mandelbrot, and the caninoid alien Wolruf. Then notify all pertinent robots of the change." Then aloud he said, "Hunters. A new order should come through to you-"

"Acknowledged," said the Hunter in front of Mandelbrot. He straightened, dropping his guard "Acknowledged," echoed the other Hunter, releasing Jeff and Wolruf.

"I received it also," said Mandelbrot.

"Now, then," said Derec, turning to Dr. Avery.

Dr. Avery was standing in the corner of the room to one side of the giant fireplace. As the others turned to watch him, he drew himself up. "Consider what you have accomplished, my son," he said. "Think of it. Everything I envisioned to this point has come to pa.s.s as I intended. Well, almost-never mind this young woman. You rule in Robot City. Soon you will rule in every Robot City, in thousands of them throughout all the galaxies."

A stinging sadness came over Derec, draining his anger. "You're...not right. Not right in the head. You started out seeking a utopia and instead you've gotten sidetracked. This has become a springboard for power, not for good. Maybe if you took it easy for a while, got some professional advice..."

"You dare to order me?" Dr. Avery yelled. "No! You join me! I order it!"

"I'm not a robot. You can't order me." Derec turned to the Hunters. "Please detain my...detain Dr. Avery without harming him."

The two Hunters started forward.

With a twisted sneer, Dr. Avery lifted a small object in one hand: a Key to Perihelion. He laughed derisively and then vanished.

Derec walked slowly to the head of the table, still looking at the s.p.a.ce where Dr. Avery had stood. His relief was tinged with melancholy at understanding his father's condition.

Everyone was watching him.

He turned at his father's chair, resting one hand on the back of it. "Mandelbrot, please put those items on the floor back on the table. Hunters, your task is over. Please return to your holding area, or wherever you normally reside."

The robots obeyed.

"Are you really okay?" Ariel asked, moving toward him. "David?"

He grinned and put his arm around her. "I guess so. David seems to be okay, and so is Derec."

"I seem to be okay, too." She put her arms around him and they embraced.

None of them wanted to split up for the night or go exploring for bedrooms in the Avery estate. As tired as they were, Derec, Ariel, Jeff, and Wolruf were able to sleep by the fire even on the hard floor. Derec knew that Dr. Avery might have transported elsewhere on the planet and could still pose a danger, but he doubted any threat would be immediate. Just before going to sleep, he gave a general order throughout Robot City that all robots were to remain where they were until further notice, except for minimal activities to keep the city operating. That way he would have time later to figure out exactly what status the city was in and how to return the robots from their a.s.sembly points to normal duties. With Mandelbrot standing by and Robot City under his own mental control, he fell into a genuine sleep.

The next morning, Ariel pointed out the table console to Derec in case he had a use for it. He really didn't, finding that he was able to contact any branch of the computer system on the planet with his mind. This morning he started with the one in Dr. Avery's kitchen.

The entire group, including Mandelbrot, sat at the long table with a real breakfast served by two kitchen robots. It included fresh produce and dishes processed from produce instead of from limited nutrient tanks. Derec and Ariel shared their separate adventures with everyone, then Wolruf and Jeff gave their stories. Since Mandelbrot had been shut down for much of the time they had been separated, he had little to tell.

When the anecdotes had ended, Derec sat at the head of the table in an upbeat mood, thinking over his new responsibilities.

"I guess I can have the central computer worry about the particulars of what I have to do," he mused. "If I instruct the central computer to return all the robots to their normal duties, it will do all the organization itself."

"But you can really control it with your mind?" Ariel asked. "And you can program robots mentally, too?"

"Apparently I can. I'm still getting used to the idea myself."

"To all your human attributes," said Mandelbrot, "you have now added some of the advantages of a robot. "

Jeff laughed. "Without the liabilities, if you know what I mean." He winked.

While the others laughed, Derec was aware of a message in his mind from the central computer, answering a question he had posed.

"NO EVIDENCE OF DR. AVERY ON THE PLANET HAS BEEN REPORTED," said the central computer.

If Dr. Avery was here at all, Derec realized, he now had all the disadvantages they had had while on the run from him. They now had all the resources he had used. Even more, considering that they were not burdened by insanity.

Considering Dr. Avery's paranoia, Derec felt certain that he had left the planet. Maybe he had gone home to Aurora. Perhaps he had returned to his apartment on Earth, or had other hideaways in reserve, as well.

"Thank 'u," said Wolruf. "Good brreakfa.s.st. Could sleep morr now."

"I believe we can locate comfortable sleeping rooms here," said Mandelbrot. "The luxury of this room and this meal imply similar luxury elsewhere in this residence."

"I'll find a way to shut down the b.o.o.by-traps and riddles," said Derec, grinning at Ariel.

She laughed. "It's hard to believe. For the first time, Robot City will be at peace, running smoothly, and no longer full of mystery."

"And you have plenty of Keys to Perihelion with which to travel," said Mandelbrot. "Perhaps Wolruf can be sent home."

She shrugged her caninoid shoulders. "Resst first."

"I wonder what kind of shape the s.h.i.+p is in," said Jeff. "I only rented it."

"Don't worry," said Derec. "I'll have the Minneapolis fully repaired, cleaned, polished, and outfitted for you. We're more than square for any debt you felt you owed us. But you're welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Thanks," said Jeff. He shook his head, grinning. "Robot City. It's never been a dull town."

When everyone had finished breakfast, Jeff and Wolruf excused themselves to accompany Mandelbrot in further exploration of Dr. Avery's immense quarters.

Later, after function robots had cleared the table and Derec and Ariel were alone in the great hall, he stood gazing into the fire that continued to blaze. He still felt melancholy.

"Is something wrong?" Ariel asked quietly.

"Oh...I was just thinking about Dr. Avery. How his wonderful plans got all twisted. And how after researching cultures with Professor Leong and all, he just seemed to drop that subject after a certain point. He is obviously a brilliant man, yet he threw so much away." He looked up at her. "I found out something, too."

"What?"

"I'm not sure we stopped him in time after all. From what I can get out of the central computer, I think some of the robots may have launched themselves from their a.s.sembly points before I cancelled that instruction."

Ariel drew in a quick breath. "If that's true, then they will be building more Robot Cities, just as Dr. Avery wanted. And who knows what precise orders he gave them?"

"I may be able to find that out in the computer," said Derec. "Maybe I can even call them back somehow; I won't know till I spend some time on it. But there's something else."

"What? What's wrong?"

"I have my ident.i.ty back, but...I still have amnesia. I don't have all my memory back." He turned to look at her. "Finding my father wasn't exactly constructive."

"Maybe you could...oh, I don't know. Perhaps locating your mother would help. Or some of the Avery robots might know of a way to help. Just think how much help you might get from Robot City and even the robots that may have left."

Derec nodded. "I haven't given up. Don't worry about that." He grinned. "That isn't me. And from what I've seen, it isn't you, either."

"It certainly isn't...David."

Ariel laughed, looked into his eyes, and tossed her hair back. On an impulse, he slid his arms around her waist and drew her close. Then he kissed her waiting lips and felt her arms tighten around his neck.

Isaac Asimov:S Robot City continues with Robot City # 7, in which Derec is summoned to a distant planet and encounters a robotic experiment fantastically different from anything he has seen on Robot City.

DATA BANK.

CARGO ROBOT: Not all of the robots of Robot City are positronic in nature. Many of those whose jobs are especially simple have been equipped with brains that are more like computers than like robot brains. These function robots are a.n.a.logous to the tools used by positronic robots. They are incapable of real thought; they are also not bound by the Three Laws of Robotics.

The cargo robot is one example of a non-positronic function robot. Programmed with a map of Robot City and its transport systems, it is essentially a container that can load and unload itself and move along preset paths. It has just enough intelligence to avoid obstacles and decide which cargoes should be loaded in the internal compartment and which should be carried on the forklift-like arms.

[COURIER ROBOT: Another function robot is the courier. Smaller than a cargo robot, it is faster and more maneuverable. Since all mail in Robot City-in fact all communications except face-to-face speech-is routed electronically through the main computer, the courier robot's primary job is the delivery of tools and unique artifacts.

Like the cargo robot, the courier robot's lack of positronic intelligence makes it an optional means of covert transportation, since it cannot recognize when it is being used as such.]

[OBSERVATION ROBOT: The observation robot is a reading and recording device. It is used mostly for taking inventories, where it will simply take down the serial numbers of collections of objects (such as robots awaiting repair) and report the details to the positronic robot commanding it. In such cases, it is programmed with the location of the serial number. It can also be used in quality control and diagnosis, though. When it is doing that, it is programmed with an image of the correct appearance of the object under consideration, and it records and reports any discrepancies.]

[PRIORITY 4 REGIONAL CONTINGENCY POWER STATION: The major source of energy for Robot City is the fusion pack. One small micropack can power an industrial robot for over a year before needing to be replaced or refueled; a series of larger packs can provide all the necessary energy for a part of the city. Although fusion packs are extremely safe and reliable, the First Law has compelled the robot Supervisors of Robot City to allow for the possibility of a power failure.

Should the centrally controlled power system of Robot City break down, a series of regional contingency power stations would come on line. Although the goal of the designers was to make any s.h.i.+ft in power sources undetectably smooth to human inhabitants, it was necessary to a.s.sign priorities to different areas of the city. This station serves a high-priority neighborhood.]

[THE MINNEAPOLIS: Most interstellar s.h.i.+ps are clumsy, at best, once they reach a planetary atmosphere. They are capable of landing very gently at prepared s.p.a.ceports, but in an emergency they are likely to hit the surface with a noticeable impact. The Hayas.h.i.+-Smith s.p.a.ce/Shuttle model, however, has complete ground-to-s.p.a.ce capability.

In deep s.p.a.ce the Minneapolis uses a standard hyperdrive. Within solar systems, she maneuvers with normal impulse engines. However, she can also fly within an atmosphere, making use of an aerodynamic design and ramjet engines. This makes it possible for her to put down safely on any sufficiently long, flat surface.

In shuttle mode, the interior of the Minneapolis is usually set up with seating for ten. The cabin can be rearranged, however, so that each seat becomes a bunk. This is not a luxurious arrangement for longer (that is, interstellar) trips, but it is satisfactory.]

[DR. AVERY'S LAIR: Deep beneath the surface of Robot City, Dr. Avery's hidden refuge is a reflection of his own psychology. Inspired, secretive, confusing and confused, and utterly mad, it is a maze of the symbols and themes that form his obsessions.

Some of the rooms take the shape of the Key to Perihelion; others are decorated with the shape. Many of the objects that are scattered through the complex of rooms come from cultures that represent permanence and persistence to Dr. Avery.

The weird shapes of some of the rooms, and the mixtures of ancient and modern, purely decorative and strictly utilitarian, even the echoes in some of the collected objects of Circuit Breaker, are all signs of the infolding of a great architect's mind. As his consciousness descended into obsession and paranoia, he withdrew into the mazelike warren of his hideaway.]

WILLIAM F. WU.

William F. Wu is a five-time nominee for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. He is the author of the novel Master Play, about computer wargamers for hire, and he has had short fiction published in most of the magazines and many anthologies in the field of science fiction and fantasy, including a series of collaborations with Rob Chilson in a.n.a.log. He is also the author of Robot City 3: Cyborg. His short story, "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium," was adapted into an episode of the new Twilight Zone television show in 1985 and his first published story, "By the Flicker of the One-Eyed Flame," was adapted and performed on stage in 1977. He holds a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan, and is married to fantasy artist Diana Gallagher Wu.