Perihelion

Chapter 16. To Challenge Utopia

Derec suddenly acted on another impulse. With effort, he rolled onto his side and got his aching legs under him. Then he launched himself at Jeff without warning, reaching for Jeff’s throat as if he wanted to strangle him.

Just as he got his hands around Jeff’s neck, Pei gently grasped his wrists. Even at the slight pressure, Derec screamed and fell back, drawing his arms away with his hands limp. Then he collapsed to the ground with his eyes closed.

“You did it again!” Jeff cried, not too loudly.

“You’ve really hurt him this time,” said Ariel.

“This is an acceptable move,” said Pei. “I have prevented greater harm to this human by making a less harmful move to the one attacking him. No violation of the First Law has been made.” His confidence was returning.

Derec opened his eyes, not otherwise moving.

“Uh…” Jeff looked helplessly at Ariel.

“You overdid it,” said Ariel excitedly. “Look at him. That’s not called for!”

“That’s right,” Jeff declared. “Stopping him with reasonable force is all right, but this is something else!”

Pei looked down at Derec. “I…could not…have hurt him. I…was…gentle.”

“Not gentle enough,” Ariel wailed. “That’s twice you’ve hurt him. You just don’t understand how fragile humans are.”

“That’s right,” said Jeff eagerly. “That’s the problem. If you’ve never had contact with humans before, that explains it. Suppose you shut down till your judgement is fixed up. Or something.” He shrugged lamely at Ariel.

“It’s your judgement,” Ariel agreed, “that must be faulty at the core, so to speak. You can’t risk harming a human because of that, can you?”

“Perhaps…you have…a point.” Pei’s voice grew faint and he froze in place.

“Pei, are you awake?” Ariel asked cautiously.

“Pei, if you can hear me, I order you to say so,” said Jeff.

When Derec didn’t hear anything, he forced himself up on one elbow. “Hey, it finally worked.”

“I guess it did,” said Ariel.

“Then it should work again,” said Jeff. “And now that we know what it takes, we can refine our scenario.”

“Let’s get back over to that row they’re taking,” said Derec. “Can you help me up?”

Yet again, Jeff and Ariel helped him to his feet and supported his arms over their shoulders. The trio shuffled back to the one row that these humanoid robots were using for their trip down into the valley. There Derec once more sank to the ground.

Jeff and Ariel this time paced nervously between the high stalks on each side of the furrow.

“Maybe we ought to move on,” said Ariel. “Isn’t one mugged robot enough? I mean, one murdered human and one murdered robot caused major crises in Robot City before.”

“That’s a good point,” said Jeff. “Maybe we could drag him over here where the next migrating robot will be sure to find him. But we could move on, keep ahead of the Hunters.”

“I can’t help you drag him,” said Derec. “And he’s pretty big. I doubt the two of you could get him all the way over here.”

Jeff ran a hand through his straight black hair and sighed. “You’re right. It’s been a rough day already, and we may have a lot more running ahead.”

“One more robot,” said Derec. “That’s all we need.”

“What are you talking about?” Ariel demanded. “If we just stand here and wait for the Hunters, all this has been for nothing anyway. We have to get out of here.”

“Just one more robot. Instead of mugging it, we’ll just make sure it sees Pei, back there. Then we’ll move on.”

“Well…all right,” said Ariel. “We’ll wait a little while. But if nothing comes before long, we’re leaving anyway. Agreed?”

“Fair enough,” said Derec. “But remember, it has to be one robot walking alone. I’m pretty sure that trying to fool more than one would be tougher because the others will observe and may spot the fraud. Let’s not chance that.”

More robots did walk down the row before much time had passed, and all of them seemed to be migrating alone in the sense that they were not part of a crew or a team. However, they often came down the row in sight of one or more robots behind them, and Derec did not dare attempt their charade under those circumstances.

“Remember,” said Derec, “not that much time has really passed for the Hunters to get here. It just seems longer to us than it has been because we’re scared.”

“Here comes another one,” said Ariel, peeking around the leafy stalk on the corner of the row. “It looks good. I don’t see anyone behind him yet.”

Jeff moved next to her to look. “Hey, Derec. I think this is it. We’ve got another one.”

“Finally. All right. Just before he gets here, I’ll throw myself on the ground and you jump on me.” He smiled wryly. “Not too hard, okay? I’m half dead already.”

“Derec, don’t talk that way-” Ariel began.

“Hey-wait a minute,” said Jeff. “I know that robot. It’s…what did I name him? Oh, yeah. Hey, Can Head!” Jeff stepped out in front of the robot.

The robot stopped suddenly, looking at him in some surprise. “Are you addressing me?”

“Identify yourself,” said Jeff.

“I am Energy Pack Maintenance Foreman 3928,” said the robot. “I am following migration programming. Please allow me to pass.”

“That sounds right. I’m sure it’s you.” Jeff nodded, studying the robot’s eyeslit and general shape.

“Jeff, what are you doing?” Derec asked.

“I knew this character,” said Jeff. “I even gave him a second name. He was very cooperative.”

“They’ve all been reprogrammed,” Ariel said urgently. “We’re sure of it, remember? He won’t retain anything from when you were here before. Let’s get on with it.”

“C’mon, pal, remember?” Jeff grinned. “You will also answer to Can Head, won’t you?”

“Yes. I also answer to Can Head.”

Ariel laughed in surprise, stifling it with a hand over her mouth.

“There!” Jeff grinned at her and Derec.

Derec shrugged at Ariel.

“I’m the human who was in a robot body before,” said Jeff to Can Head. “I gave you that name and now I have further instructions. First, don’t contact the central computer with any of this. Got it?” He winked down at Derec. “I used to say that on my last trip here, too.”

“Understood,” said Can Head.

“Do you remember me?” Jeff asked.

“No.”

“You don’t?” Jeff started. “Then why do you still answer to Can Head?”

“I’ve got it,” said Derec. “All the robots of Robot City were reprogrammed through the central core, but their identities and designations were not changed. That would be counterproductive for Avery because the central computer still has to be able to contact and recognize all the different robots.”

“I guess,” said Jeff. “I’m disappointed. I thought I had an old friend, here.”

“That’s nothing,” said Derec. “You should have seen the greeting we got from Euler, an old friend of ours. He’s the one who sent the Hunters after us.”

“Anyhow, he’s being cooperative,” said Jeff. “Maybe we don’t need our scenario.” He turned to Can Head. “We must show you something. However, before we do, we request your help-no, we require your help under the First Law.”

“How may I help?” Can Head asked.

“This human is Derec and he is extremely ill. We-”

“He looks it,” said Can Head.

“A comedian,” Derec muttered.

“We need you to carry him for us for a while,” said Jeff.

“Why?”

“We…are being followed by those who would do further harm,” said Ariel, speaking slowly to get the right phrases.

“Exactly,” said Derec.

“Who are they?” Can Head asked.

“We can’t say,” said Jeff. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? Harm is harm under the First Law.”

“I am under high-priority programming to migrate,” said Can Head. “To violate it, I must understand the urgency of the potential harm.”

“Hold it,” said Derec. “Let’s combine the two. Look-you see where the ground dips over there?”

“Yes.”

“An inactive humanoid robot is lying there. After you take us to safety, we want you to report it to the central computer, but not before. You understand?”

“So far,” said Can Head.

“Before you do that, carry me and lead them on an evasive pattern toward your assembly point. That will combine your programming with our needs under the First Law. Can you do that?”

“My programming requires that I migrate directly,” said Can Head. He turned to look at the dip in the ground. “A humanoid robot has malfunctioned here?”

“Sort of,” said Derec. “It’s more like he was mugged.”

“Mugged? In the sense of criminal violence?”

“That’s what I mean, yeah.”

Can Head turned his eyeslit directly down at Derec. “Is this development directly related to the danger you are in?”

“Uh-yes! It is directly related,” said Derec. “But we don’t need to discuss how. Will you help us or not?”

“I believe this is sufficient reason to take you on an evasive pattern toward my assembly point.” Can Head leaned down and picked up Derec with surprising gentleness, even for a robot. “Follow me,” he said to Jeff and Ariel.

Derec let out a sigh of relief. As long as they were moving ahead of the Hunters, they had a chance, and an evasive pattern taken by a robot might at least be the equal of the Hunters, ability to solve it. It would be better than their own, at any rate.

He would instruct Can Head to drop them off before he reached his assembly point and to keep his contact with them secret. At that time, he thought sleepily, he could cajole an explanation of the migration programming out of him. Right now, he was just so tired…

He was comforted by the strong, rhythmic stride of Can Head and by the sound of the footsteps of Jeff and Ariel right behind them. News of the mugging of their victim was certain to reach Dr. Avery. What Derec needed now was Mandelbrot. Mandelbrot could contact the central computer and, unlike Can Head and the other Avery robots, he could he trusted to help without these convoluted discussions of the Laws.

Mandelbrot…and Wolruf. He drifted off to sleep wondering what had happened to them.

Mandelbrot was standing motionless in a repair facility. The trip here had been a long one, covering a surprisingly long distance. He had been deposited here just a moment before by the helpful robot.

He had successfully evaded the Hunters behind him by dual moves. The first was having that other robot carry him to eliminate his heat trail, and the second was being identified as a malfunctioning robot. Apparently the Hunters, with no reason to believe he was in need of repair, were acting under the assumption that he was still in full flight. He would have to move on before they thought of checking here.

Mandelbrot also had to get out before the repair robots required his identification, and that would be any time now.

At first he had been surprised by being set down and left to wait. The efficiency of the Avery robots had led him to expect immediate handling. As he observed the workings in the repair facility, however, he concluded that Robot City was, as usual, functioning under its own distinctive style of efficiency.

The repair facility was processing a large number of damaged or malfunctioning robots. Mandelbrot guessed from the conversations he overheard through his comlink that migration programming had largely been completed. Apparently only skeleton staffs remained anywhere in Robot City now.

For that reason, most repair facilities had also been shut down. The robots being repaired here were either already assigned to those skeleton staffs or they were being reprogrammed. Those that entered with migration orders had them purged and were placed in a pool to act as reserves for the skeleton staffs instead.

So Robot City intended to function without the migrating robots for an extended period. Further, any robot that did not reach its assembly point within a short time would be reassigned. Mandelbrot concluded that he could not afford to wait here longer at all, or he would risk being reprogrammed and so lost to the humans as a source of help.

Mandelbrot was standing by four other robots. Two were sitting because of mechanical failures that impaired standing or walking. The other two were standing, the extent of their malfunctions not visible. All of them had managed to reach the repair facility alert and functioning just short of one hundred percent.

Mandelbrot observed the entire room for a moment. A couple of humanoid robots assigned to the facility supervised a large number of function robots doing the actual repair work. One function robot was rolling down the row of waiting robots that Mandelbrot was in, observing serial numbers or something with an eye on a long, flexible tentacle.

Mandelbrot turned and walked quickly out of the building. Outside, he mounted a slidewalk and began to run on it toward the mountains, now invisible in the distance. He knew their direction but had to follow his memory of the ship viewscreen for the best route.

“Stop,” called a robot on his comlink. “You are malfunctioning and therefore endanger yourself by risking greater malfunctions. This is a Third Law violation that requires you to shut down-”

Mandelbrot broke his reception. Since he was in fine condition, none of that applied. He had known they would see him take off, and he was gambling that they would not place as high a priority on catching him as the Hunters had. At worst, they would assign a Hunter to catch him as a malfunctioned rogue instead of as an intruder involved with Derec.

Ahead, he saw a tunnel stop. Without looking back, he leaped off the slidewalk and ran down the moving ramp to the loading dock. Then he was inside a platform booth and had programmed it to go as close to the mountains as it could take him.

The trip would take some time. He opened his comlink again to reconnoiter.

Two general alerts were coming from the central computer with high priority codes.

One was that Hunters were now seeking a malfunctioning robot who had apparently violated the Third Law by running away from a repair facility. Because the force of the Laws was involved, all humanoid robots were ordered to watch for him. His physical description was given. Since he had escaped from the repair facility before any scanning was done, they had no more to go on than that, but he was distinctive from the Avery robots even by sight.

The second alert was that a mysteriously shut-down humanoid robot had been found in the agricultural park. Nothing was known about the cause. The Supervisors entered an urgent order that any robots with information about this development report it immediately.

Total malfunctions of this kind were extremely rare in Robot City. Mandelbrot was sure that this one called up memories in the minds of the Supervisors, and probably in Avery himself, of the robot murder that Derec had solved here.

Mandelbrot, of course, was not bound by the instruction. He was sure that his human friends were somehow responsible and he was also certain that the Hunters would guess this, as well. Nevertheless, none of them had proof.

Mandelbrot also figured that the Hunters would guess that the rogue robot was the same one they were hunting. It made no difference, since he had to avoid them either way. He now felt the First Law impetus pushing him on, since the Hunters were likely to be closer to the humans than he was.

The platform booth continued to shoot down the tunnel toward the mountains. It was the fastest transportation he had, and it seemed painfully slow.