by Isaac Asimov
The Auroran commander had an exaggerated accent which, it was possible, he thought as formidable as D. G. considered his beard to be. D. G. felt himself to be under considerable strain as he tried to penetrate the accent and understand him.
“We believe,” said Lisiform, “that you have on your ship an Auroran citizen named Gladia Solaria. Is that correct, Captain Baley?”
“Madam Gladia is on board this ship, Commander.”
“Thank you, Captain. With her, so my information leads me to suppose, are two robots of Auroran manufacture, R. Daneel Olivaw and R. Giskard Reventlov. Is that correct?”
“That is correct.”
“In that case, I must inform you that R. Giskard Reventlov is, at present, a dangerous device. Shortly before your ship left Auroran space with him, the said robot, Giskard, badly hurt an Auroran citizen in defiance of the Three Laws. The robot must, therefore, be dismantled and repaired.”
“Are you suggesting, Commander, that we on this ship dismantle the robot?”
“No, sir, that would not do. Your people, lacking experience with robots, could not dismantle it properly and could not possibly repair it if they did.”
“We might, then, simply destroy it.”
“It is too valuable for that. Captain Baley, the robot is Aurora’s product and Aurora’s responsibility. We do not wish to be the cause of damage to the people on your ship and on the planet Earth if you land there. Consequently, we ask that it be delivered to us.”
D. G. said, “Commander, I appreciate your concern. However, the robot is the legal property of Lady Gladia, who is with us. It may be that she would not consent to be parted from her robot and, while I don’t want to teach you Auroran law, I believe that it would be illegal by that law to force such a parting. While my crew and I do not consider ourselves bound by Auroran law, we would not willingly be a party to helping you perform what your own government might consider to be an illegal act.”
There was a suggestion of impatience in the commander’s voice. “There is no question of illegality, Captain. A life-endangering malfunction in a robot supersedes the ordinary rights of an owner. Nevertheless, if there is any question of that, my ship stands ready to accept Lady Gladia and her robot Daneel, along with Giskard, the robot in question. There will then be no separation of Gladia Solaria and her robotic property until she is brought back to Aurora. The law can then take its proper course.”
“It is possible, Commander, that Lady Gladia may not wish to leave my ship or to allow her property to do so.”
“She has no recourse, Captain. I am legally empowered by my government to demand her – and as an Auroran citizen, she must obey.”
“But I am not legally bound to deliver up anything on my ship at the demand of a foreign power. What if I choose to disregard your request?”
“In that case, Captain, I would have no choice but to consider it an unfriendly act. May I point out that we are within the sphere of the planetary system of which Earth is part. You had no hesitation in teaching me Auroran law. You will forgive me, then, if I point out that your people do not consider it proper to engage in hostilities within the space of this planetary system.”
“I am aware of that, Commander, and I wish no hostilities, nor do I intend an unfriendly act. However, I am bound for Earth under some urgency. I lose time in this conversation and I would lose further time if I moved toward you – or waited for you to move toward me – so that we could carry through a physical transfer of Lady Gladia and her robots. I would prefer to continue onward toward Earth and formally accept all responsibility for the robot Giskard and his behavior until such a time as Lady Gladia and her robots return to Aurora.”
“May I make the suggestion, Captain, that you place the woman and two robots in a lifeboat and detach a member of your crew to pilot it to us? Once the woman and the two robots are delivered, we will ourselves escort the lifeboat to the immediate environs of Earth and we will compensate you adequately for your time and trouble. A Trader should not object to that.”
“I don’t, Commander, I don’t,” said D. G., smiling. “Still, the crewman detailed to pilot the lifeboat might be in great peril since he would be alone with this dangerous robot.”
“Captain, if the robot’s owner is firm in her control, your crewman will be in no greater danger on the lifeboat than he would be on your ship. We will compensate him for the risk.”
“But if the robot can, after all, be controlled by its owner, surely it is not so dangerous that it can’t be left with us.”
The Commander frowned. “Captain, I trust you are not trying to play games with me. You have my request and I would like to have it honored at once.”
“I presume I may consult with Lady Gladia.”
“If you do so immediately. Please explain to her exactly what is involved. If, meanwhile, you try to proceed toward Earth, I shall consider that an unfriendly act and take the appropriate action. Since, as you claim, your trip toward Earth is urgent, I advise you to proceed forthwith to consult with Gladia Solaria and come to the immediate decision to cooperate with us. You will then not be too long delayed.”
“I will do what I can,” said D. G., wooden-faced, as he moved out of focus.
70.
“Well?” said D. G. gravely.
Gladia looked distressed. Automatically, she looked toward Daneel and Giskard, but they remained silent and motionless.
She said, “I don’t want to return to Aurora, D. G. They can’t possibly want to destroy Giskard; he is in perfect working order, I assure you. That’s only a subterfuge. They want me for some reason. I suppose there’s no way they can be stopped, though, is there?”
D. G. said, “That’s an Auroran warship – and a big one. This is only a Trading vessel. We’ve got energy shields and they can’t just destroy us at a blow, but they can wear us down eventually – quite soon, in fact – and then destroy us.”
“Is there any way you can strike at them?”
“With my weapons? I’m sorry, Gladia, but their shields can take anything I can throw at them for as long as I can possibly have energy to expend. Besides –”
“Yes?”
“Well, they’ve just about cornered me. Somehow I thought they would try to intercept me before I Jumped, but they knew my destination and they got here first and waited for me. We’re inside the Solar System – the planetary system of which Earth is part. We can’t fight here. Even if I wanted to, the crew wouldn’t obey me.”
“Why not?”
“Call it superstition. The Solar System is holy space to us – if you want to describe it in melodramatic terms. We can’t desecrate it by fighting.”
Giskard said suddenly, “May I contribute to the discussion, sir?”
D. G. frowned and looked toward Gladia.
Gladia said, “Please. Let him. These robots are highly intelligent. I know you find that hard to believe, but –”
“I’ll listen. I don’t have to be influenced.”
Giskard said, “Sir, I am certain that it is me that they want. I cannot allow myself to be the cause of harm to human beings. If you cannot defend yourself and are sure of destruction in a conflict with the other vessel, you have no choice but to give me up. I am sure that if you offer to let them have me, they will not seriously object if you wish to retain Lady Gladia and friend Daneel. It is the only solution.”
“No,” said Gladia forcefully. “You are mine and I won’t give you up. I’ll go with you – if the captain decides you must go – and I’ll see to it they don’t destroy you.”
“May I speak as well?” said Daneel.
D. G. spread his hands in mock-despair. “Please. Everyone speak.”
Daneel said, “If you decide you must give up Giskard, you must understand the consequences. I believe that Giskard thinks that if he is given up, those on the Auroran ship would do him no harm and that they will even release him. I do not believe this to be so. I believe the Aurorans are serious in thinking him to be
dangerous and they may well have instructions to destroy the lifeboat as it approaches, killing whoever is on board.”
“For what reason would they do that?” asked D. G.
“No Auroran has ever encountered – or even conceived – of what they call a dangerous robot. They would take no chances of taking one on board one of their vessels. – I would suggest, Captain, that you retreat. Why not Jump again, away from Earth? We are not close enough to any planetary mass to prevent that.”
“Retreat? You mean run away? I can’t do that.”
“Well, then, you have to give us up,” said Gladia with an air of resigned hopelessness.
D. G. said forcefully, “I’m not giving you up. And I’m not running away. And I can’t fight.”
“Then what’s left?” asked Gladia.
“A fourth alternative,” said D. G. “Gladia, I must ask you to remain here with your robots till I return.”
71.
D. G. considered the data. There had been enough time during the conversation for the location of the Auroran vessel to be pinpointed. It was a bit farther from the sun than his own ship was and that was good. To Jump toward the sun, at this distance from it, would have been risky indeed; to Jump sideways would be, so to speak, a piece of cake in comparison. There was the chance of accident through probability deviation, but there was always that.
He had himself assured the crew that not a shot would be fired (which would do no good, in any case). Clearly, they had utter faith in Earth space protecting them as long as they didn’t profane its peace by offering violence. It was pure mysticism that D. G. would have scornfully derided had he not shared the conviction himself.
He moved back into focus. It had been a fairly long wait, but there had been no signal from the other side. They had shown exemplary patience.
“Captain Baley here,” he said. “I wish to speak to Commander Lisiform.”
There was not much of a wait. “Commander Lisiform here. May I have your answer?”
D. G. said, “We will deliver the woman and the two robots.”
“Good! A wise decision.”
“And we will deliver them as quickly as we can.”
“Again a wise decision.”
“Thank you.” D. G. gave the signal and his ship Jumped.
There was no time, no need, to hold one’s breath. It was over as soon as it was begun – or, at least, the time lapse was insensible.
The word came from the pilot. “New enemy ship position fixed, Captain.”
“Good,” said D. G. “You know what to do.” The ship had come out of the Jump at high speed relative to the Auroran vessel and the course correction (not a great deal, it was to be hoped) was being made. Then further acceleration.
D. G. moved back into focus. “We are close, Commander, and on our way to deliver. You may fire if you choose, but our shields are up and before you can batter them down we will have reached you in order to make the delivery.”
“Are you sending a lifeboat?” The commander moved out of focus.
D. G. waited and the commander was back, his face contorted. “What is this? Your ship is on a collision course.”
“It seems to be, yes,” said D. G. “That is the fastest way of making delivery.”
“You will destroy your” ship.”
“And yours, too. Your ship is at least fifty times as expensive as mine, probably more. A poor exchange for Aurora.”
“But you are engaging in combat in Earth space, Captain. Your customs do not allow that.”
“Ah, you know our customs and you take advantage of them. – but I am not in combat. I have not fired an erg of energy and I won’t. I am merely following a trajectory. That trajectory happens to intersect your position, but since I am sure you will move before that intersection movement arrives, it is clear that I intend no violence.”
“Stop. Let’s talk about this.”
“I’m tired of talking, Commander. Shall we all say a fond farewell? If you don’t move, I will be giving up perhaps four decades with the third and fourth not so good, anyway. How many will you be giving up?” And D. G. moved out of focus and stayed out.
A beam of radiation shot out from the Auroran ship – tentative, as though to test whether the other’s shields were truly up. They were.
Ships’ shields would hold against electromagnetic radiation and subatomic particles, including even neutrinos, and could withstand the kinetic energy of small masses – dust particles, even meteoric gravel. The shields could not withstand larger kinetic energies, such as that of an entire ship hurtling at it with supermeteoric speed.
Even dangerous masses, if not guided – a meteoroid, for instance – could be handled. A vessel’s computers would automatically veer the ship out of the way of any oncoming meteoroid that was too large for the shield to handle. That, however, would not work against a ship that could veer as its target veered. And if the Settler ship was the smaller of the two, it was also the more maneuverable.
There was only one way that the Auroran ship could avoid destruction
D. G. watched the other ship visibly enlarging in his viewing panel and wondered if Gladia, in her cabin, knew what was going on. She must be aware of the acceleration, despite the hydraulic suspension of her cabin and the compensatory action of the pseudo-gravity field.
And then the other ship simply winked out of view, having Jumped away, and D. G., with considerable chagrin, realized he was holding his breath and that his heart was racing. Had he had no confidence in the protecting influence of Earth or in his own sure diagnosis of the situation?
D. G. spoke into the transmitter in a voice that, with iron resolution, he forced into coolness. “Well done, men! Correct course and head for Earth.”
16. The City
72.
GLADIA SAID, “ARE you serious, D. G.? You really intended to collide with the ship?”
“Not at all,” said D. G. indifferently. “I wasn’t expecting to. I merely lunged at them, knowing they would retreat. Those Spacers weren’t going to risk their long, wonderful lives when they could easily preserve them.”
“Those Spacers? What cowards they are.”
D. G. cleared his throat. “I keep forgetting you’re a Spacer, Gladia.”
“Yes – and I imagine you think that that is a compliment to me. What if they had been as foolish as you – if they had shown the childish madness you think of as bravery – and stayed in place? What would you have done?”
D. G. muttered, “Hit them.”
“And then we would all have died.”
“The transaction would have been in our favor, Gladia. One crummy old Trader ship from a Settler world for a new and advanced warship of the leading Spacer world.”
D. G. tipped his chair back against the wall and put his hands behind his neck (amazing how comfortable he felt, now that it was allover). “I once saw a historical hyperdrama, in which, toward the end of the war, airplanes loaded with explosives were deliberately flown into much more expensive seaships in order to sink them. Of course, the pilot of each airplane lost his life.”
“That was fiction,” said Gladia. “You don’t suppose civilized people do things like that in real life, do you?”
“Why not? If the cause is good enough.”
“What was it, then, you felt as you plunged toward a glorious death? Exaltation? – You were hurtling all your crew toward the same death.”
“They knew about it. We could do nothing else. Earth was watching.”
“The people on Earth didn’t even know.”
“I mean it metaphorically. We were in Earth space. We could not act ignobly.”
“Oh, what nonsense! And you risked my life, too.”
D. G. looked down at his boots. “Would you like to hear something crazy? That was the only thing that bothered me.”
“That I would die?”
“Not quite. That I would lose you. – When that ship ordered me to give you up, I knew I wouldn’t – even if you a
sked me to. I would gladly ram them instead; they couldn’t have you. And then, as I watched their ship expand in the viewscreen, I thought, ‘If they don’t get out of here, I’ll lose her anyway,’ and that’s when my heart started to pound and I began to sweat. I knew they’d run, and still the thought –” He shook his head.
Gladia frowned. “I don’t understand you. You weren’t worrying about my dying, but you were worried about losing me? Don’t the two go together?”
“I know. I’m not saying it’s rational. I thought of you rushing at the overseer to save me when you knew it could murder you with a blow. I thought of you facing the crowd at Baleyworld and talking them down when you had never even seen a crowd before. I even thought of you going to Aurora when you were a young woman and learning a new way of life – and surviving. – and it seemed to me I didn’t mind dying, I just minded losing you. – You’re right. It doesn’t make sense.”
Gladia said thoughtfully, “Have you forgotten my age? I was just about as old as I am now when you were born. When I was your age, I used to dream of your remote Ancestor. What’s more, I’ve got an artificial hip joint. My left thumb – this one right here” – she wiggled it –” is strictly prosthetic. Some of my nerves have been rebuilt. My teeth are all implanted ceramic. And you talk as though any moment you’re going to confess a transcendant passion. For what? – For whom? – Think, D. G.! – Look at me and see me as I am!”
D. G. tilted his chair back on two legs and rubbed at his beard with an odd scraping sound. “All right. You’ve made me sound silly, but I’m going to keep right on. What I know about your age is that you’re going to survive me and look scarcely any older when you do, so you’re younger than I am, not older. Besides, I don’t care if you are older. What I would like is for you to stay with me wherever I go – for all my life, if possible.”
Gladia was about to speak, but D. G. intervened hastily, “Or, if it seems more convenient, for me to stay with you wherever you go – for all my life, if possible. – If it’s all right with you.”