Robot City 1 & 2

by Isaac Asimov

  Derec had to concede the point to the robot. If only I could show it skin scrapings from the three of us--but if Aranimas or Wolruf happened to have a cellular structure, I'd be no better off. It might even decide its right arm is human--

  "Robot, are Spacers, Settlers, and Earthpeople all human?" he asked suddenly."Yes."

  "Have you personally observed every member of those groups?"

  "No, Derec. There are approximately eight billion Earthpeople, five billion Spacers, and--"

  "If you have not observed them individually, how is it you are able to classify them all as human?"

  "Spacers and Settlers are descendants of the original human community on Earth," the robot replied. "Therefore, any individual correctly identified as a Settler or Spacer cannot be other than human."

  "Why is that?" Derec asked, though he knew the answer.

  "They share a phylogenetic relationship. The offspring of a human must be human."

  "In other words, what really counts is biology-the genes and DNA humans carry in their cells."

  "Yes.""And the guidelines that are built into your definition of a human are simply shortcuts to make it unnecessary for you to subject everyone you encounter to a biological assay. The final criterion is DNA."

  "That is correct, Derec."

  "But you have no way of examining a person's DNA directly."

  "No, sir."

  "Fine. You said that each of the anomalies in Aranimas's appearance fell within the acceptable parameters for natural variation and mutation."

  "Yes, sir."

  "I ask you to calculate the probability that all of Aranimas's anomalies would appear in a single organism."

  The robot scarcely hesitated. "The probability is extremely small."

  "And for Wolruf?"

  "The probability is somewhat higher, butstill on the order of one chance in ten to the fifteenth power."

  "In other words, there is less than a one in ten thousand chance that a mutation this extreme would have arisen once in all of human history. And here there are two of them, not only alive at the same time but in the same place, and both as different from each other as they are from me."

  "It is quite remarkable. No doubt further study of these individuals would be of great benefit."

  Derec sighed exasperatedly. "Listen, my thick-headed robot friend. Stop thinking one step at a time. Isn't the probability that an independently evolved lifeform might be bipedal, bilateral, and oxygen-breathing greater than the probability that these creatures are mutant humans? Can't Aranimas and Wolruf be intelligent without being human?"

  "Yes, that is possible." The robot paused, asign of great activity in its positronic pathways. "However, since no independently evolved intelligent lifeforms are known, it is difficult to assign a probability to a specific form."

  "I challenge your premise," Derec pounced. "Why are most robots humanoid?"

  "Higher robots are humanoid because it is a successful generalized design and because--"

  "The other reasons don't matter," Derec said. "Apply that standard to the question of Aranimas and Wolruf."

  Again the robot paused before answering. "My positromotive potentials are extremely high on both sides of the question," it said at last. "I believe this state may be similar to that which a human describes as confusion."

  "Get to the point. What's the verdict?"

  "It is my tentative conclusion that Aranimas and Wolruf are not human."

  "You are not obliged by the First Law to protect them or the Second Law to obey them?""No, Derec."

  "Good," he said with relief. "You can live. Now listen closely. I have some important instructions for you concerning our alien hosts--"

  CHAPTER 11

  TAMPERING

  Within the greater world of the raider ship, Derec had been confined to one small island. As he prepared to begin his nocturnal wanderings, that island consisted of the route from the lab (in what he thought of as Hull L) to the dispensary and Personal (in Hull D). Linking the ends of the trail were two sections of storage corridor forming a short transfer tunnel between the hulls. And that was all Derec knew.

  He did not know where the lab was in relation to Aranimas's command center, though he felt certain that it was some distance away. Forthat matter, he did not know the way to any of the other places he had been--the hull where he had seen the star-creatures, the corridor in which he had awoken, the hold from which the salvage team had operated, the section of lockers where the robot parts had been stored. He did not know where Wolruf slept, or where the fifty Narwe were most likely to be found.

  The corridor to the dispensary was also the only part of the ship which he had explicit permission to be in. Aranimas had not forbidden him to roam farther afield, but neither had he invited it. It seemed to Derec as though it might be some kind of test. The problem was, he didn't know whether he would fail through action or inaction: by exploring, or by staying close to home.

  In the end, Derec set aside his uncertainties with the thought that it was always better to know more than to know less. If Aranimas found out and objected, Derec could alwaysoffer the excuse that he was scouting for places and tasks to test the robot.

  The ranks of closed lockers in the transfer tunnel had been gnawing at his curiosity for nearly two days, and he started by opening all that were within his reach. He did not know exactly what he had expected to find, but the fact that more than half the lockers were empty came as a surprise.

  Those that were full contained some recognizable objects, such as bolts of the cloth from which the Narwe clothing was made, replacement electrodes for the microwelder in the lab, and vacuum-sealed food stores. A few of the lockers were either jammed or locked--Derec could not determine which.

  Just as he was finishing in the section closest to the dispensary, one of the false-horned Narwe entered through the single side door. Startled, Derec jumped guiltily, then froze. Without making any sign of acknowledgmentDerec could recognize, the alien turned its back and left by the lab-end door, saying nothing.

  Alone again, Derec felt foolish, for he had every right to be there and the alien had seen nothing incriminating. But his heart raced as though he had been caught by Aranimas himself. He was not worried about the Narwe trying to stop him, since he was confident that he could be at least as intimidating as Wolruf.

  But there was always the chance a Narwe, perhaps hoping to curry favor, would carry a tale to Aranimas and bring him investigating. Since Derec did not want to give Aranimas reasons to mistrust him, he decided he would have to forego rummaging through the lockers, at least as long as there were still Narwe afoot. It was the one activity his excuse would not cover.

  Derec next took up a fuller exploration of the two hulls he had ready access to. Threedoors down from the Personal in Hull D, he found a compartment containing five deep-cushioned chairs arrayed in a circle and facing inward. At the center of the circle was a pale white globe mounted on a black cylindrical base. The globe was so large that Derec's arms could reach barely halfway around.

  But finding did not mean understanding. For all he could divine, the globe could as easily be a religious totem as a communications device, and the compartment as easily a sanctuary as a bridge.

  And there was no point in risking his position just to multiply his ignorance. So for the second time in half an hour, Derec altered his strategy. All that mattered was rediscovering the route back to Hull A--Aranimas's quarters--and to Hull T, where the transfer bay and perhaps his augment could be found. Nothing else was of any consequence whatsoever.

  There were five exits from the deck of HullD, two from Hull L, and two from the transfer tunnel. He considered simply taking one and following it wherever it led, but he did not trust himself to find his way back.

  Instead, he worked at expanding the boundaries of his known world slowly. Each time he opened a new door and started off on an unfamiliar corridor, he would turn left and then left again as soon as possible in the hopes of r
eturning in a loop to some part of the world he knew. Only when he had memorized each of those additions would he take a branch off a branch.

  The first time, his strategy worked. The side door in the transfer tunnel led him, three turns later, to Hull L, one deck down from the lab. Despite the fact that he sighted two Narwe along the way, the success gave him a rush of confidence.

  But then it began to get messy. The other exit from the lab level of Hull L went onthrough seven sections with no side branches. Possibly it went on still farther, but Derec would never know, since he grew timid and turned back.

  One of the exits from Hull D led down a sloping ramp into a weapons turret occupied by one of Aranimas's kin and a Narwe--another hasty retreat. Another, farther aft, led to one of the hexagonal junction points. He chose a door at random and found himself in another junction.

  There was just no way around it. The ship was an impenetrable maze, its key elements linked in a hopelessly inefficient and disorderly manner. Derec could think of only two explanations for it. One had to do with defense. The arrangement probably served to disguise the crucial targets, and was certain to frustrate intruders.

  The other explanation was that the ship was just what it appeared to be--a jury-rigged mishmashmishmash of ships that had never been intended to be joined together.

  Whichever was the case, Derec was on the verge of concluding that the ship was too complex for him ever to hold its plan in his head, when he felt a queer momentary sensation of being turned inside out. The moment he felt it, he started back toward the laboratory, his jaw set in a grim expression. He wanted to believe it was only a moment of dizziness, a sign of creeping fatigue, but he could not.

  For the feeling was nothing new to Derec. It was a Jump, that oddly incomprehensible, almost mystical, momentary transition through hyperspace that transferred a ship and all it contained from one point in space to another, light-years away. Wherever they had been, they were somewhere else now. Far away from the asteroid base--far away from any ship that might have been en route there to rescue him.

  He should have guessed that the raiders hadJump technology, for the design of the ship would never have stood up to any sort of conventional propulsion. But he had not, and the discovery jolted him, bringing back full force the feeling of powerlessness that he had felt in the robots' custody.

  No one's going to find me now, he thought despairingly. Not if I live to be a thousand--

  The lab was empty except for the robot when Derec reached it.

  "Alpha."

  "Yes, Derec."

  "Did you monitor a Jump a short time ago?"

  "No, Derec. Since the reflexes of my positronic brain are so much faster than yours, robots do not experience the disorientation common among humans."

  "Then you can't tell me anything about it--how far we might have Jumped."

  "Without knowing the power curve of thevessel's drive, I would not have been able to interpolate from the duration of the Jump in any case," the robot said. "However, that does not rule out secondhand evidence concerning our destination."

  "What secondhand evidence? Where did you get it?"

  "Sir, Aranimas and Wolruf held a discussion about this in my presence."

  "When?"

  "This evening, less than one decad ago. It was my impression that they had come here to find you, but in your absence lingered to examine me. Wolruf described the work she had observed you doing, told how my position varied each time she visited, and pointed out to Aranimas several of my access ports and described what lay under them."

  "I thought she was spying on me," Derec fumed. "What else happened?"

  "Aranimas seemed disturbed that you wereabsent without supervision, and ordered Wolruf to watch you more closely in the future--"

  "Get to the point. Where are we? Where are we going?"

  "I was forced to make certain inferences from what I heard, but I believe we are making an inbound approach to a site where Aranimas expects to obtain a large quantity of additional robots."

  "Repeat the relevant part of the conversation."

  "Yes, Derec."

  The voices were so faithfully duplicated that if Derec closed his eyes he would have sworn Aranimas and Wolruf were in the room with him.

  "We'ave been away from Mrassdf a long time," said Wolruf. "The Narwe arr restless for their 'ome 'erds. Even I grow weary from time to time. Iss it truly necessary to go to another 'uman nest?""I will not go back empty-handed," Aranimas said.

  " 'U have the jewel, this robot, and more besides. 'U have exceeded 'ur promises to Wiwera. Surely enough glory will flow from those accomplishments--"

  "It is not for discussion," Aranimas said curtly. "I will have robots to serve me. The human Derec said that there would be robots at any human world, that they would trade with us if we come in peace. We will allow them to think we come in peace and then take what we need. Then, and only then, will we set course for Mrassdf."

  Wolruf's voice took on a pleading, whining tone. "The Narwe are truly worthless ones, there can be no doubt. But if we were to lose the jewel in hand while reaching for a bit of glass--"

  The robot interrupted himself. "At this point, Aranimas produced a weapon I cannot identifyand pointed it at Wolruf. It seemed to cause Wolruf great distress."

  Then it continued in Aranimas's voice. "You disappoint me, Wolruf. I thought you had more vision than that. Without the robots, I will have to surrender that jewel to Wiwera when we return--which I have no intention of doing. Better that you and I are turned to atoms here than to give up the key to such as Wiwera."

  The robot fell silent, and Derec found himself with nothing to say. One more stop, and the raiders were going home with their treasure. Where that stop was, there was no guessing. There were hundreds of Spacer facilities scattered over hundreds of light-years. It could be a Customs station lying between Settler and Spacer territory, a mining or processing center, or even one of the research complexes. It might be staffed with humans, humans and robots, or robots alone.It didn't matter. He would never see it.

  Aranimas would use him--his knowledge, his voice, perhaps even his image--to gain entry to the installation. And when the alien's business there was done, the ship would leave for Mrassdf, where Derec was destined to be nothing better than a slave, and perhaps nothing more than a curiosity.

  The realization of his impotence shattered Derec. He had taken the lone road and done everything he could by himself. He had schemed and blustered and fought and finagled his way past each succeeding challenge.

  But the challenge now facing him seemed insurmountable. Sometime within the next few days, he had to escape--from a ship in which he could not yet even find his way around, from a jailer whose capabilities he had not yet fully gauged, to a refuge whose promise of safety was more hopeful than real.

  The fight drained out of him as he confrontedconfronted the bleak possibilities. Aranimas had all the advantages. He would have Derec watched constantly while they were docked at the installation--if they docked at all. And Derec could not move sooner, for he could never hold the ship. He was outnumbered eighty to one by the crew.

  All Derec had was the robot, and that was not enough. I can't do it, he thought despairingly. But I can't just give up--

  The conflicting thoughts chased each other through his mind, neither gaining the advantage. Weary and confused, he retreated to the far side of the room and huddled there against the base of the wall.

  I've got to have help, he realized at last. I've got to stop trying to do it all myself--got to trust someone. It's that or resign myself to living the rest of my life on an alien world--

  And then it came to him that there was someone else on board who was just as alone,just as helpless, who might take not only comfort but courage from a companion. Someone, in fact, who had already proclaimed herself Derec's friend.

  If she'll help, Derec thought, we just might do it, at that--

  An hour of waiting had slipped by. Reinvigorated b
y hope, Derec's attention had wandered from watching the doorway to playing with the pieces of the puzzle.

  " 'Ur back," a gruff voice intruded.

  Derec raised his head and looked toward Wolruf. "I went walking. You've been looking for me, haven't you?"

  "Aranimas was looking for 'u," Wolruf corrected. "'U stay 'ere now, okay?"

  "Is he coming back?"

  "Boss iss resting now. 'E'll come to see 'u in the morning. Best 'u be 'ere," Wolruf said, turning away."You got in trouble with Aranimas because I was gone, didn't you?" Derec called after her.

  The caninoid stopped, looked back, and shrugged.

  "I'm sorry," Derec said. "I put you in a bad position."

  "Iss nothing new. I put myself therr enough."

  Derec smiled. "Tell me something, Wolruf. What are you doing here? Why are you working for someone like Aranimas?"

  "Too long a story to explain."

  "You're not on board by choice, are you."

  "Too complicated to explain."

  "I've got the time--and I really want to know."

  Wolruf hesitated, then advanced a few steps into the room. "Should go sleep," she said gruffly. "Why not do what you want to instead of what you ought to?"

  Crouching an arm's length away, Wolruf grinned. "That the secret of 'ur success?"It took longer than it should have to sort out the story. Wolruf had never had to talk about her home and life to someone who did not know the thousand and one things that a person living within a culture knows without thinking. Again and again, Derec had to ask her to go back and fill in some clarifying detail.

  Beyond that, there were language problems, as some of what Wolruf was trying to convey ran up against the limits of her Standard vocabulary. At other times she seemed to be talking around some fact or idea that she did not feel comfortable disclosing.

  Piecing together what he heard and filling in a few of the blanks on his own, Derec gained a reasonably coherent answer to his question. Despite Wolruf's boast of two hundred inhabited worlds, the crew of the ship was from a single solar system. Aranimas's kind--the Erani--and the Narwe lived on the second planet, Mrassdf, which by Wolruf's description was ahot, windswept, unpleasant world. Wolruf's kind--the name was just as unpronounceable as Wolruf's own--and the elusive star-creatures were from the temperate fourth planet.