by Isaac Asimov
“… this guy beat me unconscious. Well, I remember. Be assured, I have no amnesia.”
“From what the medirobot explained to me, there was no indication for a threat of amnesia, sir.”
“Uhhh, just forget it.” Gordan gestured the robot to silence while he managed to get into a sitting position. He added, “And don’t call me ‘sir.’”
“As you wish. If you would not mind, and if you feel strong enough, I will contact Mrs. Rudchinson, your colleague. She has been waiting for you at the spaceport.”
Gordan just nodded and waited while Calvin used his internal communication system to contact Rudchinson. A few minutes later, the door opened and a woman entered the room with a friendly smile on her face.
“Good evening, Mr. Kresh. I am Sheriff Dorothy Rudchinson, your colleague. How are you feeling?” The woman came closer, completely ignoring the robot, which had to step aside.
She was quite an attractive woman with shoulder-length brown hair cut in a modern, unfamiliar style. Gordan judged her to be around his age, maybe slightly younger. In direct comparison to Calvin, she looked short and made a rather sluggish and sturdy impression, apparently because of the difference in height. On her head she wore a strange kind of cap. It was perhaps something the Settlers specified as of ‘religious’ origin, Gordan thought. From the very second he saw her standing beside him, he knew that she had a special kind of charming character.
“Well, I do not know yet,” Gordan finally answered. His throat still felt a little dry, and he had problems swallowing. My voice must sound like a bear’s, he thought.
If truly so, Rudchinson ignored it. “Just a question of time, believe me. I did ask the doctors and they said everything will be back to normal in just a few days. Nothing to worry about. Just a slight concussion of the gray cells, that’s it.”
She stroked her hair. Gordan fluttered, but said nothing.
She continued. “Your welcome has somehow not been the warmest to this planet, I suppose. As you have seen - or rather experienced - our job here will not be easy.”
“I never expected it to be.”
“Guess you did not expect that kind of welcome either,” Rudchinson said with a smile.
“True,” Gordan replied, trying to smile back with the same grin. The attempt failed. “By the way, what time is it?”
“Well, I have to tell you that you’ve been sleeping for some time. The two medirobots prescribed an artificial coma due to your head injuries. They do not take chances, I understand.”
Gordan nodded. “And?”
“Well, today is G-Day, two full days after your arrival. The time…,” she was looking at her small wrist watch, “… just before midnight.”
“Oh!” Gordan had not expected this. Two days… He closed his eyes in thought.
With this, the robot showed signs of life. “Sir, I would recommend that you go back to sleep now.”
Databank-Chapter Seven
ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A UNIVERSAL STANDARD TIME, ITS USE WAS RESTRICTED TO INTERPLANETARY COMMUNICATION, TRAFFIC AND TRADE. EACH PLANET HAD ITS OWN TIME SYSTEM BASED UPON THE SPEED OF ORBIT AROUND ITS SUN, ITS TILT, ITS MASS AND THE MASS OF ITS SUN, THE NUMBER AND CONDITIONS OF OTHER PLANETS IN THE SYSTEM, AND VARIOUS OTHER FACTORS. JANUS WAS NO EXCEPTION; ITS TIME SYSTEM WAS SET UP ACCORDINGLY.
ONE JANUTIAN DAY CONSISTED OF TWENTY JANUTIAN HOURS. TEN OF THOSE DAYS MADE UP A SO-CALLED PERIOD AND FORTY PERIODS ADDED UP TO A YEAR, WHICH WAS EXACTLY THE TIME JANUS NEEDED TO CIRCLE ITS CENTER SUN ONCE. TO CIRCLE ITS OTHER SUN, EXACTLY FORTY YEARS AND FIVE PERIODS WERE NEEDED. THE TIME IN BETWEEN WAS “STORMTIME.” DURING THESE FIFTY JANUTIAN DAYS, THERE ALWAYS HAPPENED TO BE DISASTROUS HURRICANES, TIDAL WAVES AND EARTHQUAKES, MAINLY IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF JANUS. THE SCIENTISTS WERE NOT ONLY UNABLE TO ELIMINATE THESE UNPRECEDENTED PHENOMENA, BUT THEY WERE NOT EVEN ABLE TO EXPLAIN THEM. THEY COULD ONLY GUESS THAT IT WAS A RESULT OF THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE OF THE TWO SUNS IN THE DOUBLE-STAR SYSTEM. THE TERRAFORMING AND URBANIZATION PROCESSES THEREFORE HAD TO BE LIMITED TO THE SOUTHERN HALF OF JANUS.
ANOTHER EFFECT OF TWO STARS WAS SHORT NIGHTS IN COMPARISON TO OTHER PLANETS. ON THE AVERAGE, LUCE GAVE LIGHT FOR TWELVE HOURS. LAVIUS, ON THE OTHER HAND, SHONE FOR TEN HOURS. BUT SINCE THE SUNS HAD DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN THE JANUTIAN SKY, THERE WERE EIGHTEEN HOURS OF OFTEN INTENSE DAYLIGHT AND CONSEQUENTLY ONLY TWO HOURS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS. FOR THE IMMIGRANTS THAT CAME FROM “NORMAL” PLANETS, IT MADE FOR AN UNPLEASANT AND PROTRACTED ADAPTATION PROCESS.
Chapter Seven
AS SOON AS Lavius sunk beyond the horizon, Rodrigo Mendez arrived at Parliament Hill. He was just in time for the executive meeting which had been convoked for this evening. He left his hoo-cap to the valet robots at the entrance and walked into the huge hallway which was in fact a museum.
On one side of the hall, a row of various robot models had been put up, each one clearly marked with a detailed description regarding its origin, capacity and functionality. The first in the row was a replica of the very first robot made by the ancient U. S. Robots and Mechanical Men corporation, while the last one was a functioning robot of the latest kind, which also served as a guide for visitors. Since there were none, the robot stood motionless, waiting. Following the line of robots were holograms of the most famous Spacer and pre-Spacer roboticists, including Dr. Susan Calvin and Professor Fredda Leving. Subsequently, a multimedia portrayal of robotic and Spacer history finished the exhibition.
On the other side of the hall was a display concerning the history of the Settlers’ home planet and their colonies. Each of the numerous settlements was indicated by a brilliantly colored hologram of the corresponding planet. There were control panels which allowed detailed information to be obtained from each hologram. For example, maps could be superimposed on the main hologram concerning urban areas, mountain ranges, river systems, and climatic conditions. Next to each hologram, further characteristics of the planet were listed. These included diverse life forms, scientific achievements, prominent personalities, and other peculiarities of the settlement.
However, Mendez paced rapidly through the corridor without noticing the exhibits.
“Hi, Rodrigo. How are you?”
From behind, the unmistakable voice of Lassitter Allen was to be heard. Mendez stopped and turned around. “Hello, Lassitter.”
Allen closed in and they shook hands.
“What a nice evening it could be - if we didn’t have to work,” Allen said smilingly. Known mainly for his most noticeable characteristic, his unusually large nose, he also made himself known through his overall positive attitude and friendliness. In comparison to Mendez, he was shorter and also a little more corpulent. When they met, Mendez was always reminded of an old saying from Aurora that read, Thick and funny go together, in any kind of weather.
“Let’s go. We are quite late.”
They walked together down the hallway to the elevating platforms.
“Did you enjoy your weekend?” Allen asked casually.
“In fact, I did, despite my mother-in-law, who came for a visit and turned our house upside down.” Mendez stepped onto the platform. “Executives Allen and Mendez. Third level.”
When Allen joined him on the platform, it started off without any noticeable movement.
“Seems to be quite a charming person, your mother-in-law.”
“Well, don’t take me wrong. She is nice. But vivacious as well. Too vivacious. In fact, I did not have a single free moment during her stay. I didn’t sleep much either.”
The elevator stopped and they got off.
“So you simply missed work?” Allen asked with a sarcastic grin on his face.
Mendez laughed. “Well, sort of.”
Together they entered the meeting room, a square room no bigger than ten by ten meters and without any remarkable features. The opposite wall of the entrance was completely transparent and revealed a look into the parliament’s garden. A robot stood just beside in his niche.
All other Executi
ves were present and waiting. Allen and Mendez greeted everybody and then took their seats at the round table.
“Dear colleagues,” Abraham Philemon raised his voice considerably, “First, I would like to thank you for the interesting discussion in the last meeting regarding my proposal and your general acceptance to further develop the matter. I hope today we will manage to define an appropriate arrangement. I tell you again, I fervently believe that the introduction of this statute would be an important step in establishing a functioning society on Janus. I hope you share my vision, and I propose that we now start off with the discussion.”
“Well, there we go!” Rodrigo Mendez took the word at once. Philemon was sure Mendez had contacted the other Executives to arouse opposition to the statute. To fight back accordingly would be unavoidable.
Mendez’s face revealed determination as he continued. “To say it bluntly, I anticipate some severe complications if Executive Philemon’s proposals become reality. After all, the best law - and I do not consider the commonage law as such, my friends - is useless without proper fulfillment.” He raised his finger and took a short break to underline his words. “Who shall control and lead the commonages? Who will supervise the leaders? And what about regulations? Let me tell you, my friends, that never in the history of mankind has a system like this worked out. And it has been tried countless times. It is doomed to fail!”
Philemon frowned at this new tactic of Mendez. Instead of avoiding further discussions about the theme at all, he now got into details. He would undermine it point by point. Philemon was still trying to think of a suitable reply when Maliva Bathala answered, a dark-skinned woman next to Mendez.
“Well, to find an acceptable and practical solution - that is what we are here for, are we not?” she said, “In my opinion, it is an interesting concept, well worth discussing.”
“Thank you, Executive.” Philemon glanced at the other Executives. “But Mendez is right. To clarify the matter, I propose we start off with organizational questions. Let me first explain my ideas again. As stated in the corresponding file - that was presented to all of you in the last meeting - a commonage will cover an area of ten-million square miles. As an exemption, each of the three sectors of the city will be a commonage of its own. Each commonage will then be part of a so-called province. Let us look at the holographer. It is easier to see there,” he remarked.
Philemon took some memory devices out of his file and inserted them into the holographer, which was integrated into the table. While the room darkened automatically, a three-dimensional image of Janus appeared.
“Each province is shown in a different color. Here you see Janus Metropolis.” He pointed at the colored areas in the hologram. “With this setup, we will establish eight provinces, in each of which one Executive will serve as a supervisor.”
“I guess the whole city will be a province of its own?” asked Ephraim Kunde, a casually-dressed man in his late fifties. He was sitting next to Philemon.
“That would be advisable - yes.”
“So, to rule this city-province - the main area of Janus - would be like controlling the whole planet?” Eliza O’Leary, an elderly lady with quite an amount of jewelry around her neck and fingers, asked cautiously.
“Please do not forget that the appropriate Executive will serve only as a mere supervisor. He - or she - will not have executive influence.”
“Then the real power will be with the mayor or administrator of the Janus Metropolis province. Well, this is unacceptable. This is dictatorship,” Mendez railed against Philemon’s argument.
Philemon felt a dangerous air of uncertainty in the room, and decided to respond to Mendez with his own bluntness. “Executive Mendez, excuse me, but this is ridiculous. Naturally, this committee is mayor of the city. The power will stay where it has been put.”
“Then I suggest that we start off with nine provinces,” O’Leary said. “Since the city is controlled by the whole Committee, there is no need for one Executive to serve as supervisor. Since we are eight Executives, we can each supervise our own province, but leave the ninth, this one, in collective control.”
“Good thinking!”
“Yes, I agree,” Kunde said, folding his arms in front of him.
With an ailing sound in his voice, Mendez asked, “So, who will be the commonage leaders? Who shall run them? Who shall be the local heroes?” Obviously the discussion had gone into a direction that he strongly disliked. And he thought O’Leary was on his side! He continued: “Despite the controlling functions of us Executives, I fear that these persons will have too much power and influence on the people and economies in their respective regions.”
“Right. A critical point, I must say,” Alika Learsen agreed, joining the discussion for the first time. She was a beautiful young woman with shimmering blond hair, an immaculate contour of her face, and an even more impeccable reputation among the population of Janus, at least for those citizens who were in favor of the Janus Spacer Party.
Her colleague from the Settler Foundation Party, Pamir Ceskov, joined in: “True.” He was infamous for limiting his comments to as few words as possible.
“We will have to define the rights and duties of these directors,” Learsen said, “And to specify what areas they will have competence in. They truly should not be responsible for everything.”
“In any case, their activities should cover the basic political and social functions like administration, traffic, development, finance, social security, and stuff like that,” O’Leary said. She was known as an vigorous and energetic politician. Like Philemon, she had been anxious to start a political career on Janus. On Aurora - her home planet - she had not been given the chance to do so. Women rarely made their way into politics on Aurora.
“As long as these functions will be closely controlled - er, supervised - by us, I do not see any critical problems. But what about economic affairs?” Allen asked.
“A sensitive point. Money still rules the worlds. I guess we need a detailed and complex set of laws and regulations here,” Ceskov agreed.
“Definitely.”
Philemon nodded several times. Secretly, he wondered why Mendez did not offer more resistance. His opponent could surely have found more to say about administrative details. And evidently, most of the Executives were now in favor of Philemon’s concept. Had Mendez given up?
“Well, Executives. I propose th… uh?”
All of a sudden, the lights in the room vanished, leaving everybody in the dark.
“It’s dark!”
“Hey! What’s happening?”
“I can’t see a thing.”
“What’s wrong with the lights?”
“Maybe a power failure. Robot, please examine this matter immediately!” O’Leary ordered.
There was no response or movement to be heard.
“Robot?”
“What’s going on…?”
The lights turned back on as suddenly as they had faded. Everybody squinted from the sudden change in brightness.
“How can the lights simply go off? I thought there was a security system to take care of that,” Kunde asked, somewhat to himself.
“What about the robot? Why didn’t he answer?” O’Leary stared at the robot, which still stood motionless in the corner, the same spot where he stood before.
“He must be malfunctioning,” Learsen decided. “It did not react. It still does not react. We will have to call a maintenance team.”
Allen shook his head. “Forget the robot. Let us rather get back to work. Executive Philemon, you were just about to say something. Please proceed.”
Philemon was leaning over his part of the table, staring at the document in front of him. He did not move. Kunde, who was standing to his right, slightly touched his shoulder. “Are you feeling well, Abraham?”
Due to this touch, Philemon’s head dropped on the table, just before the rest of the body lost stability and collapsed onto the floor.
“Abraham!”
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Databank-Chapter Eight
Excerpt Identification File: Gordan Kresh
Filename: kresh, [email protected]
Birthdate: 22-05-10568 (Standard Galactic Time)
Birthplace: Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona / SPACER
Residence: 12 Dr. Susan Calvin Boulevard
74 WE 3874 Janus Metropolis / Janus, Starsystem Dionysus
http://uww.dionysus.com/janus/kresh.gordan.htm
formerly:
36 Helium Heights
24 OD 9827 Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
30 Banymore Street
93 MK 8283 Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
Occupation: Sheriff, Janus Metropolis / Janus, Starsystem Dionysus
formerly:
Sheriff, Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
Police Officer, Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
Student, St. Paul’s University, Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
Student, St. Lucia College, Pinkton / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
Characteristics:
eye color: blue
hair color: brown
height: 1.74 meters
Family:
Father: Kresh, Simonis / commercial agent, Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
Mother: Kresh, Cecille / architect, Hades / Inferno, Starsystem Anemona
single, no further relatives
Chapter Eight
IN THE EARLY morning hours, when Lavius rose from behind the horizon, the medirobot granted Gordan permission to leave the hospital. Although he still felt quite exhausted, his headache had finally vanished, and with time, he had became restless from being stuck in a small room in the hospital. The idea of having nothing to do all day long was not a pleasant one for him.