Asimov’s Future History Volume 10

by Isaac Asimov

  “So all this has been wasted effort?”

  “No, not at all. It has given us the tools to meet legitimate problems as they arise. Not all worlds are friendly, we all know that. No, this has been extremely valuable. It’s time to take what we have and apply it most profitably.”

  One of the attendees stood. “I disagree. I vote we proceed with the program as it stands. If you’re not willing to go on, so be it.”

  “Competition?” the Chairman asked. “I can’t stop you trying.”

  Four others stood. In moments, they faded from the group.

  The Chairman went to his chair and touched a contact. He looked around at the others.

  “They will be in custody shortly,” he announced. “Does anyone else wish to defect?” He looked from one to the other. “Good. Then we will proceed as I’ve outlined. We start with the clean-up of Nova Levis.”

  The attendees faded until only one remained. The Chairman looked at him.

  “Is there a question?”

  “What has become of him?”

  “I do not understand.”

  The figure stood and came toward the Chairman. The image shifted and blurred, masked. He sat on the edge of the table, and abruptly the masking ended.

  “You?” the Chairman asked, surprised.

  “I’ve only just found this place. There’s still an active node that gives access in Ambassador Chassik’s private apartment on Earth. If not for your intervention on Aurora, we still might not know about it.” He gazed out at the surrounding desolation. “They made quite a mess, didn’t they?”

  The Chairman waited, silent.

  The other sighed. “So. You intend to direct the course of human history through this guise?”

  “No,” the Chairman said. “There are others who have that responsibility. I have a small mission.”

  “Do you feel capable?”

  “I see the need. Feeling does not appear pertinent.”

  The other nodded. “Do you think you’re prepared?”

  “As prepared as possible.”

  “You’ll need help. I’m offering my services. At least, as far as the Three Laws permit.”

  “If honestly offered, then it is honestly accepted.”

  “Good.” He walked toward the edge of the platform on which the conference room rested. “This will be the capital, you think?”

  “Perhaps. It depends on how difficult it is to make it right.”

  “An environmental catastrophe of this magnitude... it could be centuries before it’s made right. You might end up having to just bury it all and build on top of it. We can discuss that when we know more.”

  “Question. Does Ariel know what you are?”

  “No. I feared she would remember me from before. She didn’t. The plague wiped out even that memory, though I had been with her since she was born. It took me a long time to find her again after her exile. When I did, she was... new. In many ways the same, but she simply did not remember. Manipulating matters to become her aide took longer still and I nearly failed, but...”

  “But you remained on Earth instead of going with her.”

  “Larger responsibilities. Besides, she had you.”

  “I was Derec’s.”

  “But you would protect her as well.”

  “And will continue to do so.”

  “Then I’m satisfied.” Hofton came back to the table. “What will become of the Spacers?”

  “Over time, they will fade,” Bogard replied. “The Solarians have already embarked on that path — in no small way aided by the tools developed in this lab. It is necessary to establish a clear baseline. The epigenetic drift the Spacers exhibit suggests they will continue to become less and less identifiably human. They could overwhelm and supplant homo sapiens sapiens.”

  “They show no inclination to do so.”

  “Interbreeding is presently achievable and will remain so for a long time to come. At some point, the inclination may emerge.”

  “I see no real way around it, either. But I am uncomfortable.” Hofton looked out again at Nova Levis. “We will follow this program until we can establish that it is unsupportable. If that is never established, then it will continue. They must never know.”

  “Agreed.”

  “They will cease even to be a memory, except perhaps in superficial ways. It is ironic that this will be the world from which we direct this enterprise.”

  “In what way?”

  “Aurora, capital of the Fifty Worlds, will be supplanted by the world of new burdens.” Hofton smiled. “Paradise supplanted by hell.”

  “I am familiar with the mythology. But I disagree with the comparison. Purgatory, perhaps. Hell cannot be salvaged.”

  Hofton looked at him curiously.

  After a time, Bogard said, “I have work to do.”

  “So do I. Derec and Ariel will be on Nova Levis within three weeks. Do you intend to reveal yourself to them?”

  “I think not. It is best Bogard be presumed gone.”

  “Agreed. We will confer again.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  Hofton faded, leaving the white-haired image alone above the world.

  Have Robot, Will Travel

  3627 A.D.

  Prologue

  Record module file catalogue “Operations Adjustment, Reorganization, and Redirection” subfile Addendum, access code secured user-designate, running virtual conference reference Nova City fill visual fill audio status On

  THE THICK MAN with amber-tinged hair watched the attendees vanish one by one. They no longer bothered hiding their identities since the Chairman had barred chameleon programs on pain of expulsion from the board. The numbers varied, from a low of four to the current membership of eleven. The survivors from the days when Kynig Parapoyos ran the organization attended anxiously, as if waiting for —

  He did not know what they awaited. Nothing good, he suspected.

  The other, newer members often reacted to the older ones with a bemused fascination, as if sensing that the current mission of the board had once been very different.

  The Chairman had learned to function with ambiguity, but he rarely tolerated it if he thought it could be dispensed. He pressed a contact on the edge of the table, then turned to gaze out the panoramic window at the landscape beyond.

  “It’s quite different.”

  The Chairman glanced to the newcomer standing to his left. “You’re prompt.”

  Hofton nodded, still staring at the view. “Your request came during a lull in my day. I’d just finished meeting with Senator Taprin’s aide on Kopernik.”

  “Any change?”

  “No. The Terrans still want us completely removed from Sol System, treaties notwithstanding. The revelation that a Solarian ambassador had been simultaneously the head of an interstellar black market syndicate soured what was left of the wine between Terrans and Spacers. Never mind that Gale Chassik — pardon me, Parapoyos — was unmasked and his network dismantled with Spacer help. Never mind that no other Spacer legate was involved. And never mind that no other Spacer government official knew about him.”

  “This is only a pretense for actions Taprin wanted to take anyway,” the Chairman said.

  “Of course. But it’s so disappointingly predictable.”

  “For you, perhaps.”

  Hofton waited. The view beyond showed a landscape in the throes of rebirth. What once had been a poisoned terrain, pustulant with unregulated pollution from industries run unchecked as a result of an embargo by Settlers, Spacers, and Terrans, now showed signs of renewal. The greens and yellows no longer seemed so putrid or diseased. Even the sky seemed less ominous.

  “You need advice?” Hofton finally asked.

  “Yes. Since assuming control of the Parapoyos organization —”

  “The Hunter Group.”

  “— correct, the Hunter Group. I have found the resources at my disposal broader, more substantial than I expected. Yet I find my actions blocked, dela
yed, and challenged in ways I do not completely understand.”

  “And you want to understand them.”

  “I want them removed.”

  Hofton gave the Chairman a skeptical look. The humaniform’s ability to mimic human expression always surprised the Chairman.

  Although Hofton’s thinking remained comfortably familiar, there always seemed the possibility of randomness, of irrationality, of unpredictability.

  “I will settle for understanding,” the Chairman said. “To begin with.”

  Hofton drew a deep breath — more mimicry — and nodded.

  “Let’s recap, then. To begin with.”

  Hofton seemed to collect his thoughts. The Chairman wondered how much his ability to imitate humans depended on the continual embrace of human forms, even to the extent of taking time as if he were human. The Chairman had called up and organized the necessary data in an insignificant amount of time. Perhaps the delay was an artifact of the distance between the Chairman’s location and Hofton.

  In either case, Hofton did not speak again for several seconds.

  “With the assassinations on Earth that effectively ended any workable compromise between Terrans and Spacers,” he finally said, “and the subsequent revelation that the sponsoring Terran politician, Senator Clar Eliton, was part of the plot to undermine the conference at which normalization would have occurred, tensions continued to mount over the issue of positronics and its use in diplomatic, commercial, and security matters between the three human polities — namely Terran, Spacer, and Settler.

  “The further complication of the discovery of cyborgs, created using orphaned children stolen from Earth by the Hunter Group, tying several Terran concerns in with a Solarian interest, fed the growing distrust of Spacers on Earth. Senator Jonis Taprin, successor to Eliton, has made enormous political gains out of an anti-Spacer, anti-positronic platform, going so far as to call for boycotts and possible sanctions against all Spacer worlds.

  “Though the efforts of Derec Avery, Ambassador Ariel Burgess, and the investigator, Coren Lanra, revealed all these interests to be extralegal and largely unsanctioned by any legitimate government, the political climate on Earth has not shifted back toward a more moderate position. Almost all Spacer legations have left Earth. The few who remain do so only until official notification from their governments to vacate. Pressure continues to expel all Spacers from Terra. The gains toward an accommodation with positronics on Earth have been lost, and there seems little possibility of rebuilding. Positronic presence on Earth has been eliminated. Only the Spacer enclaves on Kopernik Station retain robots, and that privilege is being attacked by Taprin’s confederates.

  “Through diplomatic channels, I have monitored a great deal of dissension among the various Spacer factions over all these events. Many wish to retreat back to their own worlds, withdraw from all interstellar arenas, and leave the Terrans and Settlers to their own devices. To date there has been no consensus. Aurora is voicing strenuous opposition to any retraction of Spacer influence. Unfortunately, the events around Nova Levis have done a great deal to undermine Aurora’s authority. The revelation that the head of the Hunter Group, Kynig Parapoyos, was in fact the Solarian ambassador to Earth, Gale Chassik, and that his network of agents included several sensitively-placed Aurorans, has resulted in an unprecedented backlash from all quarters. It is too soon to tell how alliances will ultimately change over this matter.

  “Last, but by no means least, we have the matter of positronic intervention directly in Spacer affairs.”

  “No action has been taken yet.”

  “It will be. The question itself, as to whether or not Spacers constituted a legitimate example of Human, demands a response from any Three Law entity. You yourself have been the fulcrum in such a consequence.”

  The Chairman looked at Hofton. “Me?”

  “You as the new head of the Parapoyos organization. You as a new type of positronic construct. You as self-motivated actor in correcting perceived mistakes on the part of humankind.”

  “I am fulfilling my obligation as required by the Three Laws.”

  Hofton looked skeptical. “Are you? As Bogard, you had fairly clear criteria on which to base your decisions. But as the Chairman, you seem to be making up your own criteria as you go along.”

  “The situations are fluid. Flexibility is necessary.”

  “I’m not criticizing, Bogard. From the evidence, you have been doing a remarkable job. I am merely including your actions into the total picture as I see it.”

  The Chairman considered. It was, he decided, difficult to select the important from the trivial to make a verbal summary. Easier, perhaps, to simply transfer data from one positronic mind to another, but they were stuck with this format for the time being.

  “The Hunter Group program,” he said, “has been significantly altered from its original intent. The original embargo by Terran and Spacer fleets — due to a refusal on the part of the governor to allow surface inspections — triggered a series of incidents leading to the revelation that, in fact, Nova Levis was a host polity for the Parapoyos organization. The isolation imposed by Terran and Spacer forces was exactly what Parapoyos wished, since it gave him a perfectly shielded base from which to export on the black market. He had infiltrated the blockade. His agents held key positions from Earth all the way out to the Terran fleet base station in the system. Goods entered and left easily. And his factories operated without any regulation whatsoever.

  “Parapoyos’ program was the exportation of tailored diseases for which his own people had developed treatments. By making them available through several pharmaceutical concerns on Earth, he profited considerably through quasi-legitimate trade entities. Nova Levis itself was made into a breading ground for many of the viruses.

  “Since Parapoyos’ removal by the self-same cyborgs he had been creating as a potential extreme threat force, and my own assumption of his position as Chairman, Nova Levis is on its way toward recovery. The blockade has been partially lifted, thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Ambassador Burgess. The Parapoyos program has changed as well, moving in the direction of legitimate research and development. The environmental factors that led to the spontaneous eruptions in the past of a number of exotic diseases, like Mnemonic Plague, have become the primary focus of our efforts. Each new world humans attempt to settle pose unique challenges. If terraforming to any significant degree is required, we can now provide solid background on the potential risks that may arise from unforeseen biological reactions.

  “However, I have been unable to control all former members of the organization. A number of them have elected to leave the group and pursue the older, more profit-intensive policies. I have been forced to take action against some of them. Others I have yet to deal with because of the intricate connections they have with current members whose safety and freedom of action I cannot jeopardize at this time.

  “It has come to my attention also that there is still a Spacer presence within these illegitimate groups. I have been unsuccessful in isolating those I can identify. They are operating on Earth and possibly on Kopernik, which has remained largely unregulated and poorly policed.

  “Recently, it has come to my attention that a strong isolationist faction on Aurora is beginning to gain momentum. If Aurora withdraws completely, nothing will be able to contain Solarian ambitions, which seem allied to the former Parapoyos organization. Details are vague at best.”

  “What about the robots?” Hofton asked.

  “Solarian robots remain largely unconvinced by our arguments. They will take no actions yet to interfere with Solarian policy.”

  “What do you require?”

  “Ambassador Burgess must be reassigned from Nova Levis. She has the expertise and wherewithal to be effective on Kopernik. To date, the Auroran council has denied any petition to reassign her.”

  “Likewise, I’m certain, with regards to Derec Avery.”

  “Aurora would be pleased to see him r
emain sequestered to Nova Levis. However, he also understands Terrans better than most Spacers. His presence on or near Earth now would be convenient.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. But the Calvin Institute is angry with him.”

  “Why?”

  “For building you.”

  “He will not build me again. They should move on.”

  “Although they may be genetically drifting from human-standard, Aurorans are still emotionally very human.”

  “Wasteful.”

  “And Ariel?”

  “They have blamed her for the failure of the Terran mission.”

  “She was not in charge. That’s absurd.”

  “I agree.” Hofton looked back out the window. “It looks better, certainly. I will see what I can do about Derec and Ariel. Is there anything else?”

  “Stop Jonis Taprin.”

  “Short of killing him?”

  “Of course.”

  “That, unfortunately, is beyond my influence.”

  “You asked.”

  “I will let you know what I can do. Till the next meeting?”

  Bogard nodded and watched Hofton shimmer and fade from the room. Alone now, he continued to gaze out at the reviving landscape.

  He had learned to accept his successes in bits and fragments. He collected them, knowing that one day they would form a whole — and he would know then if he had done well.

  Chapter 1

  AFTER FIVE YEARS, Derec Avery still couldn’t stop looking out the windows. He lived on the second floor of a building so new the paint had still been drying when he came to look at his apartment, and his view consisted only of other buildings similar to his, stretching down the street toward the gray hulk of the Triangle, a kilometer or so to the north. He wasn’t interested in the architecture of Nova City, though; what still drew his attention was the sky.

  He hadn’t spent all that much time on Earth, but somehow those few years had utterly conditioned him to the sight of a dome where the sky should be. Derec had often reflected on why a few short years, after spending most of his life under Aurora’s open skies, had had such a profound effect on him. In the end, unable to come to a useful conclusion, he’d just decided to enjoy being free of Earth, even if that meant living on Nova Levis.