Asimov's Future History Volume 2

by Isaac Asimov

  “They’re surprised because they consider this to be a ceremonial drink,” Gene said quietly in English. “Their women will eat dinner separately, but they will allow us our little quirks, apparently.”

  “Good,” said Jane.

  Soon the women at the fire were ladling stew into earthenware bowls and handing them out. Odover poured more mead into individual cups and shared them. Then the German women took their own stew elsewhere.

  Steve tasted his steaming stew. The meat, which was stringy beef, had been boiled tender. The lightly salted stew was not bad.

  “They have salt beds near here,” said Gene quietly. “Of course, they won’t get pepper here for many centuries.”

  “It is good,” said Hunter, to their hosts.

  Vicinius nodded his acceptance of the compliment. “You traveled far today?”

  “Yes,” said Hunter. “It was not difficult, but it was quite a long way.”

  “How did you cross the river from Gaul?”

  “Fishing boats,” Gene said quickly. “A couple of fishermen carried us across.”

  “From the other side? A fishing village of Gauls is upstream some distance, but it is quite far.”

  “Vicinius, perhaps you can help us with a problem,” said Hunter, changing the subject.

  “How can I help?”

  “We are searching for an acquaintance who is lost in the forest somewhere.”

  “Really?” Vicinius was startled. “If he is lost, he may be in danger. The forest is cold at night.”

  “We have completely lost him,” said Hunter. “We do not even know where to look.”

  “You should have told me sooner,” said Vicinius, with concern. “We could have searched for signs of him on our way back to the village.”

  “He is a small man, rather slender. Perhaps we can look for him tomorrow.”

  Vicinius nodded, still looking at Hunter with a puzzled expression. “You seem very calm for a man who is searching for someone. I don’t understand.”

  “He’s a little weird,” said Steve quickly. He felt that Hunter needed some help in his charade about what MC 3 was really like. “We want to find him, but we don’t know where he’ll go or what he’ll do. He’s unpredictable and may not even have any clothes to wear. His name is MC 3.”

  “An odd name,” Vicinius agreed.

  “Yes.” Gene leaned forward. “He may be, shall we say, touched by the gods.”

  “Ah!” Vicinius nodded his understanding. “Yes, I see. Touched by the gods.”

  “A little crazy,” Gene muttered in English. “Or mildly retarded. But harmless.”

  “I understand,” said Hunter quietly. “This is related to their beliefs in some way?”

  “Yes. Many preindustrial cultures view mildly retarded or crazy people as having the special protection of the gods,” said Gene.

  “I shall spread the word through the village tonight, after we have finished dinner,” said Vicinius. “No one will harm a man who has been touched by the gods. Sooner or later, someone will find some sign of him.”

  “Thank you,” said Hunter.

  By the time they had finished dinner, night had fallen. Most of the light now came from the waning cookfires, though some families had raised flaming torches near the fronts of their huts. Steve waited patiently as more mead was poured, wondering when he should open the leather bag.

  “We must give our new friends our gifts,” said Hunter finally. “You have been very hospitable.”

  Taking that as a cue, Steve pulled up the leather bag and opened it.

  “One at a time,” Gene said quietly. “Hand them to Hunter, as our representative. Hunter, first give the largest item to Odover, the village chief. Give him the second largest, too, and then we’ll see how they respond.”

  Steve felt around inside the bag for the largest object. When he pulled it out, he discovered that it was a serving bowl with handles and feet in the shape of flowers and leaves. He gave it to Hunter.

  Hunter took the bowl in both hands and stood up to present it to Odover. The village chief received it while still sitting. He looked it over carefully, nodding as he turned it to reflect the yellow firelight.

  “It is very fine work,” Odover said finally. His voice was nonchalant, but he kept looking closely at the bowl, still turning it.

  Steve could see that Odover was very impressed. The German just didn’t want to admit it too openly. Steve took the next object out of the bag. It was a long, thick armband with a stag’s head in deep relief. He had to stand in order to give it to Hunter, who in turn offered it to Odover.

  The village chief grinned broadly this time, revealing some missing and broken teeth. He slipped the armband over his upper arm and turned to see the firelight reflect off it. “Ah, very good. Very good.”

  Steve pulled out the third item, which was a large, circular pendant shaped like a bear, hanging on a heavy silver chain. Hunter started to hand it to Odover, as well, but the village chief pointed to Vicinius, instead. So Hunter turned and gave it to the seated warrior.

  “This is very fine work,” said Vicinius, accepting the pendant. For a moment, he looked carefully at the bear, smiling. “Yes, perhaps it will bring me the strength of a bear.” He looped the chain over his neck and then looked down at the pendant lying against his chest. “It is a fine gift.”

  Steve felt one item remaining in the bottom of the bag. It was a small box with a hinged lid. Trees were shaped in relief on the lid. As he handed the box to Hunter, he felt something slide inside the box.

  “Something’s inside it,” he said to Hunter. “Better take a look.”

  Hunter opened the lid. Steve could see three rings inside the box. One had a tree on it, one had a fish, and the last had a wolf. Hunter turned the box toward Vicinius and held it out to him.

  Vicinius took it, nodding, and placed the box on his lap. He said nothing, but his eyes widened with approval. First he gave two of the rings to Odover, then slipped the one with the wolf on his own finger. He closed the lid and ran his hand over the shapes on top of it.

  “We are only poor traders,” said Gene. “Our gifts are small and few. Please forgive us for not bringing better ones.”

  “It is beautiful work,” said Vicinius. He gave the silver box to his father.

  Odover nodded as he examined it. Then he leaned toward Vicinius and spoke quietly in his ear. Vicinius stood up and walked away into the shadows.

  Just outside the circle of firelight, many of the other villagers had gathered to watch. Steve could see women standing there, often surrounded by children with pale blond hair. Other warriors also surrounded the fire of the village chief, curious about the strangers.

  Odover said nothing, waiting patiently for Vicinius. He held the box and the bowl on his lap, looking at them as he studied the decorative shapes on them. No one spoke.

  Finally Vicinius walked back to the fire with two warriors. His companions carried bundles of furs.

  Vicinius held four spears bundled in his arms along with a long, straight dagger.

  Odover simply gestured silently toward Hunter.

  “We have only the worst gifts for our new friends.” Vicinius rested the spears on the ground and signaled for his companions to bring the furs forward.

  “Refuse at first for the sake of modesty,” Gene whispered. “Let him press the gifts on us.”

  “Your generosity is not necessary,” said Hunter. “You have already been excellent hosts.”

  “We welcome you to our village,” said Odover. “Please accept our humble gifts.”

  “You are not dressed for our mountain life,” said Vicinius. “We have fur tunics and cloaks for all of you.”

  Hunter accepted the first bundle of furs and passed it to Steve. Then Steve set down the bundle and shook out the top article of clothing. It was a long, hooded cloak of rich brown fur, much warmer than anything the team was wearing.

  Steve handed it to Gene and picked up the next one. This cloak, wi
th similar fur, was shorter. He gave it to Jane. The longest, of course, he saved for Hunter. The robot was not as susceptible to cold as the humans, but the garment would be part of his masquerade. Steve swirled the last cloak in the bundle over his own shoulders. He was warm enough by the fire now, but he could feel that this cloak would make a big difference.

  “They are fine furs,” said Gene.

  Hunter shook out the second bundle. These were calf-length tunics similar in size to those the team was wearing, but made of deerskin. “You are very kind,” Hunter said.

  “The spears, of course, are for you to hunt or defend yourselves. This dagger is for her.”

  Hunter passed each weapon to Steve, who handed a spear to Gene and the dagger to Jane.

  “This has been a good day,” said Vicinius. “In times to come, we will have more furs. You will always be welcome in our village.”

  “Thank you,” said Hunter.

  “It has grown late,” said Vicinius. “You shall be guests in one of our huts. Please come.”

  “Warm clothes and a place to sleep,” said Steve. “We can’t beat that.”

  5

  AS THE SUN went down, Wayne began to shiver uncontrollably in the brush outside a barbarian village. In the twilight, he had watched the villagers stir their dinners over their fires. He had even heard one tall, hulking man addressed repeatedly by the Latin name “Arminius,” though the rest of the language was completely beyond him.

  He was hoping that perhaps after everyone went to sleep, he could sneak into the village and find some old clothes to steal, along with some leftover food. All evening, a light but cold breeze had blown the smoke and the scent of cooking meat to him from the village.

  He watched the fur-clad people in the village as they slowly covered their fires and put out their torches. They were retiring into their huts for the night. The wind shifted slightly, no longer blowing in his face but from behind him.

  Suddenly a dog in the village, its nose twitching, turned toward him. It began to bark, and ran in his direction. In a moment, every dog in the village was barking furiously, following the first one. Shouts rose up from the villagers.

  Belatedly realizing that the dogs had caught his scent, Wayne turned and tried to run. He stumbled through the underbrush, crashing into tree branches in the darkness, his legs stiff from the cold. He flailed through the leaves and pine needles as he heard heavy footsteps and barking dogs close in on him.

  Strong hands grabbed Wayne from behind as young men shouted to each other in a harsh, guttural language. He felt himself yanked backward, his arms pinned behind him. Then he was marched roughly back through the woods toward the village.

  Hunter and his team accepted a hut for the night in the village of Odover. At Vicinius’s bidding, the young family to whom it belonged had vacated it to share a hut that belonged to some neighbors. Hunter moved his sleeping pallet, made of pine boughs covered with a soft deer hide, so that it blocked the door of the hut.

  “Are you afraid of something in particular?” Steve asked, as he arranged his own bedding.

  “No,” said Hunter. “This is just a precaution.”

  “Aren’t we intruding too much?” Jane asked. “I mean, under chaos theory, displacing an entire family here means that we’ve interfered.”

  “Vicinius just wants to stay on the good side of rich Roman merchants,” said Gene. “Besides, this was his idea. We would be more disruptive if we refused their hospitality.”

  “Anyhow, we know now that chaos theory isn’t right in its most extreme form,” said Steve. “Hunter, you admitted that after our first two missions.”

  “Correct,” said Hunter. “It is now clear that our presence in the past in and of itself does not cause significant changes. Nor does consuming small amounts of food and water and interacting with the local people. However, I must remind all of you that at some point, more significant actions that we take might truly change the future.”

  “How much would we have to do to create permanent change?” Gene asked. “I mean, sure, if we assassinated an emperor, the change would be pretty big, I suppose.”

  “A greater danger would be introducing new technology,” said Hunter. “This is why I made certain that the silverwork we brought was consistent with this time and place. But to answer your question, I do not know where the threshold of creating permanent change begins. So we must still try to avoid unnecessary changes as much as possible.”

  “The Romans have to be ambushed in Teutoburger Wald.” Gene nodded grimly. “I understand.”

  “Did our gifts impress them?” Jane asked. “They didn’t seem all that excited to me.”

  “Definitely,” said Gene. “That reserve is part of their negotiating; they don’t really want to let on just how valuable they consider decorative gifts of silver. But their return gifts are the proof.”

  “Furs, spears, and a dagger?” Steve sounded skeptical. “Aren’t those just routine belongings for them?”

  “Yes and no,” said Gene. “Furs represent all the effort and danger of a hunt. And the spears all have metal tips. The Germans still get most of their metal from the Romans right now. If you look around the village tomorrow, you’ll see that swords are very rare and that most of the spears simply have fire-hardened wooden points, with no metal at all. Giving us metal-pointed spears and offering a dagger to Jane were a great honor and sacrifice for them.”

  “They don’t even have any horses to speak of,” said Steve. “Just a couple. Is that normal? Doesn’t everybody ride horseback in this time?”

  “No,” said Gene. “It’s a question of wealth. They know how to breed and train and ride, of course. But these German tribes are only beginning to accumulate herds of horses. By the time of Emperor Constantine the Great, in a few more centuries, German mercenary cavalry will be the finest in the Roman military. Another century after that, they will bring down the Western Roman Empire, roughly everything west of the Balkans. But that’s still in the future.”

  “They’re hoping we’ll bring more silver later,” said Jane. “But we aren’t coming back. That’s going to be disruptive. Won’t they feel we betrayed their friendship?”

  “Not with the battle of Teutoburger Forest coming up,” said Gene. “After that, they’ll just figure we were scared to come back, or prohibited by the Roman authorities.”

  “We must also consider Wayne,” said Hunter. “I have been thinking about his disappearance. I now suspect that Wayne has the same information I have for finding the fugitive robots, taken from the console of the sphere.”

  “We left Ishihara in Room F-12 to nab him,” said Steve. “That sphere is the only time travel machine he has. He’ll show up there sooner or later.”

  “I have considered the situation,” said Hunter. “He may have met trouble in Jamaica, in which case he may never return to our time. However, he may also have learned to move from one time period to another without returning to Room F-12 between trips.”

  “Can he do that?” Jane asked.

  “I have not risked altering my own device to find out,” said Hunter. “However, I have thought about the design of the controls in both my unit and also in the console itself. Theoretically, it may be possible.”

  “Why don’t you find out for sure?” Gene asked.

  “The First Law prevents me from taking the risk of harming the unit,” said Hunter. “As long as you are with me here in this time, I do not dare take it apart. Perhaps when we return home again, I shall examine it carefully.”

  “So you really believe Wayne may be here,” said Jane. “Or about to arrive.”

  “I believe it is a realistic possibility,” said Hunter.

  “Then we’ll have to look for him, too,” said Steve. “I’d like to nab the guy once and for all. These missions would be a lot easier without him interfering. We could take him home and lock him up or something.”

  “That would pose a legal problem,” said Hunter. “We can arrange to detain him with
out harm in this time, if we catch him. We cannot imprison him at home without becoming guilty of kidnapping. Nothing he has done on these missions to the past can be used against him without revealing the existence of time travel.”

  “Not to mention the question of legal jurisdiction,” Jane said wryly. “Would a court in, say, California in our century indict him for kidnapping Rita in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century? I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “All right,” said Steve. “So we take him home and simply guard Room F-12 so he can’t get near the place. That would do, I guess.”

  “I have another worry,” said Hunter. “MC 3 may already be full-sized and active in one of the Roman forts on the Rhine, where Governor Varus lives.”

  “Varus has three legions, I believe,” said Gene. “The Romans, might be fairly close to this village. We could separate, to see if MC 3 is with them.”

  Steve laughed.

  “I don’t think Hunter will go for that,” said Jane.

  “No?”

  “We have had problems in our earlier missions when we separated,” said Hunter.

  “Then why did you give us these lapel pin communicators?” Gene asked. “You must have anticipated some need for them.”

  “We may have to separate at some point,” said Hunter. “Or we may become separated by events beyond our control. For now, however, we shall not separate unnecessarily.”

  “Got it,” said Gene. “But in that case, what will our plan of action be?”

  “When exactly was the battle in Teutoburger Forest?”

  “I don’t have a date,” said Gene. “I’ve never seen the exact day mentioned in the records. A historian named Dio Cassius wrote the most precise account of the event. But it was in the fall, so we aren’t too far off the mark. Since the villagers here have no particular concern over our origins in Roman Gaul, I would say it hasn’t happened yet.”

  “Hold it,” said Steve. “If you don’t know the date, then what are we doing here?”

  “We did not come to this time specifically for the battle,” Hunter reminded him. “I calculated that MC 3 would return to full size about this time. The battle is just my biggest concern. If MC 3 tries to prevent it under the First Law, he may change history in the way we discussed earlier. Gene, do you think the battle is coming up soon?”