Emperor

by William F. Wu

  “Steve!” Jane pleaded.

  Suddenly Steve leaped forward, this time aiming at Ishihara’s outstretched arm as Jane pulled away from him again. Before Steve made contact, however, he saw Ishihara, Jane, and Wayne vanish. He landed hard on the paving stones.

  Polo strode up quickly, speaking Italian in a low, urgent tone. “What happened here? Where did they go? What...happened?”

  Steve looked up, glad he supposedly could not understand Italian.

  Hunter and Marcia said nothing.

  A small crowd of people had surrounded them, gasping and murmuring.

  Polo glanced quickly back over his shoulder. “I do not know what this is about, but the khan saw this incident. He is coming this way. Be very careful how you speak to him.”

  Quickly, Steve got to his feet. Marcia moved close to him. Hunter, still holding MC 5 in his arms off the ground, turned to look. Kublai Khan and his small entourage hurried up in front of them.

  Steve bowed low from the waist again. Since the khan did not bid them to rise, or say anything else right away, he remained in that position. So did Polo and Marcia. Hunter, as he held MC 5’s arm, also bowed and held the position, as did MC 5.

  All Steve could see were the paving stones below him and the khan’s feet, in leather boots that curled up at the toe. For a long moment, no one spoke or moved. Suddenly Steve wondered if they would all lose their heads.

  “What is this magic?” The khan finally demanded in Mongol. “Marco, who were those foreigners who disappeared? Who has cast spells here in my presence?”

  Steve thought he could detect an element of fear in the khan’s voice, but if so, it was very subtle.

  “I do not know,” said Polo.

  “Rise, all of you. I want to see your faces.”

  Steve straightened, his heart pounding. Before, all the jumps in time had either taken place away from local people, or else had happened in the middle of chaotic situations where other people’s attention had been diverted. If any situation could change history, though, he suspected that having Marco Polo and Kublai Khan witness a disappearance into time might do it.

  Kublai Khan looked up into Hunter’s eyes. “Stranger, explain this.”

  Hunter said nothing.

  Startled, Steve looked at him in amazement. Always before, Hunter had offered an effective response to any difficult situation. Steve realized that for Hunter, refusing to answer meant that he could not think of anything to say that he considered safe under the Three Laws of Robotics.

  Polo nudged Hunter with his elbow.

  “I have no explanation,” said Hunter in Mongol.

  The khan glared at him, then turned to Steve. “Speak.”

  Steve swallowed. He had no idea what to say, either. “I, uh…”

  “May I speak?” Marcia spoke softly.

  “Speak,” said Kublai Khan, turning to her with a piercing gaze.

  “We seek evil spirits that tried to infiltrate the great khan’s court.”

  “Eh? Evil spirits?”

  Marcia nodded.

  “Marco, what do you know of this?”

  “Nothing,” said Polo. “But I was told this small fellow in Hunter’s grasp would do anything to protect you.”

  “Why are you holding him like this?” The khan asked Hunter.

  “He is a good spirit who has lost his way,” Marcia said quickly. “He would never let harm come to his khan, but we must return him to his home.”

  “You bring spirits and magic within my walls without telling me?” Kublai Khan glared at each of them in turn.

  “We feared the khan would not believe our story,” said Steve.

  “That is correct,” said Hunter. “We had hoped to handle this matter without disturbing the khan.”

  “I have just seen three people disappear with my own eyes,” said Kublai Khan. “Until now, I would not have believed this.”

  “We are dealing with good spirits,” said Marcia. “But I suggest that neither Marco nor the khan speak of this.”

  “No?” Kublai Khan studied her carefully.

  “What about everybody else?” Steve asked her quietly.

  “I don’t believe the others will matter.”

  “Marco, what is your opinion of this?” Kublai Khan turned to him.

  “I have seen many wonders since I entered the khan’s empire,” said Marco. “Many would not be believed back in Venice. This is another one of those.”

  “I will not have anyone think I have gone mad,” said Kublai Khan. “However, that includes your friends.” He turned to Marcia again. “Why should I believe you? How do I know this is not some elaborate game, conducted to make a fool of me?”

  “We can prove our claim to your satisfaction.” She glanced at Hunter. “We can do what those spirits did.”

  Hunter nodded acknowledgment. Still holding MC 5’s arm, he slipped his other hand inside his robe. He waited, watching Marcia.

  Steve got the idea. “If we prove to Marco and the khan that we are dealing in spirits and possess magic, will the khan accept our advice not to discuss this matter or act on it in the future?”

  “If you confer with good spirits and prove your magic, I will accept your advice,” said Kublai Khan.

  “So will I,” said Polo.

  “Okay, Hunter?” Steve grinned at him.

  “We must step away from them,” said Hunter. He backed away from Polo, drawing MC 5 with him.

  Steve and Marcia moved to his side.

  Polo turned. Standing only a step away from the khan and his entourage, he looked at Hunter with a puzzled expression. None of them spoke.

  “Good-bye, Marco Polo,” Marcia said softly in Mongol. “Farewell, Great Khan. I was honored to meet both of you.”

  As Polo glanced toward her, the scene vanished.

  Once again, Steve felt the hard, curved interior surface of the sphere in Room F-12 under him. He and Marcia slid against each other in the blackness. Then Hunter opened the sphere and helped them both climb out.

  “Get out,” Steve said to MC 5. “Don’t shut off your hearing or go anywhere.”

  R. Daladier still stood by the door. “Dr. Nystrom and Ishihara have not been back here.”

  Hunter nodded. “Thank you. Please continue your assignment here until further notice.”

  “Agreed.”

  “It feels weird not to have Jane with us,” said Steve. “And what about disappearing in front of Marco Polo and Kublai Khan? What if we did change history this time?”

  “We will not know for a while yet,” said Hunter. “I can see that the sphere and this room are unchanged.”

  “That’s something, anyway.” Steve nodded. “I’m ready to go find Jane anytime.”

  “You still need a good night’s rest before our next mission,” said Hunter.

  “I feel okay.” Steve shrugged.

  “In any case, I will have to prepare more vaccinations and hire a new historian,” said Hunter. “For now, you and Marcia should change your clothes.”

  “I’ll go first,” said Marcia. She picked up her regular clothes and went into the other room.

  “I am concerned about Jane, also,” said Hunter. “However, I trust we will all meet again on our next mission to find MC 6. We will prepare for it in the same way as the others. I will make the arrangements and you will have some time to rest, eat well, and relax.”

  “I won’t relax too well this time,” said Steve. “But I’ll be ready.”

  By the time Steve had taken his turn to change, Hunter had arranged for a Security vehicle to take the team and MC 5 back to MC Governor’s office. Steve instructed MC 5 to come with them, and they rode through the quiet streets of Mojave Center. No one spoke. From past experience, Steve knew that Hunter was monitoring news reports to make sure that no explosion had destroyed Beijing and find out if and where another nuclear explosion had occurred.

  In Mojave Center Governor’s office, Hunter closed the door and turned to Steve.

  �
�Please instruct MC 5 to merge with the others.”

  Steve pointed to the figure standing in the corner. The first four component robots stood merged there. “Join with them,” he said to MC 5. “Then remain motionless here, just like the other component robots now are.”

  The small robot walked over to them. In a slow, slithering motion, his shape became fluid and he merged with the other figure. Now it nearly resembled the large, humanoid shape of Mojave Center Governor.

  “We are doing well,” said Hunter. “We have only one more piece of the puzzle to find.”

  “You must have checked the news by now,” said Steve. “Did we really get away with vanishing in front of Marco Polo and Kublai Khan?”

  “In my monitoring of the news, I have not detected any sign of change in our world,” said Hunter. “And Mojave Center appears to be the same as before. That is only a superficial review, of course. I am also accessing historical references in the city library as we speak. So far, they confirm my initial conclusion.”

  “I think we got away with it,” said Marcia. “I thought this through before I started talking to Kublai Khan, but I didn’t have any way to explain it to you.”

  “What do you mean?” Steve asked.

  “As I mentioned before we left, Marco Polo said on his deathbed that in his book, he had not told half the wonders he had seen on his travels. I think he also omitted witnessing spirits who vanished before his eyes.”

  “But what about Kublai Khan and all those other people standing around us?” Steve frowned. “I was glad to get out of there, but wouldn’t at least a few of them change their beliefs about the world or religion?”

  “That’s the other part I had to consider,” said Marcia. “But most of the people there—maybe all of them—believed in some form of Chinese or Mongol animistic religion. Even the Buddhists and Taoists in China had open attitudes toward folk deities and spirits. Kublai Khan himself instituted state tolerance of all religions and seemed to consider them equally valid. I don’t think we altered anyone’s beliefs because they already believed that spirits in human form came and went around them.”

  “Kublai Khan said he didn’t want anyone to think he was crazy,” said Steve.

  “If the great khan did not want the incident mentioned again, I can guarantee that no one in the palace grounds spoke of it openly,” said Marcia. “A few whispers in private or some rumors outside the walls in the city after hours would simply get lost among other unprovable reports of spirit visitations.”

  “Your explanation seems sound,” said Hunter.

  “What about MC 6?” Steve asked.

  “The news headlines report a nuclear explosion in southern England near the Welsh border,” Hunter said grimly. “Like the others, it has killed millions of people.”

  “Did you get the date we’re going to visit from the sphere console?” Steve asked.

  “Yes. MC 6 will return to his full size in A.D. 460. At that time, a man named Arturius, upon whom the legend of King Arthur was based, was the most powerful individual in Britain.”