“Yes,” said Judy.
“Of course,” said Jane.
“Yeah.” Steve nodded. “Hunter, have you briefed Judy already?”
“I have briefed her about Mojave Center Governor and the gestalt robots. Also, of course, I told her we are going back to Moscow in 1941.”
“And he swore me to secrecy,” Judy added, with an easy grin. “About the time travel. But it’s exciting. I can hardly wait to try it.”
“I have not yet explained the miniaturization of the component robots to her,” Hunter added. “Perhaps Jane can do it most efficiently.”
“Miniaturization?” Judy turned to Jane.
“I suppose the easiest way to explain the miniaturization is in terms of the Laws of Robotics,” said Jane. “The Third Law of Robotics says, ‘A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.’ “
“Yes, I know the principle, if not the exact wording,” said Judy. “But what about this miniaturization?”
“The reasoning behind it goes like this,” said Jane. “MC Governor is the only one of the experimental Governor robots that did not shut down due to a malfunction. The Governor Robot Oversight Committee needs Hunter-and us-to restore MC Governor so they can figure out what caused the malfunction of the others.”
“Yes, Hunter told me that part.”
“But the Third Law drove MC Governor to split into his component robots and flee to avoid being dismantled during the investigation.”
“Yeah…that’s why they ran away to different times in history. Go on.”
“Well, the component robots also used the time travel process to miniaturize themselves to microscopic size,” Jane said, watching for Judy’s reaction.
“Really? I didn’t know that was possible.” Judy looked around at them all in surprise.
“Well, it wasn’t, until MC Governor developed the process himself. The component robots apparently wanted to avoid receiving any instructions from humans. Even MC 1, who went back to the dinosaur age, was anticipating that he would survive into the human era. The Second Law of Robotics says, ‘A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.’ “
“So when they became microscopic, they were invisible to humans,” Steve added. “That was the important part to the component robots.”
“And so no one would give them any orders. Okay.” Judy nodded. “Then what?”
“The process was flawed,” said Jane. “Each gestalt component robot returns to his full, normal size eventually. When he does, the Laws of Robotics will drive him to behave in certain ways-saving humans from harm, following their instructions, and saving themselves when they can-and so each robot runs the risk of changing history.”
“A very strong likelihood, in Hunter’s opinion,” Steve added with a grin.
Hunter nodded but waited patiently for Jane to finish her explanation.
“Yes, I see,” said Judy. “The First Law, in particular. I remember it now. The First Law says, ‘A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.’ “
“Very good,” said Jane. “That’s one reason it’s so urgent for us to go back and get these robots before they change anything.”
“Only one reason? Are there more?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “This must remain private among us, because we hope to undo this event. Have you heard on the news about the explosion in Russia?”
“I heard something on my flight here early this morning-trouble in Moscow?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “More than ordinary trouble. A nuclear explosion has occurred.”
“A nuclear explosion?” Judy’s eyes widened suddenly. “And that has something to do with our trip back to Moscow in 1941?”
“Exactly,” said Hunter. “We have learned that when the gestalt robots return to the approximate time at which they left, an instability created by their flawed miniaturization causes them to explode with nuclear force.”
“The approximate time? Not the exact time?”
“The gestalt robots left a couple of days ago,” said Hunter. “Apparently the instability is so unpredictable that a few days’ worth of uncertainty is involved.”
“I see. Now I definitely get the picture.” She nodded gravely. “Somehow or other, you figured out that the next component robot will return to full size in 1941. So we’re going back there to get him before he can change history-and before he can explode in our own time.”
“You got it,” said Steve.
“But why did these component robots go all over the world?” Judy asked. “Why bother? Why not just go microscopic right where they were? If they expected to remain that way, what difference would it make? No human could find them anyway.”
“Each component robot specialized in certain areas within MC Governor to run the city,” said Jane. “I believe their specialities influenced their choice of where to hide, even though they never expected to participate in human affairs again.”
“How was MC 4 influenced?”
“I found out that MC 4 was in charge of ethics and morality as applied to the society of Mojave Center. I believe he was drawn to this era because of the tyranny of both Stalin and Hitler.”
“I agree,” said Hunter. “Judy, is this review sufficient for now?”
“Uh-yes. I’m still absorbing it all.”
“We should move to the Bohung Institute,” said Hunter. “During the night, I arranged to have our period clothing and belongings prepared. I left them there for Judy to examine. You have completed your sleep courses in the pertinent languages?”
“Yes,” said Jane.
“Let’s go,” said Steve.
Hunter called for a Security vehicle and drove it through the smooth, clean streets of Mojave Center. Broad avenues and narrower side streets ran throughout the underground city, connected by ramps to different levels. Robots drove various sorts of vehicles up and down the streets on their maintenance duties; human pedestrians strolled quietly past the shops and office buildings. The city continued to function normally, its occupants unaware of Hunter’s mission.
Hunter stopped outside the front doors of the Bohung Institute. The entire Bohung Institute had been closed and guarded by a detail of Security robots under Hunter’s orders. Inside the Institute, Hunter led the team to Room F-12.
This was a large room designed primarily to house an opaque sphere about fifteen meters in diameter. The remainder of the room was lined with countertops. The counters were occupied by computers, monitors, a communications console, and miscellaneous office items.
“Judy is fluent in both Russian and German,” said Hunter. “However, I have not yet asked-Steve and Jane, were your sleep courses in those languages effective last night?”