“Remember what I told you,” Wayne ordered sternly. “My First Law argument to you concerns the unnecessary harm Hunter’s team is doing to me. That’s the argument you accepted when you first agreed to help me on these missions.”
“That is true,” said Ishihara.
“What’s true?” Jane demanded.
“I cannot shift my Second Law loyalty to you,” said Ishihara. “I have accepted the possibility that Wayne is being harmed by the actions of Hunter and his team. He requires my aid as a result of this.”
“All right, look,” said Wayne. “Since I can’t convince her I’m right, she’ll have to come with us for a while. We have to get away from here, so Hunter won’t be right behind us every minute. Let’s go find MC 5.”
“You mean return to Khanbaliq?” Ishihara asked. “Our horse is exhausted. The animal cannot make the return trip tonight, nor can the donkey. You and Xiao Li and Jane will need rest as well.”
“We don’t have to go all the way back tonight,” said Wayne. “But I want to get started. Then we’ll find a place to sleep for the night.”
“It’s too cold out here to get much sleep,” Jane said sourly. “We don’t have any protection from the elements. That’s not very good protection from harm, Ishihara.”
“We’ll manage,” Wayne said quickly. “Ishihara, you take charge of our route. Include evasive action to avoid Hunter. Jane and I will not be harmed by a night in this weather.”
“My options are limited,” said Ishihara. “Fleeing through the forested mountains in the dark is highly dangerous to you and Jane.”
“Do what you can,” Wayne said sternly.
Steve brought up the rear as Hunter led the way through the trees back to the road. Marcia walked with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering from the cold. Out on the road, Hunter waited for them.
“I want to change frequencies now that we know Ishihara is listening,” said Hunter. “He has always listened in when we’re in the same time period together.” He altered the settings on their lapel pins. “I hope we will not separate again, but we must be prepared.”
“He’ll just scan the frequencies again, won’t he?” Steve asked.
“I assume so. However, we will not use the lapel pins often, so he may simply stop scanning because it wastes his energy. If he happens to scan the radio band when we are communicating through these, he’ll locate the new frequency,but perhaps not immediately. Any delay we can create in being overheard will help us.”
“Okay.” Steve shrugged. “You know more about what a robot does than I do.”
Suddenly Hunter straightened, turning to look down the road, to the south.
“What-” Marcia started.
Steve put a hand on her shoulder to quiet her. He heard nothing and could not tell if Hunter heard something or was receiving a radio transmission. Either way, Hunter certainly did not need any distractions. Marcia shoved his hand away but said nothing else. “I hear two sets of hoofbeats cantering down the road, back toward Khanbaliq,” said Hunter.
“Two sets,” Steve repeated. “Shouldn’t there be at least three? Wayne and Ishihara must have ridden up here on horseback, plus Xiao Li’s donkey.”
“And Jane is riding double with someone,” Marcia added. “I see.”
“I hear two animals,” said Hunter. “One much smaller than the other, matching the gait of Xiao Li’s donkey, but the hoofbeats are heavier than before. That one is certain; two people are riding the donkey.”
“What about the other one?” Steve asked.
“By the gait and the weight, it is a horse,” said Hunter. “I cannot be sure if it is carrying two riders without having heard its hoofbeats earlier. It could simply be an usually large, heavy horse.”
“You think two people are riding the horse, too?” Steve shrugged. “I guess it’s possible.”
“Wayne and Ishihara could have found a mount as easily as we did,” said Hunter. “Perhaps financial limitations confined them to one horse.”
“Those mounts are worn out from a long day’s ride already,” said Steve. “If they’re both carrying two riders, they won’t go far tonight, especially at a canter. They may not go far at all.”
“I have considered that,” said Hunter. “I suggest that I begin jogging after them from here to maintain aural contact. You two can return to the inn for our horses and bring them. I know they are tired, too, but they will be able to carry us at least as far as the two mounts we are pursuing.”
“That makes sense to me,” said Marcia.
“I have a counterproposal,” said Steve. “Suppose we all return to the inn for a good night’s sleep. We know Ishihara can’t allow any harm to come to Jane. Then tomorrow we can go on to the Great Wall to find the Polo family.”
“I can’tbelieve this,” Marcia wailed. “You’re just going toforget about her?”
“Of course not!” Steve snapped. “But Jane is just as safe with Ishihara as she would be with Hunter.”
“That may not be precisely true,” said Hunter. “Ishihara’s judgment is in some doubt, since he is obviously following Wayne’s instructions.”
“You sure?” Steve asked. “As far as immediate harm to Jane goes, he can’t let her get hurt. Just how much leeway do you robots have in your interpretations?”
12
Steve doubted he could change Hunter’s mind about a First Law interpretation, but he wanted to try. He trusted Ishihara to keep Jane safe. The team could save a lot of time.
“Well, Hunter?”
“I cannot go on without Jane,” said Hunter. “I agree that Ishihara would protect her from clear and immediate harm, but his judgment is in doubt regarding more complex situations. Further, I still remain responsible for Jane as part of my team. Also, if we can apprehend Wayne or even just Ishihara, we can eliminate further interference from them. That will make the rest of this mission and all of the next one much easier for us. I must pursue them and free Jane.”
“Then we should split up,” said Steve. “I don’t know how many times I’ve suggested it already, but this time I’m really serious. You go after Jane, and Marcia and I can return to the inn for some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go north for the Polos. When you have Jane, come after us.”
“As you know, I consider dividing the team to be a mistake.”
“You let Jane and me sail back to Jamaica on a pirate ship without you. This is a much safer environment. Our real trouble seems to have been instigated by Wayne, not the local situation. Even the people who grabbed you and Jane would never have acted without Wayne.”
Hunter turned to observe Marcia. “You are very cold and tired, are you not?”
“I’m afraid so,” said Marcia. “And what he says makes some sense. Besides, you could probably help Jane a lot faster alone than you could with me along.”
“And we’ll blend into the crowd,” Steve added. “Without you and Jane, we look like locals.”
“The same people who kidnapped Jane and me have almost certainly returned to the inn. I cannot have them carry you two away. I suggest you take rooms at the other inn we saw.”
“No need.” Steve grinned. “Now that we know they think you’re a spirit, we can manage them, I think. Anyhow, they’ve probably gone to bed. We’ll be careful about going back inside. If we don’t see them, we’ll go upstairs.”
“This is also a great danger,” said Hunter. “At the very least, you should take a room at the other inn.”
“Maybe not,” said Marcia. “I think they focused on you and Jane in part because of your European appearance. And they were running pretty fast when they passed us on the road a while ago. Maybe they’ve had enough.”
“We’re wasting time,” said Steve. “Every minute we debate, Jane is being taken farther south. But I also want to return to the same inn because of the innkeeper. He made a point to come and tell me that Jane had been taken.”
“You feel safer with him?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, you could put it that way,” said Steve.
“I will return to the inn with you,” said Hunter. “If it is quiet, and you can return to your rooms unseen, then I will allow us to separate. Clearly, you both need to stay warm and get some sleep.”