“Acknowledged,” said Hunter.
Wayne, still smiling triumphantly, turned and hurried away through the crowd of men and horses.
11
“Grab him,” said Steve, pulling against Hunter’s unbreakable grip. “We can hold him as a hostage for Jane. You can call Ishihara and tell him. Ishihara can’t let either of them come to harm, so he’d have to give in.”
“I do not dare,” said Hunter. “I have no indication of where they are. Wayne may have left them in another time or in a place out of range of my signal. He may have left Ishihara with standing instructions or First Law interpretations that would cloud the First Law imperative to release Jane. Making an attempt could simply anger Wayne and cause him to withdraw his offer.”
“Well, what’s wrong with that?”
“Maintaining negotiations will provide Wayne with an incentive to stay in contact with us. If Jane is nearby, we may eventually be able to track him back to her, or at least surmise her general vicinity.”
“Well…” Steve tried to think of another objection, but could not. “How about calling Ishihara anyway, and trying to get him to release her?”
“Have you forgotten? I have continued to call Ishihara at intervals ever since we arrived. He has not responded.”
“Oh, yeah. But we could just follow Wayne now and find out whatever we can.”
“I dare not. Besides, the troop is about to go out on maneuvers, remember?”
“We don’t have to stay.”
“Leaving so soon will complicate our ongoing presence here. We must maintain our place in the troop for now.” Hunter turned, drawing Steve with him. “We must get our saddles and bridles. Again, we will be among the last to ride out.”
“Yeah, all right.” Steve joined him at the end of the line again. “So you think Ishihara has Jane in some other time?”
Hunter released his arm. “That is not my first estimate. I acknowledge the possibility because it prevents me from acting too rashly, but I doubt the likelihood. Ishihara would probably insist on remaining in the company of both humans to protect them.”
“He wasn’t with Wayne right now,” said Steve. “And in the past, you’ve been willing to take a chance on one of your educated guesses.”
“I wish to prioritize caution at the moment. I believe Ishihara and Jane are probably fairly close. They may be in the village or out in the countryside, but I could not hear or see any sign of them. If we bide our time, I may pick up some clue to their location. Then we can act more aggressively.”
“But you’re still just guessing.”
“I am making a calculation of the odds.”
“Uh, right.”
Hunter said nothing for a moment. When he spoke again, he lowered his voice. “Harriet just called to say she is well. She remains with the women in the palace.”
“Good. That’s something in our favor.”
They picked up their saddles and bridles and carried them out to their mounts.
Jane sat in the back of the cart up in the village, near the palace doors. Emrys haggled over the sheep with the same man as the day before. From here inside the walls, she could not see the slope or exactly where Wayne had gone, but she could guess. Ishihara and Wayne had conferred in whispers before Wayne hopped out and Emrys drove up to the palace to sell his sheep.
She knew that Ishihara must have told Wayne something about the location of Hunter and Steve. Because she had not seen or heard any sign of them, she supposed Ishihara’s enhanced hearing had brought him their voices in the distance. She had no real optimism that she could talk Ishihara into changing sides, but she decided to try raising some doubts again.
“The First Law was never intended for situations like this,” Jane said quietly.
“What do you mean?” Ishihara asked. “I have kept you from harm.”
“You’re keeping me prisoner. I would be safer with Hunter. You already know that. I say you are violating the First Law by holding me now that Hunter has arrived.”
“What form of harm are you suffering?”
“I’m being harmed simply by having to stay with you. It’s not my choice.”
“Wayne Nystrom will be harmed if his career is destroyed. I intend to balance his concerns with yours. Neither of you will suffer direct physical harm.”
“Think about the intention of the First Law. Do you really believe that kidnapping was included?”
“To prevent a human from being harmed, it has been an option throughout the history of positronic robots. Otherwise, it would have been explicitly prohibited.”
“I say you are wrong, Ishihara. Think about it.” Jane spoke firmly but did not feel encouraged. Wayne had obviously given Ishihara some effective arguments of his own at some point and, after all, Wayne was also a roboticist.
Hunter found the maneuvers today to be a repeat of the day before. He put most of his effort into avoiding injuring his opponents. While he remained close to Steve, he observed that Steve learned very quickly and did not need specific help.
The day wore on uneventfully. Finally, late in the afternoon, Lucius ordered the troop back to the tor. When the weapons, armor, tack, and horses had been put away, Hunter and Steve walked back up to the village.
Steve looked up at him, grinning. “The trouble with this stuff is, the more time I spend riding and fighting, the more tired I get. The more time you spend out in the sunlight, the more energy you draw from your converters. Imagine what an army of robots could do here.”
“We could not fight humans,” said Hunter. “We would be useless as an army.”
“I was just speculating. Think about it-”
“It makes me uncomfortable to consider it,” Hunter said abruptly.
“All right. Sorry.”
“Harriet called me again just now. She and one of the women she has met have gone for a walk in the village. We will look for them.”
“Okay.”
In the village, Hunter saw Harriet standing with a much younger woman by a stall that sold crockery. Before he and Steve reached them, however, Bedwyr walked out of the crowd, munching on a piece of bread. Steve had introduced him to Hunter last night before they had returned to the camp.
“Well, Hunter, how do you like your training?” Bedwyr turned to Steve. “You have no broken bones, I see.”
“No, we are fine,” said Hunter.
“Come with us,” said Steve. “We’re going to speak to a friend. We’ll introduce you.”
Bedwyr fell into step with them.
“Harriet!” Steve called cheerfully.
Harriet turned and waved.
“That’s your friend?” Bedwyr’s eyebrows rose. “She’s with Gwenhyvaer.”
“Did you say ‘Guinevere’?” Steve asked in surprise.
“You say it oddly,” said Bedwyr. “If you know the name, though, you must have heard. Rumor says Artorius will make her queen.”