William F. Wu
Marauder
The laws of robotics
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
This is dedicated to
William Q. Wu
My father, who bought me a red plastic pirate ship full of toy buccaneers for a dollar at the Menora Medical Clinic gift shop when I was little.
Special thanks in the writing of this novel are due to Michael D. Toman, Ricia Mainhardt, John Betancourt, and Byron Preiss.
1
R. Hunter sat in the chair of Mojave Center Governor, in the Governor robot’s office, considering his next move. The office was located in the underground desert city called Mojave Center. Hunter was the new, specially designed humaniform robot who had recently been finished and programmed according to the specifications of the Governor Robot Oversight Committee.
The scientists on the Oversight Committee had created Hunter to find and return Mojave Center Governor. One of six experimental Governor robots designed to run complete, self-contained cities like Mojave Center, Mojave Center Governor was missing. In his absence, the city computer and individual positronic robots had taken over his responsibilities.
The other five experimental Governor robots had malfunctioned at approximately the same time, suggesting a basic design flaw. Since Mojave Center Governor was the only exception, the committee members wanted to study him as part of their investigation of the problem. To avoid being taken apart, MC Governor had fled.
Each of the Governor robots could divide at will into six component humaniform robots. One of the component robots who comprised MC Governor now stood motionless, shut down, in one corner of the office. Hunter and his team of three humans had brought him back from the distant past. The other five had also chosen to hide in earlier times.
For the last several minutes, Hunter had been monitoring the news through his internal receiver.
“A nuclear explosion on the southern coast of Jamaica yesterday continues to pile up casualties,” said the announcer. “Fatalities are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and within the next few hours, tidal waves will strike the coasts of other islands throughout the Caribbean. Over the coming week, these tidal waves are expected to strike heavily populated areas in Haiti, Puerto Rico, many other islands, and the coasts of Central and South America, causing incalculable destruction. Little time remains for emergency measures to prevent even more flooding and the suffering that will follow…”
Hunter shut off the reception. The extent of the disaster was clear. He had a lot of work ahead to prevent that explosion.
First Hunter had to brief the committee on his progress through a conference call that was linked to him through the Mojave Center city computer.
“Good day,” said Hunter, as the four familiar human faces of the Governor Robot Oversight Committee appeared on his internal video screen.
The committee members greeted him with eager anticipation.
“You have good news, I hope.” Dr. Redfield, a tall, slender blonde, spoke first. “What have you learned? Have you located MC Governor already?”
“Part of him,” said Hunter, responding with precise accuracy.
“Part of him,” Professor Post repeated thoughtfully. He stroked his pointed, black beard. “I take this to mean, then, that MC Governor divided into his component robots before your team could apprehend him.”
“Yes, that is correct,” said Hunter. “However, we have apprehended MC 1, the first gestalt robot, and returned him safely here.”
“That was fast,” said Dr. Chin, surprised. She was the short, pretty Chinese American with long, black hair. “Where did you find MC 1?”
Hunter hesitated, at least by his fast robotic standards. He and his team of human colleagues had followed MC 1 back in time to the Late Cretaceous Period of prehistory using a modified device in Mojave Center. They had found MC 1 in a forest full of dinosaurs.
The reality of time travel was a revolutionary discovery; Hunter did not want to mention it casually, without considering the long-term effects such a device might have on humans. The other members of the team had agreed to keep the secret until he chose to reveal it. Any significant action in the past might change human history in the present, creating unimaginable harm to people. The First Law of the Three Laws of Robotics that governed all robots’ behavior said, “A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”
For the present, Hunter decided not to reveal the existence of the time travel device.
“We found MC 1 in Alberta, Canada,” Hunter said simply. His statement was true; the event just happened to have occurred many millions of years in the past.
“Shouldn’t you be looking for the others there, too?” Dr. Chin asked.
“No,” said Hunter. “Our information is not complete, but the other component robots appear to have separated.”
“I don’t understand something,” said Dr. Khanna, in his Hindi accent. “You captured MC 1 very quickly, considering that he was in Alberta and you were assigned to the task only yesterday. Now you have returned to Mojave Center already. How did you manage to work so efficiently?”
“I have a very capable team,” said Hunter cautiously. They had returned to the present only a short time after they had left, though they had actually spent several long, difficult days in the past trying to capture MC 1. So to anyone in the present, they had not been gone from Mojave Center very long at all. “However, Chad Mora has completed his work for me. I will need a replacement for him, this time a specialist in the history of the Caribbean.”
“Please give us a report on your first mission,” said Dr. Khanna.
“I would prefer to give you a complete report on concluding my assignment,” said Hunter.
“I think if we are expected to continue hiring assistants for you, we can require a report at this stage,” said Dr. Khanna, raising one eyebrow.
“I remind you that I am not a human seeking to keep a job,” said Hunter. “I can work most efficiently with a team of human experts. You may decide how much efficiency you are willing to allow me.”
“All right, hold it,” said Dr. Chin. “I think we can wait for a complete report. The important thing is to get MC Governor back in one piece.”
Dr. Khanna shrugged, frowning.
“How is the rest of your team?” Dr. Redfield asked. “Everyone worked out, I assume.”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “The roboticist, Jane Maynard, is definitely a help. Steve Chang, our general assistant, has a range of pragmatic experience that I and the more highly educated specialists simply lack. No amount of library data accessible to me can substitute for their combined contributions. They are still here in Mojave Center and will continue working with me.”
“Even so,” said Dr. Khanna. “I don’t understand exactly how you are conducting your search.”
“I don’t think it matters,” said Professor Post. “Since MC Governor has divided into his components, the assignment we gave Hunter is now six times as difficult. The fact that he succeeded so quickly with the first part of it convinces me that his judgment is sound.”
“I agree,” said Dr. Redfield. “I can wait for your report too.”
“So can I,” said Professor Post.
“Very well,” said Dr. Khanna. Hunter was relieved. If they had given him direct orders, he would have had no choice but to obey them. The Second Law of Robotics was, “ A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.” He also decided not to report to the committee that Dr. Wayne Nystrom had appeared on the scene, trying to get control of MC 1 before Hunter could. If the committee members knew more, they might change their minds and try to participate more directly after all.