“Tell you what,” said Dr. Redfield. “We will authorize you to make direct contact with the new assistant you need to hire, instead of giving us the list as you did last time. Have this individual contact us for financial arrangements. Is this acceptable?”
“Yes,” said Hunter. “Thank you. Is there anything else?”
“Can you give us an estimated time of completion?” Dr. Khanna asked.
“No,” said Hunter.
After completing the call, Hunter paused to consider what he had done. That final answer to the Committee was not entirely true. If the time travel in all the future missions turned out as well as it had in the first mission, he could estimate completion in five days. The team could accomplish that by returning from each mission the same day they left, no matter how long the missions took in the past. However, a five-day estimate might further trigger Dr. Khanna’s curiosity.
Furthermore, Hunter was not sure how to give them a suitable final report without revealing the use of time travel. At the moment, in his own mind, he was just barely able to justify not giving the committee an estimated time of completion. He had decided that if Dr. Khanna placed obstacles in his way, it would interfere with his ability to prevent harm to humans as a result of potential changes the robots might bring about in the course of history. That interpretation of the First Law could be debated, but it had allowed him to avoid giving the estimate.
Hunter had the city computer use its access to employment agencies and lists of scholars to find a historian. Most of them, of course, were not technically available; the best ones were employed in schools or research centers, or pursuing independent projects of their own. However, time travel altered the possibilities a great deal.
Hunter now realized that he would in all likelihood bring his team back to the present only a few moments after they had left, just as he had last time. That meant anyone who was willing and able to travel to Mojave Center and back home the same day would have enough time for the job. The fee was considerable, especially for a task that would not take any time from their other commitments. Some danger would exist, of course, but with Hunter leading the team, the First Law would require him to give as much protection as a very large, powerful, state of the art robot could provide.
The immediate problem was persuading anyone of this without revealing the secret of time travel prematurely.
As soon as he had a short list of candidates, he began calling them. Within an hour, he hired a historian named Rita Chavez, who specialized in the history of the Caribbean during the period that Hunter’s team would visit, the year 1668. She arranged to fly immediately from her home in Miami to the landing facility on the ground above Mojave Center.
Hunter had remained vague, however, about the details of the job. Instead, he had told her that she could still cancel her commitment after she had heard the details in person. The argument that she would receive a substantial fee without missing much more than her travel time to and from Mojave Center had clearly made an impression on her.
Hunter checked the time. Jane and Steve had been in need of a complete dinner and a good night’s sleep after their trip back to the Late Cretaceous Period. He estimated that they were still asleep in their hotel rooms. By the time they woke up, Rita would probably have arrived.
As a robot, he had no need of rest as such; solar converters blended into his skin energized him when he was exposed to sunlight. Inside, of course, he could simply plug into the city’s power grid if necessary. While he waited, he decided to gather new data and review the situation.
“City computer,” said Hunter, through his radio link. “Please locate and present all data relevant to Jamaica in 1668. I will review it and copy selected portions.”
“Acknowledged,” said the city computer.
Hunter knew that this kind of quick research could not replace the advanced expertise Rita would bring. Still, he wanted to know as much as he could. When the information was available, he transferred it to his own memory.
The ongoing challenge in Hunter’s mission, of course, was that Mojave Center’s component robots were motivated by the Third Law of Robotics, “A robot must protect his own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.” The component robots were afraid that when the committee had reassembled them into Mojave Center Governor, the Governor robot would be permanently dismantled and destroyed. They were physically small in stature, but they had their robotic intelligence and humaniform shapes to help them hide among humans.
Shortly before Rita’s VTOL jet was due to arrive, Hunter received a call through his internal link.
“R. Hunter. This is the city computer calling.”
“Acknowledged,” said Hunter.
“I have a conference call from Steve and Jane for you.”
“Patch them through.”
“Hey, Hunter. Where are you? Still in Mojave Center somewhere?” Steve asked cheerfully.
“Morning, Hunter,” said Jane.
“Greetings,” said Hunter. “I am waiting for the new member of our team. She should arrive soon and I want to introduce you immediately.”
“You have completed your sleep courses in English and Spanish of the 1600s?”
“Si,”said Steve.
“I’m hungry,” said Jane. “Let’s meet in a restaurant. Bring her down.”
“Where shall we meet?”
“Debbie’s Diner. Jane and I already decided. It’s on a side street called Foursquare.”
“We will meet you there,” said Hunter. “Bye.”
“Okay!”
Hunter saw that the time had come to meet Rita. Normally, citizens would ride the slidewalks to travel through each level of Mojave Center. Hunter wanted privacy with her, however, and used his link to the city computer to commandeer a Security vehicle. A Security robot brought the electric vehicle to Hunter at MC Governor’s office and turned it over to him. Hunter drove it up to the city terminal, in the top level of the city.
Hunter met Rita Chavez and introduced himself. Rita, who was short, slender, and dark-haired, wore a gray business suit and had a reserved, professional demeanor. They climbed into the vehicle and Hunter began the drive down to the restaurant. He used his radio link to warn robots ahead that they were approaching as he drove. Only the presence of human pedestrians required his ringing the melodic warning tone.
“When we spoke earlier,” said Rita, “you declined to explain the entire job over the phone. What are you paying me to do?”
Hunter looked around. No one was nearby. “All right. But I must have your agreement that you will keep this confidential. A scientific development of grave importance is involved.”
“But you’re willing to trust me with it?”
“I require your help.”
“All right,” said Rita. “I agree not to reveal your secret.”
Hunter omitted the scientific details, but told her about the time travel sphere. Then he gave her a quick explanation of the previous mission and what he could predict about the next one.
“I’m amazed.” Rita stared at him in shock. “Your entire team has already been to the time of dinosaurs?”
“That is right.”
“Hunter, I have to ask you something. I agreed to keep this secret and I will. But several people already know, including the man who preceded me and also this Dr. Nystrom you just told me about. Someone is going to start talking sooner or later. It’s just too exciting to keep quiet forever. What will you do then?”
“I must confine my focus for now,” said Hunter. “Only reproducible evidence matters in a scientific conclusion, so a small amount of early talk will not prove anything. I have the Bohung Institute secure at the moment. No ‘matter how long we have to chase component robots in the past, I hope to complete the search for MC Governor very soon, in real time counted from his initial disappearance.”