“I have tried to call MC 2 directly by radio,” said Hunter. “I also have done that with Rita, and received no response from either one. If MC 2 is listening, he knows that someone with the capability of radio transmission is here and he has chosen to remain out of contact.”
“He has probably turned off his receiver,” said Jane. “For the same reason MC 1 did on our last mission. As soon as he heard your first signal, he knew someone might have come to find him, so he’s avoiding the chance of hearing a human voice under the Second Law.”
“I suspect you are right,” said Hunter. “However, that may be just as well. We might have a better chance to catch MC 2 if he cannot approximate my position from measuring the strength of my radio signal and my movements.” As he spoke, he continued to look in all directions on a regular basis.
“Hunter,” said Steve. “I’m no historian like Rita, but I think I understand how this town operates. People know a lot more than they tell strangers and they’re all suspicious of authority. Bribes and payment for information will probably work a lot better here than just walking around asking polite questions.”
“My data tell me that bribes are illegal and ethically objectionable,” said Hunter. “Of course, I realize that laws and customs may be different here, but if they are wrong because humans would be harmed-”
“Think of it this way, Hunter,” said Jane quickly. “This buccaneer society is a barely functioning anarchy. Further, it’s definitely a free port with a laissez-faire economy. You have all these terms in your stored data, I’m sure.”
“Yes. I understand what you mean.”
“Good. Then you’re using these more technical terms now to access your data on human societies.”
“Yes.”
“Then in order to accept Steve’s advice under the First Law, I think all you have to understand is that this system worked to some degree in this time and place in history. How does that strike you?”
“I see what you mean,” said Hunter. “But for the moment, bribery will not be necessary.” He stopped where he was, looking out into the bay.
“What is it, Hunter?” Steve looked, too, but he couldn’t tell where, among all the ships out in the harbor, Hunter was focusing his attention.
Hunter pointed. “Your unmagnified human vision cannot recognize faces from this distance, but you can see the dinghy that has rowed up to the second ship from the left.”
“I see it,” said Jane. “Who’s in it?”
“Roland, Rita, and MC 2 are climbing from the dinghy up to the deck of the ship on a rope ladder. Two other men are holding the boat steady for them.”
“You’re sure it’s MC 2?” Jane asked.
“He is identical to MC 1.”
“They’re going on board a pirate ship?” Steve was amazed. “What does she think she’s doing?”
“She’s on a great adventure,” said Jane, grimly. “And she’s the one who doesn’t believe that any actions except the most significant ones can change history, especially from this little backwater town.”
“At least she has the freedom of human judgment,” said Hunter. “I am more afraid of MC 2. He may feel that under the First Law he must break up fights-I feel that impulse strongly myself. He is more likely than she to change history, I think.”
“We can’t just let them go,” said Steve. “How are we going to follow them?”
Wayne stood near the far end of the docks by a stack of barrels of pitch, catching his breath after a long, frantic run in the humid midday heat. He had seen the dinghy being rowed out into the bay with Roland and MC 2 when it was still close enough for the passengers to be recognized. Desperately, he had tried to push his way through the crowd, shouting for them to stop. No one in the dinghy had even turned to look, though, and he was sure they had not been able to hear him. He had not recognized the others in the boat.
“Roland,” Wayne muttered in puzzlement. “What possible reason could you have for running off with MC 2?”
He was still watching in frustration as the dinghy slowly drew up to one of the ships in the harbor. Then suddenly a possibility occurred to him. If Roland had figured out that MC 2 always protected humans and obeyed orders, then he might want to keep him around. MC 2 would make a perfect servant and bodyguard for a buccaneer. However, if that were true, then Roland had no intention now of bringing MC 2 back to Wayne.
“Lousy pirate,” Wayne said angrily. “Can’t trust him. Now I’ll have to get MC 2 back myself. Well… at least I know where he is.”
Steve helplessly watched the dinghy being hoisted on board the ship. “We’re going to lose them, Hunter, if we just stand here.”
“The name of the ship is the Hungry Hawk,” said Hunter. “I can read it painted on the side. But I do not have the money to hire a ship to follow them. Nor can we expect to get it.”
“I have an idea,” said Steve. “But hear me out, okay? You might not like it at first.”
“Agreed,” said Hunter.
“Can’t we get enough lumber for a small, fast-moving sailboat? I can give you a modern design and you can calculate the exact specifications we’ll need.”
“A modern design might catch on,” said Hunter. “And change the course of sailing technology in history.”
“No! That’s my point-when we’re finished with it, we’ll destroy it-sink it or take it apart. We won’t leave any evidence.”
“What type of design do you have in mind?”
“A small outrigger,” said Steve. “It will only have to carry the three of us and some drinking water and food. For speed, we’ll want a high mast and a deep keel to balance it. The outrigger design can give us greater stability than we would have otherwise-that’s the part that no one here in Jamaica right now is using.”
“I have accessed some data on sailing design,” said Hunter. “I believe we might have enough money to buy the lumber for such a boat. I also see that the outrigger may well work, but I fear that someone will see the idea behind it and try to use it in the near future. It is the concept, not the exact design, that is important and might trigger a change in history.”
“I wish we had our historian here,” said Jane. “She hasn’t been any help since she sneaked away. But really, Hunter, I doubt that the outrigger idea would be used here anyway because it isn’t necessary.”
“How’s that?” Steve looked at her.
“My study of robotics included some history of technological development. Technological change is related to need as well as to concept. For instance, much of the sailing technology that was used by the early explorers in Columbus’s generation had been in use for a century already in Dutch windmills. It only came into sailing use after the desire to explore by sea became more intense following the fall of Constantinople.”
“In other words,” said Steve, “you think people here won’t care about the outrigger because the ships they already have are doing what they need.”
“Well, yes. I guess I was a little long-winded, huh?” She smiled self-consciously. “What do you think, Hunter?”
“I understand,” said Hunter.
“Shall we try it?” Steve asked.
“Yes. We must find a place to buy the lumber. I will calculate our exact material requirements as we go.”
Rita stood with MC 2 by the rail, out of the way of the crew, as the ship set sail. She watched the men in the rigging and on deck with fascination. None of the book learning she had acquired over the years could replace actually standing on the deck with them, breathing the salt air and listening to the wood creak under the pressure of the sea and the wind.
“We have a good wind.” Roland strode up to them, grinning. “I helped a little just to take part, but they don’t need me. As the captain said, they had a full crew before we came aboard.” He looked at MC 2. “So, Shorty. You like going to sea?”