“Assembly points,” said Wolruf. “Robots ‘err have already lefft.” She glanced behind them, over her shoulder. “ ‘Unterss could come from any direction.”
“A tunnel stop would help us considerably,” said Mandelbrot. “If we stay on this street we will encounter one, if they were built with the same frequency in this area as in the area we are familiar with.” He paused to look inside a window. Inside, function robots were scuttling about on their duties.
“Maybe they didn’t build any ‘err at all,” said Wolruf as she trotted alongside to keep up.
“That is possible. If this portion of the city is built on sand, then tunneling is more difficult. However, these robots do not seem to factor difficulty into their considerations.”
“Therr,” Wolruf said emphatically, pointing ahead.
A humanoid robot was just disappearing from sight around a corner ahead of them.
Mandelbrot reached down to lift Wolruf, and began to run-not at full speed, but quickly enough to make up some ground.
“Careful,” said Wolruf, clutching him around the neck.
“I believe that a Hunter this close to us would have come in this direction,” said Mandelbrot. “However, I do not want to contact any robot without the chance to observe the situation first. Pursuit is the only recourse.”
A moment later, they turned the corner after the other robot. He was now riding a slidewalk, standing still as it carried him parallel to the mountain range. Mandelbrot hurried to the slidewalk and then walked slowly after him once they were on it.
“I think I understand,” he said quietly. “Either this humanoid cannot be replaced here by function robots, or else he is one of the last, possibly the very last, in this area to follow his migration programming.”
“If that iss the case, we should forget about ‘im,” said Wolruf. “Go to the mountains and ‘ide from ‘unters. Find Avery.”
“We will be safer taking evasive action than simply racing the Hunters to the mountains. In fact, we should avoid indicating to them what our destination is, if possible. I am hoping to find a group of humanoid robots to observe so that we can imitate their actions without being witnessed by them.”
“Too late,” said Wolruf, looking back over his shoulder. “ ‘Err come ‘unters.”
Mandelbrot turned to look. One humanoid, clearly a Hunter by his size and sensors, was riding a distant slidewalk toward the landing site.
“Good. They intend to pick up our trail at the beach. That gives us a little more time.” Mandelbrot set Wolruf on her feet. “I will try to manage among the robots. See if you can reach the agricultural park. I will attempt to meet you there.”
Wolruf hissed a kind of agreement and hopped off the slidewalk. Then she darted away.
Mandelbrot considered a number of options for himself instantly and chose one. He sent a distress alert to the robot ahead of him through his comlink.
“I am in need of assistance,” he said.
The other robot turned to face him, then stepped onto the stationary shoulder to wait for Mandelbrot. “What is wrong?”
“I am on the verge of physically shutting down.” That was true; Mandelbrot neglected to say that it was voluntary. “Please take me to the nearest repair facility. Report me as a malfunctioned robot, failure unknown.”
“Agreed.”
Mandelbrot froze in place but kept his positronic brain functioning. He had deliberately avoided identifying himself.
This robot was complying with Mandelbrot’s request under a subtle but real compulsion. The Third Law of Robotics required robots to avoid harm to themselves through action or inaction but did not specifically require them to keep other robots from harm. However, in the robot society of Robot City, Mandelbrot had observed that such cooperation was common. Perhaps it was even programmed. In any case, he knew he could count on another robot’s help, at least in the absence of more pressing problems.
The robot stepped back onto the slidewalk next to him. Apparently the nearest repair facility was in this direction. At least it would offer a kind of camouflage from the Hunters since he would not just be wandering around by himself or, worse, with a highly recognizable caninoid alien.
He hoped Wolruf could make it to the mountains. She was still of no interest to most robots, though they could act as witnesses to her presence and her direction for the Hunters. In the forested mountains she would have a better chance.
At present, the Hunters would almost certainly be tracking them by infrared heat sensors. When they had followed Mandelbrot and Wolruf to the point where they had mounted the slidewalk, they would ride it while scanning the shoulder for the spot or spots where their quarry had gotten off again. He rode on.
Finally the other robot lifted him and stepped off the slidewalk. This kept Mandelbrot’s robot body heat off the ground; the Hunters would not be able to detect where he had left the slidewalk. However, they would be on Wolruf’s trail without a problem.
Wolruf trotted down the empty sidewalk, alert on all sides for the sight, sound, or scent of humanoid robots. The city here was as striking as ever; she passed a gigantic, many-faceted dome glittering in the sunshine, a spiraling jade-green skyscraper that resembled loosely twisted ribbons frozen in midfall, and a multitude of combined pyramidal, hexagonal, and conical shapes. The quiet hum of machinery and the occasional function robots moving about told her that the city was still active here.
The absence of humanoids was eerie. The city was just too big and elaborate to seem normal with deserted streets and nearly vacant buildings. She felt exposed.
Wolruf grinned to herself as she turned corners, circled blocks, doubled back, and then moved on, always working her way closer to the mountains that were so invitingly close. As a navigator, she was no stranger to evasive maneuvers. She had not usually conducted them on foot, however, or been limited to one plane.
She was not certain how successful these maneuvers would be. If the Hunters possessed heat sensors that could consistently choose the warmest trail, then she was not going to confuse them by crisscrossing her path. Instead, she was just wasting time and letting them get closer. After she had done a little more of that, she resorted to a zigzag pattern that angled her toward the mountains more quickly.
When she reached the edge of the city, she stopped to consider her next move. A long boulevard lined the base of the first foothill; beyond it, the forest began. If she could disguise her point of entry into the mountains, it would help her a great deal.
She hopped onto the slidewalk that ran down the side of the boulevard, looking around. The Hunters could be right behind her or a long way back; she had no way of knowing without risking them seeing her. She could be sure, however, that they were coming with that inexorable robot logic and single-mindedness.
Nor could she ride here indefinitely; she could be seen easily by anyone looking down the straightaway. She jumped off again.
What she needed was a mobile function robot she could ride across the boulevard, or anything else that would keep moving after she left it, so that the traces of her body heat would be carried away. With an anxious glance behind her, she turned a corner and looked down the street.
It was empty.
Time was growing short. She would either have to find a way to break her trail, or else leave a track into the mountains that any Hunter could follow.
She started down the street, peering inside any windows she could reach.
“ORBIT ATTAINED,” said the ship computer. “PLEASE INSTRUCT.”
“Maintain altitude,” said Jeff. “Vary the route at random.”