“I think our search for MC 1 may also involve a time limit of sorts,” said Jane thoughtfully.
“A time limit? Of what sort?” Hunter had not been aware of any.
Chad looked up with interest. Steve also stopped working in order to listen.
“The miniaturization and subsequent reversal has almost certainly weakened MC l’s molecular structure, making him much more fragile than normal,” said Jane.
”You think a fight with a dinosaur might destroy him?” Hunter asked.
“Possibly,” said Jane. “But another problem is almost guaranteed.”
“Another problem?”
“In this warm, humid climate, microscopic life must be very active,” said Jane. “As long as MC 1 was microscopic himself, he was defending himself directly from other microbes-possibly even fighting with them under the Third Law. But now he’s too big to do that.”
“So the microbes are going to start interfering with his robotic body?” Hunter asked. “In a way that would not normally occur, without the effects of miniaturization and its subsequent termination?”
“Yes, little by little.”
“I understand. If he falls down unseen here in this forest, he may be impossible to find. At the very best, it will take more sophisticated equipment than we have.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Wait a minute,” said Steve. “If the robot’s dead, so to speak, then he won’t be actively interfering with history. So we just have to catch the others, right?”
“No,” said Hunter. “I cannot allow him just to remain here. According to chaos theory as applied to history, even his rusting, corroding remains could change some subtle part of human history in the far future.”
“That seems hard to believe,” said Steve.
Chad laughed. “You just don’t understand the general principle of the theory.”
“All right, then,” said Steve. “Suppose you just tell me. How, here in the Late Cretaceous Period, can the body of one nonfunctioning robot possibly matter?”
“You ever hear of the term ‘therapsids’?” Chad demanded with a smirk.
“No,” Steve admitted.
“That word, my ignorant friend, refers to some mammal-like reptiles that lived long before even this period that we’re in now. Generally, they were small, active, rather aggressive carnivores. All true mammals are descended from them-meaning that some of our very own human ancestors are alive right now, in one form or another. You follow me?”
“Yeah.”
Chad grinned and gestured toward the surrounding forest. “All kinds of little critters are roaming around this forest. In fact, though it’s unlikely-who knows? One of the little local monsters might actually be our own very great grandma!” He laughed.
“So what does this have to do with a rusting robot?” Steve demanded.
“So dense.” Chad rolled his eyes. “All right, look. That robot has compound substances in it that are modern industrial creations. They don’t belong in this time. If some of our very distant human ancestors poison themselves trying to eat that stuff, they die early-and maybe they won’t reproduce, or they may have chromosome damage that changes the traits of their offspring. Now do you see how human history could be changed by something like this?”
“Yeah, I guess, but it still sounds pretty farfetched,” said Steve skeptically.
“Yes, statistically it is quite unlikely,” said Hunter. “But not impossible. That is the problem that chaos theory presents me with under the First Law. The degree of probability that MC 1‘s permanent presence may harm all humans is still too great for me to accept.”
Steve just shrugged.
“Chad,” said Hunter. “What do you think about capturing some herbivorous dinosaurs we could ride?”
“Well, from what little information I have, I would say there’s a reasonable chance.”
“Can you recommend some likely species? Some that we can find in this forest?”
“Yes. That is, I can suggest some that appear to be a good size and shape to ride. But the fossil evidence can’t possibly tell me something as subtle as how long a certain species might take for a rider to break.”
“Understood,” said Hunter. “We will be the first to give it a real try.”
“What kind of dinosaurs have you picked?” Steve asked.
“What’s your hurry?” Chad snickered.
Steve stiffened at his tone. “Nobody’s going to break a new mount without equipment. If you want to ride a dinosaur, you-and all of us-will need some kind of stirrups and halter at the very least, preferably a bridle and a saddle if I can rig them up.”
“An excellent point,” said Hunter.
“So,” said Steve, “I need to know the rough size and shape of the heads, necks, and torsos of the dinosaurs you expect us to ride. Then I can start checking our equipment for something we can use.”
“All right,” said Chad, now speaking in a normal tone of voice. “Here, take a look at this screen. Our first choice is going to be the struthiomimus. It kind of resembles an ostrich.”
Steve moved around and looked over his shoulder. “Two meters tall, three and a half meters long, head and neck like an ostrich. Got it.”
10
Steve eyed the sunlight that filtered brightly through a few gaps in the canopy of leaves overhead. The sun was low; only an hour or so of daylight was left. He made dinner with the supplies they had brought, using a small, portable electric stove.
The group sat in a circle outside the front of the tent, eating from biodegradable dishes and utensils. Steve, remembering his camping experience, had been thinking ahead. He was determined to show Chad that he knew what he was doing, at least within his own area of responsibility.
“This is going to take longer than you hoped, isn’t it?” Steve asked Hunter, between mouthfuls.
“I believe so,” said Hunter. “If the stegoceras had been under control when MC 1 appeared, I could have given chase at that time. Once he was out of my sight and hearing, though, the moment was past. From that point, a new plan was required.”
“Hunter, we have water for only another twenty-four hours. Our food will last a couple of days if we ration it, but we can stretch it indefinitely if we do some hunting and gathering here in the forest.”
“Why not just go back home for more supplies?” Chad asked. “Now that we have a better idea of conditions here.”
“That presents a problem,” said Hunter. “I have to conduct the time travel myself. The First Law stops me from leaving any of you alone for long and I would not dare leave any humans here without me. On the other hand, if we all go back and then return here, I would have to bring us back only seconds, or maybe minutes, after we left.”
“Why?” Steve asked.
“Otherwise, the additional component robots might spring up from microscopic to normal size while we’re gone and we would miss them, too.”
“So what’s the problem?” Chad shrugged. “You can arrange for us to come back here right after we left, can’t you?”
“I do not dare cut it too close,” said Hunter. “All kinds of theoretical paradoxes are possible in time travel. With a tight margin of error, it is possible that a mistake could bring us back a few seconds before we left, and we would meet ourselves. The potential harm is immense, and the First Law will not even let me consider that.”
“Wait a minute,” said Jane. “You still have to weigh the possible damage we will do to this time period if we start consuming resources.”
“I have been making calculations about that,” said Hunter. “No action is totally without risk, but I think that some careful hunting and gathering of food and water for a day or two will offer the least amount of risk.”
Jane looked up from her dinner at him for a moment. “Are you sure that our eating some fish or reptiles won’t set off a chain of events that totally changes our future? That is what the chaos theory is about, isn’t it?”
“This is ridiculous,” said Steve impatiently. “I can’t believe that catching a couple of fish is going to end the world in our own time. This kind of talk drives me crazy.” He got up and started gathering the empty dishes and cups.
Behind him, Hunter remained calm in the twilight.