“Right.”
“Here you are.”
Wayne took his pin back and closed it again. “Thanks. Let’s go see Steve.”
“This way, then.” Ishihara lowered his arms and began picking his way through the trees and underbrush.
Wayne followed him, deeply relieved to have the resources and company of a robot now. During the first two trips back in time, he had been alone, competing with a team of humans led by a robot. This time the odds were more balanced.
Wayne and Ishihara hiked through the forest without speaking for some time. The rain fell intermittently but Wayne was so well bundled up that he no longer cared about the dampness and the brisk air. They worked their way down a steep slope and soon Wayne glimpsed the river through the trees ahead of them under the gray sky.
“Wait a minute,” said Wayne quietly. “You think Steve is real close?”
“Yes. He agreed to wait for Hunter in the spot where he was during their communication.”
“I instruct you to find him and point him out to me without alerting him to our presence.”
“Why?”
“I don’t feel I have to answer that.”
“I must be convinced that your motives are honest,” said Ishihara.
“Incorrect,” said Wayne. “You must only be convinced that I will not violate the First Law in any way. Do you know of any reason I would harm Steve?”
“No.”
“Do you know of any reason that my interaction with Steve here, with no Germans around, could change the future.”
“No, but I consider your motives suspect.”
Wayne fought to control his impatience. “I repeat, Ishihara: do you know of any specific reason that my locating Steve without his knowledge would violate the First Law?”
“No, I know of no specific reason.”
“Then follow my instructions.”
“Agreed.” Ishihara moved forward, now taking the time to go quietly.
Wayne followed him at a short distance. Even before Ishihara said anything, he heard the clop of horse’s hooves. Then Ishihara stopped and pointed through the trees.
Steve was walking his horse toward the river, where it lowered its head to drink.
“All right,” Wayne whispered. “Leave the shoulder bag; I’ll take it. Now I want you to go in the other direction, where Hunter will be coming from. Do not contact him or allow him to become aware of your presence in any way. Will you do as I say?”
“Yes. You have further instructions, I assume?” Ishihara slipped the long thong of the leather bag from his shoulder and lowered it gently to the ground.
“I sure do,” said Wayne. “On the way, look for any sign of MC 3. If you don’t see any, wait for Hunter to go by. See if MC 3 is with him. If he is, follow them back this way. If not, then look for MC 3’s trail. Track him and apprehend him if you can. Remember, he’s probably the biggest danger to the future under the First Law.”
“Agreed.”
“And don’t call me, or some of the locals might hear you. When I’m ready, I’ll call you. But do monitor both Hunter’s frequency and ours. All right?”
“Yes.”
“Then get going.”
Ishihara quietly crept away through the underbrush.
Steve was standing next to his mount at the bank, gazing out across the gray river. His horse seemed to be thirsty; it was still drinking. Steve glanced at the animal, shifted his weight, and idly gave it a pat on the shoulder.
Wayne pulled open the drawstring on the leather bag and took out a small coil of rope. It was rough, narrow hemp, one centimeter in diameter. He had to wait until Ishihara was out of earshot, because what he planned to do would not pass Ishihara’s interpretation of the First Law.
While he waited, he unwound the five meters of rope. He tied a large loop in one end of the rope with a slipknot and carefully coiled the remainder. Then he watched Steve in silence.
When the horse had finally had enough river water, it turned toward the trees. Still holding the reins, Steve let it walk from the bank to the edge of the forest, a short distance from where Wayne squatted in the underbrush. The horse reached up to munch on some leaves.
Steve leaned forward, his back toward Wayne, to tie the reins to the trunk of a sapling.
Wayne took a good look at him. Steve was considerably younger and certainly in better condition, but he was shorter, lighter, and totally unprepared for Wayne. This was the best chance Wayne was likely to get. His heart pounding, Wayne stretched the loop behind his hands and suddenly rose up. In a half-crouch, he ran toward Steve through the underbrush. He dodged a couple of trees, ducked under a branch, and raised his arms as Steve whirled around in surprise.
Before Steve could dodge away, Wayne yanked the loop down over his head and shoulders, pinning his arms against his torso, inside his fur cloak. Steve threw himself to the ground in the direction of the river, pulling away from Wayne and wriggling to loosen the loop.
Wayne grabbed the long end of the rope and jerked on it, tightening the loop. Then, skipping out of the way of Steve’s kicking legs, he moved down and quickly wound the rope around his booted ankles. Steve kept thrashing, but Wayne pulled the rope tight and quickly looped it around a small tree trunk. Then, with the rope braced there, he tied a half hitch in the rope and leaned against the tree, catching his breath.
11
Steve stopped thrashing around and eyed Wayne coldly. “Well, Dr. Nystrom. I wondered if we’d see you here.”
“I don’t hurt people,” said Wayne, embarrassed. “All I want is the right to examine my own creation.”
“I don’t have him.”
“Hunter might.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I’m sure you know the First Law of Robotics as well as I do.” Wayne’s breath was coming back now.
“Meaning what?”
“Figure it out yourself.”
Steve hesitated. “So I’m a hostage? You’re going to trade me for MC 3 if Hunter gets him?”
Wayne shrugged. He didn’t like the term, but it was true. Only now that he had Steve, he had to figure out how to handle him.
“Well?” Steve demanded.
Wayne ignored him. He checked the knot, which was tight, and moved away into the brush, picking up the leather bag on his way. When he was out of Steve’s hearing, he unpinned his communicator and made sure he was using the frequency that he and Ishihara had agreed on. Then he carefully pinned it back on again.
“Wayne calling Ishihara.”
“Ishihara here.”
“Have you found Hunter?”
“Yes, I can hear him talking with two other people in the distance. I am hiding from him in the forest now, as you instructed. He and his party should pass me soon on their way to meet Steve.”
“Do you know if MC 3 is with him?”
“According to the discussion I have overheard, they have not located or even seen MC 3 yet. However, they feel that his trail is very fresh.”