Emperor

18

“What’s wrong?” Marcia asked, staring at Hunter’s immobile form.

“I don’t think anything is wrong,” said Steve. He understood that if a robot paused long enough for humans to notice, it meant he had a substantial amount of data to process. “He’s probably studying the design of the sphere and the belt unit. Then he has to figure out what changes to make.”

“Yes,” said Hunter. “I see how to do it now. However, I require several minutes, at least, to alter the belt unit. I suggest you dismount, as well. Moving the horses with you on them is potentially dangerous.”

“That’s true,” said Steve. “We don’t want them falling on us.” He dismounted. Until now, he had remained mounted in case they were going to continue riding.

Marcia did so, as well, and hugged herself with both arms. “I’m really cold.”

Hunter also dismounted and gave his reins to Steve.

“We’ve had two very long days,” said Steve. He watched Hunter as the robot opened the belt unit.

The shape of Hunter’s right index finger stretched and reformed itself so that the end became a very finely shaped tool. Then he worked with it on the intricate insides of the unit. In less than a minute, he closed the unit and returned his finger to its normal shape.

“You finished already?” Steve asked.

“Yes, but I must test it first on myself.”

“Wait a minute,” said Steve. “You mean you’re going without us?”

“Not to Khanbaliq.”

“Huh? Where are you going, then?”

“I will simply jump about ten meters and half a minute into the future. Please remain where you are.” Hunter walked a short distance away from Steve and Marcia. “The range of field may have changed without my realizing it. I want to make sure you are not carried with me.”

Steve watched as Hunter vanished. For a long moment in the waning moonlight, Steve and Marcia stood silently holding the reins of their horses. A slight breeze rustled the trees.

Then Hunter appeared ten meters away, stumbling to catch his balance.

“It worked,” said Marcia, with obvious relief. “Are you okay, Hunter?”

“I am fine,” said Hunter, as he walked toward them. “However, I will take the horses to Khanbaliq first. If they stumble or fall, I will have the best chance to avoid them. Then I will return for you.”

“Okay.” Steve held out his reins. “What time are we jumping to?”

“Just one minute forward. That way, you will have time to get plenty of sleep.” Hunter took the reins of all four horses and led them away from Steve and Marcia.

“ Andwhere are we going?” Marcia asked. “I mean, will we land outside the city again? And have another long ride back to the inn?”

“No. I recall a small stand of trees at the city market, not far from the inn by horseback ride. At this hour, I expect no one to be on the street there.”

“Good,” said Marcia, yawning.

Hunter and the animals vanished.

Then, almost instantly, Hunter reappeared.

“That was quick.” Steve grinned.

“Not to me,” said Hunter, walking up to them. “All the horses stumbled but did not fall. No one saw us arrive. I took the time to see that no one was coming from any direction, and to tie them to a tree. We will return only a moment after I left, again unseen by others.”

“Sounds great to me,” said Steve. He yawned, too. “Now?”

“Now,” said Hunter.

Jane slept most of that first day back in the village near Khanbaliq. After the exhausting night out on the road by the Great Wall, she slept soundly even in the room with Wayne and Ishihara. On waking, she found Wayne gone but Ishihara sitting on the floor by the door of the room.

As soon as she stirred, the robot looked at her.

“How long have I been asleep?” Jane asked, sitting up. She stretched. The air in the room was hot and stuffy now; she had been sweating in her sleep.

“Eight hours, seventeen minutes, and twelve seconds,” said Ishihara.

“So, I guess it must be the middle of the afternoon by now, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me where Wayne is.”

“He rose about an hour ago. I believe he was hungry. He is somewhere in the village.”

“Look, I need a trip to the latrine and I’m hungry, too. You know these are First Law concerns, even if it’s not an emergency yet. What can you do about them?”

“I will make sure you have all your necessities,” said Ishihara. “I must escort you, however. I have been instructed not to let you leave.”

“Well, at the moment, that will do. I also want some water to wash up a little.”

“Come with me.”

Jane followed Ishihara outside.

In the shade near the door, a number of elderly villagers glanced up at her curiously as they threshed rice in small, hand-held wicker strainers.

Ishihara paused. “Food, please, for her.”

An old woman nodded and got up. She hurried inside the house. The others returned to their work.

“She will need a few minutes to prepare it.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Ishihara led her to the latrine and then to the village well, where he raised a bucket of cool water for her.

“You may wash in it safely,” said Ishihara. “Do not drink it unless it has been boiled. Some water inside has already been boiled for Wayne.”

“All right.”

“I wish I had my change of clothes,” Jane muttered. “And a hairbrush.”

Ishihara said nothing.

When Jane had washed her face and hands, and smoothed out her hair with her fingers, she glanced around. Some small children were running and laughing together as they played; others had stopped to stare at her. She smiled at them, then looked out at the fields surrounding the village, where she saw older children and adults working.

“Where can I eat?” Jane asked.

“This way.”

Ishihara led her back into the house where she had slept. This time, they went back into the kitchen area, where the old woman squatted on a stone hearth. She stirred something sizzling in a pot that hung over the fire on a hook.

Jane moved closer and saw strips of meat and chopped greens sizzling in hot oil. She could not identify the meat or the vegetable by looking at them, though. She decided that perhaps she would rather not know. The food smelled good enough.

“The villagers consider us all honored guests,” Ishihara said quietly. “The food they prepare for us is better than what they normally eat.”

“I suppose that’s more meat than they usually eat.” Jane nodded. “Are we harming the village? What if they need more food later, maybe during the winter?”

“I have considered this,” said Ishihara. “We must not stay here for long.”

The old woman picked up a wooden bowl and used a long-handled wooden ladle to dish out the food. Then she placed a pair of chopsticks across the top of the bowl and held it up for Jane.

“Thank you.” Jane accepted it.

The old woman nodded soberly and turned away.

“It’s hot in here,” Jane said to Ishihara. “Can I eat outside?”

“Yes.”

Ishihara led her back outside. “Is this cool enough?”

The elderly villagers were still threshing rice.After brief glances up at Ishihara and Jane, they looked away again quickly. They still had a great deal of unthreshed rice.

“I think we make them uncomfortable. Is there some shade somewhere else?”

“Yes. You can sit under some trees on the west side of the village.”

Jane nodded and followed Ishihara again. Around the corner of the building, she saw Wayne sitting under one of the trees. An empty bowl similar to hers lay on the ground near him, with chopsticks angling out of it.

Ishihara stopped suddenly and looked back toward the dirt path leading through the fields toward the front of the village. Jane looked in the same direction. A small figure was riding up the path on a donkey.

‘‘It is Xiao Li,” said Ishihara.

“Did you say it’s Xiao Li?” Wayne got to his feet and looked, too. “Hunter and his team couldn’t have come back with him, could they?”

“I thought Hunter would take care of him, but I hear only the donkey. He is alone.”

“I hope so,” said Wayne.

“I guess he must be okay,” said Jane. “I’m relieved.” She picked up the chopsticks and began eating where she stood. “Ishihara, shouldn’t you check on him?”

“Yes.”

By this time, the elderly villagers had also seen the boy. A couple of them left their threshing to meet him. Ishihara hurried after them.

Wayne remained next to Jane.

“Don’t worry,” she muttered between mouthfuls. “I still can’t outrun Ishihara. Besides, I don’t have anywhere to go now. And I’m hungry.”

“You get enough sleep?”

“Yeah.”

Wayne nodded.

Over on the path, Ishihara lifted Xiao Li down from his donkey. The boy smiled and tolerated the questions of the two villagers who come to greet him. One escorted him inside; the other took the reins of his donkey.

“Weren’t they mad,” Jane asked, “when you and Ishihara came back without him?”

“No. They asked about him, but they don’t seem to want to challenge what we do.” Wayne hesitated. “I think that would change if we actually hurt someone. But I thought Hunter would find him.”

“Your judgment isn’t that good,” said Jane, seeing a chance to raise some doubt in his mind. “Neither is Ishihara’s, obviously. This whole situation could get out of hand.”

Ishihara returned to them. “The boy seems to be all right. He said that he slept by the side of the road last night and then rode all day to come home.”

“You could have caused extreme harm to him,” Jane said sternly. “Your sense of the First Law is very poor. So is your overall judgment of human behavior and your reliance on Hunter when you didn’t know if Hunter had even caught up to him.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Wayne ordered. “If Xiao Li is okay, then you have not violated the First Law. She just wants to sabotage your efficiency.”

“You have no efficiency,” Jane declared. “Think about it, Ishihara. Think about the danger this boy was in, traveling that open road by himself.”

“I’ll have him lock you up alone,” Wayne warned her. “If you’d rather enjoy the fresh air, thenshut up!”

Jane shut up. She had already used her strongest arguments. However, she knew that Ishihara might not respond to them. Since Xiao Li had demonstrably survived his ordeal, Wayne was right; neither Ishihara nor Hunter had technically violated the First Law.

“It’s too late to go into Khanbaliq today,” said Wayne curtly to Ishihara.

“What is our plan?” Ishihara asked, with unusual stiffness in his manner.

Jane knew, then, that her comments had at least forced Ishihara to feel some doubt about his actions toward Xiao Li.

“We still have a good head start on Hunter,” said Wayne brusquely. “Maybe a long head start, if he stays up near the Great Wall looking for all of us. We’ll spend this evening in the village and get another night’s sleep here. Tomorrow morning, we’ll look for MC 5.”