Predator

6

While Hunter waited, he studied the Late Cretaceous Period in what was now Alberta, Canada, the place where MC Governor had gone. He also reviewed his data on MC Governor’s disappearance. During this review he noticed that Dr. Nystrom, the inventor of the Governor robots, had spoken to the committee from Mojave Center shortly after MC Governor’s disappearance; apparently he had lost his temper and discontinued the call abruptly. The committee had already judged that Dr. Nystrom knew nothing of value about the mystery. Still, Hunter ordered the city computer to page Dr. Nystrom.

Then, having nothing else to do, he shut down most of his system to save energy. He left open only his communication links. Just under three hours later, the city computer contacted him again.

“R. Hunter, you have a call from Dr. Redfield.”

“Accepted.” Hunter instantly returned to normal operating level. “Hello, Dr. Redfield.”

“Hi! Good news, Hunter.” She smiled brightly. “Our funding was good enough to hire the two people you wanted. They’re on their way.”

“Very good. I have made some limited progress here. Can you give me an expected time of arrival?”

“The city computer has their charter information. If I remember right, they’re due on the same flight tomorrow morning. You can call them at home or in flight if you need earlier contact.”

“I doubt that will be necessary.”

She smiled wryly. “Both of them were willing to join the project, but we had to pay a number of unusual expenses for them to leave home that soon. They will also need briefing when they arrive.”

“That will not take long. The information they will need is minimal.”

“Hunter…” Dr. Redfield hesitated. “The committee assigned you to the job in all confidence, and we still have that. And we all realize that a roboticist might be necessary in your work. But I’ve been wondering-”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you need a paleontologist?”

Hunter, with his robotic speed, considered his answer carefully. He could see that this was a reasonable question, but he did not want to report any more details of his search for MC Governor than necessary. Setting a precedent of that sort could become a distraction in the future.

“Yes,” he said simply.

Steve Chang sat on a rock in front of his four-meter-square shack on the slope of an unnamed mountain. It was one of a ridge of mountains that ran across the southern edge of the valley in the high desert below him. In the distance the waning red rays of twilight glinted off the solar collectors and water pipes that led down into the new underground city.

With mild curiosity, he had watched it under construction. Robots driving large machinery had dug out a huge hole and then built a big cube inside it with patient but inexorable energy. As long as they didn’t bother him up here, he didn’t care what they did.

This evening he was sorting some new rocks he had gathered during the last few days in a big yellow bucket. He tossed the white quartz into one large pile on his left. The blue-green rocks went to his right. Someday, when he got around to it, he would sit down at the computer inside his shack and access a library to find out what kind of rock the blue-green ones were. They probably bore copper, but he didn’t really care. He collected them because he liked them.

For the last several minutes, however, he had also been watching a small helicopter down on the pad next to the underground city. Flights came and went occasionally, but this one was now flying toward the bluff where he sat. That was very rare.

Steve went on sorting rocks as the helicopter buzzed up the slope, skimming the tops of the occasional joshua trees, grease plants, and outcroppings of bare rock. Finally he stopped to watch in astonishment. Now roaring in his ears, the helicopter slowed and came to a gentle landing in a spot of open sand only fifteen meters away.

“They must be lost,” Steve muttered to himself. “Or had a mechanical failure.” He remained seated.

The engine shut off and three figures climbed out of the helicopter. The leader was a tall, brawny, blond, blue-eyed guy with heroic leading man looks. A pretty young woman walked behind him, holding her long brown hair out of her face as it was blown by the still-spinning propeller. Another young man of average height and weight came last.

All three of them wore new, stylish clothes. Steve was wearing his usual short sleeved western shirt, worn blue jeans, and beat-up cowboy boots. Up on this bluff, though, they were the ones who looked out of place.

“I am R. Hunter,” said the blond leader. “You are Steve Chang, I believe.”

“How would you know that?” Steve demanded.

Hunter looked startled at his rudeness. “I have a dossier with your portrait on my internal video. My companions are Jane Maynard, roboticist, and Chad Mora, paleontologist.”

“Yeah?” Steve ignored them. “What do you want?”

“I need your help,” said Hunter. “I came to offer you employment.”

“Looks like you could use a little money,” said Chad, grinning. “I didn’t think people still lived like this.”

“If I wanted a job, I wouldn’t be here,” growled Steve. “I own this plot of land and you came uninvited. Go away.”

Hunter turned and started to walk back to the helicopter. Steve grinned. He had expected more of an argument, but of course, under the Second Law, a robot had to obey a direct order to leave.

“Wait a minute,” said Jane to Hunter. The robot hesitated, now at least able to make some interpretations of his own. “Steve, I just want to know if it’s really true that you can mountain climb, camp, rock climb, canoe…all the outdoor activities Hunter told us about.”

“Yeah. What of it?” Steve asked more mildly, flattered that she was interested.

“Everyone I know is highly specialized and lives in cities. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

Steve shrugged. “I just happen to like the desert.”

“He’s a real throwback,” sneered Chad.

“Shut up, Chad,” said Jane. “Steve, I’ve never seen a place like yours. Would you show me around?”

Steve knew very well that she was just trying to get on his good side, but he didn’t get much female company up on this ridge. With a reluctant grin, he got to his feet. “There isn’t much to see, but come on in.”

“You have a computer, at least,” said Jane, following him inside. “And electricity.”

“Yeah.” Steve shrugged. “I built the shack with modem insulation because it does get pretty cold up here in the winter. I have an old solar-powered generator and a windmill in the back for additional power.”

“This is basically an office with a bed in it,” said Jane. “Very practical. But where does your water come from?”

“I have five acres of this slope. In the winter, it snows up here, and I have collectors that take the runoff down into an underground tank. I only need about four liters a day, on average, and I have a two thousand liter tank. So that’s more than enough for a year.”

“What if the snowfall is short?” Jane asked.

“I can buy bottled water if necessary, even on a daily basis.” He shrugged casually, but he was really enjoying showing her how he lived.

“Where do you get your money? Odd jobs down in the desert towns?”

“I could do that, but I haven’t had to lately. I use my computer to follow major stock exchanges. I have some money invested, and I make just enough to survive on what I can earn.”

Chad laughed. “Oh, he’s a financial expert, eh?”

Steve felt his face grow hot with anger. “I’m self-sufficient up here. That’s more than most people ever manage.”

“Or want.” Chad rolled his eyes.

“What do you want here?” Steve demanded, glaring at all three of them. “Get to the point or get out.”

“A computer analysis of individuals with certain skills turned up your name,” said Hunter.

“Let me,” Jane interjected. “Steve, the three of us are going on a trip. But we need to hire someone who can take care of our camp and equipment. Hunter suggested taking another robot, but I objected. I think we need a human who can exercise personal judgment without reference to the Laws of Robotics.”

“Exactly what skills are you talking about?” Steve asked suspiciously.

“Camping, fishing, maybe hunting. Possibly hiking or even climbing.” Jane waited patiently, watching him with large, dark eyes.

“My focus was too narrow,” said Hunter. “A flaw in my robotic thinking. When I planned our trip, I forgot to concern myself with the human needs of Chad and Jane.”

“Why don’t you find someone in that underground place you came from?”

“Mojave Center,” said Jane. “The problem is that not very many humans have the skills we need. You do.”

“Mojave Center is still experimental,” said Chad. “The humans living there are all very well educated and specialized. They’re too important to be spared from the skeleton population.”

“Forget it,” said Steve.

“We’re going back in time,” Jane said suddenly. “Something no human has ever done before.”

“What?”

“To the Late Cretaceous Period,” said Hunter. “That’s why I need a paleontologist, such as Chad.”

“Back in time?” Steve stared at Hunter, his hands tingling with excitement. He hated the kind of routine life led by people in cities, but a real adventure fascinated him. “Why are you going back in time? Just to see if you can do it?”

“No,” said Hunter. “If you join us, I’ll brief you fully. For now, I will say only that a robot has preceded us on this trip. We must return him to the present time.”

Steve shook his head slowly, looking at Hunter in amazement. “A robot has already made the trip, huh?”

“I know you may find this trip hard to believe,” said Hunter, who seemed to mistake his excitement for fear. “So I must tell you that I am authorized to hire you at the same fee I will pay Chad and Jane, who are highly specialized professionals in their fields.”

“Are you serious?” Chad turned to Hunter in shock. “You’re going to pay him as much as you pay me?”

Steve grinned at his outrage. “Sure, I’ll take the job. When do we leave?”

“Now,” said Hunter. “All necessary clothes, personal articles, and equipment will be provided in Mojave Center.”

“Now?” Steve glanced around his shack. “Well…”

“What’s wrong?” Chad demanded. “Afraid somebody will come by and trash your mansion?”

“It’s still my place,” Steve growled.

“Hunter,” said Jane, “security is a realistic concern if he leaves his home unattended.”

“I will assign a Security robot from Mojave Center to remain here while you are gone,” said Hunter. “Since we will be coming back only a minute or so after we leave, the only significant period of time involved will be the time we spend in Mojave Center getting ready. Will that be acceptable?”

“Uh, fine,” said Steve. “Give me just a minute to turn off everything.”

“I will start up the helicopter,” said Hunter.

Chad followed him away from the shack. Jane hesitated, watching Steve shut off the power to various appliances. When he glanced up at her, she smiled.

“We’re going back in time,” Steve mused to himself. “Hard to believe.”

Steve enjoyed the brief helicopter ride, looking out over the desert from an even greater altitude than he normally could. When they took the angled tube down into Mojave Center, however, he began to feel closed in. The carefully processed air seemed humid and chilly to him after living in the natural desert climate.

“I will either have to requisition what we need,” said Hunter, “or arrange through the city computer to acquire it or have it made. But, Steve, I need a list from you of what you humans will need to survive.”

“Well, food, of course-”

“That part I understand. I can arrange basic, balanced nutrition in packaged form. What about clothing and shelter for living in the wild?”

“Not so fast,” said Steve. “What about food preparation? Some of it will need cooking. We’ll need containers, utensils, and a way to clean them all.”

“I understand. Keep going. I am recording as you speak,” said Hunter.

“Where are we going?”

“Roughly, allowing for major geological changes, we will be in Alberta, Canada.”

“Alberta! Then we’ll need to keep warm if it’s winter. What time of year?”

“Summer,” said Hunter. “But the region that is now Alberta was farther south at that time-closer to the equator. The climate was totally different.”

“All right, then what kind of climate will it have?”

“Warm and humid,” said Hunter. “Forest, marsh, maybe some open country. I cannot be more specific than that.”

“Then layered clothing is important,” said Steve. “So that we can put on or take off whatever is necessary. Boots for all of us. A sturdy tent to keep off rain and to stand up to wind. A portable solar-powered generator for heat, cooking, power tools-”

“Not acceptable,” said Hunter.

“Why not?” Steve looked up at him in surprise.

“All our equipment will have to be as primitive as possible. We will use everything that we can get in biodegradable form. We have to be very careful to leave as small an impact in the past as we can. If we do leave anything behind, it must decompose as fast as possible.”

“I see,” said Steve. “Well, then. Extra rope and knives. An axe and a small hatchet to cut wood.” Steve continued to list the essential items, now relying strictly on simple hand tools and materials.

After Steve had completed his general list, Chad and Jane added their personal articles. By the time they had finished their various requests, they had ridden a lift down to an immense hallway labeled Antelope Valley Boulevard. Steve looked around, uncomfortable yet still curious to see whatever he could.

“We will go to MC Governor’s office,” said Hunter. “We’ll use it as a rendezvous point.”

“Are we separating?” Jane looked at him in surprise.

“Yes. I have arranged through the city computer for Steve to spend tonight in the same hotel you two are using. I am going to spend the night supervising gathering the equipment and checking it over. The First Law will not let me go until I have reviewed everything that you three will need.”

“It’s still fairly early for us,” said Jane. “We can have a leisurely dinner,” said Chad. “I’m hungry enough. That is, if Steve here eats his food cooked.”

“Sure,” said Steve. “And you had better enjoy tonight’s dinner. After we’re on our way, you’ll have to eat the same way I do.”