William Wu - Perihelion

“HUNTERS REPORT APPREHENSION OF HUMAN NAMED DEREC.”

“Thought so,” said Dr. Avery pleasantly. “Report status of Hunter project.”

“THE FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN APPREHENDED AND ARE HELD ON THE NORTH SLOPE OF THE VALLEY: DEREC, JEFF LEONG, MANDELBROT, WOLRUF. STILL MISSING: ARIEL WELSH.”

Dr. Avery laughed casually. “Now, who would have thought I could outperform my own team of Hunter robots?”

Ariel’s heart was pounding with tension. If Derec was already in Avery’s control, very little risk was left. “Dr. Avery. Will you agree to a test?”

“Eh? What kind of test? Haven’t we had enough testing around here for a while?”

“Have the robots check David and see if he is in danger from the chemfets. They’ll tell you.”

“A party,” said Dr. Avery. “An excellent idea. I’ll have the Hunters bring everyone. We’ll have a party.” He tossed the object in his hand over his shoulder into the fire.

Ariel saw it clearly for the first time. It was a small model of a humanoid robot.

Ariel watched the gray stones, or whatever they were, in the wall dissolve into air for a moment and the Hunters brought in their captives through the opening. The first one carried Derec gently in his arms as though he were a giant baby, but limp and unconscious. The second entered holding Jeff Leong firmly by one upper arm as they walked. The third held Wolruf cradled on one elbow and the fourth marched in with Mandelbrot lying over his shoulder, completely shut down.

The stone wall reformed behind them.

“Clear the table,” said Dr. Avery. “Don’t worry about where the stuff goes.”

The Hunter carrying Mandelbrot laid him down on the floor and then extended his arm along the full width of the table at the far end. He then walked down the length of the table as his arm knocked everything it struck onto the floor. By the time he had reached the near end, Dr. Avery had himself swept aside the items within his own reach.

Ariel watched in horror. She had never seen a humanoid robot act so messily, even destructively, on a casual instruction. This one must have known that Dr. Avery wanted to be taken literally and did not want him to remove the items on the table with any care.

“Put him down.” Dr. Avery nodded to the Hunter holding Derec. Then he waved at the one carrying Mandelbrot. “And turn him on, will you? This won’t be much of a party with so many people feeling unsociable.”

Ariel felt some relief as the Hunter located Mandelbrot’s controls and activated him again. “Mandelbrot, tell him. Tell Dr. Avery what’s happening to Derec.”

Mandelbrot scanned the room quickly. His observation probably told him as much about the current situation as Ariel already knew. “Dr. Avery,” he said clearly. “Derec has undergone extreme physical debilitation that continues to increase. He believes that the chemfets you placed in his body are killing him. My observation of his symptoms confirms that likelihood.”

“Doesn’t anybody here want to have a party?” Dr. Avery sighed. ”Everyone is so morbid. Say, Mr. Leong. Haven’t we met before? Not lately and not on this planet, however.”

“That’s right,” Jeff said sullenly. “You were more sociable in those days, yourself.”

Dr. Avery pushed back his chair and stood up. Trailing the fingers of one hand along the table, he walked down its length looking at the motionless figure of Derec. “He has done very well. I have not given him any challenge he cannot surmount.”

“Till now. “ Ariel insisted. “How can you take a risk like this? Even your own robots wouldn’t risk his life for a test.”

Jeff, Wolruf, and Mandelbrot all looked at her in surprise. “Oh, I don’t think he’ll have any trouble. He’ll be fine.” Dr. Avery nodded to himself.

“Aren’t you even going to test him? Check him out in your laboratory?” She cried.

“He’ll be fine. Let’s have a party.” Dr. Avery turned to the Hunter who had brought Derec in. “Take him to one of the guest rooms, though. We can’t have a party with a guest lying motionless on the dining table, can we?”

“Hold it!” Ariel got between Derec and that Hunter. “Can’t you understand that he’s dying?”

“Pick him up,” Dr. Avery ordered.

The Hunter gently but firmly moved Ariel aside and lifted Derec. She threw her arms around Derec’s shoulders and hung on. “Wait! Mandelbrot, they’re letting him die!”

Mandelbrot was standing by the Hunter who had brought him in. That Hunter, however, had one hand resting on Mandelbrot’s open control panel. At the slightest resistance from Mandelbrot, the Hunter would shut him down again.

The next sequence of events took place very quickly, some of it timed by the speed of positronic brains.

Suddenly Jeff, who was still held by one Hunter, reached over and started grabbing Mandelbrot’s Hunter by the neck, feeling around quickly for his controls. The Hunter, required by the Third Law to protect himself, grasped Jeff’s arm in his other hand. In the tiny fraction of a second that the Third Law imperative was foremost in the Hunter’s mind, Mandelbrot stepped away and closed his own control panel with his flexible cellular arm.

From the moment Mandelbrot was free, the battle was on. His belief that Derec’s life was in danger forced him under the First Law to take Ariel’s anxiety seriously. At the same time, the Hunters believed Dr. Avery’s declaration that Derec was not in danger, so under the Second Law they followed their orders from him to detain and control the others.

Mandelbrot also shot out an array of information through his comlink to the Hunters. He told them of Derec’s delicate condition, of Ariel’s memory failures, of their physical hardships. In the tiny instant it required, he demanded that they back away from Derec and Ariel immediately or risk major violations of the First Law.

He did not know if it would work, but even the slightest hesitation and doubt on their part would help.

Even as Mandelbrot sent these signals, he moved toward Derec. Ariel let go of Derec to grab the Hunter holding him, knowing that the Hunter would be impeded by the necessity of not harming Derec or her. In a couple of quick moves, Mandelbrot’s flexible arm had shut down this Hunter in a motionless standing position, still holding Derec. Mandelbrot and Ariel lifted Derec and placed him back on the table.

One Hunter had now taken Wolruf and Jeff under each arm and had lifted them into the air where they squirmed helplessly.

“You’re hurting me!” Jeff shouted. “First Law violation!”

The Hunter was not convinced.

“Stop them!” Dr. Avery screamed. “Don’t hurt them, but stop them! And don’t collide with David! His condition is too fragile!”

“You’ve got to believe us!” Ariel shouted, turning to plead with him. “You don’t want him hurt, either! Just test him!”

They stood face-to-face now and Ariel saw a strangely twisted expression on his face. It was an angry smile of triumph. For the first time since meeting him, she understood that he truly was crazy-and beyond persuasion by reason.

“You did this!” Dr. Avery hissed in her face. “Without you, these extremes would not have been necessary. Leave him alone!”

“How dare you blame this on me?” She screamed, and in a mixture of frustration, rage, and exhaustion she lost her temper completely. Unbound by any Laws except her conscience, she launched herself at him angrily, grabbing his sideburns in both hands.

One of the four Hunters had been shut down. Another was holding Jeff and Wolruf away from Mandelbrot. Mandelbrot was trying to reach the unguarded control panel of this one with his flexible arm while using his other arm to grapple with the other two Hunters. With all the robots’ attention focused on each other across the room, they did not notice or respond to the potential harm Ariel and Dr. Avery might do to each other.