Michael Kube-McDowell - Odyssey

“No,” Derec agreed. “So forget it and let’s get on with this.”

They walked on until they came to a great plaza at the convergence of several main streets. In the center of the plaza was a great white tetrahedron perhaps fifteen stories tall. Their guides directed them toward an entrance on the right.

“M-3323-”

“Yes, David Derec?”

“Is this part of the city exclusively used by robots? I didn’t see any people along the way here.”

“Yes, Derec.”

“I thought so. Where are all the people?”

“I do not know, sir,” M-3323 said. “This way, please.” It led them through a lobby area which was itself a tetrahedron and down a corridor. At the third door, the robot turned and paused. “In here, please.”

“Who are we meeting?” Katherine asked, pausing in the open doorway.

“Rydberg and Euler,” M-3323 said. “They are waiting for you in the inner office.”

Rydberg - Euler -The names gnawed familiarly at Derec’s memory as he followed Katherine first through one doorway, then through another. Where have I heard them before-

Preoccupied, he entered the inner office with his eyes lowered. When he looked up, he received a jolt. The spartan compartment contained three straight-backed chairs, a quarter-circle work station with a sophisticated hypervision computer terminal, and two blue-skinned robots with silver slits for optical sensors.

This can’t be -A chill went through Derec as he stared at robots that were clones of the supervisors on the asteroid. It’s all connected. I don’t understand -”Kate-” he started.

Just ‘ on the left stepped forward. “I am Rydberg.”

“I am Euler,” the other robot said.

“I’m afraid there’s some mistake,” Katherine said. “We want to talk to people.”

“There is no error. We are the representatives assigned to your case,” Euler said.

“Kate, this is wrong,” Derec said hoarsely.

Pursing her lips, Katherine decided, “If they want to do it this way, I don’t care.” She addressed Euler. “We need to see about transportation to Aurora and Nexon-that is where you’re going to go, isn’t it, Derec?-and temporary accommodations.”

“I am afraid that that is not possible,” Euler said, shaking his head gravely.

“What?” exclaimed Katherine. “Why not?”

“Friend Euler’s statement was imprecise,” Rydberg said. “It is possible to leave. But there is a problem. A human being has been killed-”

“Why does that involve us?” Derec asked.

“It would be an unthinkable violation of the Laws of Robotics for a robot to harm a human being,” Rydberg said. “I am unable even to form the thought without experiencing distress.”

“Of course it wasn’t a robot,” Derec said impatiently. “Another human being did it, obviously.”

Euler said, “Disregarding yourselves, there are no other humans here.”

“Our guide said something about that,” Derec said. “But just because they have no business here doesn’t mean that they didn’t come over from some other sector anyway. Someone who’d murder wouldn’t worry too long about proper travel passes or whatever it is you use here.”

“I will clarify,” Rydberg interjected. “Friend Euler meant to say that there are no other human beings in this city.”

“Then from one of the other cities-,” Katherine began.

“There are no other cities on this planet.”

“What are you saying? Where are we?” she demanded.

“I regret that I may not identify this planet or its star,” Rydberg said. “But we who live here call this place Robot City.”

“There’s nothing but robots here?” Derec said slowly, an uncomfortable idea pricking at him.”

Discounting yourselves, that is correct,” Euler said.

Katherine gaped. “No one in this whole city-it must be fifty hectares-”

“Two hundred five,” Euler corrected.

Derec interrupted. “Where are the inhabitants? The builders? Where did they go?”

Rydberg cocked his head slightly. “We are the inhabitants, and the builders, Friend Derec,” he said matter-of-factly.

It was the answer he had been expecting, but he still resisted its implications. “Where are your owners?” Derec persisted. “Where are the people you report to?”

“Your question is based on an erroneous assumption,” Euler replied. “Robot City is a free and autonomous community.”

“That can’t be,” he protested. “Maybe there are no humans here now. Maybe you’re not presently in contact with any. But they must have brought you here, or sent you here. You must still be following their directives.”

“No, Friend Derec. We are self-directed,” Euler said. “But we are not unaware of human beings. We have a vast library of book-films by and about human beings. And we have accepted our responsibility to see that humans do not come to harm.”

“I hope you understand, Friend Derec, why we are obliged to delay your departure,” Rydberg said. “This is our first experience with death. We need your help in understanding how it happened, and in understanding how the experience of death should be integrated into our study of the Laws of Humanics.”

“The Laws of Humanics? What are they?” Katherine asked, puzzled.

“The human counterparts of the Laws of Robotics-those guiding principles which govern human behavior.”

Euler continued, “At present the Laws of Humanics are a theoretical construct. We are attempting to determine if Laws of Humanics exist, and if they do, what they are. This incident has placed the research project in crisis. You must help us. I assure you that you will be afforded every possible comfort.”

As Euler was speaking, Katherine had slowly ‘ and closer to Derec, and now was standing at his elbow. “This is crazy,” she said under her breath. “A city of robots, with no one to guide them? Doing research on human beings, like we were some curiosity?”

And in that moment, Derec stopped fighting the truth and embraced it: The community on the asteroid and the great city surrounding him were products of the same mind, the same plan. He hadn’t escaped at all.

But at least he at last understood why-why he was given the key, and why it had brought them there. For the last to touch it had been Monitor 5, an advanced robot desperate to fulfill its First Law obligation to save him. Knowing what it was and what it was capable of, the robot could do nothing other than give it to him-programmed for what it knew would be a safe destination, a sister colony of robots light-years away.

“Sssh,” he said to Katherine, then looked to the robots. “Could you excuse us for a moment? We need to talk.”

“Certainly, Friend Derec,” Euler replied, “We will-”

“You stay. We’ll leave,” Derec said, taking Katherine’s hand and leading her out the door.

“Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly as he guided her a dozen meters down the corridor. “They’re going to follow us.”

He stopped short and released her hand. “We’re not going anywhere. At least I’m not. I really did want to talk privately.”

“What do you mean, you’re not going anywhere?”

“I’m going to stay,” he said. “I won’t tell them that, though. I’ll offer to stay and cooperate on the condition they arrange transportation for you. They don’t need both of us.”

“No!” she said emphatically. “You don’t have to do that. They’ve got no right to hold us. They have to let us both go. They’re robots, aren’t they? They have to help us.”

“They’re robots, yes. But not like any you’re used to. I don’t think they’d agree with your definition of their obligations,” Derec said, shaking his head. “But that’s not the point. I’m not going to stay just to appease them, or to get them to let you go. I’m staying because I want to.”