Robots and Empire

An insistent chain of intermittent chiming sounded throughout the ship and Daneel said, “We have safely made the Jump, friend Giskard. I sensed it some minutes ago. But we have not yet reached Earth and the interception you have just mentioned has, I suspect, now come, so that we are not necessarily on the wrong track.”

77

D.G. was moved to a perverse admiration. When the Aurorans were really moved to action, their technological polish showed. No doubt they had sent one of their newest warships, from which one could at once deduce that whatever had moved them, was close to their heart.

And that ship had detected the presence of D.G.’s vessel within fifteen minutes of its appearance in normal space and from a sizable distance, at that.

The Auroran ship was using a limited-focus hyperwave setup. The speaker’s head could be seen clearly while it was at the focal spot. All else was a gray haze. If the Spacer moved his head a decimeter or so from the focal spot, that went into haze as well. Sound focus was limited as well. The net result was that one saw and heard only the fundamental minimum of the enemy ship (D.G. already thought of it as the “enemy” ship), so their privacy was guarded.

D.G.’s ship also possessed a limited-focus hyperwave, but, D.G. thought enviously, it lacked the polish and elegance of the Auroran version. Of course, his own ship was not the best the Settlers could do, but even so, the Spacers were well ahead technologically. The Settlers still had catching up to do.

The Auroran head in focus was clear and so real in appearance that it looked gruesomely disembodied, so that D.G. would not have been surprised if it had dripped blood. On second glance, however, it could be made out that the neck faded into grayness just after the neckpiece of an undoubtedly well-tailored uniform began to show.

The head identified itself, with punctilious courtesy, as Commander Lisiform of the Auroran ship Borealis. D.G. identified himself in his turn, thrusting his chin forward so as to make certain that his beard lent him an air of fierceness that could not help but be daunting to a beardless and (he thought) weak-chi

D.G. assumed the traditional air of informality that was as irritating to a Spacer officer, as the latter’s traditional arrogance was to a Settler. He said, “What is your reason for hailing me, Commander Lisiform?”

The Auroran commander had an exaggerated accent which, it was possible, he thought as formidable as D.G. considered his beard to be. D.G. felt himself to be under considerable strain as he tried to penetrate the accent and understand him.

“We believe,” said Lisiform, “that you have on your ship an Auroran citizen named Gladia Solaria. Is that correct, Captain Baley?”

“Madam Gladia is on board this ship, Commander.”

“Thank you, Captain. With her, so my information leads me to suppose, are two robots of Auroran manufacture, R. Daneel Olivaw and R. Giskard Reventlov. Is that correct?”

“That is correct.”

“In that case, I must inform you that R. Giskard Reventlov is, at present, a dangerous device. Shortly before your ship left Auroran space with him, the said robot, Giskard, badly hurt an Auroran citizen in defiance of the Three Laws. The robot must, therefore, be dismantled and repaired.”

“Are you suggesting, Commander, that we on this ship dismantle the robot?”

“No, sir, that would not do. Your people, lacking experience with robots, could not dismantle it properly and could not possibly repair it if they did.”

“We might, then, simply destroy it.”

“It is too valuable for that. Captain Baley, the robot is Aurora’s product and Aurora’s responsibility. We do not wish to be the cause of damage to the people on your ship and on the planet Earth if you land there. Consequently, we ask that it be delivered to us.”

D.G. said, “Commander, I appreciate your concern. However, the robot is the legal property of Lady Gladia, who is with us. It may be that she would not consent to be parted from her robot and, while I don’t want to teach you Auroran law, I believe that it would be illegal by that law to force such a parting. While my crew and I do not consider ourselves bound by Auroran law, we would not willingly be a party to helping you perform what your own government might consider to be an illegal act.”

There was a suggestion of impatience in the commander’s voice. “There is no question of illegality, Captain. A life endangering malfunction in a robot supersedes the ordinary rights of an owner. Nevertheless, if there is any question of that, my ship stands ready to accept Lady Gladia and her robot Daneel, along with Giskard, the robot in question. There will then be no separation of Gladia Solaria and her robotic property until she is brought back to Aurora. The law can then take its proper course.”

“It is possible, Commander, that Lady Gladia may not wish to leave my ship or to allow her property to do so.”

“She has no recourse, Captain. I am legally empowered by my government to demand her—and as an Auroran citizen, she must obey.”

“But I am not legally bound to deliver up anything on my ship at the demand of a foreign power. What if I choose to disregard your request?”

“In that case, Captain, I would have no choice but to consider it an unfriendly act. May I point out that we are within the sphere of the planetary system of which Earth is part. You had no hesitation in teaching me Auroran law. You will forgive me, then, if I point out that your people do not consider it proper to engage in hostilities within the space of this planetary system.”

“I am aware of that, Commander, and I wish no hostilities, nor do I intend an unfriendly act. However, I am bound for Earth under some urgency I lose time in this conversation and I would lose further time if I moved toward you—or waited for you to move toward me—so that we could carry through a physical transfer of Lady Gladia and her robots. I would prefer to continue onward toward Earth and formally accept all responsibility for the robot Giskard and his behavior until such a time as Lady Gladia and her robots return to Aurora.”

“May I make the suggestion, Captain, that you place the woman and two robots in a lifeboat and detach a member of your crew to pilot it to us? Once the woman and the two robots are delivered, we will ourselves escort the lifeboat to the immediate environs of Earth and we will compensate you adequately for your time and trouble. A Trader should not object to that.”

“I don’t, Commander, I don’t,” said D.G., smiling. “Still, the crewman detailed to pilot the lifeboat might be in great peril since he would be alone with this dangerous robot.”

“Captain, if the robot’s owner is firm in her control, your crewman will be in no greater danger on the lifeboat than he would be on your ship. We will compensate him for the risk.”

“But if the robot can, after all, be controlled by its owner, surely it is not so dangerous that it can’t be left with us.”

The Commander frowned. “Captain, I trust you are not trying to play games with me. You have my request and I would like to have it honored at once.”

“I presume I may consult with Lady Gladia.”

“If you do so immediately. Please explain to her exactly what is involved. If, meanwhile, you try to proceed toward Earth, I shall consider that an unfriendly act and take the appropriate action. Since, as you claim, your trip toward Earth is urgent, I advise you to proceed forthwith to consult with Gladia Solaria and come to the immediate decision to cooperate with us. You will then not be too long delayed.”

“I will do what I can,” said D.G., wooden-faced, as he moved out of focus.