Barrington Bayley SF Gateway Omnibus: The Soul of the Robot, The Knights of the Limits, The Fall of Chronopolis

‘This is swift promotion indeed, sire,’ Jasperodus reflected.

Charrane’s lip curled. ‘For once you have your machine status to thank. A man would not walk into my entourage so easily – but a machine, after all, is something to be applied wherever appropriate. Besides, I have found robots particularly useful in the planning sphere. They attend unremittingly to the task in hand. All too often the efforts of men are attenuated by distraction or self-interest.’ He leaned towards Jasperodus. ‘But mind, entertain no such treacheries as you practised upon the King of Gordona.’

‘Nothing is further from my mind,’ Jasperodus disavowed. ‘Theft, of whatever variety, is the crudest of achievements. I see that clearly now. My desire is to construct, to help build, not to destroy.’

‘And what of your other ambition?’ Charrane asked softly, as if teasing him. ‘The attainment of consciousness?’

‘It seems I must forgo that also,’ Jasperodus answered in a hollow voice. ‘Clearly it is impossible. Yet, by my deeds, I may still prove myself the equal of any man.’

‘I wish you luck,’ Charrane said lightly. He appeared to consider Jasperodus’ existential dilemma something of a joke. ‘Go now. Oleander here will see to your induction.’

Oleander turned to Jasperodus without enthusiasm. ‘Take yourself through the main door and present yourself to the housemen,’ he instructed offhandedly. ‘They will take care of you.’

Making a farewell bow, Jasperodus took his leave. While marching the length of the basilica he tuned up his hearing. He heard Ax Oleander saying in a low tone to Charrane: ‘The Borgor Alliance has infiltrated robot spies into the palace before, sire …’

But he ignored this attempt at back-stabbing. He sensed the pulse of the city around him, and beyond that the beating heart of the growing Empire. In no way had he tried to deceive the Emperor, and every word he had spoken represented his true thoughts. He felt that the real adventure of his life was about to begin.

10

On his third sitting as a full member of the Military Council, seven years later, Jasperodus had to stare down a certain amount of opposition. As the first robot to occupy so august a station he had, naturally, been obliged to contend with a degree of resentment from the beginning. He had usually countered that with a mixture of charm and bluntness.

Today, however, it was bruited abroad that on the retirement of Marshal Hazzany the Emperor intended to appoint Jasperodus Marshal-in-Chief of the entire Imperial Forces, which would rank him second only to the Supreme Commander – namely the Emperor – himself. It was understandable that for some of the officers present this was almost too much. Not only was Jasperodus their natural inferior – not, indeed, even a citizen – but he was a newcomer to the Military Council and almost a newcomer to the strategic team. The marshals who sat with Jasperodus, several of them venerable, had been soldiers all their lives. Men had to wait patiently for advancement, but Jasperodus, unerringly and with cool aplomb, stepped into every opening.

Unembarrassed by his successes, Jasperodus had continued to produce innovation after innovation, scheme after scheme. All had to admit that he had transformed the situation – though, at the time, many had argued against the measures he had introduced to do it. He retained control of the strategic planning staff – an office it had taken him two years to gain and which, even if the promotion to Marshal-in-Chief should be forthcoming, he had no intention of relinquishing – and, in addition to all this, he was now one of the Emperor’s close circle of viziers.

On this occasion the Emperor did not attend the council meeting, as he sometimes did, because he had already discussed its business with Jasperodus. Afterwards Jasperodus would acquaint him with the Council’s view of the matter.

‘What is the reason for this chopping and changing of policy?’ grumbled Marshal Grixod. ‘Only a few years ago you urged our withdrawal from Mars.’ He threw up his hands. ‘What a business! The loss of face was awful. God knows how the Emperor ever agreed to it. And now you want us to go back to Mars.’

‘I have never said that we should not add Mars to the Empire,’ Jasperodus responded, remembering with what pain Charrane had been forced to see the irrevocability of his reasoning. ‘Only that the time was wrong. Today our situation has improved. The Empire controls one half of Worldmass. The Borgor Alliance has been dealt a blow which has put it on the defensive. Furthermore, the new invasion scheme devised by the planning staff carries crucial advantages over the previous method. The time has therefore come for the decisive conquest of Mars, and once taken, the red planet will be our springboard for the occupation of the moons of Jupiter.’