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.One small micropack can power an industrialrobot for over a year before needing to be replaced or refueled; a series oflarger packs can provide all the necessary energy for a part of the city.Although fusion packs are extremely safe and reliable, the First Law hascompelled the robot Supervisors of Robot City to allow for the possibility ofa power failure.Should the centrally controlled power system of Robot City break down, aseries of regional contingency power stations would come on line.Although thegoal of the designers was to make any shift in power sources undetectablysmooth to human inhabitants, it was necessary to assign priorities todifferent areas of the city.This station serves a high-priorityneighborhood.][THE MINNEAPOLIS: Most interstellar ships are clumsy, at best, once theyreach a planetary atmosphere.They are capable of landing very gently atprepared spaceports, but in an emergency they are likely to hit the surfacewith a noticeable impact.The Hayashi-Smith Space/Shuttle model, however, hascomplete ground-to-space capability.In deep space the Minneapolis uses a standard hyperdrive.Within solarsystems, she maneuvers with normal impulse engines.However, she can also flywithin an atmosphere, making use of an aerodynamic design and ramjet engines.This makes it possible for her to put down safely on any sufficiently long,flat surface.In shuttle mode, the interior of the Minneapolis is usually set up withseating for ten.The cabin can be rearranged, however, so that each seatbecomes a bunk.This is not a luxurious arrangement for longer (that is,interstellar) trips, but it is satisfactory.][DR.AVERY S LAIR: Deep beneath the surface of Robot City, Dr.Avery s hiddenrefuge is a reflection of his own psychology.Inspired, secretive, confusingand confused, and utterly mad, it is a maze of the symbols and themes thatform his obsessions.Some of the rooms take the shape of the Key to Perihelion; others aredecorated with the shape.Many of the objects that are scattered through thecomplex of rooms come from cultures that represent permanence and persistenceto Dr.Avery.The weird shapes of some of the rooms, and the mixtures of ancient and modern,purely decorative and strictly utilitarian, even the echoes in some of thecollected objects of Circuit Breaker, are all signs of the infolding of agreat architect s mind.As his consciousness descended into obsession andparanoia, he withdrew into the mazelike warren of his hideaway.]WILLIAM F.WUWilliam F.Wu is a five-time nominee for the Hugo, Nebula, and World FantasyAwards.He is the author of the novel Master Play, about computer wargamersfor hire, and he has had short fiction published in most of the magazines andmany anthologies in the field of science fiction and fantasy, including aseries of collaborations with Rob Chilson in Analog.He is also the author ofRobot City 3: Cyborg.His short story, Wong s Lost and Found Emporium, wasadapted into an episode of the new Twilight Zone television show in 1985 andPage 88 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlhis first published story, By the Flicker of the One-Eyed Flame, was adaptedand performed on stage in 1977.He holds a Ph.D.in American Culture from theUniversity of Michigan, and is married to fantasy artist Diana Gallagher Wu.Page 89
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