Страница 77 из 106
“What’s the use?” he breathed; then aloud, hastily: “Will you let us know when your tests are complete?”
“I will,” she said. “Come, Le
(LNE, thought Bogert. That becomes Le
Susan Calvin held out her hand but the robot only stared at it. Gently, the robopsychologist reached for the robot’s hand and took it. Le
One wall of Susan Calvin’s laboratory, the one opening directly off her private office, was covered with a highly magnified reproduction of a positronic-path chart. Susan Calvin had studied it with absorption for the better part of a month.
She was considering it now, carefully, tracing the blunted paths through their contortions. Behind her, Le
Susan Calvin turned to the robot, “Le
She repeated this patiently until finally Le
She said, “Raise your hand, Le
Le
“Very good, Le
Very gently, she reached out her own hand, took the robot’s, and raised it, lowered it. “Hand-up. Hand-up.”
A voice from her office called and interrupted. “Susan?”
Calvin halted with a tightening of her lips. “What is it, Alfred?” The research director walked in, and looked at the chart on the wall and at the robot. “Still at it?”
“I’m at my work, yes.”
“Well, you know, Susan…” He took out a cigar, staring at it hard, and made as though to bite off the end. In doing so, his eyes met the woman’s stern look of disapproval; and he put the cigar away and began over. “Well, you know, Susan, the LNE model is in production now.”
“So I’ve heard. Is there something in co
“No-o. Still, the mere fact that it is in production and is doing well means that working with this messed-up specimen is useless. Shouldn’t it be scrapped?”
“In short, Alfred, you are a
“But the work has no meaning.”
“I’ll be the judge of that, Alfred.” Her voice was ominously quiet, and La
“Will you tell me what meaning it has? What are you doing with it right now, for instance?”
“I’m trying to get it to raise its hand on the word of command. I’m trying to get it to imitate the sound of the word.”
As though on cue, Le
La
Susan Calvin said, “I don’t quite know. Its transmitter is a normal one. It could speak normally, I’m sure. It doesn’t, however; it speaks like this as a consequence of something in the positronic paths that I have not yet pinpointed.”
“Well, pinpoint it, for Heaven’s sake. Speech like that might be useful.”
“Oh, then there is some possible use in my studies on Le
“I’m sorry you don’t see the major points, then,” said Susan Calvin with asperity, “which are much more important, but that’s not my fault. Would you leave now, Alfred, and let me go on with my work?”
La
Bogert understood perfectly. In the U. S. Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation, there was only one “that woman.” He said, “Is she still scuffing about with that pseudo-robot-that Le
“Trying to get it to talk, so help me.” Bogert shrugged. “Points up the company problem. I mean, about getting qualified perso
La
“Hell, no. Not like her.”
“Well, not like her personally. But you’ll have to admit, Peter, that she’s single-minded about robots. She has no other interest in life.”
“I know. And that’s exactly what makes her so unbearable.” La
He said, “I think we’ll cut down on the tour business.” Peter shrugged. “If you say so. But meanwhile, seriously, what do we do about Susan? She can easily tie herself up with Le
“What can we do?” said La
The dark-haired mathematician smiled. “I wouldn’t ever apply the adjective ‘feminine’ to any part of her.”
“Oh, well,” said La
In that, if in nothing else, he was wrong. The emergency signal is always a tension-making thing in any large industrial establishment. Such signals had sounded in the history of U. S. Robots a dozen times-for fire, flood, riot and insurrection.
But one thing had never occurred in all that time. Never had the particular signal indicating “Robot out of control” sounded. No one ever expected it to sound. It was only installed at government insistence. (“Damn the Frankenstein complex,” La
Now, finally, the shrill siren rose and fell at ten-second intervals, and practically no worker from the President of the Board of Directors down to the newest janitor’s assistant recognized the significance of the strange sound for a few moments. After those moments passed, there was a massive convergence of armed guards and medical men to the indicated area of danger and U. S. Robots was struck with paralysis.
Charles Randow, computing technician, was taken off to hospital level with a broken arm. There was no other damage. No other physical damage.
“But the moral damage,” roared La
Susan Calvin faced him, murderously calm. “You will do nothing to Le
“Do you understand, Susan?” That thing has hurt a human being. It has broken First Law. Don’t you know what First Law is?”
“You will do nothing to Le
“For God’s sake, Susan, do I have to tell you First Law? A robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Our entire position depends on the fact that First Law is rigidly observed by all robots of all types. If the public should hear, and they will hear, that there was an exception, even one exception, we might be forced to close down altogether. Our only chance of survival would be to a