Maverick

“Oh. ” Ariel closed her mouth and looked away and was rewarded when BlackMane’s ears relaxed. “Well, this seems to be working. Any more suggestions?”

Mandelbrot’s eyes dimmed as he sorted through the kin lexicon. Presently he said, “Yes, although this may seem somewhat undignified. Try lying on your side and closing your eyes, as BlackMane is doing. ”

Ariel’s eyes went wide. “Mandelbrot! I am not going to nurse cubs!”

“Nursing is u

Ariel frowned. “If you really think it’ll work. ” With a grunt for stiff joints, she slowly rolled out of the squat, lay down on the rough, gritty tarmac, and closed her eyes. Within a minute she was rewarded by a cold little nose snuffling around her ear. “That tickles!” She giggled, and the pup scampered away.

“Hold still,” Mandelbrot said. “All four of them are approaching you. ” Ariel tried hard to suppress her giggles as one cub nuzzled her ear, two more sniffed her face, and one feisty little monster fastened its teeth on her pants cuff and began growling and tugging. “Move slowly,” Mandelbrot advised, “but you may open your eyes now. ” Carefully, Ariel opened her eyes.

She was rewarded by a big lick across her face.

This time her giggles sent the cubs scampering just a few feet back. The four of them went into a huddle, tails wagging excitedly, yipping in high, squeaky voices. BlackMane sat up a bit more alertly, but this time without the fierce, protective look. As one, the cubs turned to their mother, and she answered with a low, whuffing bark.

Ariel sat up. “What is it? What are they saying, Mandelbrot?’, The robot cocked his head as if listening more closely.

“I am unsure of the dialect,” Mandelbrot said, “but they appear to be saying, ‘It’s friendly. ’ “ BlackMane gave Mandelbrot a bored look, and then made another soft bark that must have meant, “Okay. ” As one, the puppies wheeled and charged Ariel. A second later she was giggling like a seven-year-old and covered by a mass of wiggling, licking, tailwagging cubs.

“Either that,” Mandelbrot added, “or, ‘It tastes good. ’ “

The tall, slender, pale blue robot-to appearances a standard Euler model-rounded the corner and entered the Central atrium. Avery struck while the robot was still in mid-stride.

“You there! Identify!”

“City Supervisor 3,” the tall robot responded. “For your convenience I respond to the name Beta. ” At two meters’ distance the robot stopped and stood with its head tilted slightly back, as if baring its throat.

“Beta, eh? Well, Beta, I am your creator, Doctor Wendell Avery, and let me tell you, I am absolutely appalled with the way you supervisors are handling this city. The streets smell like ke

To Derec’s eyes, the supervisor seemed even colder and more imperturbable than was typical for Avery robots. Beta’s eyes didn’t flicker, nor did its posture waver a millimeter as it responded to Avery’s attack. “In searching the permissions list, I find no special privileges reserved for Creator Wendell Avery. ” The robot paused a moment, then continued. “In response to your other statements: olfactory cues are an important source of information for the citizens, and the transit tu

The robot’s response seemed to surprise Avery. He blinked a few times, shook his head as if unable to believe that a robot was disagreeing with him, and then recovered his bluster. “Citizens? What are you talking about? Beta, the kin are not human, and for you to treat them as if they have Robotic Law status is a serious malfunction. ”

“The definition of ‘human’ is not implicit in the Laws,” Beta answered, as it studied Avery with cold, gleaming eyes.

Avery bit back his first angry retort and struggled to speak calmly. “Beta, are you blind? The kin are aliens. ”

The supervisor’s head rotated down, and it locked its unblinking gaze on the short man. “On the contrary, Dr. Avery; on this planet, you are the alien. ”

Avery’s jaw worked, but no sound came out. His fingers clutched-

The robot leaned forward, placed one hand on its hip, and opened its other hand in a purely human gesture. “Please allow me to explain.

“Dr. Avery, our first mission on this world was to build a city. Our underlying mission was to serve humans. After the end of our first mission, we found ourselves with insufficient data to complete our underlying mission. Therefore, we devoted considerable time to the question of how to find humans.

“After much discussion, we decided that we needed a clearer definition of the word human. There is no explicit definition in our general programming. Consulting the ancient sources, we found that it means:

“1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of man.

“2. Consisting of men.

“3. Having human form or attributes.

“4. Susceptible to or representative of the sympathies and frailties of man’s nature.

“Evaluating the kin in terms of these criteria, we found that they met three of the four. They are intelligent, social, tool-and language-using beings, fully capable of altruism, greed, opportunism, faith, loyalty, cowardice, curiosity; indeed, the entire range of human”

Avery found his voice at last. “Enough!” Fighting to avoid hyperventilation, he turned to Derec. “This tin moron has obviously blown a main circuit. When are the rest of the supervisors going to get here?”

Derec broke off his commlink contact and looked up, blinking with wonder. “Alpha and Gamma decline to come. ”

“What?”Avery wheeled on Beta as if to attack it.

“I alone have been delegated to meet with you,” Beta explained. “The other supervisors are occupied with tasks that are important to the well-being of the native humans. ”

“I do not believe this. ” Avery shook his head slowly, then studied Beta with a cold, unblinking glare. “Beta, are you trying to tell me that the supervisors are no longer subject to the Second Law?”

The robot’s eyes flickered briefly. “Of course not. Alpha and Gamma’s Second Law duties to you simply have been superseded by their First Law obligations. ”

“First Law-” Avery suddenly snapped around and looked at Derec. “Ariel!” Before he’d finished saying the name, Derec had invoked his commlink and reached Mandelbrot.

“No,” Derec reported, shaking his head. “Ariel’s a little wet and mussed up, but she’s not in any danger. ” He concentrated harder and checked in with Eve. “Wolruf’s fine. Adam is still playing SilverSides; he’s up on a balcony, addressing a crowd, but he’s speaking too fast for Eve to translate. ”

Derec frowned. “Lucius II isn’t answering. ” He broke concentration and opened his eyes; both he and Avery turned to look at Beta.

“When you assume that the First Law applies only to members of your party, you are making a species-ist assumption,,, Beta said. “If you plan to reside in this city, you must learn to overcome your speciesism. ”

Slowly, sighing heavily, Avery nodded. “I see where this is leading. Beta, if I were to tell you that your definition of human has become corrupted and the kin are not human, would you allow me to correct it?”

Beta considered this barely a moment. “No. Redefining the native humans as nonhumans would injure them, and thus is prohibited by the First Law. ”

Avery frowned. “Circular logic: See logic, circular. The kin shouldn’t be considered humans, but since they are, you won’t let me fix the problem. ” With a disgusted look, he turned to Derec. “Come on, son, let’s get out of here. ”