asimov, isaac - the bicentennial man (v1.0) Read online

  "I didn't order you to attack them. I only told you to move toward them. Their own fears did the rest."

  "How can they fear robots?"

  "It's a disease of mankind, one which has not yet been cured. But never mind that. What the devil are you doing here, Andrew? Good thing I found your

  note. I was just on the point of turning back and hiring a helicopter when I found you. How did you get it into your head to go to the library? I would have brought you any books you needed"

  "I am a-" Andrew began.

  "Free robot. Yes, yes. All right, what did you want in the library?"

  "I want to know more about human beings, about the world, about everything. And about robots, George. I want to write a history about robots."

  George put his arm on the other's shoulder. "Well, let's walk home. But pick up your clothes first. Andrew, there are a million books on robotics and all of them include histories of the science. The world is growing saturated not only with robots but with information about robots."

  Andrew shook his head, a human gesture he had lately begun to adopt. "Not a history of robotics, George. A history of robots, by a robot. I want to explain how robots feel about what has happened since the first ones were allowed to work and live on Earth."

  George's eyebrows lifted, but he said nothing in direct response.

  11

  Little Miss was just past her eighty-third birthday, but there was nothing about her that was lacking in either energy or determination. She gestured with her cane oftener than she propped herself up with it.

  She listened to the story in a fury of indignation. "George, that's horrible. Who were those young ruffians?"

  "I don't know. What difference does it make? In the end they did not do any damage."

  "They might have. You're a lawyer, George; and if you're well off, it's entirely due to the talents of Andrew. It was the money he earned that is the foundation of everything we have. He provides the continuity for this family, and I will not have him treated as a wind-up toy."

  "What would you have me do, Mother?" George asked.

  "I said you're a lawyer. Don't you listen? You set up a test case somehow, and you force the regional courts to declare for robot rights and get the legislature to pass the necessary bills. Carry the whole thing to the World Court, if you have to. I'll be watching, George, and I'll tolerate no shirking."

  She was serious, so what began as a way of soothing the fearsome old lady became an involved matter with enough legal entanglement to make it interesting. As senior partner of Feingold and Martin, George plotted strategy. But he left the actual work to his junior partners, with much of it a matter for his son, Paul, who was also a member of the firm and who reported dutifully nearly every day to his grandmother. She, in turn, discussed the case every day with Andrew.

  Andrew was deeply involved. His work on his book on robots was delayed again, as he pored over the legal arguments and even, at times, made very diffident suggestions. "George told me that day I was attacked that human beings have always been afraid of robots," he said one day. "As long as they are, the courts and the legislatures are not likely to work hard on behalf of robots. Should not something be done about public opinion?"

  So while Paul stayed in court, George took to the public platform. It gave him the advantage of being informal, and he even went so far sometimes as to wear the new, loose style of clothing which he called drapery.

  Paul chided him, "Just don't trip over it on stage, Dad."

  George replied, despondently, "I'll try not to."

  He addressed the annual convention of holo-news editors on one occasion and said, in part: "If, by virtue of the Second Law, we can demand of any robot unlimited obedience in all respects not involving harm to a human being, then any human being, any human being, has a fearsome power over any robot, any robot. In particular, since Second Law supersedes

  Third Law; any human being can use the law of obedience to overcome the law of self-protection. He can' order any robot to damage itself or even to destroy itself for any reason, or for no reason.

  "Is this just? Would we treat an animal so? Even an inanimate object which had given us good service has a claim on our consideration. And a robot is not insensitive; it is not an animal. It can think well enough so that it can talk to us, reason with us, joke with us. Can we treat them as friends, can we work together with them, and not give them some of the fruits of that friendship, some of the benefits of co working?

  "If a man has the right to give a robot any order that does not involve harm to a human being, he should have the decency never to give a robot any order that involves harm to a robot, unless human safety absolutely requires it. With great power goes great responsibility, and if the robots have Three Laws to protect men, is it too much to ask that men have a law or two to protect robots?"

  Andrew was right. It was the battle over public opinion that held the key to courts and legislature. In the end, a law was passed that set up conditions under which robot-harming orders were forbidden. It was endlessly qualified and the punishments for violating the law were totally inadequate, but the principle was established. The final passage by the World Legislature came through on the day of Little Miss' death.

  That was no coincidence. Little Miss held on to life desperately during the last debate and let go only when word of victory arrived. Her last smile was for Andrew. Her last words were, "You have been good to us, Andrew." She died with her hand holding his, while her son and his wife and children remained at a respectful distance from both.

  12

  Andrew waited patiently when the receptionist-robot disappeared into the inner office. The receptionist might have used the holographic chatterbox, but un- .:

  questionably it was perturbed by having to deal with another robot rather than with a human being.,

  Andrew passed the time revolving the matter-4h his mind: Could "unroboted" be used as an analog of "unmanned," or had unmanned become a metaphoric term sufficiently divorced from its original literal meaning to be applied to robots--or to women for that matter? Such problems frequently arose as he worked on his book on robots. The trick of thinking out sentences to express all complexities had undoubtedly increased his vocabulary.

  Occasionally, someone came into the room to stare at him and he did not try to avoid the glance. He looked at each calmly, and each in turn looked away.

  Paul Martin finally emerged. He looked surprised, or he would have if Andrew could have made out his expression with certainty. Paul had taken to wearing the heavy makeup that fashion was dictating for bath sexes. Though it made sharper and firmer the somewhat bland lines of. Paul's face, Andrew disapproved. He found that disapproving of human beings, as long, as he did not express it verbally, did not make him very uneasy. He could even write the disapproval. He was sure it had not always been so.

  "Come in, Andrew. I'm sorry I made you wait, but there was something I had to finish. Come in, you had said you wanted to talk to me, but I didn't know you meant here in town."

  "If you are busy, Paul, I am prepared to continue to wait."

  Paul glanced at the interplay of shifting shadows on the dial on the wall that served as timepieces and said, "I can make some time. Did you come alone?"

  "I hired an automatobile."

  "Any trouble?" Paul asked, with more than a trace of anxiety.

  "I wasn't expecting any. My rights are protected."

  Paul looked all the more anxious for that. "Andrew, I've explained that the law is unenforceable, at least under most conditions. And if you insist on wearing

  clothe, you'll run into trouble eventually; just like that first time."

  "And only tine, Paul. I'm sorry you are displeased"

  "Well, look at it this way: you are virtually a living legend, Andrew, and you are too valuable in many different ways for you to have any right to take chances with yourself. By the way, how's the book coming?"

  "I am approaching the end, Paul. The publis
her is quite pleased."

  "Good!"

  "I don't know that he's necessarily pleased with the book as a book. I think he expects to sell many copies because it's written by a robot and that's what pleases him.

  "Only human, I'm afraid."

  "I am not displeased. Let it sell for whatever reason, since it will mean money and I can use some."

  "Grandmother left you-"

  "Little Miss was generous, and I'm sure I can count on the family to help me out further. But it is the royalties from the book on which I am counting to help me through the next step."

  "What next step is that?" `

  "I wish to see the head of U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation. I have tried to make an appointment; but so far I have not been able to reach him. The Corporation did not cooperate with me in the writing of the book, so I am not surprised, you understand."

  Paul was clearly amused. "Cooperation is the last thing you can expect. They didn't cooperate with us --`, in our great fight for robot rights. Quite the reverse, .; and you can see why. Give a robot rights and people

  may not want to buy them."

  "Nevertheless," said Andrew, "if you call them, you may be able to obtain an interview for me."

  "I'm no more popular with them than you are, Andrew."

  "But perhaps you can hint that by seeing me they

  may head off a campaign by Feingold and Martin to strengthen the rights of robots further."

  "Wouldn't that be a lie, Andrew?"

  "Yes, Paul, and I can't tell one. That is why you must call."

  "Ah, you can't lie, but you can urge me to tell a lie, is that it? You're getting more human all the time, Andrew."

  13

  The meeting was not easy to arrange, even with Paul's supposedly weighted name. But it finally came about. When it did, Harley Smythe-Robertson, who, on his mother's side, was descended from the original founder of the corporation and who had adopted the hyphenation to indicate it, looked remarkably unhappy. He was approaching retirement age and his entire tenure as president had been devoted to the matter of robot rights. His gray hair was plastered thinly over the top of his scalp; his face was not made up, and he eyed Andrew with brief hostility from time to time.

  Andrew began the conversation. "Sir, nearly a century ago, I was told by a Merton Manskyk of this corporation that the mathematics governing the plotting of the positronic pathways was far too complicated to permit of any but approximate solutions and that, therefore, my own capacities were not fully predictable."

  "That was a century ago." Smythe-Robertson hesitated, then said icily, "Sir. It is true no longer. Our robots are made with precision now and are trained precisely to their jobs."

  "Yes," said Paul, who had come along, as he said, to make sure that the corporation played fair, "with the result that my receptionist must be guided at every point once events depart from the conventional, however slightly."

  "You would be much more displeased if it were to improvise," Smythe-Robertson said.

  "Then you no longer manufacture robots like myself which are flexible and adaptable."

  "No longer."

  "The research I have done in connection with my book," said Andrew, "indicates that I am the oldest robot presently in active operation."

  "The oldest presently," said Smythe-Robertson, "and the oldest ever. The oldest that will ever be. No robot is useful after the twenty-fifth year. They are called in and replaced with newer models."

  "No robot as presently manufactured is useful after the twentieth year," said Paul, with a note of sarcasm creeping into his voice. "Andrew is quite exceptional in this respect."

  Andrew, adhering to the path he had marked out for himself, continued, "As the oldest robot in the world and the most flexible, am I not unusual enough to merit special treatment from the company?"

  "Not at all," Smythe-Robertson said, freezing up. "Your unusualness is an embarrassment to the company. If you were on lease, instead of having been an outright sale through some mischance, you would long since have been replaced."

  "But that is exactly the point," said Andrew. "I am .. a free robot and I own myself. Therefore I come to you and ask you to replace me. You cannot do this without the owner's consent. Nowadays, that consent is extorted as a condition of the lease, but in my time this did not happen."

  Smythe-Robertson was looking both startled and puzzled, and for a moment there was silence. Andrew'

  -

  found himself staring at the hologram on the wall. It was a death mask of Susan Calvin, patron saint of all roboticists. She had been dead for nearly two centuries now, but as a result of writing his book Andrew knew, her so well he could half persuade himself that he had met her in life.

  Finally Smythe-Robertson asked, "How can I replace you for you? If I replace you, as robot, how can I donate the new robot to you as owner since in the very

  act of replacement you cease to exist" He smiled

  fly.

  "Not at all difficult," Paul interposed. "The seat of Andrew's personality is his positronic brain and it is the one part that cannot be replaced without creating a new robot. The positronic brain, therefore, is Andrew the owner. Every other part of the robotic body can be replaced without affecting the robot's personality, and those other parts are the brain's possessions. Andrew, I should say, wants to supply his brain with a new robotic body."

  "That's right," said Andrew, calmly. He turned to Smythe=Robertson. "You have manufactured androids, haven't you? Robots that have the outward appearance of humans, complete to the texture of the skin?"

  "Yes, we have. They worked perfectly well, with their synthetic fibrous skins and tendons.. There was virtually no metal anywhere except for the brain, yet they were nearly as tough as metal robots. They were tougher, weight for weight."

  Paul looked interested. "I didn't know that. How many are on the market?"

  "None," said Smythe-Robertson. "They were much more expensive than metal models and a market survey showed they would not be accepted. They looked too human."

  Andrew was impressed. `But the corporation retains its expertise, I assume. Since it does, I wish to request that I be replaced by an organic robot, an android."

  Paul looked surprised. "Good Lord!" he said.

  Smythe-Robertson stiffened. "Quite impossible!"

  "Why is it impossible?" Andrew asked. "I will pay any reasonable fee, of course."

  "We do not manufacture androids."

  "You do not choose to manufacture androids," Paul interjected quickly. "That is not the same as being unable to manufacture them."

  "Nevertheless," Smythe-Robertson responded, "the manufacture of androids is against public policy."

  "There is no law against it," said Paul.

  "Nevertheless, we do not manufacture them--and we will not"

  Paul cleared his throat. "Mr. Smythe-Robertson," he said, "Andrew is a free robot who comes under the purview of the law guaranteeing robot rights. You are aware of this, I take it?"

  "Only too well."

  "This robot, as a free robot, chooses to wear clothes This results in his being frequently humiliated by thoughtless human beings despite the law against the humiliation of robots. It is difficult to prosecute vague offenses that don't meet with the general disapproval of those who must decide on guilt and innocence."

  "U.S. Robots understood that from the start. Your father's firm unfortunately did not."

  "My father is dead now, but what I see is that we have here a clear offense with a clear target."

  "What are you talking about?" said Smythe-Robertson.

  "My client, Andrew Martin he has just become

  my client is a free robot who is entitled to ask U.S.

  Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation for the

  rights of replacement, which the corporation supplies

  to anyone who owns a robot for more than twenty-five

  years. In fact, the corporation insists on such replacement."
/>   Paul was smiling and thoroughly at ease. "The positronic brain of my client," he went on, "is the owner

  of the body of my client which is certainly more than

  twenty-five years old. The positronic brain demands the

  replacement of the body and offers to pay any reason

  able fee for an android body as that replacement. If

  you refuse the request, my client undergoes humiliation

  and we will sue.

  "While public opinion would not ordinarily support the claim of a robot in such a case, may I remind you that U.S. Robots is not popular with the public generally. Even those who most use and profit from robots are suspicious of the corporation. This may be a hangover from the days when robots were widely feared.

  It may be resentment against the power and wealth of U.S. Robots, which has a worldwide monopoly. Whatever the cause may be, the resentment eats. I think you will find that you would prefer not to be faced with a lawsuit, particularly since my client is wealthy and will live for many more centuries and will have no reason to refrain from fighting the battle forever."

  Smythe-Robertson had slowly reddened. "You are trying to force-"

  "I force you to do nothing," said Paul. "If you wish to refuse to accede to my client's reasonable request, you may by all means do so and we will leave without another word. But we will sue, as is certainly our right, and you will find that you will eventually lose."