Robots and Empire (Page 42)

"You might have ordered her not to."

"I don’t know that that would have helped. She’s a spoiled aristocrat, used to having her own way and to ordering her robots about. Besides, I plan to use her and I want her cooperation, not her pouting. And again – she was the Ancestor’s friend. "

"And still alive," said Oser, shaking his head. "It makes the skin crawl. An old, old woman."

"I know, but she looks quite young. Still attractive. And nose in the air. Wouldn’t retire when the crewmen approached, wouldn’t shake hands with one of them. – Well, it’s over."

"Still, Captain, was it the right thing to tell Niss he had tackled a robot?"

"Had to! Had to, Oser. If he thought he’d been beaten and humiliated before four of his mates by an effeminate Spacer half his size, he’d be useless to us forever. It would have broken him completely. And we don’t want anything to happen that will start the rumor that Spacers – that human Spacers – are supermen. That’s why I had to order them so strenuously not to talk about it. Niss will ride herd on all of them – and if it does get out, it will also get out that the Spacer was a robot. – But I suppose there was a good side to the whole thing."

"Where, Captain?" asked Oser.

"It got me to thinking about robots. How much do we know about them? How much do you know?"

Oser shrugged. "Captain, it’s not something I think about much."

"Or something anyone else thinks about, either. At least, any Settler. We know that the Spacers have robots, depend on them, go nowhere without them, can’t do a thing without them, are parasites on them, and we’re sure they’re fading away because of them. We know that Earth once had robots forced on them by the Spacers and that they are gradually disappearing from Earth and are not found at all in Earth Cities, only in the countryside. We know that the Settler worlds don’t and won’t have them anywhere – town or country. So Settlers never meet them on their own worlds and hardly ever on Earth." (His voice had a curious inflection each time he said "Earth," as though one could hear the capital, as though one could hear the words "home" and "mother" whispered behind it.) "What else do we know?"

Oser said, "There’s the Three Laws of Robotics."

"Right," D.G. pushed the photocube to one side and leaned forward. "Especially the First Law. ‘A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.’ Yes? Well, don’t rely on it. It doesn’t mean a thing. We all feel ourselves to be absolutely safe from robots because of that and that’s fine if it gives us confidence, but not if it gives us false confidence. R. Daneel injured Niss and it didn’t bother the robot at all, First Law or no First Law."

"He was defending – "

"Exactly. What if you must balance injuries? What if it was a case of either hurt Niss or allow your Spacer owner to come to harm? Naturally, she comes first."

"It makes sense."

"Of course it does. And here we are on a planet of robots, a couple of hundred million of them. What orders do they have? How do they balance the conflict between different harms? How can we be sure that none of them will touch us? Something on this planet has destroyed two ships already."

Oser said uneasily, "This R. Daneel is an unusual robot, looks more like a man than we do. It may be we can’t generalize from him. That other robot, what’s his name?"

"Giskard. It’s easy to remember. My name is Daneel Giskard."

"I think of you as captain, Captain. Anyway, that R. Giskard just stood there and didn’t do a thing. He looks like a robot and he acts like one. We’ve got lots of robots out there on Solaria watching us right now and they’re not doing a thing, either. Just watching."

"And if there are some special robots that can harm us?"

"I think we’re prepared for them."

"Now we are. That’s why the incident with Daneel and Niss was a good thing. We’ve been thinking that we can only be in trouble if some of the Solarians are still here. They don’t have to be. They can be gone. It may be that the robots – or at least some specially designed robots – can be dangerous. And if Lady Gladia can mobilize her robots in this place – it used to be her estate – and make them defend her and us, too, we may well be able to neutralize anything they’ve left behind."

"Can she do that?" said Oser.

"We’re going to see," said D.G.

27

"Thank you, Daneel," Gladia said, "You did well." Her face seemed pinched together, however. Her lips were thin and bloodless, her cheeks pale. Then, in a lower voice, "I wish I had not come."

Giskard said, "It is a useless wish, Madam Gladia. Friend Daneel and I will remain outside the cabin to make sure you are not further disturbed."

The corridor was empty and remained so, but Daneel and Giskard managed to speak in sound-wave intensities below the human threshold, exchanging thoughts in their brief and condensed way.

Giskard said, "Madam Gladia made an injudicious decision in refusing to retire. That is clear."

"I presume, friend Giskard," said Daneel, "that there was no possibility of maneuvering her into changing that decision."

"It was far too firm, friend Daneel, and taken too quickly. The same was true of the intention of Niss, the Settler. Both his curiosity concerning Madam Gladia and his contempt and animosity toward you were too strong to manage without serious mental harm. The other four I could handle. It was quite possible to keep them from intervening, Their astonishment at your ability to handle Niss froze them naturally and I had only to strengthen that slightly."