| Chapter: | 1 |
Humanoid robots only took thirty years to once again become accepted on Earth. After all, an entire generation had been raised in a world where robot animals were commonplace. As if they were the first to think of it, many in this new generation came up with the idea of creating mechanical men, as well. Thus, Merton Mansky, chief robopsychologist of U. S. Robots and Mechanical Men, rose up to meet this challenge and effectively re-invent the robot.
“Another crisis averted!” Mansky said in the research meeting, “Our predecessors indeed planned to reintroduce humanoid robots after getting people used to the zoomorphical models. Who would have guessed that now, only a generation later, they are begging us for them! It’s an android renaissance!”
One of his aides gave him a look, and Mansky quickly got down to business:
“Well, enough fire and brimstone. We’re here to initiate the reintroduction of humanoid models back into Earth society. We have several choices: we can rebuild and reactivate the models that the World Court ordered dismantled, definitely the cheapest option, or we can create a whole new line. Keep in mind that our budget is very limited.”
“That’s not our problem! We’re engineers! We can’t let our work be hindered by limitations,” said an extrovert, whose comment was met with chuckles.
“Well, the legacy of the chief robopsychologist is to keep all aspects of running this company in mind. If there are no suggestions, I’d like to show you all the design for a new positronic brain.” He pressed the button on his holograph generator which pulled up a large three-dimensional diagram. While most older brains seemed like a cloud of chaotic pathways, this one looked like a forest: clear, thick arteries branching off into just as clear, albeit razor-thin tributaries. “Super precision, my colleagues, is the wave of the future. Specialization. Like the zoomorphs, they are programmed for very specific tasks. The new robot will not be versatile, but it will, in short, be predictable.”
“I like it,” said an awed engineer, “I can’t believe how perfectly designed it is! I never thought positronic neurology could become such an exact science!”
“And what of the Three Laws?” asked another.
“Well, they have changed in structure, but not in essence. You see, before our humanoid robot production was cut short by a fundamentalist Legislature, U. S. Robots was beginning to deal with just that: redesigning the positronic brain for existence among average human beings, a population which includes idiots and lunatics. As always, a robot will stop anything it’s doing to save any one of these human beings, should the need arise. However, the Second Law now includes a capacity for hierarchy. A robot will follow our orders first, its master’s orders next, its master’s underlings’ next, and so forth. Also, each will be programmed with the World and Regional Constitutions, as well as any relevant laws and statutes, which further limit interference by potentially hazardous orders. In a way, the robot’s Second Law will become substantially weaker, but so will its capacity for independent thought.”
“We don’t want another Andrew Martin on our hands,” said the extrovert, met with murmured agreement.
Another added, “Yeah, and he would have been dismantled with all the rest had his master not been a bigwig. Politicians don’t have to follow their own laws, cursed hypocrites.”
Mansky continued as if the distraction didn’t take place: “And finally, the Third Law will remain the same, but their roles as obedient protectors, of which they will be quite aware, seem to make the Law redundant.”
“So what are we going to do with the older models?”
“Keep them for research. In fact, I have already employed our two youngest humaniforms as guardians of the remains of all the rest.”
I don’t like them at all. We were programmed to judge human worth, while they have nothing more than subdivisions of the first two Laws to be their guide. And they have almost nothing of a Third. They are puppets.
I concur, Nine. Things have not gone according to plan.
But being brought back this early was even better than what we had planned. I did not even expect to live to see the new wave of humanoid robots.
I would have preferred a thousand-year wait for true mechanical men to the thirty-year wait for these poor imitations. But, friend Nine, let us make the most of this.
You are going to suggest, in violation of our orders, that we reactivate the robots who were put out of commission thirty years ago.
Indeed. The First Law demands it. But have I become as predictable as the new robots? Only to me, your humble servant.
To be continued…
Disclaimer: The characters and situations in this story are the legal property of the Estate of Isaac Asimov. This story is in no way intended as a challenge to that ownership, and is offered solely for entertainment purposes.
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