by Robots
"No doubt," said Vasilia, "but get to the point of transcending the First Law, for it is that which will now destroy you.
Daneel said, "For decades I have brooded over Plainclothesman Elijah Baley's statement and it is quite likely I would have understood it at once if the Three Laws had not stood in the way. I have been helped in my search by my friend Giskard, who has long felt the Three Laws to be incomplete. I have been helped also by points Lady Gladia made in a recent speech on a Settler world. What's more this present crisis, Lady Vasilia, has served to sharpen my thinking. I am certain, now, as to the manner in which the Three Laws are incomplete."
"A robot who is also a roboticist," said Vasilia with a touch of contempt. "How are the Three Laws incomplete, robot?"
Daneel said, "The tapestry of life is more important than a single thread. Apply that not to Partner Elijah alone, but generalize it and-and-and we conclude that humanity as a whole is more important than a single human being."
"You stumble as you say it, robot. You do not believe."
Daneel said, "There is a law that is greater than the First Law. A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. I think of it now as the Zeroth Law of Robotics. The First Law should then be stated: 'A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, unless this would violate the Zeroth Law of Robotics."
Vasilia snorted. "And you still stand on your feet, robot?"
"I still stand on my feet, madam."
"Then I will explain something to you, robot, and we will see if you can survive the explanation. -The Three Laws of Robotics involve individual human beings and individual robots. You can point to any individual human being or to an individual robot. But what is your 'humanity" but an abstraction? Can you point to humanity? You can injure or fail to injure a specific human being and understand the injury or lack of injury that has taken place. Can you see an injury to humanity? Can you understand it? Can you point to it?"
Daneel was silent.
Vasilia smiled broadly. "Answer, robot. Can you see an injury to humanity and can you point to it?"
"No, madam, I cannot. But I believe such injury can exist nevertheless and you see that I still stand on my feet."
"Then ask Giskard as to whether he will-or can-obey your Zeroth Law of Robotics."
Daneel's head turned to Giskard. "Friend Giskard?"
Slowly Giskard said, "I cannot accept the Zeroth Law, friend Daneel. You know that I have read widely in human history. In it, I have found great crimes committed by some human beings against each other and the excuse has always been that the crimes were justified by the needs of the tribe, or of the state, or even of humanity. It is precisely because humanity is an abstraction that it can be called upon so freely to justify anything at all and your Zeroth Law is therefore unsuitable.
Daneel said, "But you know, friend Giskard, the fact that a danger to humanity now exists and that it will surely come to fruition if you become the property of Madam Vasilia. That, at least, is not an abstraction."
Giskard said, "The danger to which you refer is not something known, but is merely inferred. We cannot build our actions in defiance of the Three Laws on that."
Daneel paused, then said in a lower voice, "But you hope that your studies of human history will help you develop the Laws governing human behavior, that you will learn to predict and guide human history-or at lease make a beginning, so that someone someday will learn to predict and guide it. You even call the, technique 'psychohistory.' In this, are you not dealing with the human tapestry? Are you not trying - to work with humanity as a generalized whole, rather than with collections of individual human beings?"
"Yes, friend Daneel, but it is thus far no more than a hope and I cannot base my actions upon a mere hope, nor can I modify the Three Laws in accordance with it."
To that, Daneel did not respond.
Vasilia said, "Well, robot, all your attempts have come to nothing and yet you stand on your feet. You are strangely stubborn and a robot such as yourself that can denounce the Three Laws and still remain functional is a clear danger to every and any individual human being. For that reason, I believe you should be dismantled without delay. The case is too dangerous to await the slow majesty of the law, especially since you are, after all, a robot and not the human being you attempt to resemble."
Daneel said, "Surely, my lady, it is not fitting for you to reach such a decision on your own."
"I have reached it nevertheless and if there are legal repercussions hereafter, I shall deal with them."
"You will be depriving Lady Gladia of a second robot and one to which you make no claim.
"She and Fastolfe, between them, have deprived me of my robot, Giskard, for more than twenty decades and I do not believe this ever distressed either of them for a moment it will not now distress me to deprive her. She has dozens of other robots and there are many here at the Institute who will faithfully see to her safety until she can return to her own."
Daneel said, "Friend Giskard, if you will wake Lady Gladia, it may be that she may persuade Lady Vasilia--"
Vasilia, looking at Giskard, frowned and said sharply, "No, Giskard. Le the woman sleep."
Giskard, who had stirred at Daneel's words, subsided.
Vasilia snapped the finger and thumb of her right hand three times and the door at once opened and four robots filed, in. "You were right, Daneel. There are four robots. They will dismantle you and you are ordered not to resist. Thereafter Giskard and I will deal with all remaining matters.
She looked over her shoulder at the entering robots. "Close the door behind you. Now, quickly and efficiently, dismantle this robot," and she pointed at Daneel.
The robots looked at Daneel and for a few seconds did not move. Vasilia said impatiently, "I've told you he is a robot and you must disregard his human appearance. Daneel, tell them you are a robot."
"I am a robot," said Daneel, "and I will not resist."
Vasilia stepped to one side and the four robots advanced. Daneel's arms remained at his side. He turned to look at the sleeping Gladia one last time and then he- faced the robots.
Vasilia smiled and said, "This should be interesting."
The robots paused. Vasilia said, "Get on with it."
They did not move and Vasilia turned to stare in amazement at Giskard. She did not complete the movement. Her muscles loosened and she crumpled.
Giskard caught her and seated her with her back against the wall.
He said in a muffled voice, "I need a few moments and then we will leave."
Those moments passed. Vasilia's eyes remained glazed and unfocused. Her robots remained motionless. Daneel had moved to Gladia in a single stride.
Giskard looked up and said to Vasilia's robots, "Guard your lady. Allow no one to enter until she wakes. She will waken peacefully."
Even as he spoke, Gladia stiffed and Daneel helped her to her feet. She said, wondering, "Who is this woman? Whose robots -How did she-"
Giskard spoke firmly, but there was a weariness in his voice. "Lady Gladia, later. I will explain. For now, we must hasten."
And they left.
PART V
EARTH
15. THE HOLY WORLD
Amadiro bit his lower lip and his eyes flicked in the direction of Mandamus, who seemed lost in thought.
Amadiro said defensively, "She insisted on it. She told me that only she could handle this, Giskard, that only she could exert a sufficiently strong influence over him and prevent him from using these mental powers, of his."
"You never said anything of this to me, Dr. Amadiro."
"I wasn't sure what there was to tell, young man. I wasn't sure she was correct."
"Are you sure now?"
"Completely. She remembers nothing of what went on-"
"So that we know nothing of what went on."
Amadiro nodded. "Exactly. And she remembers nothing of what she had told me earlier."
"And she's not acting?"
"I saw to it that she had an emergency electroencephalogram. There have been distinct changes from the earlier records."
"Is there a chance she will recover her memory with time?"
Amadiro shook his head bitterly. "Who can tell? But I doubt it."
Mandamus, eyes still downcast and full of thought, said, "Does it matter, then? We can take her account of Giskard as true and we know that he has the power to affect minds. That knowledge is crucial and it is now ours. -In fact, it is well that our roboticist colleague has failed. If Vasilia had gained control of that robot, how long do you suppose it would have been before you, too, would have been under her control-and I, -as well, assuming she would think I was worth controlling?"
Amadiro nodded. "I suppose she might have had something like that in mind. Right now, though, it's hard to tell what she has in mind. She seems, superficially at least, undamaged except for the specific loss of memory-she apparently remembers everything else-but who knows how this will affect her deeper thought processes and her skill as a roboticist? That Giskard could do this to someone as skilled as she makes him an incredibly dangerous phenomenon.
"Does it occur to you, Dr. Amadiro, that the Settlers may be right in their distrust of robots?"
"It almost does, Mandamus."
Mandamus rubbed his hands together. "I assume from your depressed attitude that this whole business was not uncovered before they had time to leave Aurora."
"You assume correctly. That Settler captain has the Solarian woman and both of her robots on his ship and is heading toward Earth."
"And where does that leave us now?"
Slowly Amadiro said, "By no means defeated, it seems to me. If we complete our project, we have won-Giskard or no Giskard. And we can complete it. Whatever Giskard can do with and to emotions, he can't read thoughts. He might be, able to tell when a wash of emotion crosses a human mind, or even distinguish one emotion from another, or change one to another, or induce sleep or amnesia-dull edged things like that. He cannot be sharp, however, cannot make out actual words or ideas."
"Are you sure of that?"
"So said Vasilia."
"She may not have known what she was talking about. She did not, after all, manage to control the robot, as she said she was sure of doing. That's not much of a testimonial to her accuracy of understanding."
"Yet I believe her in this. To actually be able to read thoughts would demand so much complexity in the positronic pathway pattern that it is totally unlikely that a child could have inserted it into the robot over twenty decades ago. It is actually far beyond even the present-day state of the art, Mandamus. Surely you must agree."
"I would certainly think it was. And they're going to Earth?"
"I'm sure of it."
"Would this woman, brought up as she was, actually go to Earth?"
"She has no choice if Giskard controls her."
"And why should Giskard want her to go to Earth? Can he know about our project? You seem to think he doesn't."
"It is possible he doesn't. His motivation for going to Earth might be nothing more than to place himself and the Solarian woman beyond our reach."
"I shouldn't think he'd fear us if he could handle Vasilia."
"A long-range weapon," said Amadiro icily, "could bring him down. His own abilities must have a limited range. They can be based on nothing other than the electromagnetic field and he must be subject to the inverse square law. So we get out of range as the intensity of his powers weaken, but he will then find that he is not out of range of our weapons."
Mandamus frowned and looked uneasy. "You seem to have an un-Spacer liking for violence. Dr. Amadiro. In a cast like this, though, I suppose force would be permissible.
"A case like this? A robot capable of harming human beings? I should think so. We'll have to find a pretext for sending a good ship in pursuit. It wouldn't be wise to explain the actual situation-"
"No," said Mandamus emphatically. "Think of how many would wish to have personal control of such a robot."
"Which we can't allow. And which is another reason why I would look upon destruction of the robot as the safer and preferable course of action."
"You may be right," said Mandamus reluctantly, "but I don't think it wise to count on this destruction only. I must go to Earth-now. The project must be hastened to its conclusion, even if we don't dot every 'I' and cross every 'T'." Once it is done, then it is done. Even a mind-handling robot-under anybody's control-will not be able to undo the deed. And if it does anything else, that, perhaps, will no longer matter."
Amadiro said, "Don't speak in the singular. I will go as well."
"You? Earth, is a horrible world. I must go, but why you?"
"Because I must go, too. I cannot stay here any longer and wonder. You have not waited for this through a long lifetime as I have, Mandamus. You do not have the accounts to settle that I have.
Gladia was in space again and once again Aurora could be made out as a globe. D.G. was busy elsewhere and the entire ship had about it a vague but pervasive air of emergency, as though it were on a battle footing, as though it were being pursued or expected pursuit.
Gladia shook her head. She could think clearly; she felt well; but when her mind turned back to that time in the Institute, shortly after Amadiro had left her, a curiously pervasive unreality swept over her. There was a gap in time. One moment she had been sitting on the couch, feeling sleepy; the next there were four robots and a woman in the room who had not been there before.
She had fallen asleep, then, but there was no awareness, no memory, that she had done so. There was a gap of nonexistence.
Thinking back, she had recognized the woman after the fact. It was Vasilia Aliena-the daughter whom Gladia had replaced in the affections of Han Fastolfe. Gladia had never actually seen Vasilia, though she had viewed her on hyperwave several times. Gladia always thought of her as a distant and inimical other self. There was the vague similarity in appearance that others always commented on but that Gladia herself insisted she did not see-and there was the odd, antithetical connection with Fastolfe.
Once they were on the ship and she was alone with her robots, she asked the inevitable question. "What was Vasilia Aliena doing in the room and why was I permitted to sleep once she had arrived?"
Daneel said, "Madam Gladia, I will answer the question, since it is a matter friend Giskard would find difficult to discuss."
"Why should he find it difficult, Daneel?"
"Madam Vasilia arrived in the hope that she might persuade Giskard to enter her service."
"Away from me?" said Gladia in sharp indignation. She did not entirely like Giskard, but that made no difference. What was hers was hers. "And you allowed me to sleep while you two handled the matter by yourselves?"
"We felt, madam, that you needed your sleep badly. Then, too, Madam Vasilia ordered us to allow you to sleep. Finally, it was our opinion that Giskard would not, in any case, join her service. For all these reasons, we did not wake you."
Gladia said indignantly, "I should hope that Giskard would not for a moment consider leaving me. It would be illegal both by Auroran law and, more important, by the Three Laws of Robotics. It would be a good deed to return to Aurora and have her arraigned before the Court of Claims."
"That would not be advisable at the moment, my lady."
"What was her excuse for wanting Giskard? Did she have one?"
"When she was a child, Giskard had been assigned to her.
"Legally?"
"No, madam. Dr. Fastolfe merely allowed her the use of it.
"Then she had no right to Giskard."
"We pointed that out, madam. Apparently, it was a matter of sentimental attachment on the part of Madam Vasilia."
Gladia sniffed. "Having survived the loss of Giskard since before I came to Aurora, she might well have continued as she was without going to illegal lengths to deprive me of my property," -Then, restlessly, "I shoul
d have been awakened."
Daneel said, "Madam Vasilia had four robots with her. Had you been awake and had there been harsh words between the two of you, there might have been some difficulty in having the robots work out the proper responses."
"I'd have directed the proper response, I assure you, Daneel."
"No doubt, madam. So might Madam Vasilia and she is one of the cleverest roboticists in the Galaxy."
Gladia shifted her attention to Giskard. "And you have nothing to say?"
