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quickly, almost involuntarily, at the ship's visiplate. The stars were normal. He, himself, felt
normal. That was the last bit of encouragement he needed. He raised his foot and smashed
his shoe down on the feather-delicate mechanism within the recess. There was a splinter of
glass, a twisting of metal, and a tiny spray of mercury droplets Black breathed heavily. He
turned on the radio once more. 'Still there, Schloss?' 'Yes, but ' 'Then I report the hyperfield
on board the Parsec to be deactivated. Come and get me.' Gerald Black felt no more the
hero than when he had left for the Parsec, but he found himself one just the same. The men
who had brought him to the small asteroid came to take him off. They landed this time. They
clapped his back. Hyper Base was a crowded mass of waiting personnel when the ship
arrived, and Black was cheered. He waved at the throng and grinned, as was a hero's
obligation, but he felt no triumph inside. Not yet. Only anticipation. Triumph would come later,
when he met Susan Calvin. He paused before descending from the ship. He looked for her
and did not see her. General Kallner was there, waiting, with all his soldierly stiffness
restored and a bluff look of approval firmly plastered on his face. Mayer Schloss smiled
nervously at him. Ronson of Interplanetary Press waved frantically. Susan Calvin was
nowhere. He brushed Kallner and Schloss aside when he landed. 'I'm going to wash and eat
first.' He had no doubts but that, for the moment at least, he could dictate terms to the
general or to anybody. 149 The security guards made a way for him. He bathed and ate
leisurely in enforced isolation, he himself being solely responsible for the enforcement. Then
he called Ronson of Interplanetary and talked to him briefly. He waited for the return call
before he felt he could relax thoroughly. It had all worked out so much better than he had
expected. The very failure of the ship had conspired perfectly with him. Finally he called the
general's office and ordered a conference. It was what it amounted toorders. Major General
Kallner all but said, 'Yes, sir.' They were together again. Gerald Black, Kallner, Schlosseven
Susan Calvin. But it was Black who was dominant now. The robopsychologist, graven-faced
as ever, as unimpressed by triumph as by disaster, had nevertheless seemed by some
subtle change of attitude to have relinquished the spotlight. Dr. Schloss nibbled a thumbnail
and began by saying, cautiously, 'Dr. Black, we are all very grateful for your bravery and
success.' Then, as though to institute a healthy deflation at once, he added, 'Still, smashing
the relay box with your heel was imprudent andwell, it was an action that scarcely deserved
success.' Black said, 'It was an action that could scarcely have avoided success. You see,'
(this was bomb number one) 'by that time I knew what had gone wrong.' Schloss rose to his
feet. 'You did? Are you sure?' 'Go there yourself. It's safe now. I'll tell you what to look for.'
Schloss sat down again, slowly. General Kallner was enthusiastic. 'Why, this is the best yet,
if true.' 'It's true,' said Black. His eyes slid to Susan Calvin, who said nothing. 150 Black was
enjoying the sensation of power. He released bomb number two by saying, 'It was the robot,
of course. Did you hear that, Dr. Calvin?' Susan Calvin spoke for the first time. 'I hear it. I
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rather expected it, as a matter of fact. It was the only piece of equipment on board ship that
had not been tested at Hyper Base.' For a moment Black felt dashed. He said, 'You said
nothing of that.' Dr. Calvin said, 'As Dr. Schloss said several times, I am not an etherics
expert. My guess, and it was no more than that, might easily have been wrong. I felt I had no
right to prejudice you in advance of your mission.' Black said, 'All right, did you happen to
guess how it went wrong?' 'No, sir.' 'Why, it was made better than a man. That's what the
trouble was. Isn't it strange that the trouble should rest with the very specialty of U.S.
Robots? They make robots better than men, I understand.' He was slashing at her with
words now but she did not rise to his bait. Instead, she sighed. 'My dear Dr. Black. I am not
responsible for the slogans of our sales-promotion department.' Black felt dashed again.
She wasn't an easy woman to handle, this Calvin. He said, 'Your people built a robot to
replace a man at the controls of the Parsec. He had to pull the control bar toward himself,
place it in position and let the heat of his hands twist the trigger to make final contact.
Simple enough, Dr. Calvin?' 'Simple enough, Dr. Black.' 'And if the robot had been made no
better than a man, he 151 would have succeeded. Unfortunately, U.S. Robots felt compelled [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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