"Asimov Isaac - Gold, The Final Science Fiction Collection" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

Wassell hung his head. „You are right, Mr. Smithson. I thought if I hired you to investigate you would find one of the men guilty, and then perhaps I could stop taking the money for my private use.“
„You little realize the detective’s mind,“ said Calumet Smithson. „I will turn you over to the authorities. They will decide what to do with you, though if you are sincerely sorry and promise never to do it again, I will try to keep you from being punished badly.“
the end


I showed it to Mr. Northrop, who read it silently. He hardly smiled at all. Just in one or two places.
Then he put it down and stared at me. „Where did you get the name Euphrosyne Durando?“
„You said, sir, I was not to use my own name, so I used one as different as possible.“
„But where did you get it?“
„Sir, one of the minor characters in one of your stories--“
„Of course! I thought it sounded familiar! Do you realize it's a feminine name ? „
„Since I am neither masculine nor feminine--“
„Yes, you're quite right. But the name of the detective, Calumet Smithson. That 'Cal' part is still you, isn't it?“
„I wanted some connection, sir.“
„You've got a tremendous ego, Cal.“
I hesitated. „What does that mean, sir?“
„Never mind. It doesn't matter.“
He put the manuscript down and I was troubled. I said, „But what did you think of the mystery?“
„It's an improvement, but it's still not a good mystery. Do you realize that?“
„In what way is it disappointing, sir?“
„Well, you don't understand modern business practices or computerized financing for one thing. And no one would take a quarter from the table with four other men present, even if they weren't looking. It would have been seen. Then, even if that happened, Mr. Wassell's taking it isn't proof he was the thief. Anyone could pocket a quarter automatically, without thinking. It's an interesting indication, but it's not proof. And the title of the story tends to give it away, too.“
„I see.“
„And, in addition, the Three Laws of Robotics are still getting in your way. You keep worrying about punishment.“
„I must, sir.“
„I know you must. That's why I think you shouldn't try to write crime stories.“
„What else should I write, sir ? „
„Let me think about it.“

Mr. Northrop called in the technician again. This time, I think, he wasn't very eager to have me overhear what he was saying, but even from where I was standing, I could hear the conversation. Sometimes human beings forget how sharp the senses of robots can be.
After all, I was very upset. I wanted to be a writer and I didn’t want Mr. Northrop telling me what I could write and what I couldn’t write. Of course, he was a human being and I had to obey him, but I didn’t like it.
„What’s the matter now, Mr. Northrop?“ asked the technician in a voice that sounded sardonic to my ears. „Has this robot of yours been writing a story again?“
„Yes, he has,“ said Mr. Northrop, trying to sound indifferent. „He’s written another mystery story and I don’t want him writing mysteries.“
„Too much competition, eh, Mr. Northrop?“
„No. Don’t be a jackass. There’s just no point in two people in the same household writing mysteries. Besides, the Three Laws of Robotics get in the way. You can easily imagine how.“
„Well, what do you want me to do?“
„I’m not sure. Suppose he writes satire. That’s one thing I don’t write, so we won’t be competing, and the Three Laws of Robotics won’t get in his way. I want you to give this robot a sense of the ridiculous.“
„A sense of the what?“ said the technician, angrily. „How do I do that? Look, Mr. Northrop, be reasonable. I can put in instructions on how to run a Writer. I can put in a dictionary and grammar. But how can I possibly put in a sense of the ridiculous?“
„Well, think about it. You know the workings of a robot’s brain patterns. Isn’t there some way of readjusting him so that he can see what’s funny, or silly, or just plain ridiculous about human beings?“
„I can fool around, but it’s not safe.“
„Why isn’t it safe?“
„Because, look, Mr. Northrop, you started off with a pretty cheap robot, but I’ve been making it more elaborate. You admit that it’s unique and that you never heard of one that wants to write stories, so now it’s a pretty expensive robot. You may even have a Classic model here that should be given to the Robotic Institute. If you want me to fool around, I might spoil the whole thing. Do you realize that?“
„I’m willing to take the chance. If the whole thing is spoiled, it will be spoiled, but why should it be? I’m not asking you to work in a hurry. Take the time to analyze it carefully. I have lots of time and lots of money, and I want my robot to write satire.“
„Why satire?“
„Because then his lack of worldly knowledge may not matter so much and the Three Laws won’t be so important and in time, some day, he may possibly turn out something interesting, though I doubt it.“
„And he won’t be treading on your turf.“
„All right, then. He won’t be treading on my turf. Satisfied?“
I still didn’t know enough about the language to know what ‘treading on my turf’ meant, but I gathered that Mr. Northrop was annoyed by my mystery stories. I didn’t know why.
There was nothing I could do, of course. Every day, the technician studied me and analyzed me and finally, he said, „ All right, Mr. Northrop, I’m going to take a chance, but I’m going to ask you to sign a paper absolving me and my company of all responsibility if anything goes wrong.“
„You just prepare the paper. I’ll sign it,“ said Mr. Northrop.
It was very chilling to think that something might go wrong, but that’s how things are. A robot must accept all that human beings decide to do.