"Asimov, Isaac - Bicentennial Man, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

Miss was dating boys and wasn't about the house much. It was Little Miss, not as little as she once was, who filled Andrew's horizon now. She never forgot that the very first piece of wood carving he had done had been for her. She kept it on a silver chain about her neck.

It was she who first objected to Sir's habit of giving away Andrew's work. "Come on, Dad, if anyone wants one of them, let him pay for it. It's worth it."

"It isn't like you to be greedy, Mandy."

"Not for us, Dad. For the artist."

Andrew had never heard the word before, and when he had a moment to himself he looked it up in the dictionary.

Then there was another trip, this time to Sir's lawyer.

"What do you think of this, John?" Sir asked.

The lawyer was John Finegold. He had white hair and a pudgy belly, and the rims of his contact lenses were tinted a bright green. He looked at the small

plaque Sir had given him. "This is beautiful. But I've already heard the news. Isn't thus a carving made by your robot? The one you've brought with you."

"Yes, Andrew does them. Don't you, Andrew?"

"Yes, Sir," said Andrew.

"How much would you pay for that, John?" Sir asked.

"I can't say. I'm not a collector of such things"

"Would you believe I have been offered two hundred and fifty dollars for that small thing. Andrew has made chairs that have sold for five hundred dollars. There's two hundred thousand dollars in the bank
from Andrew's products."
"Good heavens, he's making you rich, Gerald."
"Half rich," said Sir. "Half of it is in an account in
the name of Andrew Martin." a
"The robot?"
"That's right, and I want to know if it's legal"
"Legal . . . ?" Feingold's chair creaked as he leaned
back in it. "There are no precedents, Gerald. How did
your robot sign the necessary papers?"
"He can sign his name. Now, is there anything
further that ought to be done?"
"Um." Feingold's eyes seemed to turn inward for a
moment. Then he said, "Well, we can set up a trust

to handle all finances in his name and that will place _
a layer of insulation between him and the hostile world '
Beyond that, my advice is you do nothing. No one has e
stopped you so far. If anyone objects, let him bring .
suit"

"And will you take the case if the suit is brought?" p