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before?
Yes, Rec said. Most of this building is given to experimentation on
the positronic brain and ways to improve its function. I have
witnessed experiments in almost every laboratory in the structure.
Have you ever seen an office, something that a human might use as
his personal quarters?
No, the robot answered.
Are there parts of the building you have never seen?
Yes.
All right, listen carefully, Derec said, shrugging in Katherine s
direction. I want you to take me to all the parts of the building you
have never seen.
I cannot do that.
Why not? Katherine asked.
There is a sector in the Compass Tower that is off-limits to robots. No
one goes there.
Did someone tell you that, Derec asked, a supervisor?
It is part of our programming, Rec said.
Eve agreed. Not even supervisors are allowed.
Derec shook his head. Just like robots all duty, no inquisitiveness. I
want you to take us there, he said.
I already told you it was off-limits, Rec said.
Derec smiled. I don t mean for you to take me inside the off-limits
part, he said. Just take me as close as you can get and point it out to
me.
That seemed amenable enough, so the two witnesses led the way,
while Derec and Katherine followed closely. They walked the maze-
like halls, twisting and turning, but always going higher. An elevator
took them six floors up, but that wasn t even the end of it. It was
interesting to Derec. The meeting room had been designed to look like
it was at the apex of the pyramid, but it was actually only about
halfway up the structure, perhaps the illusion being more spiritual in
intent than anything else.
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Click here to buy
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The upper levels had begun to get rather small, doorways appearing
more sparsely between the gently glowing wall panels, when the
robots abruptly stopped. Rec pointed to a door at the end of a short
hallway.
We can go no farther, the robot said. No one knows where that
doorway leads.
If you want to wait here, Derec said, we ll be back soon.
But it is off-limits, Eve said.
To robots, not humans, Katherine replied.
But we cannot separate, Rec persisted.
It is only one door, Derec said. We ll have to come back through it.
Our orders . . .
Do what you want, Derec said. We re going on.
With that, Derec and Katherine continued down the hallway, turning
once to see the attentive robots before opening the door and stepping
inside.
What they found was a spiral staircase leading up to a door set ten
feet above their heads.
You want to go first? Derec asked.
Go ahead, Katherine returned. I left my courage back in that
sealed room.
Derec moved slowly up the stairs, a feeling of expectation rising
slowly in his stomach. He connected the word, butterflies, to the
feeling, but had no idea of what it meant. He reached the door, and
pushed the stud, expecting it to be locked up tight.
It wasn t.
The door slid easily and opened, he thought at first, to the outside. It
was as if he were walking onto an open platform set with furniture
and a desk, a beautiful, panoramic view of Robot City all around. But
there was no feel of the air, no wind, no heat from the mid-morning
sun.
How did we get outside? Katherine asked, following him in.
We re not, Derec said, pointing behind her.
The outside view was marred by the still-open doorway, a black maw
in the center of downtown. When he pushed the stud to close the
door, the full view was restored.
Viewscreens? she asked.
I think so, he replied. There must be a series of small cameras set
around the peak of the pyramid to give the view, which is then put on
the screens. Look, he pointed, even above us.
She looked up to see pinkish-blue sky above. That would be the view
from the platform we materialized on, she said.
Fascinating, he said softly, knowing they d finally stumble upon
something. If you were sitting in here, you could watch someone
materialize on the platform and they d never know it.
Do you think someone watched us materialize? she asked, eyes
wide.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
He shrugged. I d have to think it probable at this point, he said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
before?
Yes, Rec said. Most of this building is given to experimentation on
the positronic brain and ways to improve its function. I have
witnessed experiments in almost every laboratory in the structure.
Have you ever seen an office, something that a human might use as
his personal quarters?
No, the robot answered.
Are there parts of the building you have never seen?
Yes.
All right, listen carefully, Derec said, shrugging in Katherine s
direction. I want you to take me to all the parts of the building you
have never seen.
I cannot do that.
Why not? Katherine asked.
There is a sector in the Compass Tower that is off-limits to robots. No
one goes there.
Did someone tell you that, Derec asked, a supervisor?
It is part of our programming, Rec said.
Eve agreed. Not even supervisors are allowed.
Derec shook his head. Just like robots all duty, no inquisitiveness. I
want you to take us there, he said.
I already told you it was off-limits, Rec said.
Derec smiled. I don t mean for you to take me inside the off-limits
part, he said. Just take me as close as you can get and point it out to
me.
That seemed amenable enough, so the two witnesses led the way,
while Derec and Katherine followed closely. They walked the maze-
like halls, twisting and turning, but always going higher. An elevator
took them six floors up, but that wasn t even the end of it. It was
interesting to Derec. The meeting room had been designed to look like
it was at the apex of the pyramid, but it was actually only about
halfway up the structure, perhaps the illusion being more spiritual in
intent than anything else.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
The upper levels had begun to get rather small, doorways appearing
more sparsely between the gently glowing wall panels, when the
robots abruptly stopped. Rec pointed to a door at the end of a short
hallway.
We can go no farther, the robot said. No one knows where that
doorway leads.
If you want to wait here, Derec said, we ll be back soon.
But it is off-limits, Eve said.
To robots, not humans, Katherine replied.
But we cannot separate, Rec persisted.
It is only one door, Derec said. We ll have to come back through it.
Our orders . . .
Do what you want, Derec said. We re going on.
With that, Derec and Katherine continued down the hallway, turning
once to see the attentive robots before opening the door and stepping
inside.
What they found was a spiral staircase leading up to a door set ten
feet above their heads.
You want to go first? Derec asked.
Go ahead, Katherine returned. I left my courage back in that
sealed room.
Derec moved slowly up the stairs, a feeling of expectation rising
slowly in his stomach. He connected the word, butterflies, to the
feeling, but had no idea of what it meant. He reached the door, and
pushed the stud, expecting it to be locked up tight.
It wasn t.
The door slid easily and opened, he thought at first, to the outside. It
was as if he were walking onto an open platform set with furniture
and a desk, a beautiful, panoramic view of Robot City all around. But
there was no feel of the air, no wind, no heat from the mid-morning
sun.
How did we get outside? Katherine asked, following him in.
We re not, Derec said, pointing behind her.
The outside view was marred by the still-open doorway, a black maw
in the center of downtown. When he pushed the stud to close the
door, the full view was restored.
Viewscreens? she asked.
I think so, he replied. There must be a series of small cameras set
around the peak of the pyramid to give the view, which is then put on
the screens. Look, he pointed, even above us.
She looked up to see pinkish-blue sky above. That would be the view
from the platform we materialized on, she said.
Fascinating, he said softly, knowing they d finally stumble upon
something. If you were sitting in here, you could watch someone
materialize on the platform and they d never know it.
Do you think someone watched us materialize? she asked, eyes
wide.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
He shrugged. I d have to think it probable at this point, he said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]