William Wu - Cyborg

“A logical assumption,” said Research 1.

“All right, hold it,” said Derec. “I’d like to go at this in a straight line, if you don’t mind. As I see it, we have three problems. In order to get a hold of this guy Jeff, we have to locate him and identify him and grab him. Is this pattern search of yours going to capture him? How does it work?”

“It employs the entire robot population of Robot City,” said Research 1. “However, they do not have to leave their duties. We have set up a net of testing around the perimeter of the city, moving inward, that goes from one robot to the next. No robot will work with any other or allow any other to pass, unless the other robot can demonstrate the use of his comlink. Since Jeff does not have this ability, he will eventually be identified.”

“We could have built a radio system into his body,” said Surgeon 1. “It seemed an unnecessary contradiction to his human identity, so we chose not to do so.”

“Good thing,” said Derec. “It sounds like your search could take a long time, though. If he’s smart, and wants to escape notice, he can keep away from your search until the very last minute. And if he’s lucky, he might sneak through the ring as it closes. “

Surgeon 2 shook its head. Unlike most Avery robots, he seemed to like these gestures. “It is not a ring, but a solid circle. Even if he moves out into the previously tested area without being identified, he will still be challenged by every robot who sees him. The testing will not cease until we report that he has been detained.”

Derec nodded in approval. “Not bad. I still say it will take a while, unless he gets careless.”

“Agreed,” said Research 1. “It could take an extended period of time, but it will identify him without fail. Chances of his capture will be maximized if we have one of you, the humans, on hand t:» detain him, however. Otherwise, the Second Law will allow him to order us away unless a First Law imperative instructs us to override his orders.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Ariel turned her hands palm up and looked around at the three robots. “We can’t order him around any more than you can. And he’s stronger than you are.”

The robots were silent.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Derec decided. “The first job is to get him identified. Maybe we can think of a way to shortcut the search process.”

“Perhaps so,” said Research 1. “We are at your disposal.”

“So to speak,” added Surgeon 2.

Jeff was on the run. He had shoved Derec and Ariel aside in a frenzied panic, aching to speak with fellow humans and yet terrified of being discovered-though he didn’t know why that mattered. The robot pursuit, driven by their horror of an apparent robot violating the First Law, the fundamental rule of their existence, was much greater now than it had been before. It was a testimonial to the imperative of the First Law that now, as he ran, every humanoid robot in the area dropped its duties to give chase, informed silently of his transgression by the comlinks of two robots that had happened to witness his physical assault on the humans.

Even the function robots began to impede him as he ran down the street, apparently ordered by the robots already in pursuit. Without positronic brains, the function robots could not make any advanced judgments of their own, but they could follow instructions. Little sweepers and couriers began zigzagging in front of him; giant construction equipment, intelligent enough not to require drivers, blocked his path down other streets. Behind him, all manner of weirdly shaped devices had joined the growing number of humanoid robots chasing him down the street.

“Come on, Jeffrey; come on, Jeffrey,” he thought to himself as he ran, the rhythm of the phrase keeping time with his beating footsteps. He was even starting to breathe again, perhaps because the stress had caused a greater need for oxygen in his brain, even though his physical activity would not have caused that need. What a time to think about his physiology, he sneered at himself.

Ahead of him, more robots of all kinds were shifting to cut off his escape. They almost had him-no! On the right, an open tunnel stop invited him. He angled for it on a collision course with a large, block-shaped function robot with a variety of flexible tentacles ending in tools. The function robot rolled to a stop, filling the entrance to the tunnel. Jeff grimaced-at least on the inside-and reflexively clenched his steel jaw as he collided with it.

Jeff bounced away, but caught at one of the extended tentacles to maintain his footing. The impact had shoved the function robot back just enough for him to slide past one of its comers and run down the ramp. He nearly stumbled as the ramp started to move, and he ran, tripping on his toes, into the nearest booth. This time he knew how to work the controls, and took off quickly into the dim light of the tunnel.

He looked back once, and saw the crowd of humanoid robots pouring down the ramp and entering platform booths. The function robots had been eliminated from the chase, since the booths were designed for intelligent, humanoid passengers. He faced forward again, now trying to blend with the other robots riding in booths.

He shifted to one of the mid-speed lanes and looked nonchalant. In a way, he was new at losing himself in the crowd, and yet, after being highly visible all his life, this was ridiculously easy. Some of the robots in pursuit came alongside, and others passed him, but they could not distinguish between him and the others. He had no way of knowing if they were trying to reach him through their comlinks or not, but if so, they didn’t seem to know who was answering and who was not. All the robots within sight were standing in roughly the same position, confined in booths the same way.

When a couple of robots rode into the siding at the next tunnel stop, some of the pursuing robots followed them. Jeff realized then that the longer he remained riding the platform, the thinner the pursuit would become. So he stayed where he was, occasionally changing lanes as though he were traveling in a deliberate manner to a specific destination.

It worked.

He smiled to himself as he rode. Three times, now, he had escaped robots that were chasing him. Nor had he outmuscled them-if he could use that term for robot arms. He had had to outsmart them, in the end, since they were physically as strong as he was. And if they ever really got hold of him, he would claim his rights as a human to consideration under the Laws of Robotics.

They were no match for him.

Only other humans had the same ultimate power over the robots that he did, based on the Laws…but, of course, they would be much weaker physically. He realized, for the first time, that he was actually the single most powerful individual on the entire planet. If he was careful, he could do anything here that he wanted.

Of course, he had no idea of how the city was governed. Perhaps the robots had some kind of city councilor something. It didn’t matter, since they would have to obey him if he decided to reveal himself and give them orders. He had to make sure they couldn’t catch him, though.

He shook his head slightly, trying to remember why he didn’t want to be caught. Nor could he figure out why he was afraid of the robots, if they had to obey his orders. It didn’t make sense, but that was how he felt.

Maybe those two humans could join him. Of course, they would have to undergo the same transplant surgery that he had. Then all three of them would be virtually invincible, not only against the robots, but against any other humans who might come to this planet. They might not like the idea, but it could be done without their agreement. After all, he hadn’t had any chance to discuss the matter, either.