[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Baley forced himself to speak quietly and reason-ably. I think I can endure it for a short time, Daneel. That is not my feeling, Partner Elijah. Let me be the judge, Daneel. If that is an order, Partner Elijah, I cannot followit.Baley let himself lounge back against the softlyupholstered seat.The robot would, of course, be quitebeyond the reach of force.Daneel s strength, if exertedfully, would be a hundred times that of flesh andblood.He would be perfectly capable of restrainingBaley without ever hurting him.Baley was armed.He could point a blaster atThe Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 33THE NAKED SUN33Daneel, but, except for perhaps a momentary sensationof mastery, that action would only succeed in greaterfrustration.A threat of destruction was useless againsta robot.Self-preservation was only the Third Law.It went: A robot must protect its own existence, aslong as such protection does not conflict with the Firstor Second Laws.It would not trouble Daneel to be destroyed if thealternative were breaking the First Law.And Baley didnot wish to destroy Daneel.Definitely not.Yet he did want to see out the car.It was becomingan obsession with him.He couldn t allow this nurse-infant relationship to build up.For a moment he thought of pointing the blaster athis own temple.Open the car top or I ll kill myself.Oppose one application of the First Law by a greaterand more immediate one.Baley knew he couldn t do it.Too undignified.Hedisliked the picture conjured up by the thought.He said wearily, Would you ask the driver howclose in miles we are to destination? Certainly, Partner Elijah.Daneel bent forward and pushed the toggle switch.But as he did so, Baley leaned forward too, crying out, Driver! Lower the top of the car!And it was the human hand that moved quickly tothe toggle switch and closed it again.The human handheld its place firmly thereafter.Panting a bit, Baley stared at Daneel.For a second Daneel was motionless, as though hispositronic paths were momentarily out of stability intheir effort to adjust to the new situation.But thatpassed quickly and then the robot s hand was moving.The Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 34ISAAC ASIMOV34Baley had anticipated that.Daneel would removethe human hand from the switch (gently, not hurtingit), reactivate the transmitter, and countermand theorder.Baley said, You won t get my hand away withouthurting me.I warn you.You will probably have tobreak my fingers.That was not so.Baley knew that.But Daneel smovements stopped.Harm against harm.Thepositronic brain had to weigh probabilities and trans-late them into opposing potentials.It meant just a bitmore hesitation.Baley said, It s too late.His race was won.The top was sliding back andpouring into the car, now open, was the harsh whitelight of Solaria s sun.Baley wanted to shut his eyes in initial terror, butfought the sensation.He faced the enormous wash ofblue and green, incredible quantities of it.He couldfeel the undisciplined rush of air against his face, butcould make out no details of anything.A movingsomething flashed past.It might have been a robot oran animal or an unliving something caught in a puff ofair.He couldn t tell.The car went past it too quickly.Blue, green, air, noise, motion and over it all,beating down, furiously, relentlessly, frighteningly,was the white light that came from a ball in the sky.For one fleeting split moment he bent his headback and stared directly at Solaria s sun.He stared atit, unprotected by the diffusing glass of the Citiesuppermost-Level sunporches.He stared at the nakedsun.And at that very moment he felt Daneel s handsThe Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 35THE NAKED SUN35clamping down upon his shoulders.His mind crowdedwith thought during that unreal, whirling moment.Hehad to see! He had to see all he could.And Daneelmust be there with him to keep him from seeing.But surely a robot would not dare use violence ona man.That thought was dominant.Daneel could notprevent him forcibly, and yet Baley felt the robot shands forcing him down.Baley lifted his arms to force those fleshless handsaway and lost all sensation.The Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 363A VICTIM IS NAMEDBaley was back in the safety of enclosure.Daneel sface wavered before his eyes, and it was splotchedwith dark spots that turned to red when he blinked.Baley said, What happened? I regret, said Daneel, that you have sufferedharm despite my presence.The direct rays of the sunare damaging to the human eye, but I believe that thedamage from the short exposure you suffered will notbe permanent.When you looked up, I was forced topull you down and you lost consciousness.Baley grimaced.That left the question open as towhether he had fainted out of overexcitement (orfright?) or had been knocked unconscious.He felt hisjaw and head and found no pain.He forbore asking thequestion direct.In a way he didn t want to know.He said, It wasn t so bad. From your reactions, Partner Elijah, I shouldjudge you had found it unpleasant. Not at all, said Baley stubbornly.The splotchesbefore his eyes were fading and they weren t tearingso. I m only sorry I saw so little
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]