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.No robot will work with any other or allow any other topass, unless the other robot can demonstrate the use of his comlink.SinceJeff does not have this ability, he will eventually be identified. We could have built a radio system into his body, said Surgeon 1. It seemedan 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 yoursearch until the very last minute.And if he s lucky, he might sneak throughthe ring as it closes.Surgeon 2 shook its head.Unlike most Avery robots, he seemed to like thesegestures. It is not a ring, but a solid circle.Even if he moves out into thepreviously tested area without being identified, he will still be challengedby every robot who sees him.The testing will not cease until we report thathe has been detained.Derec nodded in approval. Not bad.I still say it will take a while, unlesshe gets careless. Agreed, said Research 1. It could take an extended period of time, but itwill identify him without fail.Chances of his capture will be maximized ifwe 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 imperativePage 56ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlinstructs us to override his orders. What are we supposed to do? Ariel turned her hands palm up and lookedaround 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 himidentified.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.CHAPTER 13LIFE ON THE RUNJeff 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 discoveredthough he didn t know why that mattered.The robot pursuit, driven by theirhorror of an apparent robot violating the First Law, the fundamental rule oftheir existence, was much greater now than it had been before.It was atestimonial to the imperative of the First Law that now, as he ran, everyhumanoid robot in the area dropped its duties to give chase, informed silentlyof his transgression by the comlinks of two robots that had happened towitness 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 positronicbrains, the function robots could not make any advanced judgments of theirown, but they could follow instructions.Little sweepers and couriers beganzigzagging in front of him; giant construction equipment, intelligent enoughnot to require drivers, blocked his path down other streets.Behind him, allmanner of weirdly shaped devices had joined the growing number of humanoidrobots chasing him down the street. Come on, Jeffrey; come on, Jeffrey, he thought to himself as he ran, therhythm of the phrase keeping time with his beating footsteps.He was evenstarting to breathe again, perhaps because the stress had caused a greaterneed for oxygen in his brain, even though his physical activity would not havecaused that need.What a time to think about his physiology, he sneered athimself.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.Heangled for it on a collision course with a large, block-shaped function robotwith a variety of flexible tentacles ending in tools.The function robotrolled to a stop, filling the entrance to the tunnel.Jeff grimaced at leaston 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 hisfooting.The impact had shoved the function robot back just enough for him toslide past one of its comers and run down the ramp.He nearly stumbled as theramp started to move, and he ran, tripping on his toes, into the nearestbooth.This time he knew how to work the controls, and took off quickly intothe dim light of the tunnel.He looked back once, and saw the crowd of humanoid robots pouring down theramp and entering platform booths
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