‘Proofread it?’

‘Yes. In the short time it took him to turn those pages, he caught every mistake in spelling, grammar and punctuation. He has noted errors in word order and detected inconsistencies. And he will retain the information, letter-perfect, indefinitely.’

The professor’s mouth was open. He walked rapidly away from Lanning and Easy and as rapidly back. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at them. Finally he said, ‘You mean this is a proofreading robot?’

Lanning nodded. ‘Among other things.’

‘But why do you show it to me?’

‘So that you might help me persuade the university to obtain it for use.’

‘To read proof?’

‘Among other things,’ Lanning repeated patiently.

The professor drew his pinched face together in a kind of sour disbelief. ‘But this is ridiculous!’

‘Why?’

‘The university could never afford to buy this half-ton – it must weigh that at least – this half-ton proofreader.’

‘Proofreading is not all it will do. It will prepare reports from outlines, fill out forms, serve as an accurate memory-file, grade papers—’

‘All picayune!’

Lanning said, ‘Not at all, as I can show you in a moment. But I think we can discuss this more comfortably in your office, if you have no objection.’

‘No, of course not,’ began the professor mechanically and took a half-step as though to tum. Then he snapped out, ‘But the robot-we can’t take the robot. Really, Doctor, you’ll have to crate it up again.’

‘Time enough. We can leave Easy here.’

‘Unattended?’

‘Why not? He knows he is to stay. Professor Goodfellow, it is necessary to understand that a robot is far more reliable than a human being.’

‘I would be responsible for any damage—’

‘There will be no damage. I guarantee that. Look, it’s after hours. You expect no one here, I imagine, before tomorrow morning. The truck and my two men are outside. U.S. Robots will take any responsibility that may arise. None will. Call it a demonstration of the reliability of the robot.’

The professor allowed himself to be led out of the storeroom. Nor did he look entirely comfortable in his own office, five stories up.

He dabbed at the line of droplets along the upper half of his forehead with a white handkerchief.

‘As you know very well, Dr Lanning, there are laws against the use of robots on Earth’s surface,’ he pointed out.

‘The laws, Professor Goodfellow, are not simple ones. Robots may not be used on public thorotfghfares or within public edifices. They may not be used on private grounds or within private structures except under certain restrictions that usually turn out to be prohibitive. The university, however, is a large and privately owned institution that usually receives preferential treatment. If the robot is used only in a specific room for only academic purposes, if certain other restrictions are observed and if the men and women having occasion to enter the room cooperate fully, we may remain within the law.’

‘But all that trouble just to read proof?’

‘The uses would be infinite, Professor. Robotic labor has so far been used only to relieve physical drudgery. Isn’t there such a thing as mental drudgery? When a professor capable of the most useful creative thought 1s forced to spend two weeks painfully checking the spelling of lines of print and I offer you a machine that can do it in thirty minutes, is that picayune?’

‘But the price—’

‘The price need not bother you. You cannot buy EZ-27. U.S. Robots does not sell its products. But the university can lease EZ-27 for a thousand dollars a year – considerably less than the cost of a single microwave spectograph continuous-recording attachment.’

Goodfellow looked stunned. Lanning followed up his advantage by saying, ‘I only ask that you put it up to whatever group makes the decisions here. I would be glad to speak to them if they want more information.’

‘Well,’ Goodfellow said doubtfully, ‘I can bring it up at next week’s Senate meeting. I can’t promise that will do any good, though.’

‘Naturally,’ said Lanning.

The Defense Attorney was short and stubby and carried himself rather portentously, a stance that had the effect of accentuating his double chin. He stared at Professor Goodfellow, once that witness had been handed over, and said, ‘You agreed rather readily, did you not?’

The Professor said briskly, ‘I suppose I was anxious to be rid of Dr Lanning. I would have agreed to anything.’

‘With the intention of forgetting about it after he left?’

‘Well—’

‘Nevertheless, you did present the matter to a meeting of the Executive Board of the University Senate.’

‘Yes, I did.’

‘So that you agreed in good faith with Dr Lanning’s suggestions. You weren’t just going along with a gag. You actually agreed enthusiastically, did you not?’

‘I merely followed ordinary procedures.’

‘As a matter of fact, you weren’t as upset about the robot as you now claim you were. You know the Three Laws of Robotics and you knew them at the time of your interview with Dr Lanning.’

‘Well, yes.’

‘And you were perfectly willing to leave a robot at large and unattended.’

‘Dr Lanning assured me—’

‘Surely you would never have accepted his assurance if you had had the slightest fear that the robot might be in the least dangerous.’

The professor began frigidly, ‘I had every faith in the word—’

‘That is all,’ said Defense abruptly.

As Professor Goodfellow, more than a bit ruffled, stood down, Justice Shane leaned forward and said, ‘Since I am not a robotics man myself, I would appreciate knowing precisely what the Three Laws of Robotics are. Would Dr Lanning quote them for the benefit of the court?’

Dr Lanning looked startled. He had been virtually bumping heads with the gray-haired woman at his side. He rose to his feet now and the woman looked up, too – expressionlessly.

Dr Lanning said, ‘Very well, Your Honor.’ He paused as though about to launch into an oration and said, with laborious clarity, ‘First Law: a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law: a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law: a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.’

‘I see,’ said the judge, taking rapid notes. ‘These Laws are built into every robot, are they?’