Easy spoke impassively, but with such suddenness that the professor shied. ‘Good afternoon, Professor.’
Easy stood seven feet tall and had the general proportions of a man – always the prime selling point of U.S. Robots. That and the possession of the basic patents on the positronic brain had given them an actual monopoly on robots and a near-monopoly on computing machines in general.
The two men who had uncrated the robot had left now and the professor looked from Lanning to the robot and back to Lanning. ‘It is harmless, I’m sure.’ He didn’t sound sure.
‘More harmless than I am,’ said Lanning. ‘I could be goaded into striking you. Easy could not be. You know the Three Laws of Robotics, I presume.’
‘Yes, of course,’ said Goodfellow.
‘They are built into the positronic patterns of the brain and must be observed. The First Law, the prime rule of robotic existence, safeguards the life and well-being of all humans.’ He paused, rubbed at his cheek, then added, ‘It’s something of which we would like to persuade all Earth if we could.’
‘It’s just that he seems formidable.’
‘Granted. But whatever he seems, you’ll find that he is useful.’
‘I’m not sure in what way. Our conversations were not very helpful in that respect. Still, I agreed to look at the object and I’m doing it.’
‘We’ll do more than look, Professor. Have you brought a book?’
‘I have.’
‘May I see it?’
Professor Goodfellow reached down without actually taking his eyes off the metal-in-human-shape that confronted him. From the briefcase at his feet, he withdrew a book.
Lanning held out his hand for it and looked at the backstrip. ‘Physical Chemistry of Electrolytes in Solution. Fair enough, sir. You selected this yourself, at random. It was no suggestion of mine, this particular text. Am I right?’
‘Yes.’
Lanning passed the book to Robot EZ-27.
The professor jumped a little. ‘No! That’s a valuable book!’
Lanning raised his eyebrows and they looked like shaggy coconut icing. He said, ‘Easy has no intention of tearing the book in two as a feat of strength, I assure you. It can handle a book as carefully as you or I. Go ahead, Easy.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ said Easy. Then, turning its metal bulk slightly, it added, ‘With your permission, Professor Goodfellow.’
The professor stared, then said, ‘Yes – yes, of course.’
With a slow and steady manipulation of metal fingers, Easy turned the pages of the book, glancing at the left page, then the right; turning the page, glancing left, then right; turning the page and so on for minute after minute.
The sense of its power seemed to dwarf even the large cement-walled room in which they stood and to reduce the two human watchers to something considerably less than life-size.
Goodfellow muttered, ‘The light isn’t very good.’
‘It will do.’
Then, rather more sharply, ‘But what is he doing?’
‘Patience, sir.’
The last page was turned eventually. Lanning asked, ‘Well, Easy?’
The robot said, ‘It is a most accurate book and there is little to which I can point. On line 22 of page 27, the word ‘positive’ is spelled p-o-i-s-t-i-v-e. The comma in line 6 of page 32 is superfluous, whereas one should have been used on line 13 of page 54. The plus sign in equation XIV-2 on page 337 should be a minus sign if it is to be consistent with the previous equations—’
‘Wait! Wait!’ cried the professor. ‘What is he doing?’
‘Doing?’ echoed Lanning in sudden irascibility. ‘Why, man, he has already done it! He has proofread that book.’
‘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?’
