Chapter 7 Chapter Seven The Second Murder

Daniel stood at the door: "What happened? Elijah—" The scene in front of him explained everything, and Daniel immediately shouted: "Hannis Grue's robot! Your master is injured, robot!" A robot strode into the restaurant immediately, and a dozen more robots walked in after a minute or two. Three of them gently lifted Grue away, while others were busy picking up glasses and plates that had fallen from the floor. Daniel suddenly shouted: "Hey, robots! Don't worry about those things, quickly form a search team, check whether there is anyone else in the house, notify all the robots outside the house to be alert, and search every corner of this property. If you find any owner , catch him, don't hurt him (this reminder is really unnecessary), but don't let him go away. If you don't find the master, let me know, and I will stay by the video display."

After the robots dispersed, Bailey whispered to Daniel, "You've done a good job. Obviously someone poisoned Guruer's glass of drink." "Yes, without a doubt, partner Ilya." Daniel sat down in a weird posture, as if his knees were weak.Bailey had never seen him with weak legs like a human. "My mechanical device can't accept human beings being hurt." Daniel explained to him. "But there's nothing you can do." "I know, but it kind of clogs up my network of thoughts. To use a human analogy, it's shocking." "If this is the case, then you can overcome it." Bailey really has no patience to face a cowardly robot, let alone sympathy, "We have to think about one thing - the instigator, if there is poison, there must be poison people."

"Maybe food poisoning." "Food poisoning? Happened in such a clean world? Absolutely impossible! And judging from Guruer's situation, the poison is in the water, and the toxicity occurs quickly, and the amount of venom is large. Okay, Daniel , I want to go to the next room and think about it, you go to contact Mrs. Dahlman to make sure she is not at home, and check how far her home is from Grue's house by the way." "You think she—" Bailey raised his hand to stop Daniel from continuing: "You just go and check, can you?" He walked out of the room, wanting to be alone for a while.It is absolutely impossible for Solariworld to have two unrelated murders happen in such a short period of time.The easiest thing to assume if there is a connection between them is that Guruer is telling the truth.

Bailey felt a familiar excitement welling up inside him.He came here with a sense that the earth and himself were in danger, that the murder had been a distant event, but now the pursuit of the murderer was a real fact, and his jaw was shaking with tension. Just now, the murderer or murderers actually committed murder in front of him, which really made him feel humiliated.Is he so insignificant in the eyes of others?This greatly hit Bailey's professional dignity, but on the other hand he had to face this fact.At least, this can give him a good reason to investigate this case as a simple murder case, and he can even care about whether the earth is in crisis or not.

At this moment, Daniel came in to him: "I have done as you said, partner Elijah." He strode towards Belle and said, "Mrs. Dahlman is at home. I saw her. Her family and Guru E’s house is about 1,600 kilometers away.” Bailey said, "I'll see her later. Uh, I mean see her." He looked at Daniel carefully. "Do you think she has anything to do with this poisoning?" "On the face of it, she has no direct connection, partner Elijah." "You imply that she may be indirectly involved in this case?" "She might call someone else to poison her."

"Anyone else?" Bailey asked immediately, "Who?" "I don't know, partner Ilya." "If someone did it for her, that person must be at the scene of the crime." "Yes," Daniel said, "the person had to be present to pour the poison into the drink." "Is it possible that this cup of venom was ready in the morning or earlier?" "I've thought of that too, partner Ilya," said Daniel softly, "and that's why I say, 'On the face of it,' Mrs. Dahlmann has no direct connection to the crime. She may well have been there earlier." The scene. We'd better check her whereabouts."

"We'll find out. We'll also find out when she was at the scene." Bailey's lips moved slightly.He once thought that the reasoning function of robots in certain aspects is not perfect, and now he has confirmed his idea, just like the robotics expert said, it is logical but unreasonable. He said, "Let's go to the viewing room and get the image of the Gruer family out." Now, Bailey was facing a tidy room, and there was absolutely no sign that someone had collapsed in pain tens of minutes ago. There are three robots standing in the room.With their backs to the wall, they showed the usual submissive expressions of robots.

"How is your master now?" said Bailey. "The doctor is taking care of him, master," said the robot in the middle. "Watch him or see him?" "Watch him, master." "What did the doctor say? Did your master save you?" "Not sure yet, Master." "Have you searched the house?" "A thorough search, Master." "Aside from your master, is there any sign of other masters there?" "No, master." "Are there any clues that show that other owners have been there recently?" "No, master."

"Have you searched the outside of the house?" "I have searched, Master." "Has there been any results so far?" "No, master." Bailey nodded. "Okay, now I want to speak to the robot serving the table tonight." "He's been detained for examination, Master. He's reacting strangely." "Can he talk?" "Yes, master." "Then you bring him here immediately." The robot didn't act right away.Bailey repeated: "I said call him—" Daniel interjected, "These robots on Solari World are in radio contact with each other. The one you're looking for has been ordered to summon. If he's late, it's because he's been partially disturbed by what just happened. .”

Bailey nodded.He should have imagined that these robots could communicate with each other by radio.In a world where robots run everything, they must be closely connected, or the system will collapse.This also explains why a dozen robots follow after a robot is summoned; these dozen robots come because of a need, otherwise they would not have appeared. Now, a robot limped in, dragging its legs.Bailey didn't know what was wrong with him.Then he shrugged when he thought of the primitive robots on Earth.Once the positron network of the earth robot is damaged, its external reaction is also difficult for laymen to see.A broken wire might affect the function of a robot's legs, like this one.This is important in the eyes of robotics experts, but it means nothing to the average person.

Bailey asked cautiously: "Do you remember that colorless liquid on your master's table? The drink you poured into the goblet for him?" The robot said, "Remember, Mere Man." His speech function was also out of order. Bailey said, "What's that drink?" "It's water, Juren." "Just water? Nothing else?" "Just water, Juggernaut." "Where does the water come from?" "From the water tank, Moment Man." "Did the glass of water sit in the kitchen before you went to bring it?" "Yes. Ji people don't like to drink water that is too cold, so he ordered that the water be ready an hour before the meal." Bailey thought, it would be so convenient if the other party knew the habit of Grue! He went on to say: "As soon as the doctor who takes care of your master is free, I will ask a robot to help me contact him. In addition, I want a robot to explain to me how the water storage tank works. I want to know the water supply here." It wasn't long before Bailey saw a doctor.His name was Aden Saul, and he was the oldest Outerworlder Baley had ever seen.The blood vessels on the old man's hands protruded one by one, and he had short white hair.Bailey thought he might be over three hundred years old.He kept clacking his front teeth with his fingers, a habit that Bailey hated very much. Dr. Saul said: "Although Grue spit out most of the venom, it may not be able to save life, which is unfortunate." He said with a heavy sigh. "Doctor, what poison is that?" asked Baley. "I'm afraid even I don't know." (Ka——ka——) "What? Then how do you heal him?" "Stimulate the muscle nerves directly to prevent him from being paralyzed. Other than that, you have to resign yourself to fate." His old yellow face was like long-worn leather.At this time, an apologetic expression appeared on his face. "We have no experience in this kind of thing. I have practiced medicine for more than two centuries. I don't remember dealing with such a case." Bailey looked at him contemptuously: "You should know that there is such a thing as poison, right?" "Oh yes. (Crack-click) It's common sense." "You can refer to the information on the film book to look up this poison." "It will take several days. Because we have a lot of mineral poisons, insecticides, and bacterial toxins here. Although there are very detailed instructions in the film book, it will take a long time. To get the equipment right and develop the technology to test these poisons." "If no one in the Solari world knows," Bailey said sternly, "I suggest you contact another planet and find out what poison it is. Besides, you'd better check the stockpile in Grue's home." Check the water tank to see if it has been poisoned. If necessary, you should go to the scene and check it yourself." Bailey gave orders to the weak outsider as if he were not polite to a robot.It never occurred to him that such an attitude was inappropriate, and the outsider showed no sign of displeasure. Dr. Sol said cautiously: "How could the water tank be poisoned? I'm sure that's impossible." "Probably not," Bayley agreed, "but you'd better check to be sure." The chances of the tank being poisoned are indeed slim, and according to the robot's description, the tank is a typical self-adjusting device in Solariworld.No matter where the water comes from, once it enters the storage tank, it is adjusted to be potable water.It will remove microorganisms, eliminate inactive organic matter, add an appropriate amount of carbon dioxide, and mix various trace ions that can best meet the needs of the human body.After being treated with this tuning device, it is impossible for any poison to exist. If this can confirm that the water storage tank is indeed safe, then it is also clear when to poison.The point is that in the hour before eating, the process of making the water in the kettle not so cold—because of the exposure to air, Bale thought sullenly—Grue's special habit is really "hygienic." ". Dr. Sol frowned: "But how do I check the water tank?" "Jesus! Take an animal! Fetch it some water from the tank, or inject water into its veins. Use your brains, man. You gotta check the water in the jug too." , if the water is poisonous—it must be poisonous, then refer to the information in the film book and do some tests according to the method above. Find a simpler film book to read, and do something!" "Wait a minute, what kettle?" "The pot with the poison, the pot the robot took to pour the water into the cup." "Oh my god - I think it's been cleaned, a housekeeping robot must not have left it lying around." Bailey groaned and almost swore.Yeah, no, of course not!Those damn robots are really efficient at doing things, destroying the evidence so quickly and completely, it is almost impossible to find the complete evidence now.He should have ordered the robot to leave the kettle just now, but this planet is not his planet, and he hasn't taken any correct actions here from beginning to end. God! The robot finally finished checking.There are no outsiders on Grue's property, and there is no clue that anyone has come here without permission. "The situation is getting more and more confusing, partner Ilya, we can't find the person who poisoned us," Daniel said. Baley was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely heard him say, "What? No, no, it just makes things clearer." He didn't explain to Daniel why he was so sure.He knew that Daniel couldn't understand and couldn't believe what he affirmed. Daniel didn't ask him to explain.Robots will not invade human minds. Bailey paced restlessly to and fro, dreading the time when it was time to go to bed.At that time, he will be even more afraid of the open space, and he will miss everything on the earth even more.At this moment, he felt that he was eagerly hoping for something to keep happening instead. He said to Daniel, "I'd better go see Mrs. Dahlman again and call the robot."