Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Robot Kills?

Bailey used the spare time to go to his private room.Looking at the freshly washed face in the mirror, he wondered if he had felt the feeling of the Solari world and the Solari people? He sighed, pressed the touch button, and the robot came.Bailey didn't look back at him, and said directly: "Aside from the video camera I'm using now, are there any other video cameras in the training center?" "There are three more, master." "Then you go and tell Clorisa Gantolo—your master—that I will continue to use this machine, and ask her not to bother me." "Yes Master."

Bailey returned to his original seat.The video camera was still aimed at the position Libby was standing in the room just now, and there was no one in the room at present, and Bailey sat down and waited. He didn't have to wait long.Libby walked into the room, and the whole room rose and fell with his steps.Apparently, this is because the focal length of the video camera lens immediately shifts from the room to the person.Thinking of the complexities of manipulating images, Bailey couldn't help but appreciate the installation and technology. Libby was clearly back to normal now.His hair was brushed back neatly, he changed into a loose dress of shiny texture, and sat in a small chair built into the wall.

His tone was calm: "What is your concept of the first law?" "Will our conversation be tapped?" Bailey asked. "No. I've taken precautions." Bailey nodded. "Let me quote the first rule." "I don't need your quote." "I know. But you still ask me to quote. 'A robot shall not injure a human being, nor shall a human being be harmed by inaction.'" "and then?" "When I arrived at Solari World, a ground vehicle took me to the field assigned to me. The vehicle was sealed so that I would not be exposed to open space. I am an Earthling -"

"I know," interrupted Libby impatiently, "what does that have to do with this?" "Robots driving the car don't know what the purpose of sealing the car is. I told them to open the car, and they obeyed immediately. Because robots must obey human orders, this is the second law. Of course, I felt very uncomfortable when I opened the car, and almost Passed out before the car closed. At this point, did the robots hurt me?" "That was done under your order." Libby said angrily. "Let me quote the second law: 'Robots must obey human orders unless it violates the first law.' So, you see, they should not obey my orders."

"That's ridiculous. The robot doesn't know—" "Ha, that's right!" Bailey leaned forward. "Now let us repeat what the first law should have: A robot may not knowingly harm a human being, nor shall a robot knowingly harm a human being because it does not take action." actions that cause human harm." "Everyone understands this." "I think most people don't understand, otherwise everyone would find out that robots can kill people." Libby's face turned pale: "You're crazy! Crazy!" Bailey looked at his fingertips and said, "I think a robot can do a simple job, a job that is not harmful to humans, right?"

"As long as you order him to do it," Libby replied. "Yes, of course, this robot will obey orders. You can also order another robot, and he will also obey orders. In other words, they can all obey orders to perform a job that is harmless to humans?" "right." "But what if two completely harmless jobs, taken together, amount to murder?" "What?" Libby's face crumpled. "I want your opinion as an expert," Bailey said. "Let's imagine a situation where someone says to a robot: 'You pour a little of this liquid into a glass of milk in a certain place. This liquid is harmless, I just want to know what it will do to the milk, and when I know, the glass of milk will be thrown away. When you have done this, forget about it at once.'”

Still frowning angrily, Libby didn't make a sound. Belley continued: "If I command a robot to pour an unknown liquid into milk and then give that glass of milk to a human being, the first law forces the robot to ask: 'What liquid is this? Will it harm a human being? ' Even if I assure him that the liquid is harmless, the robot may hesitate to offer the glass of milk to a human being because of the first law. However, if I tell him that the glass of milk must be thrown away, it will It has nothing to do with the first law, so wouldn't the robot be sure to obey my orders?"

Libby glared at him. Bailey said: "Now, if you think about it again, there was already a robot that poured an unknown liquid into the milk; another robot didn't know that the milk had been tampered with, so he gave the milk to people completely innocently, and then , the man is dead." "No!" Libby yelled. "Why not? Both jobs are harmless in themselves, and kill only when combined. Do you think it's impossible?" "The murderer should be the one who gave the order!" Libby roared. "If you want to argue, you are right. But these two robots are the direct murderers, the tools of the murder."

"No one would give such an order." "One man will, and he's done it. That must be the way to murder Grue, and I think you've heard about it." "In Solari World," Libby murmured, "everyone knows what happens." "Then you must know that Grue was poisoned at the dinner table in front of me and my colleague Mr. Oliva from Aurora World. Can you tell me another way to get the poison into Grue's mouth? There were no other humans on Grue's estate at the time. As a Solari, you should agree with that." "I'm not a detective, what can I agree to?"

"I've offered you an idea, and I want to know if it's feasible, and I wonder if it's possible for two robots, each performing a separate, harmless job, to end up murdering. You are an expert, Dr. Libby, is this even possible?" Libby was forced to be a little helpless: "Maybe." His voice was so low that it was almost inaudible. Bailey said, "That's good. The first law turns out to be nothing more than that." Libby looked at Bailey.His drooping eyelids twitched slowly, and the hands that had been clasped together loosened, but the fingers remained in their original shape, as if they were still holding hands with a non-existent hand.Then he put his palms down on his knees, and only then did his fingers really relax.

Bailey watched his movements absently. Libby said: "Your idea is theoretically possible, but only theoretically possible! Don't you dismiss the First Law so easily, Earthlings. You have to order very skillfully to avoid the First Law." limits." "That's right," Bailey said. "I'm just an Earthling, so I don't know anything about robots. What I just mentioned are just examples. If you were Solaris, how to give orders It must be more subtle and more effective, I'm pretty sure of that." Libby probably wasn't even listening to what Bailey was saying.He just said loudly: "If robots can be manipulated by humans to harm humans, it only means that we must expand the positronic brain of robots. Some people may say that we should make humans kinder and not do such things. But this is impossible. So we have to make the robot more advanced. "We are constantly improving, and our robots are more and more varied, more specialized, more capable, and less harmful than in the previous century. In the next century, we will improve even more, and maybe one day, We could put a positronic brain directly into the dashboard of a spacecraft, and we wouldn't need a robot. It's a specialization, but we can also make a single robot multipurpose, and we can even make a robots that can change their limbs and make them do all sorts of jobs. Why not? If we" Bailey interrupted him: "Are you the sole robotics expert in Solari World?" "Do not be silly." "I just want to know. Like Dr. Dahlman is the only... er... embryonic engineer, and only one assistant." "There are more than twenty robotics experts in Solari World." "And you're the best of them all?" "That's right," Libby said without changing his face. "Dahlmann ever worked with you?" "Ok." "As far as I know," Bailey said, "Dalman planned to break up with you before he died." "That's not the case, why do you think so?" "I know he doesn't agree with your idea of ​​not getting married." "He might not approve, he's a typical Solari after all, but that doesn't affect our working relationship." "Let's change the subject. In addition to researching and developing new types of robots, do you also manufacture or repair existing ones?" Libby said: "Manufacturing and repairing are mostly done by robots. There is a large manufacturing plant and repairing plant on my site." "Do robots often need repairs?" "rare." "Does this mean that the science of maintenance robots has not progressed?" "Yes." Libby was upset. "How is the robot at the scene of the Dahlman murder?" Libby looked away: "It's completely useless." He seemed to be thinking of something painful. "Is it really completely scrapped? Can it still answer questions?" "No. It's 100 percent useless. Its positronic brain is completely short-circuited, and every single circuit is burned out. Come to think of it, it's powerless to stop the murder it saw—" "By the way, why is it powerless to stop the murder?" "Who knows? Dr. Dahlman happened to be experimenting with the robot, and I don't know what state of mind he had put in the robot. For example, he may have ordered the robot to shut down while he checked a certain line. If at this time, someone who neither Dahlmann nor the robot expected suddenly commits an attack, the robot must pass through a long period of time before it can use the potential of the first law to overcome Dr. Dahlmann's order forbidding him to operate. Long or short, depending on the nature of the murder and how Dahlmann's order to keep him from functioning was given. I can think of many ways to explain why the robot could not prevent the murder. His inability violates the first law, so in his mind Every positron network exploded." "If the robot is only physically incapable of preventing the murder, is he also responsible? Does the first law require the robot to do what he cannot?" Libby shrugged: "No matter how much you want to belittle the First Law, he has done his best to protect human beings. It does not allow any excuses. If the First Law is destroyed, the robot will also be destroyed." "Is that an unbreakable rule for robots, sir?" "Yes, every robot is subject to such restrictions." "Now I finally learned something," Bailey said. "Then you should learn something else. Your theory of murder, made up of robots doing their own harmless jobs, won't help you solve the Dahlmann murder." "why?" "The cause of his death was not poison, but the blow of the club. The club must be held by something, and that thing must be someone's hand. A robot cannot break a human head with a club." "Suppose," Bailey said, "that a robot pushes some innocuous touch button, only to drop a heavy object on Dalman's head?" Libby sneered: "Earthlings, I have seen the murder scene on video, and heard all the news and news reports. You know, murder is a big deal in Solari World. As far as I know, there is no crime at the scene." Mechanical objects exist, and no heavy objects have fallen." "And without any blunt tools," Baley added for him. Libby said contemptuously, "You're a detective, and it's your business to find the murder weapon." "Even if the robot is not responsible for Dahlman's death, then who should be responsible?" "Everybody knows who's in charge!" cried Libby. "His wife, Gnadia!" On this point, at least, Bailey thought, everyone was in agreement. He raised his voice: "Then who is the master who made the robot poison Guruer?" "I think..." Libby's voice dropped. "You don't think there are two murderers, do you? If Gnadia is responsible for the first crime, she must also be responsible for the second?" "Yes, you are right," Libby said convincingly, "There is no doubt about it." "no doubt?" "No one can get close enough to Dr. Dahlman to kill him. He is absolutely invisible like me, only be patient with his wife. I am smarter, and I don't recognize my relatives." The robotics expert said loudly laughing out loud. "I hear you know her?" said Bailey suddenly. "Who?" "She. There's only one 'she' we're talking about, Gnadia!" "I don't know anyone. Who told you I knew her?" Libby demanded.He touched his throat lightly with his hand, and pulled down the collar to make his breathing easier. "Gnadia told me herself. You two often walk together." "So what? We're neighbors, and it's normal to go for walks together, and she doesn't seem to be annoying." "Does that mean you like her quite a bit?" Libby shrugged: "Talking to her can make you feel lighter." "What did you talk to her about?" "Robotics," he replied with some surprise, as if wondering why Bailey would ask such a question. "Does she talk to you about robotics, too?" "She doesn't know anything about robotics, utterly ignorant! But she listens. Mostly she talks about some kind of force field thingy she's playing with, which she calls force field painting. I'm impatient with that, but I'll still listen to her." "Aren't you all chatting while meeting in person?" Libby seemed offended and didn't answer. Bailey tries again: "Are you infatuated with her?" "what?" "You find her attractive? Her body is attractive?" Libby murmured, "Dirty brute!" his lips quivered, and even his drooping eyelids lifted. "Then let me put it another way. When did you find her annoying? You used that word just now, if you haven't forgotten." "What do you mean by that?" "You say she's not a nuisance, and you believe she murdered her husband. That's an unreasonable assertion for someone who isn't a nuisance." "I misjudged her." "But you decided you were wrong before she killed her husband--assuming she did. You stopped walking with her before the murder. Why?" Libby said, "Does it matter?" "Everything matters until it proves unimportant." "Hey, if you treat me as a robotics expert and ask me for information, you can ask for it, but I won't answer personal questions." Bailey said: "You knew the deceased and the prime suspect well. Can't you see that I'm bound to ask you some personal questions? Why don't you go for walks with Gnadia anymore?" Libby suddenly replied: "There are always times when we don't have a good conversation with her, when I'm always busy, and when I feel that there is no reason to continue walking with her." "In other words, there are times when you find her annoying." "Well, you can say that if you want." "Why doesn't she please you anymore?" "No reason!" cried Libby. Bailey ignored his excitement: "You know Gnadia very well, what do you think might be her motive for killing her husband?" "motivation?" "No one came up with any motive for this murder, and Gnadia certainly didn't kill for no reason." "Jesus!" Libby threw back her head as if about to laugh, but didn't. "No one told you? Well, probably no one. But I know, she told me, She brings it up a lot." "Tell you what, Dr. Libby?" "She quarreled with her husband! They quarreled violently, every day and every day. She hated him, Earthlings. Didn't anybody tell you about it? Not even herself?" Bailey seemed to have been punched hard in the face, but he tried not to show his face. Perhaps, as far as the Solari way of life is concerned, their private life is considered sacrosanct.Solaris hate talking about marriage and children.Belle guessed that there must have been long-term quarrels between husband and wife, but asking about such things out of personal curiosity might be taboo in the eyes of the Solari. But can't you inquire about such things after a murder?Wouldn't anyone risk the outrage of social custom by asking the suspect if he had ever had a fight with her husband?Could it be that they knew that the couple had a dispute but refused to mention it? Well, at least Libby mentioned it. "What are they arguing about?" Bayley pressed. "I think you'd better ask her." He should have asked her, Bailey thought.He stood up stiffly: "Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Libby. Maybe I will need your assistance later, I hope you will be here at any time." "The viewing is over," said Libby.He and his room then disappeared.