The wife drove the car away, and Underhill had to walk home after get off work in the afternoon.It was on the way home that he saw the new robots for the first time.He walked along the path as usual, slanting through an open field full of weeds-the car is usually used by his wife, and at this time his mind was full of Shuangjiang Bank's demand for money from him.There are of course various ways of repayment, but none of them is practical for him.Thinking about it, a new wall suddenly blocked the way in front of him. He looked up and saw something in the window. The windows are not made of ordinary glass.The wide panes of the windows are so transparent and so spotless that if it weren't for the gleaming letters, the windows wouldn't have been glassy.These letters appear serious and modern:

Institute of Intelligent Robotics Shuangjiang Agency Distribution: As Good as It Gets Robots Purpose: "Be conscientious, obey orders, and ensure that human beings are not harmed." Underhill had inexplicable troubles in his heart, and the troubles became more and more intensified, because he himself ran robots.Times are hard enough right now, with a weak robot market flooding the market with fully autonomous, mechanical, electronic, semi-autonomous, and many, many other types of robots.Unfortunately, the robots didn't live up to the salesman's promise, and Shuangjiang's robot market was already sadly saturated.

Underhill distributes fully automatic robots.Another batch of goods will arrive tomorrow, but he still doesn't know where the payment is. Frowning, he paused to stare at the thing behind the invisible window.He has never seen an intelligent robot.This intelligent robot is shorter and thinner than a human, standing there motionless like other robots that are not working, the smooth silicone exterior glows darkly, and from time to time shines with a bronze-like blue luster; the elegant There was an inherent alertness in the oval face and an eagerness that seemed to surprise.Judging from the overall shape, this is the most beautiful robot he has ever seen.

Of course, such a robot is too small for many practical tasks.He recites under his breath a common phrase used by salesmen for autonomous robots: "Autonomous robots are big robots—because manufacturers don't want their users to waste energy. They don't want to sacrifice their essential functions, and their obedience to their users. Buy Fully automatic robot is your ideal choice!" Just as he turned to face the transparent door, the door opened silently.This is a magnificent showroom filled with robots. At this moment, he is convinced that these streamlined robots, with their chiseled designs, must be extremely attractive to female customers.

His arrogance and optimism could not help but disappear when he scrutinized the robots on display with great shrewdness.He has never heard of the Institute of Intelligent Robotics, but this foreign company obviously has strong financial strength and first-class technical standards. He looked around, looking for the salesman, but saw another robot approaching without a sound.It was exactly the same as the robot displayed in the window, and it walked with amazing speed and graceful gait.Its black surface has a blue luster of bronze, and a yellow sign hangs on its bare chest: smart robot Serial number: 81-H-B-27

As Good As It Gets Robot "Do your duty with all your heart, obey orders, and ensure that human beings are not harmed." Strangely, it has no lens, a bald head, an oval face, and two blind steel eyes embedded in the face, with a blinding light in the eyes.But the robot stopped a few feet in front of him, as if it could see.After standing still, it spoke with a high and beautiful voice: "Happy to be of your service, Mr. Underhill." He was taken aback, it could call his name?Even a fully automated robot can't tell this person from that.This is undoubtedly a mechanical stunt, and it is not difficult in Shuangjiang, a small town as big as a palm.The salesman must be a local man, operating the robot secretly from a small room somewhere.Underhill swept away the momentary astonishment, and said loudly:

"May I meet your salesman?" "We don't hire human salesmen, sir," it immediately replied with a voice as sweet as copper bells. "The purpose of the Institute of Intelligent Robotics is to serve humans. We don't need human services. We can provide what you need Any information, sir, if you need it, we can serve you immediately." Underhill stared dazedly at the robot in front of him.No robot can recharge or refuel itself, much less open a branch of its own.He looked around anxiously, his blank eyes darting back and forth blindly, looking for a salesman who might be hiding in some small house or behind a curtain.

At this moment, that slender and sweet voice began to persuade again: "Sir, may we come to your house and give you a trial period for free? We are eager to perform our services on your planet, as we have been very successful in eradicating human misery on many other planets. You will find that we Those old electronic robots that were used were much better." Underhill took an uneasy step back, reluctantly giving up trying to find the salesman behind the scenes, but he was amazed that the robot could sell itself.If this is true, then the entire robot industry will collapse. "You must at least see the ad, sir."

The diminutive black robot fetches an illustrated booklet from a table against the wall with astonishing grace and dexterity.In order to conceal his confused mood and growing shock, Underhill fumbled through the gorgeously bound advertisements. In a series of brightly colored images inserted before and after the narration, there are several side-by-side images of a buxom blonde: she is hunched over a stove cooking, and the next is her boldly, Sitting there leisurely, a little black robot knelt and waited beside her; she tapped the keyboard of the typewriter wearily, and then there was a picture of her wearing a sundress with bare chest and shoulders, lying on the beach The sun, while another robot was typing; there she was sweating in front of a big machine, and then she danced with a blond youth in an embrace while a black intelligent robot operated the machine.

Underhill sighed longingly, but the fully automatic robot company did not provide such a heart-warming promotional picture.The allure of this brochure is irresistible to women, and 86% of the robots sold are bought by women.Yes, the competition will become more and more fierce. "Take it home and have a good look, sir," urged the sweet voice, "and show it to your lady. There's a blank free trial order on the last page, and you'll find we don't ask you to pay of." He turned indifferently, and the door opened for him.He went out feeling dazed, and finding the pamphlet still in his hand, he crumpled it angrily and flung it to the floor.The little black robot immediately picked it up and leveled it, and an urgent silver bell-like voice sounded behind him:

"We'll visit you in your office tomorrow, Mr. Underhill, and send a robot to your home to try out. It's time for us to discuss the liquidation of your company, because the robots you've been trying to sell can't compete with us. We also I will show your wife how to use the intelligent robot."