"Asimov Isaac - Gold, The Final Science Fiction Collection" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

Wassell hung his head. ДYou are right, Mr. Smithson. I thought if I hired you to investigate you would find one of the men guilty, and then perhaps I could stop taking the money for my private use.У
ДYou little realize the detectiveТs mind,У said Calumet Smithson. ДI will turn you over to the authorities. They will decide what to do with you, though if you are sincerely sorry and promise never to do it again, I will try to keep you from being punished badly.У
the end


I showed it to Mr. Northrop, who read it silently. He hardly smiled at all. Just in one or two places.
Then he put it down and stared at me. ДWhere did you get the name Euphrosyne Durando?У
ДYou said, sir, I was not to use my own name, so I used one as different as possible.У
ДBut where did you get it?У
ДSir, one of the minor characters in one of your stories--У
ДOf course! I thought it sounded familiar! Do you realize it's a feminine name ? Д
ДSince I am neither masculine nor feminine--У
ДYes, you're quite right. But the name of the detective, Calumet Smithson. That 'Cal' part is still you, isn't it?У
ДI wanted some connection, sir.У
ДYou've got a tremendous ego, Cal.У
I hesitated. ДWhat does that mean, sir?У
ДNever mind. It doesn't matter.У
He put the manuscript down and I was troubled. I said, ДBut what did you think of the mystery?У
ДIt's an improvement, but it's still not a good mystery. Do you realize that?У
ДIn what way is it disappointing, sir?У
ДWell, you don't understand modern business practices or computerized financing for one thing. And no one would take a quarter from the table with four other men present, even if they weren't looking. It would have been seen. Then, even if that happened, Mr. Wassell's taking it isn't proof he was the thief. Anyone could pocket a quarter automatically, without thinking. It's an interesting indication, but it's not proof. And the title of the story tends to give it away, too.У
ДI see.У
ДAnd, in addition, the Three Laws of Robotics are still getting in your way. You keep worrying about punishment.У
ДI must, sir.У
ДI know you must. That's why I think you shouldn't try to write crime stories.У
ДWhat else should I write, sir ? Д
ДLet me think about it.У

Mr. Northrop called in the technician again. This time, I think, he wasn't very eager to have me overhear what he was saying, but even from where I was standing, I could hear the conversation. Sometimes human beings forget how sharp the senses of robots can be.
After all, I was very upset. I wanted to be a writer and I didnТt want Mr. Northrop telling me what I could write and what I couldnТt write. Of course, he was a human being and I had to obey him, but I didnТt like it.
ДWhatТs the matter now, Mr. Northrop?У asked the technician in a voice that sounded sardonic to my ears. ДHas this robot of yours been writing a story again?У
ДYes, he has,У said Mr. Northrop, trying to sound indifferent. ДHeТs written another mystery story and I donТt want him writing mysteries.У
ДToo much competition, eh, Mr. Northrop?У
ДNo. DonТt be a jackass. ThereТs just no point in two people in the same household writing mysteries. Besides, the Three Laws of Robotics get in the way. You can easily imagine how.У
ДWell, what do you want me to do?У
ДIТm not sure. Suppose he writes satire. ThatТs one thing I donТt write, so we wonТt be competing, and the Three Laws of Robotics wonТt get in his way. I want you to give this robot a sense of the ridiculous.У
ДA sense of the what?У said the technician, angrily. ДHow do I do that? Look, Mr. Northrop, be reasonable. I can put in instructions on how to run a Writer. I can put in a dictionary and grammar. But how can I possibly put in a sense of the ridiculous?У
ДWell, think about it. You know the workings of a robotТs brain patterns. IsnТt there some way of readjusting him so that he can see whatТs funny, or silly, or just plain ridiculous about human beings?У
ДI can fool around, but itТs not safe.У
ДWhy isnТt it safe?У
ДBecause, look, Mr. Northrop, you started off with a pretty cheap robot, but IТve been making it more elaborate. You admit that itТs unique and that you never heard of one that wants to write stories, so now itТs a pretty expensive robot. You may even have a Classic model here that should be given to the Robotic Institute. If you want me to fool around, I might spoil the whole thing. Do you realize that?У
ДIТm willing to take the chance. If the whole thing is spoiled, it will be spoiled, but why should it be? IТm not asking you to work in a hurry. Take the time to analyze it carefully. I have lots of time and lots of money, and I want my robot to write satire.У
ДWhy satire?У
ДBecause then his lack of worldly knowledge may not matter so much and the Three Laws wonТt be so important and in time, some day, he may possibly turn out something interesting, though I doubt it.У
ДAnd he wonТt be treading on your turf.У
ДAll right, then. He wonТt be treading on my turf. Satisfied?У
I still didnТt know enough about the language to know what Сtreading on my turfТ meant, but I gathered that Mr. Northrop was annoyed by my mystery stories. I didnТt know why.
There was nothing I could do, of course. Every day, the technician studied me and analyzed me and finally, he said, Д All right, Mr. Northrop, IТm going to take a chance, but IТm going to ask you to sign a paper absolving me and my company of all responsibility if anything goes wrong.У
ДYou just prepare the paper. IТll sign it,У said Mr. Northrop.
It was very chilling to think that something might go wrong, but thatТs how things are. A robot must accept all that human beings decide to do.