"Herbert, Brian - The Butlerian Jihad" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

As he reached the entry gate of his villa, the robot adjusted the new sensory-enhancement module grafted by neurelectronic ports onto his body core and hidden beneath his robe. A unit of his own design, the module allowed Erasmus to simulate the senses of humanity, but with certain unavoidable limitations. He wanted to know more than the module could provide, wanted to feel more. In this respect, the cymeks might have an advantage over Erasmus, but he would never know for certain.

Cymeks -- especially the original Titans -- were a narrow-minded, brutal bunch, with no appreciation for the more refined senses and sensibilities that Erasmus worked so hard to attain. Brutality had its place, of course, but the sophisticated robot considered it only one of many behavioral aspects worthy of study, both positive and negative. Still, violence was interesting and often pleasurable to employ. . . .

He was intensely curious about what made cognizant biologicals human. He was intelligent and self-aware, but he also wanted to understand emotions, human sensibilities, and motivations -- the essential details that machines never managed to reproduce very well.

During his centuries-long quest, Erasmus had absorbed human artwork, music, philosophy, and literature. Ultimately, he wanted to discover the sum and substance of humanity, the magic spark that made these creatures, these creators, different. What gave them . . . souls?

He marched into his banquet hall, and the flying eye buzzed away toward the ceiling, where it could observe everything. On the walls, six Omnius screens glowed milky gray.

His villa was modeled after the opulent Greco-Roman estates in which the Twenty Titans had lived before forsaking their human bodies. Erasmus owned similar villas on five planets, including Corrin and Earth. He maintained additional facilities -- holding pens, customized vivisection rooms, medical laboratories, as well as greenhouses, art galleries, sculptures, and fountains. All of which enabled him to study human behavior and physiology.

Erasmus sat his robed body at the head of a long table lined with silver goblets and candleholders, but with only one place setting. For him. The antique wooden chair had once belonged to a human nobleman, Nivny O'Mura, a founder of the League of Nobles. Erasmus had studied how the rebellious humans had organized themselves and established strongholds against the early cymek and machine assaults. The resourceful hrethgir had ways of adapting and improvising, of confounding their enemies in unexpected ways. Fascinating.

Abruptly, the evermind's voice echoed from all around, sounding bored. "When will your experiment be concluded, Erasmus? You come in here day after day, doing the same thing. I expect to see results."

"I am intrigued by questions. Why do wealthy humans eat with such ceremony? Why do they consider certain foods and beverages superior to others, when the nutritional value is the same?" The robot's voice became more erudite. "The answer, Omnius, has to do with their brutally short lives. They compensate with efficient sensory mechanisms capable of imparting intense feelings. Humans have five basic senses, with countless gradations. The taste of Yondair beer versus Ularda wine, for example. Or the feel of Ecaz burlap compared with parasilk, or the music of Brahms versus --"

"I suppose that is all very interesting in some esoteric way."

"Of course, Omnius. You continue to study me while I study humans." Erasmus signaled the slaves who peered nervously through a porthole in the door to the villa's kitchen. A probe snaked out of a module at Erasmus's hip and emerged from underneath his robe, waving delicate neurelectronic sensor threads like expectant cobras.

"By tolerating your investigations, Erasmus, I expect that you will develop a detailed model that can reliably predict human behavior. I must know how to make these creatures usable."

White-clad slaves brought trays of food from the kitchen -- Corrin game hen, Walgis beef almondine, even rare Platinum River salmon harvested from Parmentier. Erasmus dipped the weblike ends of his probe into each dish and "tasted" it, sometimes using a cutter to penetrate the meat and sample the internal juices. Erasmus documented each flavor for his growing repertoire.

All the while, he carried on a dialogue with Omnius. The evermind seemed to be doling out bits of data and watching how Erasmus reacted. "I have been building up my military forces. After many years, it is time to move again."

"Indeed? Or are the Titans pressuring you into a more aggressive stance? For centuries, Agamemnon has been impatient with what he perceives as your lack of ambition." Erasmus was more interested in the bitter berry tart in front of him. Analyzing the ingredients, he was puzzled to detect a strong trace of human saliva and wondered if that had been part of the original recipe. Or had one of the slaves simply expectorated into it?

"I make my own decisions," the evermind said. "It seemed appropriate to launch a new offensive at this time."

The head chef rolled a cart to the table and used a carving knife to cut a slab of Filet Salusa. The chef, a toady little man who stuttered, placed the dripping slice on a clean plate, added a dollop of savory brown sauce, and extended it toward Erasmus. Clumsily, the chef bumped the knife off the serving tray and it clattered against one of Erasmus's smooth feet, leaving a nick and a stain.

Terrified, the man bent to retrieve the knife, but Erasmus flashed a mechanical hand down and grabbed the handle. Sitting straight, the elegant robot continued to talk to Omnius. "A new offensive? And is it a mere coincidence that the Titan Barbarossa requested exactly that as a reward when he defeated your fighting machine in the gladiator arena?"

"Irrelevant."

Staring at the blade, the chef stammered, "I will p-personally p-polish it and m-m-make it good as n-n-new, Lord Erasmus."

"Humans are such fools, Erasmus," Omnius said from speakers on the wall.

"Some of them are," Erasmus agreed, waving the carving knife with graceful movements. The little chef mouthed a silent prayer, unable to move. "I wonder what should I do?" Erasmus wiped the knife clean on the trembling man's smock, then stared at the fellow's distorted reflection in the metal blade.

"Human death is different from machine death," Omnius said dispassionately. "A machine can be duplicated, backed-up. When humans die, they are gone permanently."

Erasmus simulated a boisterous laugh. "Omnius, though you always talk about the superiority of machines, you fail to recognize what humans do better than we."

"Do not give me another of your lists," the evermind said. "I recall our last debate on this subject with perfect accuracy."