"Allen Steele - Agape Among The Robots" - читать интересную книгу автора (Steele Allen)

"WeтАЩre lucky to have them working for us, donтАЩt you think?" Jim asked quietly.

I didnтАЩt realize he was speaking to me until I glanced his way, saw that he was looking at me.
"Oh, yeah," I replied. "Very lucky. Two great scientists, uh-huh." And perhaps it wasnтАЩt too late to
send my resum├й to CybeServe . . .

Phil was startled to find Jim sitting in his chair when he entered the trailer. He murmured a hasty
apology for being late, which Jim accepted with a perfunctory nod, then he squeezed past the
CEO to stand behind Keith. "G-g-good m-m-m-morning," he stammered as he leaned over
KeithтАЩs shoulder to check out the screen. "Are w-w-w-we re-re-re-ready?"

"IтАЩm not sure." Keith cast a wary sidelong glance in JimтАЩs direction. "When I ran a diagnostic a
few minutes ago, I found a new protocol in the conditioning module. I checked it out, and it looks
like it was written last night. Do you know anything about. . . ?"

"Y-y-yes, i-i-itтАЩs a n-n-new p-p-program." His AdamтАЩs apple bobbed in his thin neck, and he
seemed determined not to deliberately look at Jim Lang. "I t-t-t-think w-w-w-weтАЩre ready to pr-pr-
pro-proceed."

Jim raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but said nothing as he propped his elbows on the console and
clasped his hands together beneath his chin. Out in the atrium, Kathy Veder had just turned to
walk away from Delilah. Phil caught DonnaтАЩs eye and quickly nodded his head, and she
switched on her mike. "D-Team, weтАЩre ready to roll."

"R-r-roll now," Phil said. Keith and I traded an uncertain glance. Dr. Veder was still in the atrium;
she hadnтАЩt yet returned to her trailer. KeithтАЩs hands hesitated above his keyboard, and Phil
tapped him on the shoulder. "Commence the t-t-t-test, p-p-p-please," he said, and Keith
shrugged as he typed in the command which would bring Samson online.

"ArenтАЩt you going to wait?" Jim asked quietly.

Phil didnтАЩt reply. Instead, he closed his eyes, and his lips moved as he subaudibly counted to
ten.

Something weird was going on here, and it wasnтАЩt the sort of weirdness I like. While PhilтАЩs eyes
were shut and Jim was looking the other direction, I opened a window from my menu bar and

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moused the emergency shut-down icon. When the Y/N prompt appeared onscreen, I moved the
cursor above the Y. One tap of my index finger, and Samson would freeze like an popsicle.

Out in the atrium, Kathy Veder was almost at the edge of the clearing when Samson came
marching through the trees. She stopped in mid-stride, confused and startled, judging from her
expression, not just a little alarmed. My mindтАЩs eye flashed upon a scene from The Day the
Earth Stood StillтАУthe robot Gort carrying the unconscious Patricia Neal in his armsтАУand my
finger wavered above the Return key. Oh, no, Phil canтАЩt be that crazy . . .