“Oh, yeah?” She demanded. Then, according to their agreement, she swung back her fist and punched him in the stomach.
Even though he had been expecting the blow, Derec doubled over from the impact-partly from her very solid punch and partly as an act. Both robots jumped forward, no longer frozen in place, and pulled them apart. If one had been a shade faster, he couldn’t tell.
“Let go of me! Him, too!” Ariel shouted, as they had prearranged. Both robots obeyed, but remained between them, close enough to prevent more violence.
Derec, gasping for breath, looked up and found that they had both apparently deactivated again. It was time for the second test. He caught Ariel’s eye, saw that she was ready for him, and leaped at her throat as if to strangle her.
Instantly, both robots grabbed him in their powerful arms and held him fixed and helpless.
“Let go of me,” he ordered.
Neither one let him go. Now that the violence had been repeated, the First Law was going to remain in force over the Second, until they judged that the threat was over.
“You,” Ariel ordered, tapping one on the arm. “You go stand in the hall. The other one will keep me safe here. And you-Derec won’t hurt me right now. I know that. You can stand close if it makes you feel better, to stop us again if necessary.”
When both robots had complied, Derec and Ariel spoke amiably to demonstrate that the immediate threat of violence was over. Then the robots allowed them to retreat to the O.R. once again to consult with each other.
“Jeff’s pretty good,” said Derec. “He was right with the real robot every second-whichever one it was.” He grinned. “You’ve got a pretty good punch.”
Ariel shrugged. “Well, you said it should be the real thing. But now we know a little more. Direct application of the Laws activates the real robot, but only as long as the Laws apply. Then he freezes again, like Jeff ordered him.”
“We’d better keep them separate. If Jeff is picking up his cue by watching the other robot, he’ll never mess up.”
“Good idea. Ready for test three?”
“Let’s go,” he said.
In the hallway, Surgeon 1 handed him a small gray cylinder that fit conveniently into his hand. It was an intermediate laser scalpel, used for certain types of repair on robot bodies, capable of cutting through any portion of a robot body. Derec hefted it, shifted it comfortably, and held it up as he entered the testing room.
“I’m going to cut your leg off with this,” he said to the suspect robot. “In return for your interfering with me.” He turned it up to full power, stood where he was, and aimed the beam at the robot’s knee joint. “The Third Law says you can’t allow this to happen. Right?”
The robot slid to one side, avoiding the beam. Derec followed him with it, and the robot moved away again. When Derec started shooting at his legs in spurts, like it was a gun, the robot danced around, backing up, dodging, watching the beam intently.
“I’ll get you,” Derec growled. “Ha! Close. Ha! Again. Almost. Ha! Hold still! I’ll take your leg off-”
The robot continued to shuffle away from the beam with its quick and reliable robot reflexes.
Derec laughed triumphantly and shut off the laser. “Got you, Jeff. An old Simon Says trick-remember that game? I ordered you to hold still, and in the heat of the moment, you forgot that the Second Law takes precedence over the Third. You didn’t hold still!”
The robot in front of him had frozen again, but now Derec was certain.
“You can’t fool me now; it’s too late. A positronic brain wouldn’t forget the order of the Laws for even a second, under any circumstances.” Derec called in everyone else and explained the situation.
“This is convincing to me,” said Research 1. “Since the other suspect is by elimination almost certain to be a true robot, we can verify beyond any doubt by sending him to a repair facility.”
“Research 1,” Surgeon 1 said warningly.
“I will escort him,” said Research 1. “The repair crews must be very cautious, in the event that we are mistaken. They must understand the situation, so that no Laws will be violated.”
Derec jerked his thumb at Jeff. “We know who he is, but until he quits play-acting, we can’t have much of a dialogue.”
Ariel caught his eye and inclined her head toward the door. Derec followed her out and they returned to the O.R. to talk. Surgeon 1 remained with Jeff.
“Maybe we can sucker him,” said Ariel.
“All right. How?”
“Loosen the watch on him. He’s still trying to play-act being a robot because there’s a microscopic chance that a positronic brain could have malfunctioned this way. But if he tries to escape, he’ll have to admit we know.”
A few minutes later, everyone gathered in the testing room again in front of Jeff, except for the robot still motionless in the hall.
“We’ve decided to move on to the next phase,” said Derec. “Research 1, please escort the other robot to be repaired.”
Research 1 left the room.
“Now,” said Derec. “Alpha, please leave the room but remain out in the hall-at the end of the hall, out of the way. We definitely have to talk to you.”
“Yes, Derec.” Alpha left.
“Surgeon 1,” said Ariel. “We are no longer completely sure that this robot is really Jeff. Return to your regular duties in the facility. Derec and I are going to have to figure out what to do next.”
“Very well.” Surgeon 1 left the room.
Derec casually put his arm around Ariel and walked her toward the door. “Maybe we should get something to eat and relax a little. Then we can work out our next move.”
Ariel closed the door behind them. Alpha was waiting motionless at the far end of the hall; they went out the front door, in the opposite direction. Without speaking, since they didn’t know how well Jeff could hear, they walked outside and looked around.
The Human Experimental Facility was a simple rectangular block. It had none of the striking geometic design of most of Robot City; with their usual efficiency, the robots had built it without frills. Derec saw nowhere to hide except around the corner.
They sat down on the pavement just around one corner, still silent, by prior arrangement. Jeff was likely to be cautious, so they knew they could have a long wait. Surgeon 1, also by agreement, had taken up his “regular duties” in a room across from the testing room. With his own robotic hearing, he also was waiting for Jeff to make his escape.
Derec found himself grinning in anticipation of using Alpha’s spacecraft. They could help the robots take care of Jeff, of course, but now that they could look forward to leaving when the job was done, waiting didn’t seem so bad. He looked at Ariel, who was also smiling when she turned to him. With suppressed laughter, they didn’t have to talk to feel close.
The day wore on, and Jeff’s patience was at least as good as theirs. Derec did notice that Ariel seemed as content as he was to keep waiting. He kept thinking that he would soon go somewhere and find out who he was, or even find a cure for his amnesia. Maybe she was dreaming of finding her own cure off the planet.
Finally, a single, moderately loud robotic shout went up inside the facility: “Derec!”
He recognized Surgeon 1’s voice, and jumped up with Ariel. Around the corner, Jeff was just now walking out the front door with controlled, casual steps.
“Got you!” yelled Derec, pointing at him. “Give it up.” He and Ariel ran up to block Jeff’s way.
Jeff reached for them both with his powerful robot arms. He was free of the First Law, but Surgeon 1 wasn’t, and he leaped on Jeff from behind, pinning his arms back.
“Alpha!” Derec called. “Come out here!”
“Release me,” Jeff yelled at Surgeon 1, pulling and jerking to no effect.
“You may not harm them or yourself,” Surgeon 1 answered.
“I have no intention of harming anyone,” Jeff shouted angrily. “I order you to release me.”
“Hold him, Doc,” said Ariel, keeping her distance.
Derec saw that Surgeon 1 was hesitating, probably experiencing a positronic conflict from the fact that Jeff had never really shown a desire to harm anyone. The weight of conflicting human orders was otherwise near neutral. Before, and now, he had only pushed them so that he could get away.