“Calm down. I’ve examined all preliminary studies of this planet, the ones done before the city-forming project began. The place was barren, no animal life evident anywhere. So they’re not likely to have come up from the underground or-”
“How about from space then? They landed in a spaceship while we were gone, and now they’re hiding out until they know what to do about us.”
Derec frowned and broke from the embrace. “You might have something there. I’ll have to check records. Even better, we can interrogate robots. After all, they can’t lie to us.”
As if in response to his comment, a robot came whirling around a nearby corner. Both Derec and Ariel were astonished by this figure, since whirling was indeed the correct word for its current maneuver. It moved as if on roller skates, balletically spinning with its arms outspread. Before reaching them, it executed a lovely twirl on its left leg alone, with its right leg pointing elegantly backward.
“Stop!” Derec ordered it. It had brought its right leg down and seemed ready for another move, but Derec’s order brought it to a halt. Its body appeared to collapse a bit, and it slumped ungracefully. “Come here!”
When the robot stood in front of him, Derec asked, “Your name?”
There was no response, which irritated Derec. “Come on, every robot has a name.”
“Except during a name-changing period,” the robot said. “I have not chosen my new name yet, and so am without a name for the moment. I was considering renaming myself Timestep.”
“Timestep? What kind of name is that? Does it indicate a function or role? As a name it is against regulations.”
“There are regulations about names?”
Derec didn’t know the answer to that, so he said, “Never mind. Tell me, you said new name. That means you must have an old one. What is it?”
“Line Foreman 43.”
“Have we met before, Line Foreman 43?” The robot did not respond, but merely stood with the blank face and relaxed body that was the look of robots when they conversed with humans. “Why don’t you answer me, Line Foreman 43?”
“Are you talking to me, sir?”
“Didn’t I call you Line Foreman 43?”
“You may have indeed. But that is not my name.”
“You said it was.”
“It was, once. It is not now. I do not respond to it.”
“All right then. You, there, the robot standing in front of me, have we ever met before?”
“Not formally, but I know you are Derec. This is the first time you have ever spoken to me.”
“Why were you dancing just now?”
“I don’t know. It just felt good.”
“You have a feelingabout dancing?”
“I think perhaps. Itis also perhaps a positronic anomaly.”
“There are enough anomalies around here without me having to worry about positronic ones. Robot, you might be in some way programmed, or reprogrammed, to dance, but I doubt you have a feeling for it.”
“My partner says I do. My partner says I am a very smooth dancer.”
“I’ll bet you are.”
Derec felt as if he wanted to yell uncontrollably at this too-clever, evasive robot. Ariel squeezed his hand and said softly, “Let me talk to him for a moment. Robot, have you no duties at this moment?”
“Duties? Yes, I suppose so.”
“You suppose so? A robot doesn’t suppose when it comes to duty. You either have one or you don’t.”
“Well, yes, I have a job that I do.”
“Why aren’t you doing it then?”
“I had not realized I had stopped doing the job.”
“You had not-”
Ariel’s anger was clear, so Derec, calmer now, took over again.
“You mentioned a partner. Where is your partner now?”
“I don’t know. We agreed it was time for me to go solo. Want to see my soft shoe?”
“No. I give up. Ariel, this is worse than arguing with a robot about one of those odd hypothetical cases where a Law of Robotics can’t be easily invoked.”
“I know what you mean,” she said, nodding. “Let’s try another tack. Robot, there are some terribly strange beings in that building over there. Do you know anything about them?”
The robot’s head jerked toward the warehouse. “I know nothing of any strange beings,” he said.
Ariel shrugged.
“Wait,” Derec said, “it might be the word strange not registering with him. They might not be strange to him. Let me try. Robot, are there any beings at all in there?”
“I could not say for certain, for I have never entered that building.”
“Let me put it this way. Have any new beings of any kind, humans, robots, aliens, entered the environs of Robot City?”
“Yes, besides you, three new robots and an alien came today. The alien and two of the robots have been here before.”
“He must mean Wolruf and the others,” Ariel commented.
“Besides them, and us, has anyone new come to Robot City at any recent time?”
“That sounds properly phrased, all right,” Ariel whispered.
“Yes,” the robot said.
Derec stared at the robot for a long while, expecting him to say more. Frustrated, he finally asked, “Well? Tell me about our newcomer.”
“I may not.”
“What?”
“I am not allowed to. A block has been entered for that particular information.”
“A block! How could there be a block for me? I am Derec Avery!”
Derec realized that he was sounding overbearing, but he couldn’t help it. This robot got on his nerves.
“While it is true that you are Derec Avery, and I owe you the kind of loyalty that would remove such a block, I cannot. There is a further block upon the first block.”
Derec shook his head vigorously, trying to clear it. “What do you mean, blocks on blocks?”
“If the first block is removed, the one preventing me from revealing the information you request-and Second Law tells me such blocks may be removed by you or, for that matter, Ariel Welsh or Dr. Avery-a second block wipes out the information before I can voice it. Therefore, if I obey you now and attempt to tell you what I know, then I will not know it anymore. Consequently, I will not be able to tell you. Because Third Law requires me to protect myself, and by extension any vital information I hold, I have to try my best not to allow such a situation to come to pass, and must respectfully request that you interrogate me no further on this matter.”
As the robot awaited Derec’s response, he executed a few mild soft-shoe steps. His arms appeared to throw imaginary sand onto the ground.
Derec wondered if what the dancing robot said was true. He had often told robots to forget specific information but had often wondered if they really did. Perhaps the data would not be erased but instead skillfully diverted from one positronic pathway to another, leaving it hidden rather than eliminated. It was possible he could find a way of getting such data out.
“I will interrogate you as long as I wish,” Derec said coolly. “In fact, I am so angry I don’t give a hoot what happens to you or your information. Robot, I-”
“Timestep. I have decided on that as my name. It has a nice ring, don’t you think?”
As if to prove how wonderful a name it was for him, Timestep tapped out a quick and intricate hard-tap routine with his feet. Since the feet were made of metal, their taps were louder and more resonant than the average human tap dancer could achieve. There was an inappropriate look to it all, especially since he waved his arms like a clumsy man falling.