Archiwum
- Index
- Gregory Philippa Powieści Tudorowskie 06 Uwięziona królowa
- Zwiadowcy 06 Oblężenie Macindaw Flanagan John
- Lois McMaster Bujold 06 Ethan of Athos
- 06 Nagie kosci
- Harry Turtledove Crosstime 01 Gunpowder Empire (v1.0)
- Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg The Ugly Little Boy
- Asimov Isaac x8] Pozytronowy człowiek
- Asimov, Isaac Las Corrientes del Espacio
- Asimov, Isaac Magical Wishes
- Asimov, Isaac The Gods Themselves
- zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- stemplofil.keep.pl
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
takes precedence over your order, which is governed by only the Second Law."
Vasilia's eyes opened wide and she said sharply, "Silence, I say. Nothing takes precedence over my
order but the First Law and I have already shown that Giskard will do least harm-indeed, no harm at
all-if he returns to me. He will do harm to me, to whom he is least capable of doing harm, if he follows
any other course of action." She pointed her finger at Daneel and said again with a soft hiss, "Silence!"
It was a clear effort for Daneel to make any sound at all. The small pump within him that manipulated the
air current that produced the sound made a small, humming noise as it labored. Yet, though he spoke in
an even lower whisper, he could still be heard.
He said, "Madam Vasilia, there is something that transcends even the First Law."
Giskard said, in a voice equally low, but unforced, "Friend Daneel, you must not say that. Nothing
transcends the First Law. "
Vasilia, frowning slightly, showed a spark of interest. "Indeed? Daneel, I warn you that if you attempt to
progress further in this odd line of argument, you will surely destroy yourself. I have never seen or heard
of a robot doing what you are doing and it would be fascinating to watch your self-destruction. Speak
on."
With the order given, Daneel's voice returned immediately to normal. "I thank you, Madam Vasilia.
-Years ago, I sat at the deathbed of an Earthman to whom you have asked me not to refer. May I now
refer to him or do you know who it is that I speak of?"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"You speak of that policeman Baley," said Vasilia tonelessly.
"Yes, madam. He said to me on his deathbed, 'The work of each individual contributes to a totality, and
so becomes an undying part of the totality. That totality of human lives - past and present and to
come-forms a tapestry that has been in existence now for many tens of thousands of years and has been
growing more elaborate and, on the whole, more beautiful in all that time. Even the Spacers are an
offshoot of the tapestry and they, too, add to the elaborateness and beauty of the pattern. An individual
life is one thread in the tapestry and what is one thread compared to the whole? Daneel, keep your mind
fixed firmly on the tapestry and do not let the trailing off of a single thread affect you."
"Mawkish sentimentality," murmured Vasilia.
Daneel said, "I believe Partner Elijah was attempting to protect me against the fact of his soon-to-come
death. It was his own life he spoke of as but a thread in the tapestry-, it was his own life that was "the
trailing off of a single thread' that was not to affect me. His words did protect me in that crisis."
"No doubt," said Vasilia, "but get to the point of transcending the First Law, for it is that which will now
destroy you.
Daneel said, "For decades I have brooded over Plainclothesman Elijah Baley's statement and it is quite
likely I would have understood it at once if the Three Laws had not stood in the way. I have been helped
in my search by my friend Giskard, who has long felt the Three Laws to be incomplete. I have been
helped also by points Lady Gladia made in a recent speech on a Settler world. What's more this present
crisis, Lady Vasilia, has served to sharpen my thinking. I am certain, now, as to the manner in which the
Three Laws are incomplete."
"A robot who is also a roboticist," said Vasilia with a touch of contempt. "How are the Three Laws
incomplete, robot?"
Daneel said, "The tapestry of life is more important than a single thread. Apply that not to Partner Elijah
alone, but generalize it and-and-and we conclude that humanity as a whole is more important than a
single human being."
"You stumble as you say it, robot. You do not believe."
Daneel said, "There is a law that is greater than the First Law. A robot may not injure humanity or,
through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. I think of it now as the Zeroth Law of Robotics. The
First Law should then be stated: 'A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a
human being to come to harm, unless this would violate the Zeroth Law of Robotics."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Vasilia snorted. "And you still stand on your feet, robot?"
"I still stand on my feet, madam."
"Then I will explain something to you, robot, and we will see if you can survive the explanation. -The
Three Laws of Robotics involve individual human beings and individual robots. You can point to any
individual human being or to an individual robot. But what is your 'humanity" but an abstraction? Can you
point to humanity? You can injure or fail to injure a specific human being and understand the injury or
lack of injury that has taken place. Can you see an injury to humanity? Can you understand it? Can you
point to it?"
Daneel was silent.
Vasilia smiled broadly. "Answer, robot. Can you see an injury to humanity and can you point to it?"
"No, madam, I cannot. But I believe such injury can exist nevertheless and you see that I still stand on
my feet."
"Then ask Giskard as to whether he will-or can-obey your Zeroth Law of Robotics."
Daneel's head turned to Giskard. "Friend Giskard?"
Slowly Giskard said, "I cannot accept the Zeroth Law, friend Daneel. You know that I have read widely
in human history. In it, I have found great crimes committed by some human beings against each other
and the excuse has always been that the crimes were justified by the needs of the tribe, or of the state, or
even of humanity. It is precisely because humanity is an abstraction that it can be called upon so freely to
justify anything at all and your Zeroth Law is therefore unsuitable.
Daneel said, "But you know, friend Giskard, the fact that a danger to humanity now exists and that it will
surely come to fruition if you become the property of Madam Vasilia. That, at least, is not an
abstraction."
Giskard said, "The danger to which you refer is not something known, but is merely inferred. We cannot
build our actions in defiance of the Three Laws on that."
Daneel paused, then said in a lower voice, "But you hope that your studies of human history will help you
develop the Laws governing human behavior, that you will learn to predict and guide human history-or at
lease make a beginning, so that someone someday will learn to predict and guide it. You even call the,
technique 'psychohistory.' In this, are you not dealing with the human tapestry? Are you not trying - to
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
work with humanity as a generalized whole, rather than with collections of individual human beings?"
"Yes, friend Daneel, but it is thus far no more than a hope and I cannot base my actions upon a mere
hope, nor can I modify the Three Laws in accordance with it."
To that, Daneel did not respond.
Vasilia said, "Well, robot, all your attempts have come to nothing and yet you stand on your feet. You
are strangely stubborn and a robot such as yourself that can denounce the Three Laws and still remain
functional is a clear danger to every and any individual human being. For that reason, I believe you should
be dismantled without delay. The case is too dangerous to await the slow majesty of the law, especially
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]