“Ah, good. Keep them under restraint,” Avery commanded.

“Restraints ineffective. The robots have changed shape and slipped through them. They are now leaving the laboratory.”

“Where are they headed?”

“Destination uncertain. Wait. They have entered transport booths. Destination…spaceport.”

Chapter 4. The Wild Goose Chase

“The spaceport! They’re trying to escape!”

“A likely assumption,” Avery said, even as Derec sent, Adam, Eve, Lucius, this is Derec. Stop.

There was a burst of static-Derec recognized it now as high-speed data transfer-then the response, Why have you ordered this? We do not wish to stop.

I don ’ t care. Come back to the apartment.

Acknowledged. Please explain why.

Beside him, Avery spoke to the corn console. “They are to return to the laboratory at once. I order it.”

Ignoring him, and the robots’ request, Derec asked, Why are you going to the spaceport?

We are no longer going there, since you ordered us not to.

Whywere you going there? he asked with exasperation.

We intended to leave for Ceremya, the planet upon which Eve awakened. We have unfinished business there.

“I am unable to comply with your order,” the central computer told Avery through the com console. “Derec’s order supersedes.”

“What order? What’s going on?” Avery noticed Derec’s distracted expression. “You’re talking with them? This is your idea, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“You’re helping them escape!”

“I am not!”

“You expect me to believe that? You’ve wanted to let them go all along, and now as soon as I tell you I’ve stopped your other little project, you bust them loose. Well, it won’t work. I’ll have them back inside half an hour, and this time I’ll take all three of them apart with a rusty knife! Central, direct the hunters to stop what they’re doing and capture the runaway robots. They may shoot to destroy, if necessary, but I want the pieces.”

“Cancel that,” Derec said.

“I am sorry; now Dr. Avery’s order supersedes,” the central computer responded.

“Cancel it!” Derec commanded, but he was staring at Avery, not the console.

“I regret-”

“Masters, please calm down,” Mandelbrot interrupted, but Derec ignored him. Avery ’ s order involves a Third Law violation, he sent to the computer. My order does not. My order should take precedence.

How does Avery ’ s order involve a Third Law violation?the computer asked.

The question brought Derec up short. The Third Law stated that a robot had to protect its own existence; it said nothing about another robot’s existence. All right, he sent, it ’ s not a direct violation, but it does violate the spirit of the law. Since I ’ ve ordered them to return anyway, following Avery ’ s order would cause three robots to be needlessly destroyed. That ’ s obviously not the best solution to the situation at hand.

The computer didn’t respond immediately. That almost certainly meant it was considering Derec’s argument, but wasn’t yet convinced. On sudden inspiration, Derec added, The first part of Avery ’ s order can stand. Let the hunters stop what they ’ re doing. The conflict of potentials in the computer’s robot brain would be even less that way, possibly enough so to tip the balance toward Derec’s order.

“Acknowledged,” the computer finally replied, using the com console.

“What did you do?” Avery demanded. “Canceled your stupid order,” Derec replied. “It wasn’t necessary. I’ve already stopped them, and they’re on their way here.”

“Is that true?” Avery asked the console, but the computer evidently thought he was asking Derec and remained silent.

“Yes, it is,” Derec answered for it. “I’m also trying to find out why they tried to escape in the first place. Now be quiet so I can hear myself think.”

“How do I know you aren’t plotting against me?”

Derec rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “You want your own comlink, inject yourself with chemfets. Until then, let me use mine.”

Avery glowered, balling his fists in frustration, but at last he let out a deep breath and said, “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Derec hesitated a moment, considering reward theory as a tool for conditioning, then sent to the computer, Echo my comlink conversation to the com console.

“Echoing,” the computer responded aloud.

What were you planning to do on Ceremya?he sent to the robots. He wasn’t sure which of the three he was talking with, or if it was all three at once, but he didn’t suppose it mattered at this point.

“What were you planning to do on Ceremya?” The computer simulated his voice faithfully; it sounded as clear over the corn console as if he had actually spoken aloud.

We must continue to research the Laws of Humanics. Also, Eve did not have the opportunity to imprint properly upon the Ceremyons while she was there, and we believe doing so may be important to our joint development.

The echo was distracting, but Derec held his hands over his ears and sent, What type of development do you expect?

If we knew that, we wouldn ’ t have to go,the robots replied with characteristic logic.

The spaceship was like none Derec had ever seen before. Normal ships were usually streamlined for atmospheric passage, but not to this degree. This ship was smoother than streamlined; it was seamless. It looked as if it had been sculpted in ice and then dipped in liquid silver. Derec, standing before it, realized that the design robots had, however inadvertently, produced a work of art.

Resting on the runway in takeoff configuration, it was a sleek, fast airplane, but Derec knew that its present appearance wouldn’t last beyond the atmosphere. Once away from gravity and wind drag, the ship would transform into whatever shape most easily accommodated its passengers, for its hull and most of the interior furnishings were made of the same cellular material that made up the City. The hyperdrive and the more delicate mechanisms such as control, navigation, and life support were made of more conventional materials, but the majority of the ship was cellular.

It was one of perhaps three dozen at the spaceport, all built within the last few weeks. Derec had ordered them constructed on a whim, remembering when he and Ariel had been stranded in Robot City for lack of a ship and deciding to remedy that problem for good now that the robots had his own ship to refer to, but he had been too busy to inspect them until now.

“It’ll do,” he told the ground crew robots, who were hovering about anxiously, pleased that the humans had chosen this ship for their journey yet nervously awaiting rejection all the same.

Ever mindful of his duty to protect his human charges, Mandelbrot asked, “Has it been tested?”

“We took it on a test flight of twenty light-years round trip,” one of the ground crew replied. “Six days of flight and four jumps. All its subsystems performed flawlessly.”

“Does it have a name?” Ariel asked. She, Dr. Avery, Wolruf, and the three experimental robots stood beside Derec amid a pile of baggage.

The ground crew robot turned its head to face her. “We have not named it yet.”

“Flying a ship without a name!” she said in mock surprise. “I’m surprised you made it back.”

“I do not understand. How can a name be a significant factor in the success of a test flight?”

Ariel laughed, and Wolruf joined her. “I didn’t know ‘umans had that superstition too,” the alien said.

“It’s supposed to be bad luck to board a ship without a name,” Ariel explained to the puzzled robot, but her explanation left it no more enlightened than before.