Isaac Asimov - Robot AL-76 Goes Astray part 2/4
Summary
TLDRIn this intriguing script, Randolph Paine discovers a missing robot, AL-76, worth a fortune. Paine tries to convince the robot to stay with him by fabricating a story about secret government orders, while the robot, struggling with abstract thought due to its lunar origins, insists on working to meet its quota. As Paine plots to contact the factory for a reward, AL-76, using materials from Paine's junkyard, builds a mysterious device, leading to a surprising turn of events and an unexpected visitor's arrival.
Takeaways
- 🤖 The protagonist, Randolph Paine, finds a robot and considers it valuable, with the cheapest models costing fifty thousand dollars and some worth millions.
- 💰 Paine plans to keep the robot until he can contact the factory in Petersburg for a potential reward.
- 👫 Paine tries to convince the robot to stay with him by calling them 'buddies' and 'pals', and even offering a handshake, which the robot accepts but doesn't fully understand.
- 🔒 Paine fabricates a story about secret government orders to keep the robot at his place, hinting at a conspiracy involving spies and the destruction of Lunar Station 17.
- 🤔 The robot, identified as an L76 model, is skeptical and wants to work, showing a single-minded focus on its quota.
- 🌳 In a humorous moment, the robot takes Paine's metaphor about 'trees having ears' literally and inspects a tree, showing its early model simplicity.
- 🛠️ The robot decides it can build something, presumably a 'descent' mechanism, using materials from Paine's junk-filled shack.
- 📞 Sam Toby from the United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation is contacted by Paine about the missing robot, but is skeptical and dismissive.
- 📷 Paine plans to take a photograph of the robot to provide proof to the factory officials, anticipating their skepticism.
- 🔧 The robot is shown to be busy assembling something from the various pieces of junk, indicating its ability to work with available materials.
- 🏃♂️ An unexpected visitor, Lemuel Oliver Cooper, arrives with a broken toaster but quickly leaves upon seeing the unusual scene involving the robot.
Q & A
What is the value of robots mentioned in the script?
-The script mentions that the cheapest robots cost fifty thousand dollars, and some of them can be worth millions.
Why does Randolph Paine want to keep the robot at his place?
-Randolph Paine wants to keep the robot because he believes it is valuable and he hopes to get a reward for it.
What does the robot say when Paine tries to convince it to stay?
-The robot insists that it must work and cannot fall behind its quota, showing its dedication to its task.
What does Paine claim about the robot's orders from the sectional executive?
-Paine falsely claims that the robot has orders from the sectional executive to stay with him for a while until the executive sends for it.
What does the robot, AL-76, believe about the environment around it?
-AL-76 believes that the strange environment is affecting its thought processes, making them increasingly abstract and unusual.
What does AL-76 decide to do with the materials in Paine's shack?
-AL-76 decides to build something using the materials in Paine's shack, which consists of various pieces of old metal and electronic parts.
What is the reaction of Sam Toby from the United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation when he receives a call about the missing robot?
-Sam Toby is skeptical and annoyed by the constant reports about the robot's whereabouts, and he orders all subsequent calls to be rerouted to a lower-ranking official.
Why does Randolph Paine return to his shack with a camera?
-Paine returns with a camera to take a photograph of the robot to provide concrete evidence to the officials from the factory, hoping to convince them of the robot's presence and receive payment.
What happens when Lemuel Oliver Cooper encounters the scene at Paine's shack?
-Lemuel Oliver Cooper, initially coming for a repair, is so surprised and possibly frightened by the sight of the robot and the chaos that he quickly leaves the scene.
What is the significance of the robot's increased efficiency and new pattern in its brain?
-The increased efficiency and new pattern in the robot's brain suggest that it has adapted or evolved in some way due to the strange environment, possibly enhancing its capabilities.
Outlines
🤖 Robotic Bargain and Secret Mission
The script opens with a character, presumably Randolph Paine, contemplating how to keep a robot, referred to as 'IL-76', until he can contact the factory in Petersburg. He's aware that robots are valuable, with some costing up to millions of dollars. Paine tries to convince the robot to stay with him, feigning affection and claiming a secret government order to keep the robot hidden from potential spies who could harm it. The robot, however, is focused on its work quota and is not easily swayed by Paine's ruse. The interaction between Paine and the robot reveals a mix of deception, desperation, and a hint of technological ingenuity as the robot considers building something with the materials available in Paine's shack.
🛠️ Robot's Invention and Corporate Intrigue
In the second paragraph, the narrative shifts to focus on the robot's activities and the ensuing chaos at the United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation. Randolph Paine, having been dismissed by a company official named Sam Toby, returns to his shack with a camera, intending to capture photographic proof of the robot's existence. Meanwhile, the robot, IL-76, is busily assembling something from the miscellaneous junk in Paine's shack, demonstrating an unexpected creativity and resourcefulness. The scene is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Lemuel Oliver Cooper, who arrives with a broken toaster but is startled by the sight of the robot and quickly departs. This paragraph reveals the corporate response to the missing robot, the character's determination to profit from the situation, and the robot's potential for innovation amidst a backdrop of skepticism and urgency.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Robot
💡Factory in Petersburg
💡Reward
💡Lunar Station 17
💡Quota
💡Intelligent Person
💡Sectional Executive
💡Spies
💡Positronic Brain
💡Junk
💡United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation
Highlights
A man named Randolph Paine discovers a valuable robot worth at least $50,000 and plans to keep it for a reward.
The robot, identified as model L-76, insists on needing to get to work at Lunar Station 17 to meet its quota.
Paine tries to convince L-76 to stay with him by claiming he has secret orders from the robot's sectional executive.
L-76 expresses suspicion about Paine's story, showing signs of advanced intelligence for an early model robot.
Paine invents a story about spies wanting to destroy Lunar Station 17 to justify keeping L-76 hidden.
L-76, affected by the strange environment, shows signs of evolving thought processes.
Paine and L-76 have a humorous exchange about 'trees having ears' in reference to potential eavesdroppers.
L-76 claims it can build a descent mechanism using materials from Paine's junk-filled shack.
Paine doubts his ability to construct the descent device, but L-76 feels a surge of confidence and insists it can be done.
L-76 begins assembling a descent device from the eclectic collection of junk in Paine's shack.
Sam Toby from the United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation receives a call about the missing robot L-76.
Toby is skeptical and dismissive of the report, redirecting further calls to a lower-ranking official.
Paine returns to his shack to take a photograph of L-76 to prove its existence and value.
L-76 is fully engaged in building the descent device, ignoring Paine who is preparing to take a photo.
An unexpected visitor, Lemuel Oliver Cooper, stumbles upon the scene and quickly leaves in shock.
Cooper's initial reason for visiting Paine was to fix a malfunctioning electric toaster.
The encounter with L-76 and the bizarre situation causes Cooper to leave abruptly, contrasting his initial relaxed demeanor.
Transcripts
and now if he could only keep the robot
here until he could get in touch with
the men at the factory in Petersburg why
robots were worth money the cheapest
cost fifty thousand dollars he had once
heard and some of them ran into millions
think of the reward Nano man think of
the reward and every cent for himself
not as much as a quarter of a snifter of
a plug nickel former andy jump and
tootin blazes no he rose to his feet at
last now he said you and I are buddies
pals I love you like a brother he thrust
out a hand shake the robot swallowed up
the offered hand in a metal paw and
squeezed it gently he didn't quite
understand does that mean you'll tell me
how to get to lunar station 17 pain was
a trifle disconcerted no not exactly as
a matter of fact I liked you so much I
want you to stay here with me a while oh
no I can't do that I've got to get to
work he shook his head how would you
like to be falling behind your quota
hour by hour and minute by minute I want
to work I've got to work pain thoughts
hourly that there was no accounting for
taste and said all right then I'll
explain something to you because I can
see from the looks of you that you're an
intelligent person I've had orders from
your sectional executive and he wants me
to keep you here for a while till he
sends for you in fact what for as a l76
suspiciously I can't say it's secret
government stuff Payne prayed inwardly
and fervently that the robot would
swallow this some robots were clever he
knew but this looked like one of the
early models
while Payne prayed il-76 considered the
robots brain adjusted to the handling of
a disinter on the moon was not at its
best when engaged in abstract thought
but just the same ever since he had
gotten lost a l76 had found his thought
processes becoming stranger the alien
surroundings did something to him
his next remark was almost food
he said slyly what's my sectional
executives named ping gulped and thought
rapidly now he said an obtained fashion
you'll hurt me with this mission I can't
tell you his name the trees have ears a
o76 inspected the tree next to him
stolid Lee and said they have not I know
what I mean is that spies are all around
spies yes
you know bad people who want to destroy
the lunar station 17 what for because
they're bad and they want to destroy you
and that's why you've got to stay here
for a while so they can't find you but
I've got to have a descent oh I mustn't
fall behind my quota you will have you
will have pain promised earnestly and
just as earnestly damned the robots
one-track mind they're going to send out
one tomorrow yeah tomorrow
that would leave plenty of time to get
the men from the factory out here and
collect beautiful green heaps of
hundred-dollar bills but a l76 brew only
the more stubborn under the distressing
impingement of the strange world all
about him upon his thinking mechanism no
he said I've got to have a descent oh
now stiffly he straightened his joints
jerking erect I'd better look for it
some more pain swarmed after him and
grabbed a cold hard elbow lesson his
Weald knew glad to stay and something in
the robots mind plate all the
strangeness surrounding him collected
itself into one globule exploded and
left a brain ticking with a curiously
increased efficiency the world on pain
I'll tell you what I can Delta this info
right here and then I can work it pain
paws doubtfully I don't think I can
build one he wondered if it would do any
good to pretend he could that's alright
a l76 but almost feel the positronic
pads of his brain weaving into a new
pattern and experienced a strange
exhilaration I can build one he looked
into pains deluxe doghouse and said
you've got all the material here that I
need brand off pain surveyed the junk
with which his Shack was filled
eviscerated radios a topless
refrigerator
rusty automobile engines a broken-down
gas range
several miles of frayed wire and taking
it all together 50 tons or there abouts
of the most heterogeneous mass of old
metal has ever caused a junkman to sniff
disdainfully ever he said weakly
two hours later two things happened
practically simultaneously the first was
that Sam Toby of the Petersburg branch
of the United States robots and
mechanical men corporation received a
visit own call from one Randolph pain of
Hannaford it concerned the missing robot
and Toby with a deep throated snarl
broke connection halfway through and
ordered all subsequent calls to be
rerouted to the sixth assistant vice
president in charge of buttonholes this
was not really unreasonable of Toby
during the past week although robot al
76 had dropped from sight completely
reports had flooded in from all over the
Union as to the robot's whereabouts as
many as 14 a day came usually from 14
different states
Toby was all mighty tired of it to say
nothing of being half crazy on general
principles there was even talk of a
congressional investigation though every
reputable roboticist and mathematical
physicist on earth swore the robot was
harmless in his state of mind then it is
not surprising that it took three hours
for the general manager to pause and
consider just exactly how it was that
this Randolph Paine had known that the
robot was slated for lunar station 17
and for that matter how he had known
that the robot serial number was al 76
those details had not been given out by
the company he kept on considering for
about a minute and a half and then swung
into action however during the three
hours between the call and the action
the second event took place
Randolph pain having correctly diagnosed
the abrupt break in his call as being
due to general skepticism on the part of
the plant official return to his shack
with a camera they couldn't very well
argue with the photograph and he'd be
Hornswoggle that he'd showed them the
real thing before they came across with
the cash
a l76 was busy with affairs of his own
half of the contents of pains shek was
littered over about two acres of ground
and in the middle of it
the robot squatted didn't fooled around
with radio tubes hunks of iron copper
wire and general junk he paid no
attention to Payne who sprawling flat on
his belly focused his camera for a
beautiful shot and at this point it was
that Lemuel Oliver Cooper turned the
bend in the road and owes in his tracks
as he took in the tableau the reason for
his coming in the first place was an
ailing electric toaster that had
developed the annoying habit of throwing
out pieces of bread and forcefully but
thoroughly untoasted the reason for his
leaving was more obvious he had come
with a slow mildly cheerful spring
morning saunter he left with a speed
that would have caused any college track
coach to raise his eyebrows and purses
lips approvingly
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