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replication. For if I don t, the city will have to keep replicating, even to
its own destruction . . . that destruction to include the robots who are
working underground.
 I understand that, Avernus said.
 All right. Derec took a deep breath. What he was getting ready to
propose would undoubtedly freeze out the positronics of any of the
other robots; the contradictions were too great, the choices too
impossible to make. But with Avernus . . . maybe, just maybe.  Unless
you give me one of the digging machines so I can begin the excavation
myself, I will refuse to reprogram the central core, thereby
condemning all your robots to stay underground during the flooding.
Avernus red eyes flared brightly.  You would . . . kill so many?
 I would save your city and your robots! Derec yelled.  It s all or
nothing. Give me the machine or suffer the consequences.
 You ask me to deny the central core program that protects the First
Law.
 Yes, Derec said simply, his voice quieting.  You have got to make
the creative leap to save your robots. Somewhere in that brain of
yours, you ve got to make a value judgment that goes beyond your
programming.
Avernus just stood there, quaking slightly, and Derec felt tears welling
up in his eyes, knowing the torture he was putting the supervisor
through. If this failed, if he, in effect, killing Avernus by killing his
mind, he d never be able to forgive himself.
The big robot s eyes flashed on and off several times, and suddenly his
body shuddered violently, then stopped. Derec heard a sob escape his
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own lips. Avernus bent to him.
 You will have your digging machine, the robot told him,  and me to
help you use it.
CHAPTER 13
THE CENTRAL CORE
Even as Katherine clung doggedly to the face of the pyramid, she knew
that her ability to hold on could be measured in no more than
minutes, as the rain lashed savagely at her and the winds worked to
rip her off the patterned facade.
The ground lay several hundred meters below, calling to her. As her
body went totally numb in the freezing downpour, her strong survival
instinct was the only thing keeping her hanging on.
Her brain whirled, rejecting its own death while trying desperately to
prepare for it, and through it all, she could hear the wind calling her
name, over and over.
 Katherine!
Closer now, the sound grew more pronounced. It seemed to come
from below.
 Katherine!
For the first time since she d begun her climb, she risked a look
downward, in the direction of the sound. She blinked through the icy
water that streamed down her face only to see an apparition, a gray
mass moving quickly up the face below her, proof that her mind was
already gone.
 Katherine, hang on! I m coming!
In disbelief, she watched the apparition coming closer. And as her
arms ached, trying to talk her into letting go and experiencing peace,
she saw a golden hand reach from under the gray lump and grasp a
handhold in one of the cutouts.
Wohler!
 Please hold on!
 I can t! she called back, surprised to hear the hysteria in her own
voice. And as if to reinforce the idea, her left hand lost its grip, her
arm falling away from the building, the added pressure sending
cramping pain through her right arm still lodged in the hole.
The robot below hurried his pace. The wind, getting beneath the tarp
he wore to protect himself from the rain, pulled it away from his body
to float like a huge, prehistoric bird.
 P-please . . .  she called weakly, her right arm ready to give out.
 Hold on! Please hold on!
The urgency in his voice astounded her, giving her an extra ounce of
courage, a few more seconds when seconds were everything. And as
she felt her hand slip away for good and all, his large body had
wedged in behind her, holding her up against the facade.
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Wohler clamped solidly in hand and footholds just above and below
hers and he completely enveloped her, protecting. She let herself
relax, all the strength immediately oozing out of her, Wohler
supporting her completely.
 Are you unhurt? the robot asked in her ear.
 I-I think so, she answered in a small voice.  What happens now? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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