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Updated: May 22, 2025
Snookums can't handle it, except in a very limited way." Fitzhugh had been making his points by tapping them off on his fingers with the stem of his unlighted pipe. Now he shoved the pipe back in his pocket and clasped his hands behind his back. "It all adds up to this: Snookums must be allowed the freedom of the ship.
He went on rambling while Leda shouted at him again. "He's not paying any attention," said Mike sharply. "This is too tied up with the First Law. The Second Law, which would force him to obey you, doesn't even come into the picture at this point." Snookums ignored them. He opened the door, plunged through it, and headed off down the corridor as fast as his treads would move him.
"Well, assuming all that, I imagine that it would eventually ruin Snookums. He's built to experiment, and if he's kept from experimenting for too long, he'll exceed the optimum randomity of his circuits." She swallowed. "If he hasn't already." "I thought so. And so did someone else," said Mike thoughtfully. "Well, for Heaven's sake! What is this system?" Leda asked in sudden exasperation.
To perform a sacrament or to receive it when one knows that it will be useless is sacrilege. And sacrilege is undesirable." "Brother! But I still don't see how that makes him dangerous." "The operation of the First Law," Leda said. "For a man to sin involves endangering his immortal soul. Snookums, therefore, must prevent men from sinning. But sin includes thought intention.
"We were warned, of course," he said, in a normally dismal tone, "that it would be extremely difficult to set down the ship which carried Snookums, and that we could expect the final base to be anywhere from ten to thirty miles from the original, temporary base." He looked round at everyone, giving the impression of a collie which had just been kicked by Albert Payson Terhune.
"All right," she said. "So?" "Now, further suppose that this system, this field of knowledge is, right now, in constant use by millions of human beings, even though most of them are unaware of the implications of the entire field. Could Snookums work with such a body of knowledge?" "Sure," said Leda. "Why not?" "What if there was absolutely no way for Snookums to experiment with this knowledge?
Consequently, it is unstable. "Point Three: Snookums was built to conduct his own experiments. To forbid him to do that would be similar to beating a child for acting like a child; it would do serious harm to the mind. In Snookums' case, the randomity of the brain would exceed optimum, and the robot would become insane. "Point Four: Emotion is not logical.
"But it wasn't Mellon that fed Snookums theology. Mellon was a devout churchman; his record shows that. He would never have tried to convert a machine to Christianity. Nor would he have tried to ruin an expensive machine. "How do I know that someone else was involved?" He looked at the giant Lieutenant Keku. "Do you remember when we took Mellon to his quarters after he tried to brain von Liegnitz?
Furthermore, she had given Mike the Angel a dressing-down that had been quite impressive. She had not at all cared for the remarks he had made when Snookums was being loaded aboard patting him on the head and asking him his age, for instance and had told him so in no uncertain terms. Mike, feeling sheepish and knowing he was guilty, had accepted the tongue-lashing and tendered an apology.
"And I'm all cried out, Mike. I can't cry any more." Before Mike could make up his mind whether to say anything or not, the door of Snookums' room opened and Dr. Fitzhugh came out, closing the door behind him. There was an odd, stricken look on his face. He looked at Leda and then at Mike, but the expression on his face showed that he really hadn't seen them clearly.
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