Galaxy Magazine (June 1957) by Galaxy

Author:Galaxy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 1957-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

The Hardest Bargain

By EVELYN E. SMITH Illustrated by DICK FRANCIS

T

HERE is a group of citizens engaged in rioting on the lawn, sir," Robot Z-1313A told the President of the United States. "Trampling down the early peas,

too " he added, with the objective interest of one whose chief article of diet was oil.

"Well, don't just stand there," President Buchbinder said. "Go out and chase them away!" His

74

GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION

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It wasn't possible to make a bigger or more disastrous blunder . . . expecting an alien to consider himself yr humble & obdt servant!

voice subsided to a groan. "Have the people no respect for our sacred traditions? Don't they know the White House lawn is the only place for miles around where peas will grow?"

"They're young, most of them," Dr. Livingston, the President's confidential advisor, said tolerantly, puffing at his pipe, "The way the birth rate's been climbing, you take any given number of the

THE HARDEST BARGAIN

population at any one time and the majority will be too young to remember our glorious traditions-"

"Their parents could teach them!" Buchbinder snapped. "After all, isn't that why we have parents instead of incubators?"

"Their parents are too busy scratching out a living and — ah — breeding to be able to instruct the young ones," Livingston said. "It's a vicious circle which has come to a head in this generation."

There was something wrong with that statement, Buchbinder knew, but he didn't dare come right out and say so, for fear of looking a fool. He knew his confidential advisor was smarter than he was. And what with the atomic wars of the past couple of centuries, the large proportion of strontium 90 in the atmosphere, and general intellectual jealousy, there weren't many intelligent people left in the world, so the ones that remained had to be handled with care.

BUCHBINDER turned to Z-1313A, who was still standing there. "Why haven't you obeyed my instructions?" he demanded, outraged at this evidence of insubordination in a robot. From people you expected it, but a machine was supposed to be above such petty defectiveness. "Why don't you go chase the

rioters off the lawn, per order?"

"I don't dare, sir,* Z-1313A explained. "Should I get close enough, they would disassemble me. As a matter of fact, when I informed them from the balcony that they were trespassing, they employed language which — well, sir, if I hadn't been a robot and constitutionally incapable of the pudent graces, it would have made me blush."

"Disassemble a robot!" Buchbinder repeated, shocked. "I never heard of anything so manic in my life. Why should they want to do a thing like that?"

Since the robot did not have parts sufficiently flexible for shrugging, he remained impassive. It was Dr. Livingston who answered. "Haven't you heard, Will? The people are starting to destroy robots when they can get their hands on them. To try to destroy them, that is. Fortunately, most of the people are too weak from hunger and racial debility to do any great damage unless they operate in gangs.

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