Electric Dreams Page 8

  ‘You mean the drive? I wish you could get a position on Mars like Bob Young. Maybe if you talked to the Employment Commission and explained to them how all the strain—’

  ‘It’s not just the drive. They’re right out front. Everywhere. Waiting for me. All day and night.’

  ‘Who are, dear?’

  ‘Robots selling things. As soon as I set down the ship. Robots and visual-audio ads. They dig right into a man’s brain. They follow people around until they die.’

  ‘I know.’ Sally patted his hand sympathetically. ‘When I go shopping they follow me in clusters. All talking at once. It’s really a panic—you can’t understand half what they’re saying.’

  ‘We’ve got to break out.’

  ‘Break out?’ Sally faltered. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We’ve got to get away from them. They’re destroying us.’

  Morris fumbled in his pocket and carefully got out a tiny fragment of metal-foil. He unrolled it with painstaking care and smoothed it out on the table. ‘Look at this. It was circulated in the office, among the men; it got to me and I kept it.’

  ‘What does it mean?’ Sally’s brow wrinkled as she made out the words. ‘Dear, I don’t think you got all of it. There must be more than this.’

  ‘A new world,’ Morris said softly. ‘Where they haven’t got to, yet. It’s a long way off, out beyond the solar system. Out in the stars.’

  ‘Proxima?’

  ‘Twenty planets. Half of them habitable. Only a few thousand people out there. Families, workmen, scientists, some industrial survey teams. Land free for the asking.’

  ‘But it’s so—’ Sally made a face. ‘Dear, isn’t it sort of underdeveloped? They say it’s like living back in the twentieth century. Flush toilets, bathtubs, gasoline driven cars—’

  ‘That’s right.’ Morris rolled up the bit of crumpled metal, his face grim and dead-serious. ‘It’s a hundred years behind times. None of this.’ He indicated the stove and the furnishings in the living room. ‘We’ll have to do without. We’ll have to get used to a simpler life. The way our ancestors lived.’ He tried to smile but his face wouldn’t cooperate. ‘You think you’d like it? No ads, no salesrobots, traffic moving at sixty miles an hour instead of sixty million. We could raise passage on one of the big trans-system liners. I could sell my commute rocket . . .’

  There was a hesitant, doubtful silence.

  ‘Ed,’ Sally began. ‘I think we should think it over more. What about your job? What would you do out there?’

  ‘I’d find something.’

  ‘But what? Haven’t you got that part figured out?’ A shrill tinge of annoyance crept into her voice. ‘It seems to me we should consider that part just a little more before we throw away everything and just—take off.’

  ‘If we don’t go,’ Morris said slowly, trying to keep his voice steady, ‘they’ll get us. There isn’t much time left. I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off.’

  ‘Really, Ed! You make it sound so melodramatic. If you feel that bad why don’t you take some time off and have a complete inhibition check? I was watching a vidprogram and I saw them going over a man whose psychosomatic system was much worse than yours. A much older man.’

  She leaped to her feet. ‘Let’s go out tonight and celebrate. Okay?’ Her slim fingers fumbled at the zipper of her shorts. ‘I’ll put on my new plastirobe, the one I’ve never had nerve enough to wear.’

  Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she hurried into the bedroom. ‘You know the one I mean? When you’re up close it’s translucent but as you get farther off it becomes more and more sheer until—’

  ‘I know the one,’ Morris said wearily. ‘I’ve seen them advertised on my way home from work.’ He got slowly to his feet and wandered into the living room. At the door of the bedroom he halted. ‘Sally—’

  ‘Yes?’

  Morris opened his mouth to speak. He was going to ask her again, talk to her about the metal-foil fragment he had carefully wadded up and carried home. He was going to talk to her about the frontier. About Proxima Centauri. Going away and never coming back. But he never had a chance. The doorchimes sounded.

  ‘Somebody’s at the door!’ Sally cried excitedly. ‘Hurry up and see who it is!’

  In the evening darkness the robot was a silent, unmoving figure. A cold wind blew around it and into the house. Morris shivered and moved back from the door. ‘What do you want?’ he demanded. A strange fear licked at him. ‘What is it?’

  The robot was larger than any he had seen. Tall and broad, with heavy metallic grippers and elongated eye-lenses. Its upper trunk was a square tank instead of the usual cone. It rested on four treads, not the customary two. It towered over Morris, almost seven feet high. Massive and solid.

  ‘Good evening,’ it said calmly. Its voice was whipped around by the night wind; it mixed with the dismal noises of evening, the echoes of traffic and the clang of distant street signals. A few vague shapes hurried through the gloom. The world was black and hostile.

  ‘Evening,’ Morris responded automatically. He found himself trembling. ‘What are you selling?’

  ‘I would like to show you a fasrad,’ the robot said.

  Morris’ mind was numb; it refused to respond. What was a fasrad? There was something dreamlike and nightmarish going on. He struggled to get his mind and body together. ‘A what?’ he croaked.

  ‘A fasrad.’ The robot made no effort to explain. It regarded him without emotion, as if it was not its responsibility to explain anything. ‘It will take only a moment.’

  ‘I—’ Morris began. He moved back, out of the wind. And the robot, without change of expression, glided past him and into the house.

  ‘Thank you,’ it said. It halted in the middle of the living room. ‘Would you call your wife, please? I would like to show her the fasrad, also.’

  ‘Sally,’ Morris muttered helplessly. ‘Come here.’

  Sally swept breathlessly into the living room, her breasts quivering with excitement. ‘What is it? Oh!’ She saw the robot and halted uncertainly. ‘Ed, did you order something? Are we buying something?’

  ‘Good evening,’ the robot said to her. ‘I am going to show you the fasrad. Please be seated. On the couch, if you will. Both together.’

  Sally sat down expectantly, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright with wonder and bewilderment. Numbly, Ed seated himself beside her. ‘Look,’ he muttered thickly. ‘What the hell is a fasrad? What’s going on? I don’t want to buy anything!’

  ‘What is your name?’ the robot asked him.

  ‘Morris.’ He almost choked. ‘Ed Morris.’

  The robot turned to Sally. ‘Mrs Morris.’ It bowed slightly. ‘I’m glad to meet you, Mr and Mrs Morris. You are the first persons in your neighborhood to see the fasrad. This is the initial demonstration in this area.’ Its cold eyes swept the room. ‘Mr Morris, you are employed, I assume. Where are you employed?’

  ‘He works on Ganymede,’ Sally said dutifully, like a little girl in school. ‘For the Terran Metals Development Co.’

  The robot digested this information. ‘A fasrad will be of value to you.’ It eyed Sally. ‘What do you do?’

  ‘I’m a tape transcriber at Histo-Research.’

  ‘A fasrad will be of no value in your professional work, but it will be helpful here in the home.’ It picked up a table in its powerful steel grippers. ‘For example, sometimes an attractive piece of furniture is damaged by a clumsy guest.’ The robot smashed the table to bits; fragments of wood and plastic rained down. ‘A fasrad is needed.’

  Morris leaped helplessly to his feet. He was powerless to halt events; a numbing weight hung over him, as the robot tossed the fragments of table away and selected a heavy floor lamp.

  ‘Oh dear,’ Sally gasped. ‘That’s my best lamp.’

  ‘When a fasrad is possessed, there is nothing to fear.’ The robot seized the lamp and twisted it grotesquely. It ripped the shade, smashed the bulbs, then threw away the
remnants. ‘A situation of this kind can occur from some violent explosion, such as an H-Bomb.’

  ‘For God’s sake,’ Morris muttered. ‘We—’

  ‘An H-Bomb attack may never occur,’ the robot continued, ‘but in such an event a fasrad is indispensable.’ It knelt down and pulled an intricate tube from its waist. Aiming the tube at the floor it atomized a hole five feet in diameter. It stepped back from the yawning pocket. ‘I have not extended this tunnel, but you can see a fasrad would save your life in case of attack.’

  The word attack seemed to set off a new train of reactions in its metal brain.

  ‘Sometimes a thug or hood will attack a person at night,’ it continued. Without warning it whirled and drove its fist through the wall. A section of the wall collapsed in a heap of powder and debris. ‘That takes care of the thug.’ The robot straightened out and peered around the room. ‘Often you are too tired in the evening to manipulate the buttons on the stove.’ It strode into the kitchen and began punching the stove controls; immense quantities of food spilled in all directions.

  ‘Stop!’ Sally cried. ‘Get away from my stove!’

  ‘You may be too weary to run water for your bath.’ The robot tripped the controls of the tub and water poured down. ‘Or you may wish to go right to bed.’ It yanked the bed from its concealment and threw it flat. Sally retreated in fright as the robot advanced toward her. ‘Sometimes after a hard day at work you are too tired to remove your clothing. In that event—’

  ‘Get out of here!’ Morris shouted at it. ‘Sally, run and get the cops. The thing’s gone crazy. Hurry.’

  ‘The fasrad is a necessity in all modern homes,’ the robot continued. ‘For example, an appliance may break down. The fasrad repairs it instantly.’ It seized the automatic humidity control and tore the wiring and replaced it on the wall. ‘Sometimes you would prefer not to go to work. The fasrad is permitted by law to occupy your position for a consecutive period not to exceed ten days. If, after that period—’

  ‘Good God,’ Morris said, as understanding finally came. ‘You’re the fasrad.’

  ‘That’s right,’ the robot agreed. ‘Fully Automatic Self-Regulating Android (Domestic). There is also the fasrac (Construction), the fasram (Managerial), the fasras (Soldier), and the fasrab (Bureaucrat). I am designed for home use.’

  ‘You—’ Sally gasped. ‘You’re for sale. You’re selling yourself.’

  ‘I am demonstrating myself,’ the fasrad, the robot, answered. Its impassive metal eyes were fixed intently on Morris as it continued, ‘I am sure, Mr Morris, you would like to own me. I am reasonably priced and fully guaranteed. A full book of instructions is included. I cannot conceive of taking no for an answer.’

  At half past twelve, Ed Morris still sat at the foot of the bed, one shoe on, the other in his hand. He gazed vacantly ahead. He said nothing.

  ‘For heaven’s sake,’ Sally complained. ‘Finish untying that knot and get into bed; you have to be up at five-thirty.’

  Morris fooled aimlessly with the shoelace. After a while he dropped the shoe and tugged at the other one. The house was cold and silent. Outside, the dismal night-wind whipped and lashed at the cedars that grew along the side of the building. Sally lay curled up beneath the radiant-lens, a cigarette between her lips, enjoying the warmth and half-dozing.

  In the living room stood the fasrad. It hadn’t left. It was still there, was waiting for Morris to buy it.

  ‘Come on!’ Sally said sharply. ‘What’s wrong with you? It fixed all the things it broke; it was just demonstrating itself.’ She sighed drowsily. ‘It certainly gave me a scare. I thought something had gone wrong with it. They certainly had an inspiration, sending it around to sell itself to people.’

  Morris said nothing.

  Sally rolled over on her stomach and languidly stubbed out her cigarette. ‘That’s not so much, is it? Ten thousand gold units, and if we get our friends to buy one we get a five per cent commission. All we have to do is show it. It isn’t as if we had to sell it. It sells itself.’ She giggled. ‘They always wanted a product that sold itself, didn’t they?’

  Morris untied the knot in his shoelace. He slid his shoe back on and tied it tight.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Sally demanded angrily. ‘You come to bed!’ She sat up furiously, as Morris left the room and moved slowly down the hall. ‘Where are you going?’

  In the living room, Morris switched on the light and sat down facing the fasrad. ‘Can you hear me?’ he said.

  ‘Certainly,’ the fasrad answered. ‘I’m never inoperative. Sometimes an emergency occurs at night: a child is sick or an accident takes place. You have no children as yet, but in the event—’

  ‘Shut up,’ Morris said, ‘I don’t want to hear you.’

  ‘You asked me a question. Self-regulating androids are plugged in to a central information exchange. Sometimes a person wishes immediate information; the fasrad is always ready to answer any theoretical or factual inquiry. Anything not metaphysical.’

  Morris picked up the book of instructions and thumbed it. The fasrad did thousands of things; it never wore out; it was never at a loss; it couldn’t make a mistake. He threw the book away. ‘I’m not going to buy you,’ he said to it. ‘Never. Not in a million years.’

  ‘Oh, yes you are,’ the fasrad corrected. ‘This is an opportunity you can’t afford to miss.’ There was calm, metallic confidence in its voice. ‘You can’t turn me down, Mr Morris. A fasrad is an indispensable necessity in the modern home.’

  ‘Get out of here,’ Morris said evenly. ‘Get out of my house and don’t come back.’

  ‘I’m not your fasrad to order around. Until you’ve purchased me at the regular list price, I’m responsible only to Self-Regulating Android Inc. Their instructions were to the contrary; I’m to remain with you until you buy me.’

  ‘Suppose I never buy you?’ Morris demanded, but in his heart ice formed even as he asked. Already he felt the cold terror of the answer that was coming; there could be no other.

  ‘I’ll continue to remain with you,’ the fasrad said; ‘eventually you’ll buy me.’ It plucked some withered roses from a vase on the mantel and dropped them into its disposal slot. ‘You will see more and more situations in which a fasrad is indispensable. Eventually you’ll wonder how you ever existed without one.’

  ‘Is there anything you can’t do?’

  ‘Oh, yes; there’s a great deal I can’t do. But I can do anything you can do—and considerably better.’

  Morris let out his breath slowly. ‘I’d be insane to buy you.’

  ‘You’ve got to buy me,’ the impassive voice answered. The fasrad extended a hollow pipe and began cleaning the carpet. ‘I am useful in all situations. Notice how fluffy and free of dust this rug is.’ It withdrew the pipe and extended another. Morris coughed and staggered quickly away; clouds of white particles billowed out and filled every part of the room.

  ‘I am spraying for moths,’ the fasrad explained.

  The white cloud turned to an ugly blue-black. The room faded into ominous darkness; the fasrad was a dim shape moving methodically about in the center. Presently the cloud lifted and the furniture emerged.

  ‘I sprayed for harmful bacteria,’ the fasrad said.

  It painted the walls of the room and constructed new furniture to go with them. It reinforced the ceiling in the bathroom. It increased the number of heat-vents from the furnace. It put in new electrical wiring. It tore out all the fixtures in the kitchen and assembled more modern ones. It examined Morris’ financial accounts and computed his income tax for the following year. It sharpened all the pencils; it caught hold of his wrist and quickly diagnosed his high blood-pressure as psychosomatic.

  ‘You’ll feel better after you’ve turned responsibility over to me,’ it explained. It threw out some old soup Sally had been saving. ‘Danger of botulism,’ it told him. ‘Your wife is sexually attractive, but not capable of a high order of intellectualization.’

 
Morris went to the closet and got his coat.

  ‘Where are you going?’ the fasrad asked.

  ‘To the office.’

  ‘At this time of night?’

  Morris glanced briefly into the bedroom. Sally was sound asleep under the soothing radiant-lens. Her slim body was rosy pink and healthy, her face free of worry. He closed the front door and hurried down the steps into the darkness. Cold night wind slashed at him as he approached the parking lot. His little commute ship was parked with hundreds of others; a quarter sent the attendant robot obediently after it. In ten minutes he was on his way to Ganymede.

  The fasrad boarded his ship when he stopped at Mars to refuel.

  ‘Apparently you don’t understand,’ the fasrad said. ‘My instructions are to demonstrate myself until you’re satisfied. As yet, you’re not wholly convinced; further demonstration is necessary.’ It passed an intricate web over the controls of the ship until all the dials and meters were in adjustment. ‘You should have more frequent servicing.’

  It retired to the rear to examine the drive jets. Morris numbly signaled the attendant, and the ship was released from the fuel pumps. He gained speed and the small sandy planet fell behind. Ahead, Jupiter loomed.

  ‘Your jets aren’t in good repair,’ the fasrad said, emerging from the rear. ‘I don’t like that knock to the main brake drive. As soon as you land I’ll make extensive repair.’

  ‘The Company doesn’t mind your doing favors for me?’ Morris asked, with bitter sarcasm.

  ‘The Company considers me your fasrad. An invoice will be mailed to you at the end of the month.’ The robot whipped out a pen and a pad of forms. ‘I’ll explain the four easy-payment plans. Ten thousand gold units cash means a three per cent discount. In addition, a number of household items may be traded in—items you won’t have further need for. If you wish to divide the purchase in four parts, the first is due at once, and the last in ninety days.’

  ‘I always pay cash,’ Morris muttered. He was carefully resetting the route positions on the control board.