Escape! Audiobook - Ch. 7 - I, Robot - By Isaac Asimov, Read by Garrick Hagon -
Back on earth, U.S. Robots has received an interesting offer from its main competitor, Consolidated Robots. In effect, Consolidated is betting that U.S. Robots cannot solve a major outstanding problem in interstellar travel. The problem has incapacitated Consolidated's best supercomputer, and-apart from the sum of money involved-the leaders of U.S. Robots are interested in finding out why. They give the problem piece by piece to their own supercomputer, the Brain, under the close supervision of Susan Calvin.
In monitoring the process, Calvin looks out for "forbidden" dilemmas that might cause the Brain to break down. She reassures the Brain that a solution that involves damage to humans-even death-is acceptable; they just want the answer. The Brain works patiently as volumes of physics equations are fed into its scanner. Then, suddenly, it stops and announces that it has solved the problem and can build a proof-of-concept interstellar ship. The others are relieved, but Calvin suspects something is amiss.
The Brain builds its ship, and Greg Powell and Mike Donovan, the company's best "field men," are selected as the inaugural pilots. But when they step aboard, they find there are no controls or engines-only an instrument panel with a gauge going up to one million parsecs. Without warning, the ship is sealed and appears to disappear from Earth. Calvin asks the Brain what happened, and it cheerfully announces that the two men are going to take an "interesting" trip.
Powell and Donovan, meanwhile, find themselves among the stars. They quickly realize that the ship has moved without any apparent acceleration. They find that their radio can receive signals from Earth, but they have no way of responding. There are plenty of beans and milk, but no other food. At headquarters, Calvin pieces together what is happening and realizes the problem: "life can't exist" during an interstellar warp. The story cuts back to the ship, where Powell and Donovan feel a strange vibrating sensation ... and then momentarily die. Powell, detached from his body, hears voices implying that he is among the souls waiting to be judged, but just then he finds himself back on the bridge of the ship, with Donovan beside him. The gauge reads 300,000 parsecs. The men are harrowed by their experience but overjoyed that interstellar travel is a success.
The ship returns to Earth, and Susan Calvin explains all. Like humans, robots have difficulty responding to a dilemma. Unable "to face the situation squarely," humans become delusional. They might start drinking, become hysterical, or commit suicide. Similarly, the Brain was able to overlook the fact that interstellar warp temporarily "kills" humans, but it became neurotic in doing so. Hence the beans and milk, the one-way radio, the lack of controls-all of it was an elaborate practical joke. The team agrees to send the ship to Consolidated as is, without warning their rivals of the ride they are in for.
12 сен 2024
