Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe Part 8

"Okay," she said, standing up"And in the mean-time, don't worrySasha's going to have her hands full for a while after what happened last night."

Hosato was suddenly alert.

"What happened last night?" he asked casually.

"Haven't you heardSomebody killed TurnerBlew his head off with a blaster."

"WhatWho did it?"

"n.o.body knows, but it had to be one of the guardsThey're the only ones in the complex with blastersThe president has ordered them all to turn in their weapons until the investigation is complete."

A spark burned in Hosato's memory"Was he in the manufacturing area?"

"No, he was in his officeThat's about all I knowSee you after work." She started for the door.

"What about the boyTurner's sonWhat happens to him?"

"Gee, I never thought about thatI suppose the company will take care of him somehowSee you later."

Hosato sat in thoughtful silence after she leftFi-nally he leaned forward and spoke into the desk-robot.

"Can you connect me with Harry Turner's personal quarters?"

"I can function as an intercom system," the robot responded.

"Then would you connect me, please?"

There was a silence; then James's voice came out of the speaker"Yes?"

"Hayama here, James."

"OhHayamaI won't be able to take my lesson today-"

"I know, I just heardWhat I wanted to say was that after all this is over, if you're still interested, we can talk about your coming in with me as an appren-tice."

"Thanks, HayamaI appreciate that."

"One more thing, JamesWhat was your father do-ing in his office last night?"

"It was the security-robot thing againHe was go-ing to be looking at the first working prototypes."

"But you have my every a.s.surance that such a thing is impossible!" Suzi floated at Hosato's heels as he paced up and down his apartment.

"Look, Suzi," Hosato said grimly, "I was almost killed twice yesterday by robotsHow do you explain that?"

There was a moment of silence before the robot replied"The only possible explanation is equipment malfunction."

"TwiceIn the same areaWithin fifteen minutes of each other?"

"The probability is admittedly low, but the possi-bility is still there," Suzi insisted"Do you recall your arguments with my creator to program me so that I could attack with a fencing foilIt was safe, you said, there could be no injury so the programming would be acceptableDo you recall what he said?"

"He said he wouldn't do it."

"He said he couldn't do itBecause you and I can converse like this, you keep forgetting one basic con-ceptMachines are dumbThat's why the base "no-kill'

programs are ingrained so deeplyA machine can't tell a blunted sword from a real oneIf I were able to be programmed to fight with a mock weapon, you could then subst.i.tute a real weapon and I would kill with itOur 'no-kill' programming therefore ne-gates any such secondary programming."

There was a knock at the door"Please reconsider," Suzi begged"The repercus- sions of your chosen action could-"

"No, Suzi," Hosato said and opened the door"Well, Hayama," Sasha said, sweeping briskly into the room"What's the big emergency?"

"Sit down, Sasha." Hosato smiled"This could take a while."

"No it won't," the security chief said coldly"My entire force has been disarmed, the whole complex has gone crazy with accusations and suspicions, and I was supposed to be in the president's office five min-utes agoThis won't take long at all."

"But this has to do with Turner's death," Hosato supplied.

"FineIf you have information to give, then give it and let me get out of here."

Hosato sighed"Look, SashaWill it slow you up at all if I say everything you've suspected about me is trueThat I'm a Ninja?"

Sasha stopped abruptly and studied Hosato with dark eyes"Did you kill Turner?"

she asked softly.

"No, but I think I know who did. or what did, to be specific."

The security chief sank into a chair"I'm listening," she announced"I must say you've got the knack for getting my undivided attention."

"Before I get into my theory, there are a couple questions I want to ask youAs head of Security, any breach in an restricted area would be reported to you immediately, right?"

"That is correct."

"Aside from Harry Turner's death, were any other disturbances reported to you yesterday?"

"No."

"Specifically, in the manufacturing areas?"

"NoWhyHave you heard something-?"

"Next," Hosato interrupted, "is Turner's product family introducing any new robots that you know of?"

"That's a definite no." Sasha grimmaced"They haven't come up with anything new in the last two years."

"Turner controls the Household line, doesn't heTell me, can you think of a household use for a rock slicer?"

Sasha frowned"Not reallyWe use them in some of our construction robots, but slicers are too danger-ous to be used around humans."

"How about blasters?"

"Look, HayamaEnough gamesIf you have some-thing to say, say it."

Hosato sighed and took the plunge.

"OkayMy name isn't Hayama, jt's HosatoBy profession I am a Ninja, an advancement on the old-world model you've studiedI was hired by Ravensteel to infiltrate your complex for the express purpose of sabotageI feel relatively safe admitting this to you, because so far I have done nothing except look aroundI haven't killed anyone, destroyed any equip-ment, or transmitted any information to RavensteelMy contract is now voided, but to my reasoning, the worst you can do is export me as an undesirable."

"That's quite a mouthful, Hayama. HosatoThe big question in my mind is, why?"

"For the money, of course."

"I mean, why tell me?"

"I'm coming to that." Hosato began to pace the room as he talked"I'm breaking cover because I think there's something bigger at stake."

"Like what?"

"Killer robotsI think Harry Turner was killed by one of his own prototype security robots and that we're all in potential danger of sharing that fate."

"WhoaHold on, HosatoRobot's can't-"

"Hear me out, SashaI mentioned I had done some looking around yesterdayI was specifically scouting Turner's manufacturing area for sabotageI saw two things there that didn't make senseFirst, the main-tenance robots were constructing a new a.s.sembly line, yet you say there are no known new products planned for that areaSecond, I saw a prototype robot being a.s.sembled with a built-in blaster in one arm and a light industrial slicer in the other."

"But robots can't kill people, they can't even injure themEven if they have built-in weapons, they couldn't use them on anybody."

"In that same scouting trip, I was almost killed twice, both times by robotsOne time, one of the maintenance robots tried to knock me off a catwalk; and a few minutes later one of the design robots tried to shove a screwdriver through my chestDoes that sound like harmless robots going about their work?"

"It could be a malfunction," she suggested.

'That's what I thought at first myselfThen I found out that when Harry was killed, he was supposed to be looking over the prototypes of the security robotsIt just seems like too much of a coincidence to me."

"But even if they were able to kill people, would robots have the necessary data tb perform the func-tion?"

"We can check that easily enough," Hosato said, turning to Suzi"SuziWe're going to need your help."

The robot remained stoically silent.

"Come on, SuziShe knows alreadyThere's no need for secrets anymore."

There was still no response.

"Am I to take it from your actions," Sasha asked, "that Suzi is more than the Cla.s.s Two robot she's been pretending to be?"

"That's right," Hosato responded"She's actually rather advancedA Cla.s.s Seven."

"Cla.s.s Eight," Suzi corrected him.

"Ah." Hosato smiled"Since you've decided to join us, what data are available to robots on the subject of killing?"

"Robots are incapable of killing or injuring hu-mans," Suzi recited"As any idiot knows."

Sasha snickered.

"That's right," Hosato said"You all have 'no-kill programmingBut how do you know not to injure anyone?"

" 'No-kill' programming includes a complex matrix of human vulnerabilities,"

Suzi informed them"We know the breaking strength of every bone in the body, modified for s.e.x and age, the pressure necessary on what type of an edge to break the skin or rupture an internal organ, the sensitivities of the eyes or ears-"

"So you have all the information necessary to inflict injuryAll robots do."

"The information is of a negative natureThese are things we are to avoid doing at all costs."

"But if the blocks were somehow removed, and you had programming to that effect, you would know pre-cisely how to killCorrect?"

There was a painful silence.

"You see, Sasha," Hosato said"Robots could-"

"Even if we were physically able to inflict injury," Suzi interrupted, "there would have to be specific in-struction to that effect before we could actRobots are incapable of independent thought, and merely act out instructions given them."

"A mirror unto man," Sasha murmured.

"What's that?" Hosato asked.

"OhJust paraphrasing ShakespeareThe original quote was 'a mirror unto nature,'

but that isn't what we're dealing with hereWhat we have is a mirror unto man, one that will reflect our efficiencies and maybe our weaknesses."

"Then you agree that we could be in danger."

"No, I don't, Hosato." Sasha was her brisk self again"While I'll admit it may be a possibility, there is nothing to prove-"

The shrill beeping of her belt unit interrupted herShe palmed the unit off her waist and held the ear plug against her head.

"Sasha hereWhatWho is h.e.l.lo. h.e.l.lo!"

Her hands sank slowly into her lap as she stared at Hosato.

"I think you've got your proof," she said vacantly"While we've been here talking, someone or some-thing raided the meeting in the president's office and killed everyone thereSecurity reports unidentified ro-bots moving through the corridors, armed and capa-ble of inflicting fatal injury."

Hosato grasped the situation immediately.

"Suzi," he barked"Full battle equipment!"

The robot obediently pivoted around, and a door swung open.

"What. ?" began Sasha.