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great help to Gubber. He would most definitely not want to lose that.
You are suggesting that Gubber Anshaw would have a great deal to lose if
something happened to Fredda Leving? Donald asked.
Jomaine Terach looked cautiously at Donald, and then at Kresh. Once again,
that gets us into classified areas. But yes, I think that would be safe to
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say. Gubber had made some remarkable advances, advances that required the
rejection of some very tried and true technology in favor of something newer
and better and more flexible. However, he didn t get far in promoting his
discoveries. Robotics is in many ways a very conservative field. Leving Labs
was the only place that was willing to use his work.
I suppose we re talking about gravitonic brains here, Kresh said.
Terach breathed in sharply, clearly surprised and unsettled. How did you--
There was a stack of them in neatly labeled boxes in Anshaw s lab,
Kresh said, more than a bit sardonically. I think perhaps you need to work a
little on security procedures down at the lab.
Apparently so, Terach said, clearly nonplussed.
So what the devil are gravitonic brains? Some sort of replacement for the
positronic brain?
Donald turned his head toward Kresh. Sir! That would be quite impossible. The
positronic brain is the basis, the core, of all robotics. The
Three Laws are intrinsic to it, built into its very structure, burned into its
fundamental pathways.
Take it easy, Donald, Kresh said. That doesn t mean that the Three
Laws couldn t be built into another form of brain. Right, Terach?
Terach blinked and nodded, still a bit distracted. Of course, of course. I
really cannot say anything specific about gravitonic brains, but I
suppose it can t do any harm to speak in broad generalities. Gubber Anshaw is
really just at the beginning of his research on gravitonics, but in my opinion
he s already made tremendous breakthroughs. It s time someone did.
How do you mean?
I mean that we have rung out the changes on positronics. Certainly today s
positronic brain is far superior to the original units. It has been greatly
advanced and improved. There have been many refinements in it. But the
positronic brain s basic design hasn t changed in thousands of years. It would
be as. if we were still using chemical rockets for spacecraft, instead of
hyperdrive. The positronic brain is an incredibly conservative design that
puts tremendous and needless limits on what robots can do. Because the Three
Laws are embedded in its design, the positronic brain is seen as the only
possible design for use in robots. That is an article of belief, of faith,
even among robotics researchers. But gravitonics could change all that.
Gravitonic brains currently have one or two minor drawbacks, but they are at
the beginning of their development. They promise tremendous advantages over
positronics, in terms of flexibility and capacity.
Well, you certainly sound like a true believer yourself, Kresh said dryly.
There is none so faithful as the converted, he thought. Very well, Terach. I
may well wish to talk with you later, but that will do it for now.
You may go.
Jomaine nodded and stood up. He hesitated before heading for the door.
Ah, one question, he said. What is the prognosis for Fredda Leving?
Kresh s face hardened. She s still unconscious, he said, but they expect
her to awaken sometime in the next day or so, and go on to a rapid and
complete recovery. They are using the most advanced regeneration techniques to
stimulate recovery. I understand her head injury should be completely healed
within two days.
Jomaine Terach smiled and nodded. That s excellent news, he said. The staff
here will be delighted to hear it--ah, that is, if I m allowed to tell them.
Kresh waved his hand in negligent dismissal. Go right ahead, Terach.
It s public knowledge--and she s under heavy guard.
Terach pasted on a patently false smile, nodded nervously, and left the room.
Kresh watched him go. What s your reading, Donald? he asked, without looking
over at the robot. No one talked about it much, but advanced police robots
were specially engineered to detect the body s involuntary responses to
questions. In effect, Donald was a highly sophisticated lie detector.
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I should remind you that Jomaine Terach quite possibly knows about my
capabilities as a truth-sensor. I have never met him before, but a records-
check confirms that he was on staff here during my construction. That does add
a variable. However, suffice to say that he was highly agitated, sir. Far more
so than any of the others, and, in my opinion, more so than would be accounted
for solely by surprise and concern over the attack on Lady Leving. Voice
stress and other indicators confirm that he was concealing something.
That didn t surprise Alvar. All witnesses concealed things. Was he lying? he
asked. Lying directly?
No, sir. But he was most concerned to learn we knew about the gravitonic
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