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.He might lie to protect, in legitimate fashion, his ownexistence in accordance with the Third Law.He is more apt to lie if that isnecessary to follow a legitimate order given him by a human being inaccordance with the Second Law.He is most apt to lie if that is necessary tosave a human life, or to prevent harm from coming to a human in accordancewith the First Law. Yes. And in this case, each robot would be defending the professional reputationof his master, and would lie if it were necessary to do so.Under thecircumstances, the professional reputation would be nearly equivalent to lifeand there might be a near-First-Law urgency to the lie. Yet by the lie, each servant would be harming the professional reputation ofthe other s master, friend Elijah. So it would, but each robot might have a clearer conception of the value ofits own master s reputation and honestly judge it to be greater than that ofthe other s.The lesser harm would be done by his lie, he would suppose, thanby the truth. Having said that, Lije Baley remained quiet for a moment.Then he said, A1lright, then, can you arrange to have me talk to one of the robots to R.Iddafirst, I think? Dr.Sabbat s robot? Yes, said Baley, dryly, the young fellow s robot. It will take me but a few minutes, said R.Daneel. I have a micro-receiveroutfitted with a projector.I will need merely a blank wall and I think thisone will do if you will allow me to move some of these film cabinets. Go ahead.Will I have to talk into a microphone of some sort? No, you will be able to talk in an ordinary manner.Please pardon me, friendElijah, for a moment of further delay.I will have to contact the ship andarrange for R.Idda to be interviewed. If that will take some time, Daneel, how about giving me the transcriptedmaterial of the evidence so far. Lije Baley lit his pipe while R.Daneel set up the equipment, and leafedthrough the flimsy sheets he had been handed.The minutes passed and R.Daneel said, If you are ready, friend Elijah, R.Idda is.Or would you prefer a few more minutes with the transcript? No, sighed Baley, I m not learning anything new.Put him on and arrange tohave the interview recorded and transcribed. R.Idda, unreal in two-dimensional projection against the wall, was basicallymetallic in structure not at all the humanoid creature that R.Daneel was.Hisbody was tall but blocky, and there was very little to distinguish him fromthe many robots Baley had seen, except for minor structural details.Baley said, Greetings, R.Idda. Greetings, sir, said R.Idda, in a muted voice that sounded surprisinglyhumanoid. You are the personal servant of Gennao Sabbat, are you not? I am sir. Page 159 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html For how long, boy? For twenty-two years, sir. And your master s reputation is valuable to you? Yes, sir. Would you consider it of importance to protect that reputation? Yes, sir. As important to protect his reputation as his physical life? No, sir. As important to protect his reputation as the reputation of another. R.Idda hesitated.He said, Such cases must be decided on their individualmerit, sir.There is no way of establishing a general rule. Baley hesitated.These Spacer robots spoke more smoothly and intellectuallythan Earth-models did.He was not at all sure he could outthink one.He said, If you decided that the reputation of your master were moreimportant than that of another, say, that of Alfred Barr Humboldt, would youlie to protect your master s reputation? I would, sir. Did you lie in your testimony concerning your master in his controversy withDr.Humboldt? No, sir. But if you were lying, you would deny you were lying in order to protect thatlie, wouldn t you? Yes, sir. Well, then, said Baley, let s consider this.Your master, Gennao Sabbat, isa young man of great reputation in mathematics, but he is a young man.If, inthis controversy with Dr.Humboldt, he had succumbed to temptation and hadacted unethically, he would suffer a certain eclipse of reputation, but he isyoung and would have ample time to recover.He would have many intellectualtriumphs ahead of him and men would eventually look upon this plagiaristicattempt as the mistake of a hot-blooded youth, deficient in judgment.It wouldbe something that would be made up for in the future. If, on the other hand, it were Dr.Humboldt who succumbed to temptation, thematter would be much more serious.He is an old man whose great deeds havespread over centuries.His reputation has been unblemished hitherto.All ofthat, however, would be forgotten in the light of this one crime of his lateryears, and he would have no opportunity to make up for it in the comparativelyshort time remaining to him.There would be little more that he couldaccomplish.There would be so many more years of work ruined in Humboldt scase than in that of your master and so much less opportunity to win back hisposition.You see, don t you, that Humboldt faces the worse situation anddeserves the greater consideration? There was a long pause.Then R.Idda said, with unmoved voice, My evidencewas a lie.It was Dr.Humboldt whose work it was, and my master has attempted,wrongfully, to appropriate the credit. Baley said, Very well, boy.You are instructed to say nothing to anyone aboutthis until given permission by the captain of the ship.You are excused. The screen blanked out and Baley puffed at his pipe. Do you suppose thecaptain heard that, Daneel? I am sure of it.He is the only witness, except for us. Good.Now for the other. But is there any point to that, friend Elijah, in view of what R.Idda hasconfessed? Of course there is.R.Idda s confession means nothing. Nothing? Nothing at all.I pointed out that Dr.Humboldt s position was the worse.Naturally, if he were lying to protect Sabbat, he would switch to the truthas, in fact, he claimed to have done.On the other hand, if he were tellingthe truth, he would switch to a lie to protect Humboldt.It s still mirror-Page 160 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlimage and we haven t gained anything. But then what will we gain by questioning R.Preston? Nothing, if the minor-image were perfect but it is not.After all, one of therobots is telling the truth to begin with, and one is lying to begin with, andthat is a point of asymmetry.Let me see R.Preston.And if the transcriptionof R.Idda s examination is done, let me have it.The projector came into use again.R.Preston stared out of it; identical withR.Idda in every respect, except for some trivial chest design
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