Con Pederson

“ How he had loved the gay mechanoid nurses, with their tinkling arms and bright colors! But of their world, the vast reaches of the planet outside the tiny circle of men, he knew very little. One fact was plain to him: it was unthinkably huge.
Sudden music poured from the house, gay and fast.
"Ha! The dancers!" exclaimed Paton, seeing the rows of gyrating figures beyond a pink translucent wall. "You must excuse me. I promised Matya I would watch her dance tonight." ”

“ I qualify as a genius—you mean there isn't a place for me somewhere in the universe? Surely you can use a smart man!"
"You are a genius, that's true," said Bek, in a deep, serious voice. "As long as you remain here. Hundreds of centuries ago, your ancestors discovered principles that are not even expressible in your language, and learned to apply them to matter. ”

“ But before those ancient men left, they established Earth as a control planet, to maintain forever a specimen of the original stock. It may have been done out of his egocentric ideas at the time, but it proved wise, for such a specimen is valuable in our research."
"Sethos," said Hol, seeing the bewilderment on the young man's face, "the mechanoids who attend your little community are more than one hundred thousand years old. That is how long your little culture has been faithfully preserved, just as it was then. You would not be capable of living elsewhere in the universe now. ”

“ Doesn't it seem incredible that they should want to go to all that trouble? But then, that's a mechanoid for you. Always making things bigger. That's why I enjoy seeing Mr. First take up flowers. Maybe he sees things our way himself."
"I don't suppose you've ever been out there, have you?"
"Out there? You mean, where the mechanoids live? Why, now that you mention it, I believe I was, once. But a long time ago—I must have been still living with my elders. It's not very enjoyable. Too big to call home, after all." With a short laugh, Paton emptied his glass again. ”

“ No wonder his people behaved as they did—they were merely a docile herd of caged animals, kept complacent and well-fed by the keepers outside. An extinct beast, left to be tended until the earth reached the end of its course as a flaming speck in the infinite cavern of space! ”

“ As his contemporaries and their ancestors for unknown generations, Sethos had passed from dreamy childhood directly into the dream of adult life. He could barely recall the days of education, when drugged smoke and liquor were withheld, and life consisted of a different fairy world. ”

“ We cannot question what is fundamental to all our operations, the factor present in every formula we must work. Our mechanoid civilization is gigantic, by your standards, but it is flawless. Once set in motion, such a system is impenetrable. All individuals are their allotted part of the entirety, no more, no less. ”

“ His hand slipped from Paton's arm.
"Paton.... Did you hear what I said? Didn't it penetrate? I said man has reached the stars! We already own the universe...."
"Of course. But I must say I don't know what we want with it all. Won't you join us now? Say, Ela has been looking for you."
"Ela? Yes, Ela. I want to see Ela...."
She came down the walk, and took him by the hands.
"There you are, you elusive boy! I want to go home now. I simply have to adjust my crystals or they'll overflow the bedroom. Oh, Matya! ”

“ If mechanoid control could be removed, I think humans would expand over all the planet. Then they could progress by themselves."
"Do you think they can?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think humans can progress further—without mechanoids?"
Further—so that was it. The creation of mechanoids must represent the height of human development. Which meant they were necessary to going on, reaching the stars....
"You mean, if humans could work with mechanoids, we could even travel to other worlds and spread throughout the universe?" ”

“ Man lives everywhere in the universe. But as Mr. Third said, that may be misleading."
Sethos disregarded the comment. It didn't matter if he were alone or not, at least he was there—man in the universe!
"I have completed a section of my work here. It is necessary to speak with the first level alone, if possible," said Hol.
"Of course," said Mr. Third. "Sethos, there is a vehicle in the hall. Will you return home until you wish to contact us about therapy? You have clearance to come in directly when you decide." ”

“ Still, he was not satisfied, and often lay awake in the early hours of morning after a stirring party, dreaming of those long-gone days of empire, when he could have ridden with the ancients through the sky on their winged craft, see their cities rise toward the clouds, experience the exciting pace of that life. ”

“ It occurred to him to watch for more tenth level mechanoids, and he saw three immediately, moving with him several yards away. An autocar cruised patiently.
"You are heading due west, on Street 751 West, at a speed of three and eight tenths miles per hour."
He saw the mechanoid with three wheels again, clocking him helpfully.
"Go away," he said.
His breath came hard; he was not used to walking such a distance.
How long can I last? If I keep going, I'll get hungry, and there won't be any food. They don't serve food out here. I can go until I drop from exhaustion. ”

“ We mechanoids are not concerned with history, having only one structural law which was built into us by your ancestors, and it cannot be superseded. We must preserve man in the state he existed when we were created. We cannot impede his activities—unless they peril his stability, which we maintain precisely, as you know. It is impossible, you see, for us to allow man to change or expand. ”

“ In a certain number of births there is a percentage who are of higher intelligence. These are the restless ones whom we cannot discourage developmentally as easily as the others. They usually have to request therapy to adjust. ”

“ In the streets there were now several mechanoids, and their number increased as he went. Some were prime mechanoids, and resembled humans, rolling along the slower traffic lanes. Others were specialized workers, with longer arms or a number of arms, or with a truck body instead of legs. In fact, he saw every gradation between prime mechanoid and service vehicle. ”

“ One must specialize. I like to work with growing things, yet I'd feel like a mechanoid if I got involved in crystal sculpture, like my charming Ela there."
"Perhaps—but who else gets such color, starts so many new directions as she? My flowers blush before her crystals." Paton's glass was empty, and with an automatic gesture, Sethos refilled it from a tall flask standing nearby, and poured one for himself.
"Speaking of mechanoids," Paton continued genially, "I had a most stimulating conversation with Mr. ”

“ That was unusual—mechanoids seldom mingled with humans, especially those of the primary levels.
"He's very intelligent about flowers," Paton went on, waving his glass in animation. "We talked about common hedge roses. ”