Robert F. Young

“ He had never thought of love in connection with himself and her for the simple reason that they were a M.A.N. and a W.O.M.A.N. But didn't a M.A.N. and a W.O.M.A.N. have as much right to fall in love as a man and a woman did? ”

“ Edenite represents the planet Jupiter's sole attempt to create life. The attempt was a miserable failure, because the ore in itself is incapable of instigating the processes necessary to raise it higher on the evolutionary ladder. The only way this can be accomplished is by an outside force absorbing it and, by combining with it, providing it with the impetus it otherwise lacks. Providentially or not, we represent that outside force, 8M, and G.O.D., Incorporated, knows it. ”

“ Even the Company, powerful as it is, cannot run the risk of dropping an atomic or a hydrogen bomb on a planet about which as little is known as this one, and that is the only way I can be destroyed—or you either, for that matter—since we represent an experiment that failed and which will not be attempted again. Dickens will not try to obtain a contract—he never intended to in the first place. He swore to me that his sole purpose in establishing a rival concern was to thwart G.O.D. So mine of the edenite, 8M. You must, for now that I have mined of it, you have no other choice. ”

“ Its mining section was much narrower than his own, while its blast-furnace section was slightly smaller. The open-hearth section, however, was comparatively enormous, and put his own to shame, while the flanks of the processing mills and parts-replacement shop contracted smoothly—rather than unevenly, as did his own—to the terminus-compartment where the nuclear power-plant was located.
A less powerful M.A.N. than himself, certainly; but perhaps a more efficient one. He would see. "Welcome to Jupiter," he said. "I'm 8M—formerly John Sheldon of Earth." ”

“ For all its vaunted powers in allied fields, a M.A.N. is mainly a mining machine, whereas a W.O.M.A.N. is intended primarily for melting, processing, and creating. You can mine much faster than you can melt; I can melt much faster than I can mine. Therefore, it is the Company's wish that we work as a team. From now on, you will charge my open hearth in addition to your own. For that reason I was created with an exterior charger-door, while you were created with an exterior charger-keel. Haven't you ever wondered what the additional appendage was for?"
8M sighed. ”

“ The link of nature draw me: flesh of flesh,
Bone of my bone thou art, and from thy state
Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe.
Yes, it was as true now as it had been that other time. He lowered his skip-arm into the shaft, crushed the glowing ore and scooped great handfuls up into his blast-furnace belly. Suddenly, delight at defying G.O.D., Inc., coursed through him, and he seized more ore and dumped it into charger pans and fed them into his hearth-bath. He prepared a charge for EV, and when he turned toward her, she was waiting. He felt the warmth of her, the wanting ”

“ Jupiter was a place of constant atmospheric turmoil and treacherous terrain. A human being, using the body God gave him, could not exist anywhere on the surface without the protection that a base afforded, and as a consequence, the base had to be built beforehand. All previous attempts had failed, and 8M represented mankind's last hope of ever colonizing the planet. ”

“ Will chute into your area any moment."
"Good," 8M pulsed into the trans-transmitter. "Building a base the size of this one is no job for one M.A.N."
"You are hereby notified," the Raphael went on, "that Gorman and Oder Developments, Incorporated, has informed us that one Lawrence Dickens, discharged several months ago for rebellious conduct detrimental to the Company's good name, has started up an advance-construction corporation of his own and may try to sabotage the base in an attempt to obtain Gorman and Oder Developments' Earth Government contract. ”

“ The Boa 9 did not, however, and the night passed without incident. 8M began mining operations as soon as they reached the ore deposit, while EV poured and processed the heat which she had nursed during her sleep. The stockpile of structural steel was growing visibly now, and in a few days they would be able to shut down their systems and begin erecting the first level of the base. ”