Erasmus’s villa stood as a towering edifice on a hilltop overlooking the sea. On the inland side, the main building loomed high in front of a lovely flagstone square beneath high turrets; toward the coast, a cluster of bleak, crowded slave pens huddled on the opposite side, where human captives lived like livestock.
From the highest balconies, the robot found the dichotomy curious.
Forming his metal polymer facefilm into a paternal mask, Erasmus watched as two sentinel robots strode through a slave pen, hunting for twin girls that he required for a new round of experiments. The panicked humans scrambled away, but Erasmus didn’t shift his pliable face into a frown. His myriad optic threads scanned the lean and dirty forms, assessing.
He had seen the little girls a few days before, noting their short black hair and brown eyes, but they seemed to be hiding somewhere. Playing a game with him? The sentinels tore through a doorway into a tunnel that led to another pen; finally, they transmitted back, “We have located the two subjects.”
Good, Erasmus thought, anticipating the intriguing work ahead. He wanted to see if he could force one of the twin girls to kill the other. It would be a landmark experiment, one that would reveal important insights into moral boundaries and how siblings defined them.
He especially enjoyed working with identical twins. Over the years he had processed dozens of pairs through his laboratory, compiling detailed medical reports as well as intensive psychological studies. He spent a great deal of effort on meticulous comparative autopsies, microanalyzing the subtle differences in siblings who were genetic carbon-copies. The slave masters working in the crowded pens had instructions to identify and select any new sets among the captive populace on Earth.
Finally, the squirming dark-haired twins stood in front of him, held by the sentinel robots. He shifted his pliable facefilm into a calm smile. One of the girls spat on the reflective surface. Erasmus wondered why saliva carried such a negative connotation for humans? It caused no damage and could be cleaned off easily. The forms of human defiance never ceased to amaze him.
Shortly before Erasmus had left his estate on Corrin, twenty-two slaves had removed their protective eye films and intentionally stared into the furious red-giant sun, blinding themselves. Disobedient, resistant— and stupid. What did the rebellious act accomplish, other than rendering them useless for slave work?
They had expected to be killed, and Erasmus would oblige them. But not so that they could become martyrs. Instead, he had quietly separated them from other workers to prevent the spread of their unruliness. Blinded, they could not find or earn food. By now, he supposed they must have starved in their self-inflicted darkness.
Still, he had marveled at their spirit, their collective will to challenge him. Even though humans were a troublesome breed, they were constantly fascinating.
A watcheye buzzed nearby, making strange, raw noises. Finally, Omnius spoke through it. “The recent loss of Giedi Prime is your fault, Erasmus. I tolerate your endless experiments in the hope that you will deconstruct and analyze human behavior. Why did you not predict the suicidal raid that obliterated my cymeks? The data and experiences of my Giedi Prime counterpart were never backed up. Barbarossa is equally irreplaceable, since he created my original programming.”
The Earth-Omnius already knew about the recapture of Giedi Prime because of an automated emergency buoy launched by the robot Seurat, whose update ship had unexpectedly encountered the disaster in its duties. The alarming message had reached Earth only that morning.
“I was not given data that the Sorceresses of Rossak had developed this capability of telepathic destruction.” The robot’s face shimmered back into its blank oval smoothness. “Why not also ask your questions of Vorian Atreides when he returns to Earth? The son of Agamemnon has helped us to simulate unstable human behavior before.”
Omnius said, “Even his input could not have prepared us for what happened to Giedi Prime. Sentient biologicals are unpredictable and reckless.”
As the sentinel robots dragged the squirming twins away, Erasmus directed his attention to the watcheye. “Then it is obvious I have more work to do.”
“No, Erasmus, it is obvious that your research is not yielding the desired results. You should strive for perfection, rather than investigating compounded errors. I recommend that you overwrite your mind core with a subset of my program. Turn yourself into a perfect machine. A copy of me.”
“You would sacrifice our fascinating, open-ended debates?” Erasmus responded, fighting to conceal his inner alarm. “You have always expressed an interest in my peculiar manner of thinking. All the everminds especially look forward to your record of my actions.”
The buzzing of the watcheye intensified, indicating that Omnius was shifting his thought pathways. This was a worrisome, volatile situation. Erasmus did not want to lose his carefully developed independent identity.
One of the twin girls tried to break away from the robotic guards and run back toward the dubious safety of the pens. As Erasmus had suggested beforehand, the guard lifted her sister by one arm, leaving her to dangle screaming. The free twin hesitated, though she could easily have reached the temporary shelter. Slowly, she came to a stop, surrendering.
Fascinating, Erasmus thought. And the sentinel robot did not even have to inflict cellular damage on the other girl.
Thinking quickly, the robot said, “Perhaps if I diverted my attention to matters of military significance, you would more easily see the potential of my work. Let me understand the mentality of these wild humans for you. What drives them to such self-sacrifice, as we witnessed on Giedi Prime? If I can distill an explanation, your Synchronized Worlds will no longer be vulnerable to unpredictable attacks.”
The watcheye hovered as a million possibilities showered through the abundant mind of Omnius. Presently, the computer made his decision. “You have my permission to proceed. But do not continue to test my patience.”