The Love of Frank Nineteen Read online

Now ifyou don't mind we'd like to go over your robot waiting area with theseinstruments. Could be he's stashing his loot out here."

  In 22A they unpacked a suitcase full of meters and began flashing themaround and taking readings. Suddenly Wynn bent close over one of themand shouted:

  "Wait a sec, Roberts. I'm getting something. Yeah! This reading checkswith the lab's. Sounds like the blips're coming from those lockers backthere."

  Roberts rummaged around awhile, then shouted: "Hey, Wynn, look! A lot ofparts. Well I'll be--hey--it's a female mech!"

  "A what?"

  "A female mech. Look for yourself."

  Min and I had to act surprised too. It wasn't easy. The way they wereslamming Elizabeth's parts around made us kind of sick.

  "It's a stolen robot!" Roberts announced. "Look, the identification'sbeen filed off. This is serious, Wynn. It's got all the earmarks of amech fraternization case."

  "Yeah. The boys in the lab were dead right, too. No two robots everregister the same on the meters. The contraband blips check perfectly.It's _got_ to be this Frank Nineteen. Wait a minute, _this_ proves it.Here's a suit of space fatigues with Nineteen's number stenciledinside."

  Inspector Roberts took a notebook out of his pocket and consulted it."Let's see, Nineteen's got Flight 180, he's due here at the spoteltomorrow. Well, we'll be here too, only Nineteen won't know it. We'lllet Romeo put his plastic Juliet together and catch himred-handed--right in the middle of the balcony scene."

  Wynn laughed and picked up the girl's head.

  "Be a real doll if she was human, Roberts, a real doll."

  Min and I played gin rummy that night but we kept forgetting to markdown the score. We kept thinking of _Frank_ falling away from theasteroids and counting the minutes until he saw his mech girl friend.

  Around noon the next day the big servo checked in, signed the registerand headed straight for 22A. The two Minor Planets inspectors kept outof sight until Frank shut the door, then they watched through the SHAvents until Frank had the assembly job finished.

  "You two better be witnesses," Roberts said to us. "Wynn, keep your gunready. You know what to do if they get violent."

  Roberts counted three and kicked the door open.

  "Freeze you mechs! We got you in the act, Nineteen. Violation of companyrules twelve and twenty-one. Carrying of Contraband Cargo, and RobotFraternization."

  "This finishes you at Minor Planets, Nineteen," growled Wynn. "Comeclean now and we might put in a word for you at Robot Court. If youdon't we can recommend a verdict of Materials Reclamation--the junk pileto you."

  Frank acted as if someone had cut his power. Long creases appeared inhis big neoprene chest as he slumped hopelessly in his chair. Thefrightened girl robot just clung to his arm and stared at us.

  "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth," the big servo said softly. "I'd hoped we'dhave longer. It couldn't last forever."

  "Quit stalling, Nineteen," said Wynn.

  Frank's head came up slowly and he said: "I have no choice, sir. I'llgive you a complete statement. First let me say that Rationaloid RobotElizabeth Seven, #DX78-947, Series S, specialty: sales demonstration,is entirely innocent. I plead guilty to inducing Miss Seven to leave herplace of employ, Atomovair Motors, Inc., of disassembling and concealingMiss Seven, and of smuggling her as unlawful cargo aboard a MinorPlanets freighter to these premises."

  "That's more like it," chuckled Roberts, whipping out his notebook."Let's have the details."

  "It all started," Frank said, "when the California Legislature passedits version of the Robot Leniency Act two years ago." The act providedthat all rationaloid mechanisms, including non-memory types, receivefree time each week based on the nature and responsibilities or theirjobs. Because of the extra-Terran clause Frank found himself with a gooddeal of free time when he wasn't flying the asteroid circuit.

  "At first humans resented us walking around free," the big servocontinued. "Four or five of us would be sightseeing in San Francisco,keeping strictly within the robot zones painted on the sidewalks, whenpeople would yell 'Junko' or 'Grease-bag' or other names at us.Eventually it got better when we learned to go around alone. The humansdidn't seem to mind an occasional mech on the streets, but they hatedseeing us in groups. At any rate, I'd attended a highly interestinglecture on Photosynthesis in Plastic Products one night at the CityCenter when I discovered I had time for a walk before I started back forthe rocketport."

  Attracted by the lights along Van Ness Avenue, Frank said he walkednorth for a while along the city's automobile row. He'd gone about threeblocks when he stopped in front of a dealer's window. It wasn't theshiny new Atomovair sports jetabout that caught Frank's eye, it was thecharming demonstration robot in the sales room who was pointing out thecar's new features.

  "I felt an immediate overload of power in my DX circuit," theservo-pilot confessed. "I had to cut in my emergency condensers beforethe gain flattened out to normal. Miss Seven experienced the same thing.She stopped what she was doing and we stared at each other. Both of uswere aware of the deep attraction of our mutual magnetic domains.Although physicists commonly express the phenomenon in such units asGilberts, Maxwells and Oersteds, we robots know it to be our counterpartof human love."

  At this the two inspectors snorted with laughter.

  "I might never have made it back to the base that night," said Frank,ignoring them, "if a policeman hadn't come along and rapped me on theshoulder with his nightstick. I pretended to go, but I doubled aroundthe corner and signaled I'd be back."

  Frank spent all of his free time on Van Ness Avenue after that.

  "It got so Elizabeth knew my schedules and expected me between flights.Once in a while if there was no one around we could whisper a few wordsto each other through the glass." Frank paused, then said, "As you know,gentlemen, we robots don't demand much out of activation. I think wecould have been happy indefinitely with this simple relationship, exceptthat something happened to spoil it. I'd pulled in from Vesta late oneafternoon, got my pass as usual from the Robot Supervisor and gone overto Van Ness Avenue when I saw immediately that something was the matterwith Elizabeth. Luckily it was getting dark and no one was around.Elizabeth was alone in the sales room going through her routine. We wereable to whisper all we like through the glass. She told me she'doverheard the sales manager complaining about her low efficiencyrecently and that he intended to replace her with a newer model ofanother series. Both of us knew what that meant. MaterialsReclamation--the junk pile."

  Frank realized he'd have to act at once. He told the girl mech to go tothe rear of the building and between them they managed to get a windowopen and Frank lifted her out into the alley.

  "The seriousness of what I'd done jammed my thought-relays for a fewminutes," admitted the big servo. "We panicked and ran through a lot ofback streets until I gradually calmed down and started thinking clearlyagain. Leaving the city would be impossible. Police patrol jetaboutswere cruising all around us in the main streets--they'd have picked up amale and female mech on sight. Besides, when you're on pass the companytakes away your master fuse and substitutes a time fuse; if you don'tget back on time, you deactivize and the police pick you up anyway. Ibegan to see that there was only one way out if we wanted to staytogether. It would mean taking big risks, but if we were lucky it mightwork. I explained the plan carefully to Elizabeth and we agreed to tryit. The first step was to get back to the base in South San Franciscowithout being seen. Fortunately no one stopped us and we made therocketport by 8:30. Elizabeth hid while I reported to the Super andtraded in my time fuse for my master. Then I checked servo barracks; itwas still early and I knew the other servos would all be in town. I hadto work quickly. I brought Elizabeth inside and started dismantling her.Just as the other mechs began reporting back I'd managed to get all ofher parts stowed away in my locker. The next day I went to San Franciscoand brought back with me two rolls of lead foil. While the other servoswere on pass I wrapped the parts carefully in it so the radioactivityfrom Elizabeth's pile w
ouldn't be picked up. The rest you know,gentlemen," murmured Frank in low, electrical tones. "Each time I made atrip I carried another piece of Elizabeth out here concealed in anordinary parts box. It took me nearly a year to accumulate all of herfor an assembly."

  When the big servo had finished he signed the statement Wynn had takendown in his notebook. I think even the two inspectors were a littlemoved by the story because Roberts said: "OK, Nineteen, you gave us abreak, we'll give you one. Eight o'clock in the morning be ready to