Я, Робот

           Dr.Calvinmaskedimpatience,"Itdoesn’tmakemuchsense,Iadmit,inlaylanguage;butthereisnoconceivableuseinpresentingthemathematicsofthis.Iassureyou,itisasIsay."

           Thegeneralmanagerwasinthebreachinstantlyandfluently,"Sohere’sthesituation,chief.Ifwetakethedeal,wecanputitthroughlikethis.TheBrainwilltelluswhichunitofinformationinvolvesthedilemma.Fromthere,wecanfigurewhythedilemma.Isn’tthatright,Dr.Bogert?Thereyouare,chief,andDr.Bogertisthebestmathematicianyou’llfindanywhere.WegiveConsolidateda’NoSolution’answer,withthereason,andcollectahundredthousand.They’releftwithabrokenmachine;we’releftwithawholeone.Inayear,twomaybe,we’llhaveaspace-warpengine,orahyper-atomicmotor,somepeoplecallit.Whateveryounameit,itwillbethebiggestthingintheworld."

           Robertsonchuckledandreachedout,"Let’sseethecontract.I’llsignit."

           WhenSusanCalvinenteredthefantasticallyguardedvaultthatheldTheBrain,oneofthecurrentshiftoftechnicianshadjustaskedit:"Ifoneandahalfchickenslayoneandahalfeggsinoneandahalfdays,howmanyeggswillninechickenslayinninedays?"

           TheBrainhadjustanswered,"Fifty-four."

           Andthetechnicianhadjustsaidtoanother,"See,youdope!"

           Dr.Calvincoughedandtherewasasuddenimpossibleflurryofdirectionlessenergy.Thepsychologistmotionedbriefly,andshewasalonewithTheBrain.