Я, Робот

           SusanCalvinshruggedhershoulders,"Ofcourse,hedidn’t.Thatwas1998.By2002,wehadinventedthemobilespeakingrobotwhich,ofcourse,madeallthenon-speakingmodelsoutofdate,andwhichseemedtobethefinalstrawasfarasthenon-robotelementswereconcerned.MostoftheworldgovernmentsbannedrobotuseonEarthforanypurposeotherthanscientificresearchbetween2003and2007."

           "SothatGloriahadtogiveupRobbieeventually?"

           "I’mafraidso.Iimagine,however,thatitwaseasierforherattheageoffifteenthanateight.Still,itwasastupidandunnecessaryattitudeonthepartofhumanity.U.S.Robotshititslowpoint,financially,justaboutthetimeIjoinedthemin2007.Atfirst,Ithoughtmyjobmightcometoasuddenendinamatterofmonths,butthenwesimplydevelopedtheextra-Terrestrialmarket."

           "Andthenyouwereset,ofcourse."

           "Notquite.Webeganbytryingtoadaptthemodelswehadonhand.Thosefirstspeakingmodels,forinstance.Theywereabouttwelvefeethigh,veryclumsyandnotmuchgood.WesentthemouttoMercurytohelpbuildtheminingstationthere,butthatfailed."

           Ilookedupinsurprise,"Itdid?Why,MercuryMinesisamulti-billiondollarconcern."

           "Itisnow,butitwasasecondattemptthatsucceeded.Ityouwanttoknowaboutthat,youngman,I’dadviseyoutolookupGregoryPowell.HeandMichaelDonovanhandledourmostdifficultcasesintheteensandtwenties.