Я, Робот

           Andunlesswedosomethingaboutit,he’llstayonthatcircleforever,givingusthegoodoldrunaround."Then,morethoughtfully:"Andthat,bytheway,iswhatmakeshimdrunk.Atpotentialequilibrium,halfthepositronicpathsofhisbrainareoutofkilter.I’mnotarobotspecialist,butthatseemsobvious.Probablyhe’slostcontrolofjustthosepartsofhisvoluntarymechanismthatahumandrunkhas.Ve-e-erypretty."

           "Butwhat’sthedanger?Ifweknewwhathewasrunningfrom-"

           "Yousuggestedit.Volcanicaction.SomewhererightabovetheseleniumpoolisaseepageofgasfromthebowelsofMercury.Sulphurdioxide,carbondioxide–andcarbonmonoxide.Lotsofitandatthistemperature."

           Donovangulpedaudibly."Carbonmonoxideplusirongivesthevolatileironcarbonyl."

           "Andarobot,"addedPowell,"isessentiallyiron."Then,grimly:"There’snothinglikededuction.We’vedeterminedeverythingaboutourproblembutthesolution.Wecan’tgettheseleniumourselves.It’sstilltoofar.Wecan’tsendtheserobothorses,becausetheycan’tgothemselves,andtheycan’tcarryusfastenoughtokeepusfromcrisping.Andwecan’tcatchSpeedy,becausethedopethinkswe’replayinggames,andhecanrunsixtymilestoourfour."

           "Ifoneofusgoes,"beganDonovan,tentatively,"andcomesbackcooked,there’llstillbetheother."

           "Yes,"camethesarcasticreply,"itwouldbeamosttendersacrifice–exceptthatapersonwouldbeinnoconditiontogiveordersbeforeheeverreachedthepool,andIdon’tthinktherobotswouldeverturnbacktothecliffwithoutorders.