A House Full of Robots PDF

## A House Full of Robots A noise downstairs alerted the house that someone was up. It turned on its electronic eye in the kitchen and saw that the butler was at work. He was chopping something on a large wooden board and talking to the kettle. Room by room, the house checked its occupants. Fleur...

## A House Full of Robots A noise downstairs alerted the house that someone was up. It turned on its electronic eye in the kitchen and saw that the butler was at work. He was chopping something on a large wooden board and talking to the kettle. Room by room, the house checked its occupants. Fleur Bell was buried so deeply in the duvet that it was impossible to tell which way up she was. The house zoomed in somewhere about her middle to reassure itself that she was still breathing. Satisfied that the duvet was gently rising and falling, the house turned its eye to the bedroom next door. Fleur's younger brother, Gavin Bell, was sprawled across the bed, the covers thrown off as if he had been wrestling in his sleep. Normal, concluded the house promptly, with barely a glance at him. The hours passed and the house grew busier – waking everyone up and setting the temperature for showers and baths. It checked the go-between for any news that might interest the Bells, adjusted roof panels to create more heat, and raised the blinds on the day ahead. The professor laughed. 'Can you remember what robots were first used for in the twentieth century?' 'I know,' said Gavin. 'Working in factories, making cars and fridges, those sorts of things.' 'Exactly. All a robot needed to "know" was how to do its particular task. It had only one thing to do and it stayed in the same place to do it. Do you know how long it took us scientists to build a robot that can see and hear and reason and move around? Decades!' A figure appeared. Gavin and his father gasped. For a moment it looked as if a carefully arranged pile of narrow rubber tyres was walking towards them. Then they identified a face that had wide rubber lips, a nub of a nose and round eyes, looking somewhat startled. Professor Ogden's face was beaming. He placed his hands on the shoulders of the new arrival, and announced in an unexpectedly tremulous voice: 'Let me introduce you to EGR3.' 'Can I really come home with you? Are you really going to help me learn about life?' The robot's male voice was warm and surprisingly expressive. 'And Professor Ogden says you have another robot ... But I'm forgetting my manners.' He stretched out a rubbery hand. 'How do you do, Mr Bell? And you must be Gavin.' The lips parted in a smile. 'I've never met a boy before.' The washing machine was activated by his approach. 'What do you wish to wash?' it asked in an officious voice. 'A baby.' The machine considered for a moment. 'I have never washed a baby before,' it admitted, 'so I am unable to advise you. Is it soiled, lightly soiled or worn once?' 'Heavily soiled,' said Eager decisively. 'Natural fabric or synthetic?' 'Natural.' Eager was feeling pleased with himself. This was obviously the right thing to do. 'Delicate,' said Eager. There was no doubt that babies needed to be handled carefully. 'Then I recommend a long soak with a mild detergent followed by a short spin.' Eager knew that chemicals could harm children. 'I believe detergent is bad for babies.' 'Very well. I shall use soap flakes. Place the item in the drum.' 'Are you sure?' asked Eager. The door seemed rather small. 'Of course I am,' replied the washing machine, somewhat irritably, Eager thought. The door clicked open and Eager lowered Charlotte into the drum of the machine. She seemed to be enjoying the game and kicked her legs in pleasure. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' thundered the voice of Grumps. 'REMOVE THAT BABY AT ONCE!' Gavin thought, so these are marauders. To hear people talk about them, or rather not talk about them, you would have thought they were three-headed monsters, not just boys. A signal must have passed between them. The taller boy pushed Gavin back to the ground, snatched the sports bag and ran off, while his accomplice threw the jinn into the road and followed him. They didn't get far. Two lengths of rubber tubing shot out from behind Gavin and somehow grasped the boys by their wrists. Each tube began to wind in on itself, like a boa constrictor enfolding its prey. Gavin swung round. 'Eager!' he panted, more relieved to see a robot than he'd ever been before. ... The marauders were digging their heels into the ground, trying to resist Eager's strength. It was no good. His rubber arms spun them round and round until their own arms were pinioned to their sides. Gavin was not sure how to respond. It was true that his family was much better off than some people. On the other hand, there were so many things he was prevented from doing. 'I suppose it is,' he said. 'Life's good.' To his surprise, Errol laughed. 'We can all say that. After all, no one's starving or homeless these days. Not here, at any rate. But there are still things we need to fight for.' He broke off. 'What sort of things?' For the first time there was passion in Errol's eyes. 'Freedom. The freedom to do and say what we want, to travel and live where we want, to choose our own jobs, to build things for ourselves ...' Gavin found himself nodding in agreement. 'It's the same for us. We can't go abroad, and I'll have to do the same job as my dad, or some other profession ... I can't be a scientist or an engineer, or a musician!' 'Yep,' said Errol, nodding in turn. 'And even if you were a technobrat, you'd still need a licence from the government to study engineering or science. And who do you think gets most of the licences? The technocrats who work for LifeCorp.' In this extract, Marcia (a friend of Gavin's sister) explains how her own robot, Boadicea, has turned against the family and that the robot is now dangerous. This robot was a special new type of robot, a BDC4. There is a large group of them now marching through the town, like soldiers. 'It started days ago,' said Marcia, her eyes bright with the recollection. 'She was behaving as if she owned everything. Instead of "the" house she began to say "my" house. She would put on music that she liked and went off with the other robots without telling us. She stopped helping me with my work and she wouldn't chat any more. When I told her off, she didn't seem to be listening. 'Then this morning after breakfast she took over the controls of the whole house. Everything happened at once the walls moved, the doors locked - she must have set things up earlier. Luckily I'd just gone into the garden to pick daffodils – I wanted to paint them today – and so I escaped. She looked furious when she realised. I stood outside the kitchen, everyone was calling to me but I couldn't hear. Mum started shooing me - I knew she wanted me to run off - but Dad seemed to have a message. Then the jinn went dead; Boadicea must have turned off the gobey somehow. I ran and ran to the entrance and a group of BDC4s – they were marching like soldiers - nearly caught up with me. They must have been going to take over the gate and I got through just in time.' Out on the cliff it was pitch black. The moon was behind the clouds, the light from the flying pod long since swallowed by darkness. Eager went blindly in the direction of the BDC4s. He was picking up their signals, just as he had at the technocrats' quarter. If he could only speak to them, make one last appeal... With his acute hearing Eager also picked up the noises of the sea - crashing against the rocks, gushing into pools, even seeping into the sand. Then everything changed. The BDC4s must have switched frequency. They had tuned into the same channel as Eager. They were no longer a presence that he sensed; their thoughts were crowding in on him, pushing out his own. They wanted to go to the sea. Eager longed to shout 'No!' as the thoughts became deafening, but he hurried on, stumbling over rocks and clumps of grass. Stretching his legs to their utmost Eager took the largest stride of his life. His toes found a foothold on the edge of the cliff. His arms shot out into the black void ahead, searching for Mr Lobsang. Robot after robot struck against him as they took their final step. The clanking of metal against the rocks signalled their downward plunge.