The Rod of Light (Soul of the Robot)

‘I was in construct bondage to them. At the time I had been captured as a footloose construct and sold by the court. As regards sorcery, it is true they had borrowed the idea from these sources originally. But their method was science.’

‘And you know what this method was?’

‘No. They did not entrust me with any data. I was engaged on building a new workshop for them. That is, until I tired of servitude and escaped once more.’

Gargan was thoughtful. ‘Are you suggesting that your owners had also stumbled on the secret referred to in the notebook?’

‘It seems possible, though at that time I did not think of applying the idea to robots.’

‘Hmmm … you were probably right in that. The result desired by your owners might not have involved the transfer of the superior light. The consciousness already resident in the mind of the child would enlighten any personality read into it. The process applied to the robots of Count Viss, but applied to humans instead, may be the model here, with the immaturely-formed personality of the child being suppressed.

‘Just the same,’ Gargan mused, his voice deep and smooth, ‘the matter might be worth investigating ….’

‘If that is your decision, I volunteer to do so.’

‘Come,’ Gargan said, holding forth an arm, ‘let us see how they are faring in the projects shed.’

Dreadfully aware that he was approaching the consciousness detector, Jasperodus allowed himself to be ushered into the other building. The scene was similar to yesterday’s, except that the subject had changed: instead of a young female, a male of late middle age, with straggling hair, a bushy beard, and a wild, desperate look on his face, his eyes rolling from side to side, his head being fixed. From time to time, he uttered cries of protest.

Conversing together in subdued bleeps and humming sounds, all the team save Gargan were gathered round him. From each, plugged into some part of a body casing, a wire ran to the logic junction.

‘Are they all connected to the pile?’ Jasperodus asked in a low voice as they approached.

‘Not in the same sense as being placed upon it. They are using one of the pile’s by-products. Through it, we are able to gain access to the minds of our human subjects. Studying the human mind from within is quite fascinating, though so far it offers no clues as to the light we seek. Further, a degree of control can be established. It is not difficult to stimulate various mental and biological functions. Wait—that is what they are doing now.’

The human strained at his bonds and yelled frantically.

‘GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY MIND!’

He subsided, breathing heavily through gritted teeth. Suddenly Jasperodus noticed that his penis was becoming engorged. To the accompaniment of his strangled groans it rose, to stand erect and distended, the foreskin withdrawing from a purple and swollen glans.

The scrotum shrank and became firm. Then, with a jerk, a gout of semen jetted from the urethra; followed by another and another, rhythmically, splashing over the man’s tautened body.

The robots had ceased their talk and were watching the spectacle with apparent absorption.

‘The feelings and sensations attendant upon this reaction are intriguing, to say the least,’ Gargan explained in a murmur. ‘They are peculiar to animal reproduction.’

Of the constructs present, only Jasperodus seemed aware of how great an indignity had been forced upon the prisoner. ‘Is this not foolishness?’ he said loudly, so that all could hear. ‘Self-indulgence? It has no relevance to the Work.’

‘How do you know that, Jasperodus?’ Gaumene turned his tall, pointed head towards him. ‘Is it certain that sexuality and human consciousness are unrelated? It is a total mystery to us how the superior light comes to be present in the organic brain. The mechanism that puts it there could, quite possibly, involve the reproductive function. After all, there is a basic dissimilarity between the sexual generation of organic individuals and the manufactured assembly of constructs, and that is a fact to be pondered.’

As the team members disconnected their cables, Gasha spoke up.

‘If the new recruit Jasperodus has completed his assessments, I recommend that he be placed forthwith upon the pile, so that the tests of the last few hours can be finalised.’

‘I had regarded the series as completed,’ Gaumene said equably.

‘Not so: one previously existing condition remains to be satisfied, namely the presence of Jasperodus himself upon the pile. We cannot discount the possiblity that he is a maverick factor.’

Knowing that anything he said could only add to his danger, Jasperodus was silent.

‘His brain shows no emphatically odd design features that might cause a misreading,’ Gargan said. ‘In fact, its capacity is small as compared with our own. Besides, I have other work for him. We shall abandon work on the pile and return to our former course.’