INTRODUCTION
Sandro Sandrelli (26 Jul 1926 - 6 Jul 2000) was a prolific Italian science fiction author who wrote one novel ("The Returns of Cameron MacClure"/"I ritorni di Cameron MacClure") and at least sixty short stories and novellas, beginning with "This Tragic Game"/"Questo tragico gioco" (1957), his last published being "Nova Effect"/"Effetto Nova" (1982). "The Prototype" ("Il Prototipo") was initially published in Galassia #9 (1961), the special Italian author edition. It was later republished in the 1962 anthology "Cain from Space" ("Caino dello spazio"), which is the text we used for this translation.
THE PROTOTYPE
RPQ-115-A was extremely excited: sparks were spraying out of its front projectors, while its audios spun round and round with an audible whir. The lubricant on its most delicate joints must have been at least 110 degrees, and it was all too easy to divine that all its micro-transistors were glowing red hot.
- "The greatest achievement of our entire civilization!" RPQ-115-A exclaimed once more, rotating 360 degrees several times and vibrating entirely on the supersteel springs of its three legs. Then it spread its arms wide open and repeatedly snapped its numerous finger-tools against each one other (a vice unfortunately acquired by a good chunk of the RPQ series' positronic circuits, and RPQ-115-A was one of the most petulant!).
The elders made their radar antennas flicker with their usual hornet-like buzz. Despite the periodic renewal of their metallic bodies, the mentality of their old cryotronic brains was still the same as it was three thousand years before, and it took some time for them to warm up and grasp the most recent concepts. Finally, the venerable CBR-002-F pressed the button-phone with one of its upper hooks, and spoke:
- "The council of elders, if they've understood the confused and hasty statements of the young RPQ-115-A, should take a look, wasting precious time, at a new, incredibly useless model of automaton-servant, of the most basic sort..."
- "Basic, but no less efficient!" exclaimed RPQ-115-A, rushing to the council of elders, waving all ten arms, and even risking falling to the ground, something truly unheard of, even for an RPQ; and continued, raising the tone of its voice: "This is about a new model of automaton that we've created after a long series of experiments and extremely promising attempts! The first results have been simply astonishing!"
- "If I understand your preliminary report correctly," the venerable CAD-283-U said at this point, amidst a sinister clanking noise (the renewal date for its metallic body was quite near), "it's about a new automaton," and here it paused, as if to underline the horrendous heresy, "non-metallic!".
- "But, venerable elders," said RPQ-115-A, a hint of impatience cracking its otherwise perfectly good stereo loudspeaker (RPQ-115-A wasn't built to stomp its feet, or it would have done so), "you know better than anyone else that the last metal reserves are still running out all over the planet!... If we don't want our civilization to be lost, then we absolutely must resort to other raw materials!... And so, I repeat, these are the lowest class of servant-automatons!"
- "The fundamental text of the Great Tungsten Plate on the Mountain of Light says in the first article: 'Thou shalt not make beings that are not of metal!'" Thus the venerable CBR-002-F spoke again in a thundering voice, and thought it well to add: "Thus it is written!"
- "Fine," said RPQ-115-A, "and if we don't act in time, we'll have to throw the Great Tungsten Plate into our blast furnaces too!..." Then hastily continuing so that the elders' circuits wouldn't all blow out in horror at such blasphemy, it declared: "Instead, this new model of servant-automaton is made entirely out of highly polymerized amino acid molecules, with internal supports of very cheap limestone material. The lubrication system is made of, you see, water, and we all know how much water there is on our planet!... In addition, it's made out of a compound of self-regenerating cells, and it automatically produces its own energy by assimilating the very simple green parasites that infest the surface of our planet..."
- "It doesn't seem possible to me..." CAD-283-U said, amidst various creaks. "Such an automaton has no chance of functioning! Additionally, it won't even be able to understand the simplest instructions..."
- "But no, venerable one," exclaimed RPQ-115-A. "We've equipped this servant-automaton with perfect audio and video organs. In addition, we've provided it with a perfected thermoregulatory system, and a very delicate internal chemical control through numerous localized ganglia that are assisted by a double filter for the elimination of waste products. Furthermore, we've inserted a double, large oxygen delivery regulator, with a spongy structure, in communication with the outside through an organ placed above it, where we've also placed a crushing apparatus and the beginning of the assimilation channel for the fuel. At the top of the upper organ, just like the servant-automatons of the ZU-W class, we've managed to concentrate the general coordinator, functioning with weak electrical impulses, all made of phosphorylated plastic!"
- "Water!" said RPR-007-O, who, having rolled off the assembly lines almost at the same time as RPQ-115-A, had a hearty dislike for all of its kind, and, moreover, equipped with a silicone lubrication system that allowed it to work sorting materials inside annealing furnaces at 400 degrees, believed himself to be something superior and sublime. "But has anyone ever heard of anything more absurd? Water is a deadly poison, we all know that. These new servant-automatons will be a constant danger to all of us!"
- "That's not true!" RPQ-115-A exclaimed, rushing to get its videos in front of RPR-007-O's and dangerously gleaming with rage. "Apart from the fact that a hypnopedeutic short-circuit block has been inserted into the automaton's phosphorylated circuits, which permanently instills in it the concept of absolute superiority and omnipotence of metal beings, and the necessity of obeying and serving them, never committing any action that could cause them even the slightest harm, the new automatons are also all equipped with a highly localized ejector that eliminates water and waste products in a liquid state in the form of a very narrow jet with controlled command and direction..."
- "But this is nonsense!" continued RPQ-115-A, hurrying back to the council of elders. "Our new servant-automaton is equipped with only two extremely robust and versatile arms, with flexible extremities so that it can perform any task, even the most delicate. It walks rapidly and in perfect balance on only two legs; also flexible, supported by two simple and very stable supports. In short, it is of a truly exceptional simplicity of construction, compared to its usefulness. But I haven't told you the best of all yet!" and here RPQ-115-A made an effective pause.
- "Get on with it!" the venerable CAD-283-U said again amidst myriad creaks, quivering with impatience.
- "Well," continued RPQ-115-A, triumphantly, "no more laborious foraging for raw materials, no more complicated extraction and processing plants, no more long and massive assembly and testing lines: our new servant-automaton, thanks to a light and peripheral dimorphic structure (which we've created thanks to a truly brilliant idea of our dear friend and collaborator RPQ-114-M) is able to reproduce itself!"
A murmur of astonishment and excitement ran through the entire assembly. The elders looked at each other on their videos, fearfully oscillating back and forth, the F-37s jumped up to the ceiling several times, the HPN-Ss bared their manganese steel teeth, the P-777s with deafening snaps rhythmically joined and separated the magnetic fingers of their twenty flexible arms... In short, everyone, from the oldest to the youngest, showed surprise and enthusiasm of the maximum degree.
- "Let's see this new servant-automaton then!" said the venerable CBR-002-F, though if it had not been covered in a highly resistant nickel-palladium alloy, it would've been clearly visible that the sparks from its cryotrons had paled.
RPQ-115-A gestured toward the back of the room, where all its other RPQ-1 class brethren were patiently waiting, holding a large, elongated bundle wrapped in thin aluminum foil. The RPQ-1s all advanced as a group, carrying the large bundle with them, and set it in a vertical position. Then they quickly walked away, leaving RPQ-115-A alone again, who with a somewhat theatrical wave of one arm, suddenly ripped off the aluminum foil.
Before the surprised and fascinated videos of the entire assembly, the prototype of the new servant-automaton appeared: it was one meter and sixty centimeters tall, and was entirely covered in pink plastic. Its videos were also covered in the same covering, but after a few moments the covering lifted, revealing two shiny, blue videos. It stared sharply at the group of elders' videos, then opened the orifice of its phono and said, in a shrill voice: "I am at your service, venerable ones. I am the first example of the new series of Auto-Dynamic-Aminoacid-Machines," it paused, then strangely lengthened the orifice of the phono, curving it upwards on the sides, and added:
"My name is ADAM."
No comments:
Post a Comment