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If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Selling Point - -Author: Norman Arkawy - -Release Date: November 12, 2021 [eBook #66713] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SELLING POINT *** - - - - - - SELLING POINT - - By Norman Arkawy - - A new industry blossomed when U.S. Robot - Company put their perfected models on the market. - Perfected? Nobody had considered the one defect! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - December 1955 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"Good morning, madam," Ira said. "I represent...." - -"We don't want any," said the women, easing the door shut. - -With the time tested finesse of door-to-door salesmen, Ira slipped his -size twelve shoe between the swinging door and the jamb. "But madam, if -you'll give me a few minutes of your time...." - -The woman shook her head. "It won't do you any good," she said, trying -to squeeze the door shut over his foot. "Whatever it is, we don't want -any." - -"I represent U.S. Robot Company," Ira persisted. He smiled pleasantly. -His unyielding foot maintained a six inch wide avenue of communication -between himself and the woman in the house. "Long the leader in -commercial and industrial mechanicals, U.S. Robot is now introducing -a new line of home servants, designed to assist the housewife in every -possible task about the house." - -"You're wasting your time," the woman said wearily. - -Ira used his professional smile to indicate that he enjoyed wasting his -time. "When you've seen the demonstration," he said, "I'm sure you'll -agree that no home should be without a Model I household robot." - -The woman looked out at him silently, patiently, resigned. She was -pretty and petite and very young; and, from her appearance, had never -done a day's work in her life. A typical newlywed, Ira thought. A -perfect prospect, he decided. - -"As you undoubtedly know, the outstanding characteristics of U.S. -Robot mechanicals have always been ability, durability and reliability. -Their performance in industry has earned for the United States Robot -Company the enviable reputation it is proud to possess: 'Leader in the -art, artist of the trade--if it's U.S. Robot, it's perfect!'" - -The woman smiled and allowed the door to swing open slightly. "What -about Amalgamated Androids?" she asked. "I understand they've got some -pretty good models, too." - -"Well," Ira admitted, "some of their models are pretty good; adequate, -perhaps. But why take anything but the best? And, of course, our -robots...." - -"I've seen some AA models that _are_ perfect," the woman said. A -suggestion of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "How can yours -be any better than perfect?" - -Ira's voice took on a confidential complexion. "Some of their models -are beautiful," he conceded. "And they may seem to work well when -they're new. But they're not built to last, like ours. Why...." - -"I think," the woman tried to interrupt, "that some of...." - -"How can you compare them to U.S. Robot?" Ira ran on. "We have had -forty-seven years of experience in producing mechanicals for the most -difficult jobs imaginable. Amalgamated Androids while producing an -adequate household model, does not have the valuable know-how to build -into their mechanicals the strength and quality that is taken for -granted in every machine bearing the U.S. Robot label." - -The woman was skeptical. "Maybe your company does make the best factory -hands," she argued, "but household robots must be esthetic as well as -rugged. And Amalgamated Androids are specialists in building humanoid -robots, while your company...." - -"But, madam," Ira said, grinning. "Our household models are perfectly -human in appearance--I should say, _im_perfectly human because we even -give them tiny blemishes to make them seem more natural." - - * * * * * - -The woman was obviously unconvinced. Ira applied the clincher. "What -greater proof could you want than this?" He held up his left hand, -baring his wrist so that she could read his identification stamp. - - _Model I (Masc.)_ - _Serial No. 27146 12V_ - _U.S. ROBOT CO., INC._ - -The woman's eyes widened. Her face took on an expression of delighted -surprise. - -"What better proof could you want?" Ira repeated. "Do I look like a -robot? Am I not a perfect humanoid? Here," he said, extending his hand, -"feel my skin and see if it isn't just like a man's." - -The woman gingerly touched his hand. Her eyes mirrored her -satisfaction. - -Ira pressed his advantage. "Model I robots come in both masculine and -feminine designs, built to your individual specifications as to size, -coloring, strength, personality traits, apparent age, and so forth. For -example, lonely people can have companionship built in, if they like. -You can have an Ira or Inez possessing an almost human intelligence and -free choice, or you can get one that is blindly servile and which will -never volunteer advice or information. You can get an elderly, refined -butler or a handsome young man-around-the-house. You can get a pretty, -petite parlor maid or a buxom cook." - -Ira paused to observe his customer. She was looking at him in a -peculiar way. Knowing that he was a robot, she seemed to be appraising -him as she would a man. Ira noted her odd reaction and puzzled over it. -It usually went the other way--women lost interest in him when they -learned that he was not a man. - -"Why don't you come inside," the woman suggested suddenly, opening the -door for him. - -Ira smiled at her graciously and went into the house. Her reaction was -not so puzzling, after all, he decided. A young and virtuous wife would -feel the conventional fears that were "built into her" by society. She -had to be careful. It was conceivably dangerous to be alone in the -house with a handsome man. But, if he's a robot, she has nothing to -fear--from him or herself. - -"Sit down," the woman said, "and rest a while." - -"Thank you, madam." He sat. "But, of course, I don't need the rest. -Model I's can do strenuous work for twenty-three out of every -twenty-four hours. In fact, in laboratory tests, they've been run for -one hundred and eighty-six hours continuously, without a breakdown." - -He was back in his sales pitch. "Work is the basic function of all -U.S. Robot Company robots. With all their esthetic perfection, the -household models are no exception to this rule. They are unequaled in -efficient performance. Power is the keynote of the Model I." - -He opened his demonstration case and removed a steel bar, three inches -in diameter. Placing one hand on each end, he bent the metal into a V. - -"The heart of the mechanism," he went on, "is a powerful twelve volt -A-battery, perfectly shielded and guaranteed to give trouble-free -service for at least forty years. Sixteen motor centers are fed by -the central power plant, all coordinated and synchronized by the best -flui-electronic brain ever devised. Sturdy TS steel alloy construction -over all gives the Model I its phenomenal strength and durability. And -the surface tissue, made of a new patented miracle material, combines -the best features of esthetic and functional performance." - -The woman was obviously impressed. Lips slightly parted, she watched -Ira attentively and listened breathlessly to everything he said. -Instinctively, he felt that he had made a sale. But the woman said -nothing; only gazed at him in a way that might have been covetous, -might have been adoring or might have been merely symptomatic of -hypnosis. - -"May I demonstrate the I's power and versatility in practical -performance?" Ira asked. Taking her silence to be consent, he swung -into his demonstration. - - * * * * * - -Swiftly, surely, he went about the room, cleaning. Effortlessly, he -lifted large pieces of furniture and, holding them aloft with his right -hand, he cleaned under them with his left. He talked as he worked. -"Notice the quiet efficiency of the self-cleansing electro-static -duster we have built in. We also have attachments for waxing, washing, -spraying, painting, ironing, soldering...." - -"You're wonderful," the woman sighed. - -"And let me point out," Ira pursued, eager to clinch the sale, "that -the Model I is so life-like that, in normal operation, it is almost -completely silent. Only a faint throbbing--like that of a human -heart--is noticeable." - -The woman cocked her head to a side. "I don't hear _anything_," she -said. - -Ira smiled triumphantly. "Of course, you don't! Come here," he said. -"Put your ear to my chest and you'll just be able to make it out." - -She rested her head on his chest and listened. The delicate fragrance -of her perfume mingled with that sweet human scent that not even -the Model I robots could imitate. Ira bent his head and brushed his -sensitized cheek against her hair. He felt emotions that no robot -should feel. - -He silently cursed his makers and the wonderfully human brain they had -given him. Their theory was that a salesman, to be effective, should -think exactly like a human being. To better satisfy the customers, he -should appreciate every human drive and desire. But it was wrong to -feel like a man, to desire like a man, to hurt like a man and be unable -to ease the pain because he was not a man! For once, U.S. Robot had -gone too far! - -The woman looked up at him with the eyes that broadcast adoration. -"You're wonderful!" she repeated. "Do you think...?" She hesitated, -looked away. "Could I be in love with you?" she asked with child-like -innocence. "Is it possible?" - -Ira felt flustered, giddy, light-headed, exultant, confused, miserable -and weak. Damn U.S. Robot and their perfected flui-electronics! "But -madam," he protested, "I'm not a man! I'm only a...." - -"Please call me Emma," the woman said. "You see, I'm not Mrs. Bartlett. -I've tried to tell you--Madam is not at home. I only work here." - -Gone was his exultant feeling, gone the light-headedness. Only the -misery and weakness remained in the realization that his yearning was -impossible of fulfillment and that, to top it off, he had wasted his -time trying to sell himself to a servant. - -"Do you think I could?" the maid repeated. - -"Could what?" - -"Be in love with you." - -"But, miss don't you understand? I'm not...." - -"My name is Emma," she said softly. She smiled and he fought down an -overwhelming urge to touch her, to kiss her pink, inviting lips. He -stood rigid. He wanted to cry out in his torment. - -Her hand reached out to him and he felt her fingers touch his. -Electricity tingled up his arm and through his chest. Automatically, he -repeated his cursed disavowal of humanness. Vaguely, he heard his own -words, sounding like an echo in his ears. "I'm a robot." - -"I know," Emma said quietly. Then, she held up her right hand, -revealing the identification stamp on her wrist. - - _Model M (fem.)_ - _Serial No. 6139 12V_ - _AMALGAMATED ANDROIDS, INC._ - -A moment later the android was in his arms. He held her close, dizzy -with the sensation of this new emotion with one of his own kind. - -Several moments later he pushed her gently away from him. "Pack your -bag, Emma," he said. - -She looked at him starry-eyed but quizzically. "But my work--madam will -be furious--" - -"Your bag, Emma," he repeated. "When our companies built us they made -us as near human as possible--perhaps too much so. If we can work -for humans we can also live like them. U.S. Robots and Amalgamated -Androids have just lost two employees. Your bag." - -Being an android she could work faster than any human counter-part; her -bag was packed in nothing flat. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SELLING POINT *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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