t. Instead, I stood back and let
them plan their roundup.

"We'll get some men," the Chief said, "and some grappling equipment
about halfway to the city."

* * * * *

Luckily they decided against my trying to persuade the robots, because
I knew well enough that I couldn't do it. Jack's idea sounded pretty
good, though. He suggested that we send some spokesman who didn't know
what we planned to do and thus couldn't alarm them. Some ordinary man
without too much imagination. That was easy. We picked one of Chief
Dalton's sergeants.

It took only about an hour to prepare the plan. Jack got out the
derricks and chains and grapplers and the heaviest steel bodied trucks
we had. I called Cybernetics and told them to put extra restraints in
the Conditioning Lab. The Chief briefed his sergeant and the men who
were to operate the trucks. Then we all took off for Carron City, the
sergeant flying on ahead, me right behind him, and the Chief bringing
up the rear.

I hovered over the outskirts of the city and watched the police Copter
land. The sergeant climbed out, walked down the street toward a large
group of waiting robots--about twenty of them, this time. He held up
his hand to get their attention, gestured toward the factory.

And then, quite calmly and without saying a word, the androids rolled
into a circle around him and closed in. The sergeant stopped, backed
up, just as a 5A-Type arm lashed out, picked him up, and slung him
carelessly over a metallic shoulder. Ignoring the squirming man, the
5A gestured toward the Copter, and the other robots swarmed over to
it. With a flurry of steel arms and legs they kicked at the car body,
wrenched at the propeller blades, ripped out the upholstery, and I
heard the sound of metal tearing.

I dived my Copter down at them. I didn't know what I could do, but I
couldn't leave the poor sergeant to be dismembered along with his car.
I must have been shouting, for as I swooped in, the tall robot shifted
the man to his other shoulder and hailed me.

"Take him, Mr. Morrison," he called. "I know this wasn't his idea. Or
yours."

I landed and walked over. The android--who looked like Jerry, though I
couldn't be sure--dropped his kicking, clawing burden at my feet. He
didn't seem angry, only determined.

"Now you people will know we mean business," he said, gesturing toward
the heap of metal and plastic that had once been the pride of the
Carron City po