u please
break this in two for me?"

For a second the Robot stood without motion as if undecided what to do.
Then he took the piece between two steely fingers. Inside his breast one
could hear the soft swoosh of the hydraulic pump; there was a sharp
report as of a small calibre gun; two bent and broken pieces were
politely handed back to Lee.

"Thank you, Magog," Lee said. "That's what I wanted to know." From a
corner of his eye he saw Oona and Scriven watching him with uneasy
looks.

* * * * *

Into the sudden and shocked silence of the table, there fell the
tinkling of a glass. On the other end of the table the great Scriven had
arisen to deliver the little speech he had prepared.

"... I wished you would think of The Brain, not in terms of electronics,
not in terms of dollars, but in terms of American lives.... Just think
of what it would mean to American mothers if in the event of another war
the mighty armour of our National Defense would go into battle without
exposing the life of one of their boys. Give us the funds and we'll
finish the job so that under the central control of The Brain our every
plane, every ship, every tank will roar into action unmanned and fully
automatic.

"And just as The Brain would be our impregnable shield in war, so it is
destined to carry the torch of progress in times of peace. Consider what
it would mean to every citizen if we had automatic functioning and
unerring direction by the Brain.

"Never again would there be cities without water, without electricity,
without transportation due to crippling strikes, because The Brain would
come to the rescue through its control over the essential services, and
if necessary with an industrial reserve army of perfected Gogs and
Magogs, kept for just such emergencies.

"... If in the past it has been true that trade follows the flag, thus
today it is true that trade and prosperity follow in the wake of science
and technology. In the invaluable services which it has rendered to
science and technology and to our national safety as well, The Brain has
already paid for itself. With the relatively small additional investment
which is now being proposed, The Brain's net profits to the nation would
be raised many times; never since the Louisiana Purchase has our
national government made a sounder business deal. With your own eyes you
have witnessed tonight what we have done, what we are doing and also how
much