The Robot Killer by 2000 Plus

Summary

Relic Radio Sci-Fi – "The Robot Killer" by 2000 Plus

Original Broadcast: August 3, 2026
Podcast Host: relicradio.com

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Episode Overview

This episode of Relic Radio Sci-Fi features an old-time radio broadcast titled "The Robot Killer" from the show 2000 Plus. The story explores the unintended consequences and moral dilemmas of advanced technology entering everyday life, as a state-of-the-art robot is given away as an advertising gimmick on a popular TV show. The narrative delves into human frailty, jealousy, and the limits of artificial intelligence when domestic tensions arise in the home of the contest winner.

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Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

1. Introduction to the Robot (00:39–05:28)

• Professor Strager introduces Experimental Robot 23 to Happy Sam, the TV host planning to give it away as a jackpot prize.
• Skepticism from Professor Strager about handing such a machine to the public.
• Demonstration scenes show the robot’s obedience to commands, but a tragic mishap occurs when the robot kills a kitten while attempting to "pet" it.

  "He tried to pet it and he killed it. Well, you see what comes when fools play with science. No good will come of giving this robot away to the public. I warn you, no good will come of—"
  — Professor Strager (05:03)

2. The Game Show and Prize Announcement (05:28–08:59)

• Happy Sam enthusiastically lists the extravagant giveaway prizes, culminating with the robot.

  "It is a slave to your every command. And here it is, Michael the Mechanical Man."
  — Happy Sam (07:07)

• John Hanold is announced as the lucky winner.

3. Mary’s Return and Domestic Tensions (08:40–14:42)

• Mary Hanold is released from the hospital after a nervous breakdown.
• John is advised by Professor Strager to maintain calm and normalcy at home for Mary’s fragile mental state.
• Virginia Barton, the neighbor, is introduced as a supportive yet possibly competitive presence.

4. Robot’s Abilities Demonstrated at Home (14:43–17:18)

• John and Mary experiment with Robot 23 at home, having it move furniture and bend a steel poker, revealing its immense power.
• John grows apprehensive about the robot’s capabilities and considers dismantling it, while Mary becomes entranced:

  "Don’t get too excited about it. You know what the doctor said."
  — John Hanold (17:14)

5. Mary’s Obsession Grows (17:19–20:52)

• Alone, Mary uses the robot to perform increasingly personal and destructive tasks, projecting love and devotion onto Robot 23.
• Virginia delivers a package and notes Mary’s odd behavior and possessiveness over the robot.

  "He’s mine. He doesn’t love you."
  — Mary Hanold (19:50)

• In a worrying turn, Mary subtly commands the robot:

  "And you will kill her for me because you are my slave. Say, I will kill her."
  — Mary Hanold (20:50)

6. Neighbors and Medical Concerns (21:16–24:13)

• Virginia calls John to report Mary’s increasingly strange behavior.
• John, alarmed, calls Dr. Rosenblatt, but the doctor suspects neighborhood exaggeration, reflecting period attitudes toward mental health.

7. Confrontation and Crisis (24:14–26:34)

• Virginia visits Mary to keep her company at John’s request. Mary, in a jealous rage, orders Robot 23 to "kill" Virginia.
• Strager and a patrolman arrive just in time and disable the robot before it can approach Virginia, narrowly averting disaster.

  "I shut off the control box and stopped the robot."
  — Professor Strager (26:30) "Mary wanted to kill me, John. Kill me."
  — Virginia Barton (26:34)

8. Resolution and Revealed Limits of the Machine (26:34–end)

• Professor Strager explains the robot is incapable of carrying out abstract commands like "kill," requiring step-by-step explicitness due to its lack of human emotion:

  "You see, your wife told the robot to kill. But that was not an instruction the robot could carry out."
  — Professor Strager (27:07) "To strike out blindly, to kill without thinking, requires an emotional drive, the capacity to hate. And that the robot cannot do. It is, after all, a machine, not a human being."
  — Professor Strager (27:18)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Introduction of Science vs. Commerce:

  "We've worked on it for six years. Do whatever it is instructed to do. I simply do not understand how the management of this corporation can think of giving it away to this public."
  — Professor Strager (01:30)

• Moral Warning after Kitten's Death:

  "He tried to pet it and he killed it. Well, you see what comes when fools play with science."
  — Professor Strager (05:03)

• Automation as Gimmick:

  "A thousand slaves in one amazing machine."
  — Happy Sam (07:22)

• Human Projection onto Machines:

  "Because I love you."
  — Robot (18:23, spoken at Mary’s command) "You are mine. You do what I want you to do. You are my slave."
  — Mary Hanold (18:27)

• The Limits of Machine Obedience:

  "Kill is not sufficiently explicit. The robot cannot kill in general, must have step by step instructions..."
  — Professor Strager (27:18)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:39 — Introduction to Robot 23
• 03:01 — First live demonstration of robot's abilities
• 05:03 — The kitten incident highlights danger
• 07:07 — Robot presented as a contest prize
• 11:02 — Mary learns she has won the jackpot
• 15:14 — Robot moves house furniture
• 16:27 — Robot bends steel poker, unsettling John
• 18:09 — Mary’s intimate conversation with Robot 23 begins
• 19:50 — Virginia’s uncomfortable encounter with Mary and the robot
• 20:50 — Mary instructs robot to kill
• 24:14 — Virginia returns to Mary's apartment; crisis escalates
• 26:30 — Professor Strager disables the robot
• 27:18 — Explanation of robot's limitations and the theme of human emotion

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Summary and Closing Thoughts

"The Robot Killer" deftly examines the intersection of human frailty and burgeoning technology through a suspenseful and psychological lens. The episode uses the story of a misguided publicity stunt—the giving away of a powerful robot—to probe questions about trust, obsession, and the essential limits of machines. With memorable performances, tense domestic drama, and classic sci-fi philosophical challenges, the episode warns of relying on machines for problems rooted in the human heart.

This broadcast stands as a time capsule for anxieties around automation, mental health, and the superficial promises of technological marvels, all while reminding listeners that it is our emotional complexity—and not blind obedience—that makes us irreducibly human.

Transcript

[Mary Hanold]

Relic radio. This is relic radio. Sci fi old time radio science fiction stories from relicradio.com. All the time that I was alone I thought what I would do. If only I did. And then I saw the robot.

[Professor Strager]

2000 plus science fiction adventures in the World of Tomorrow The Years Beyond 2000 AD 2000 plus presents the robot killer. So you are Mr. Samuel Donaldson?

[John Hanold]

Yes, sir.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Happy Sam they call me.

[Professor Strager]

Yes, I know. I have friends who think your television program is very funny. I do not.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

That's a living Professor Strager. Now, may I see the mechanical man I'm giving away as the jackpot prize on my show next week?

[Professor Strager]

It is not a mechanical man, Mr. Donaldson. The correct word is robot.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

R O, B O, T. I know, I know.

[Professor Strager]

This robot is a supreme achievement of our electronics division. We've worked on it for six years. Do whatever it is instructed to do. I simply do not understand how the management of this corporation can think of giving it away to this public. This magnificent mechanism.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Ah, look, Professor. This Corporation sponsors my TV show. We're on 1246 stations, we're telecast in three dimensional color and the Happy Sam show is the number two favorite in the country. The sponsor thinks it would be a good advertising gimmick to offer a super jackpot prize. A mechanical man, a robot. And I never argue with a sponsor. Now please, may I see what I've come to see?

[Professor Strager]

All right, young man, I have no choice.

[John Hanold]

Come on. There it is.

[Professor Strager]

Experimental robot 23, rather.

[John Hanold]

He's really something, Professor.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Six feet tall, shiny metal, flexible fingers. Say, how does he work?

[Professor Strager]

Very simply. His electronic controls respond to ultra high frequency waves which emanate from this microphone box. Speak into the microphone though. Robot will do whatever you order him to.

[John Hanold]

Anything virtually.

[Professor Strager]

Robot 23 has an electronic brain. Try for yourself here.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Okay. Sing sweet Adeline.

[Professor Strager]

Really, Mr. Donaldson, what a ridiculous request. You think the best scientific brains in the country work for six years are a robot? Heavens, will you be mine? It really tried to sing?

[John Hanold]

He's very clever, Professor. Hey, hey, watch this.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Pick up that broom in the corner and sweep the floor. Oh boy, the housewives who watch my program will love this. Why, I'll be darned.

[John Hanold]

Looka there. He's doing it. He's doing it.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Okay, okay. Stop sweeping.

[John Hanold]

What a gadget. What a giveaway.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Now let's see. Something for the kitties and I. Hey, what is that?

[Professor Strager]

That kitten is the pet of Dr. Broderick of the physics laboratory. And I assure you, you cannot give that away.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

I don't want to Give the kitten away. I just want a little heartthrob on the show for the youngsters.

[Mary Hanold]

Here, kitty.

[John Hanold]

Come here, kitty. Come here, kitty.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Now, now, now, kitty. Now, down the floor you go. Now, down the floor.

[Mary Hanold]

Go ahead.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

And we'll show how gentle and friendly our jackpot prize robot is with pets. Now, give me the mic.

[Professor Strager]

Mr. Donaldson, what are you going to do now?

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Okay, Robot 23, go over to the kitten, pick it up and pet the kitty. Nice kitty.

[John Hanold]

Look at that. Isn't that sweet?

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Boy, what a camera shot on the air. Hey, what's he doing?

[Professor Strager]

Number 23, drop the kitten. Drop the kitten.

[John Hanold]

Drop it.

[Professor Strager]

Oh, poor Tabby.

[John Hanold]

Why, he.

[Mary Hanold]

He.

[John Hanold]

He killed a kitten.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Broke its neck.

[Professor Strager]

He tried to pet it and he killed it. Well, you see what comes when. When fools play with science. No good will come of giving this robot away to the public. I warn you, no good will come of.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, hello. This is Happy Sam, the happy man, welcoming you to another half hour of mirth and melody. Boys, how about a fanfare? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Now, you know that every week for the past four weeks, our grand super jackpot has been growing and growing. At this moment, these are the sensational prizes in that jackpot. A free rocket plane trip for two to Paris. Flying in the new 150 passenger luxury rocket cruiser at 60,000ft, only 3 hours and 10 minutes from new York to Paris. A Caddy atomic powered sports roadster. The automobile that never needs gas or oil. It runs almost forever. A Krylon man suit, tailored to your measure. Krylon is the wonder fabric guaranteed to last 100 years. And with this suit, a special set of 14 different Krylon Chemical colors. Dip that suit in the color you prefer, wear it, then change the color with another rim. The suit is always pressed, always perfect. 14 suits in one. A complete wardrobe on your back. And the one thing money cannot buy. More money. Yes. $10,000 cash. Now, those are our jackpot prizes. And now tonight, we add one more prize. A prize so fantastic and wonderful, nothing like it has ever been offered to a lucky winner before. This prize is a supreme achievement of modern science. It is an entire retinue of servants in one amazing machine. It is a slave to your every command. And here it is, Michael the Mechanical Man. Thank you very much.

[Mary Hanold]

Thank you.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

Thank you. And now now, to determine who wins this giant jackpot and who wins this mechanical marvel, Michael the Mechanical Man. A thousand slaves in one amazing machine. Now, as you know, ladies and Gentlemen, each and every one of you. Millions of people watching this program on your visit. Screens are receiving this program via microwave. And now our computators are in action.

[John Hanold]

They are.

[Happy Sam (TV Show Host)]

They are channeling every microwave reception on this program. When the spirit spinner disc stops, if your television set is on, if you're the lucky person, you win the jackpot. Wait. Now, wait. The computer has finished. The engineer signals that the spinner disc is slowing down. And we have a winner. Tonight we picked up a set who had us tuned in. Our pretty model is walking across the stage with a name. Thank you, honey. And now here it is. The name you've all been waiting to hear. 423 N. Glencoe Blvd. In Martin Hills, New York, apartment 5B. Mr. John Hanold. Mr. John Hanold.

[Professor Strager]

Sit down, Mr. Hanold. My practiced medical eye, judging from the smile on your face, tells me that you're pretty happy that Mr. Mrs. Henold is being released from the hospital today.

[John Hanold]

Oh, it's not only that, Doctor.

[Professor Strager]

Don't tell me you haven't heard of

[John Hanold]

my other good piece of luck. Everyone in town's been calling me for hours before I left for the hospital.

[Professor Strager]

Another good piece of luck? No, I haven't heard.

[John Hanold]

Why, I won some fabulous prizes on the giveaway show, including $10,000. That means your bill's going to be paid. And I also got a trip to Paris and a mechanical man and Lord knows what.

[Professor Strager]

That's wonderful. I congratulate you. However, I think I will forget that trip to Paris for a while.

[John Hanold]

What?

[Professor Strager]

In fact, wait a few hours before telling Mrs. Hanold about your good fortune.

[John Hanold]

Papa. Why, Doctor.

[Professor Strager]

Mr. Hanold, after your wife's illness, she suffered a nervous breakdown. She became mentally unstable. But she's pretty good now, thanks to what the hospital has done. However, when you take her home, she must feel she's returning to her normal Life. And winning $10,000 prizes isn't paranormal.

[John Hanold]

I see.

[Professor Strager]

The main thing we want to avoid is a relapse. She should have a few neighbors who can drop in and see her. Now,

[John Hanold]

Miss Barton. Virginia Barton. She lives in the apartment next to us on our floor.

[Professor Strager]

Your wife mentioned her occasionally. Do they get along all right?

[John Hanold]

I think so. Why?

[Professor Strager]

Nothing. I just wondered. Well, Mrs. Hanlow's waiting for you. I know you're very anxious to get her home. Nurse, have Mrs. Hamill come in, please. I think in another month or so she'll be fine. Oh, yes, she is now. Hello, Mrs. Hanmel.

[John Hanold]

Mary, darling, am I glad to see you.

[Mary Hanold]

Hello, John. Hello, Doctor.

[Professor Strager]

What did I Tell you. Doesn't she look fine?

[John Hanold]

She certainly does.

[Mary Hanold]

John, how good it is to be going home. I'm as excited as the school girl.

[John Hanold]

Now, don't get too excited. You got to take it easy for a while.

[Mary Hanold]

Is that what the doctor said? He's such a worry bird.

[Professor Strager]

You do what your husband says, Mrs. Hanold, and you'll just be fine.

[John Hanold]

See doctor's order.

[Mary Hanold]

I promise. Thank you, Doctor. You've been very kind.

[Professor Strager]

I'll drop in from time to time to see you. Well, goodbye, Mrs. Hanold.

[John Hanold]

Goodbye, Doctor. All right. Here, let's go. Let's go.

[Mary Hanold]

John, I can hardly believe.

[John Hanold]

Well, the doctor told me to wait until you got home before telling you.

[Mary Hanold]

$10,000 and a trip to Paris.

[John Hanold]

Think of it. Oh, I hope we can take it in the summer during my vacation.

[Mary Hanold]

And a mechanical slave. John, where will we put it?

[John Hanold]

Now, wait, honey. You're not supposed to get excited. Oh, my boy. Who can help it?

[Mary Hanold]

The crazy things they give away.

[Professor Strager]

Oh, I'll see who it is.

[Mary Hanold]

Hello, John.

[John Hanold]

Oh, hello, Virginia.

[Mary Hanold]

Who is it, darling?

[John Hanold]

Why, it's. It's Virginia.

[Mary Hanold]

Mary. I just had to come and tell you how wonderful it is, your being back and all those wonderful prizes. It was very nice of you to come in, Virginia, and thank you for the supper you prepared for my homecoming. I was delighted to, darling, when John asked me. John asked you to? Well, yes. He was so happy you were coming back. John, doesn't. Mary's being home called for a celebration. Can't we have a drink?

[John Hanold]

Well, I don't know, Virginia. Mary's supposed to get rest still. Well, I suppose one sip won't hurt. But I have to go out and get something, though. I'll be right back,

[Mary Hanold]

Darling. When you get your prizes, I'll have cause to be jealous of you. Cigarette? No, thanks. Jealous? Why? Well, you'll have two men. John and Barobus. Poor little me, a bachelor gal all alone. You know, I really think you ought to give me one of them. Which one would you like to have, darling, What a silly question. The mechanical man, of course. He doesn't drop ashes on the rugs. He'll wash the dishes and put out the cat. You'll never lying to me. I'm nearly your sin. What did you expect me to be? I don't understand. But I do. In the hospital, I began to understand a lot of things. I know the doctors thought something happened to my mind. But all that happened was that it became very clear, very sharp. And for the first time, I began to think clearly. Darling, I. I think this excitement's been too much for you. I shouldn't have come in because I was here. Is that why you shouldn't have come in? You're wrong, Mary. Everything you're thinking is wrong. John would come to the hospital only once a day, but he was worried. Some days he wouldn't come at all. Mary, you know he has to go out of town on business once in a while. I know many things. I would lie in my hospital bed and the shadows would whisper to me. They would say, where is John now? While you lie in an antiseptic bed in a hospital room that is as cold as a surgeon's knife, cutting your memories to pieces. You frighten me. Don't go. John will be back in a moment. I. I have a headache. I've got to go. So what will John say when you're not here? You poor darling. You poor fit Mary. Yes. Look out on. Leave it, genius. Leave me alone. But I'm not alone. As I was in the hospital. I'm home now. My home. And I'm war you near enough to kill you. If. If only I could think of how to do it.

[John Hanold]

That robot's quite a guy, isn't it?

[Mary Hanold]

He looks something like the tin woodman of ours I used to read about.

[John Hanold]

But he can do any of the things they said on that program. My guess is you'll have to sell them for junk or give them away to some kids. Now, let's see the directions. Say, turn on the racket, switch for power and then just talk into the microphone. Use simple phrases and precise instructions. Well, what shall I tell him to do? He's your boyfriend.

[Mary Hanold]

Tell him. Tell him to move the green chair about 2ft back in the corner.

[John Hanold]

Okay. Move green chair back two feet into corner.

[Mary Hanold]

John, he's walking.

[John Hanold]

That's the darkest thing I ever saw.

[Mary Hanold]

Look.

[John Hanold]

He did it. He's going to be all right. John.

[Mary Hanold]

Does he have a name?

[John Hanold]

A name? Don't be silly.

[Mary Hanold]

He must have a name. He's almost like a person.

[John Hanold]

Does he talk to. What is your name? Your name? Do you have a name? I see. He can't talk.

[Mary Hanold]

Don't ask him a question. Tell him to tell you. Do as the direction.

[John Hanold]

Tell me your name. Experimental robot 23.

[Mary Hanold]

Robot 23.

[John Hanold]

Kind of gives me the creeps.

[Mary Hanold]

Oh, he is wonderful.

[John Hanold]

Well, that would I do. He can't stand there staring at us. There's nothing for him to do around here.

[Mary Hanold]

The poker. That steel poker in the fireplace.

[John Hanold]

What about it?

[Mary Hanold]

He looks so strong. Tell him Tell him to bend it.

[John Hanold]

Bend it. Larry, that's solid steel. He's just a tin toy with electronic nerves.

[Mary Hanold]

Please, John, tell him.

[John Hanold]

But, honey, he'll probably get a short circuit or something, straining himself. Then we will have to jug him. All right, all right. Band poker there. Bend steel. Poker. See? He just picked it up, but nothing's happening. Bend it. Bend it. You see, I took. Good Lord.

[Mary Hanold]

Are you bending the steel? As if it were taffy.

[John Hanold]

And did you see that? Why, it's almost as if. As if he threw a down. Disdaining of showing off, why didn't you turn him off? He's dangerous, Mary. Dangerous and frightening. I'm going to dismantle.

[Mary Hanold]

No, now, wait.

[John Hanold]

Don't get too excited about it. You know what the doctor said.

[Mary Hanold]

Don't get Madeline. John, please.

[John Hanold]

All right, all right, all right. All right. You insist. Remember, Mary, you're not to give him any orders except when I'm home.

[Mary Hanold]

Darling, I wouldn't do anything that wouldn't be right for me. Two o'. Clock. Almost four hours until John comes home. Lock the door. And now, to make him come to life again. Speak to me. Say to me. Hello, Mary.

[John Hanold]

Hello, Mary.

[Mary Hanold]

Hello, Robert 23. How nice of you to visit me. Every day you visit me. Why do you do that? Tell me. Because I love you.

[John Hanold]

Because I love you.

[Mary Hanold]

Because you Love me. Oh, Robert 23. How handsome and strong you are. And you are mine. You do what I want you to do. You are my slave. Say to me, I am your slave.

[John Hanold]

I am your slave.

[Mary Hanold]

That vase. That vase that Virginia gave me last year. There was the blue one. Destroy that vase. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Robert 23, very much. Of all the things in the world I have, you are the most wonderful. Because you love me and obey me and would do anything for me. Only thing. The door. Someone there?

[John Hanold]

It can't be John.

[Mary Hanold]

It's much too early for John. I'll see who it is. And you will wait for me. Wait as you always do. Phew. Hello, Mary. I'm sorry to disturb you. What do you want? This package was delivered to my door. Something you probably ordered by phone. It's marked 5D, but your name's on it. Should have said 5B. Yes, yes, from the grocery. Oh. Is that the mechanical man standing in the living room? That is Robert 23.

[John Hanold]

Does he really work?

[Mary Hanold]

He's awfully big and clumsy looking. He's come to visit me. He's mine. He doesn't love you. Doesn't love? Of course not, Mary. Of course not. I'm sorry to have disturbed you. Is there anything I can do for you? No, no, nothing. Go away. You saw her, didn't you? Say, yes, I saw her.

[John Hanold]

Yes, I saw her.

[Mary Hanold]

She's the one, the one I hate. And John. John is the one I love. And you. You love me. Say, I love you.

[John Hanold]

I love you.

[Mary Hanold]

You must destroy her the way we destroyed the babe. Now that you've seen her, you know my secret. And you will kill her for me because you are my slave. Say, I will kill her.

[John Hanold]

I will kill her. Hello?

[Virginia Barton]

John? This is Virginia.

[John Hanold]

Oh, hello, Virginia. This is a pleasant surprise. Why are you calling me?

[Virginia Barton]

It's about Mary.

[John Hanold]

Mary? Has something happened? What is it?

[Virginia Barton]

I rang your doorbell a few minutes ago. One of Mary's packages had been delivered to me by mistake. She came to the door.

[John Hanold]

What?

[Virginia Barton]

She acted very strangely. Particularly when I asked about the mechanical man.

[Mary Hanold]

The robot.

[John Hanold]

What do you mean, Virginia?

[Virginia Barton]

Strangely, she wouldn't let me come in and look at him.

[Mary Hanold]

She said he.

[Virginia Barton]

He didn't love me.

[John Hanold]

What?

[Virginia Barton]

She was in a strange. Well, a strange mental state. John, are you sure she's all right?

[John Hanold]

Virginia, listen. The robot wasn't moving or doing anything, was it?

[Virginia Barton]

Not that I could notice. But Mary's attitude and her odd remark.

[John Hanold]

I knew I shouldn't have accepted that tin monster. I'll get home as soon as I can, Virginia. Thanks for calling. Hello, Dr. Rosenblatt? This is John Hanold.

[Dr. Rosenblatt]

Oh, yes, Mr. Hanold.

[John Hanold]

A neighbor just called me. Mary's acting strangely. I'm worried.

[Dr. Rosenblatt]

I don't understand, Mr. Hanold.

[John Hanold]

We won some prizes on a TV show a few days ago, and one of them was a mechanical man. A robot.

[Dr. Rosenblatt]

Oh, yes, you told me about it.

[John Hanold]

A robot, in my opinion, is a dangerous gadget. Well, anyway, one of the neighbors reported that Mary is talking strangely about it. I wonder if you could meet me at the apartment. It'll take me about half an hour to get there.

[Dr. Rosenblatt]

Mr. Hanold, I hope you'll forgive me, but you've got to expect that neighbors with all the goodwill in the world tend to exaggerate the actions of the people whom they've known to have been mentally ill. I'm sure there's nothing to be alarmed about.

[John Hanold]

Yes, but, Doctor, this neighbour is a good friend and an intelligent woman.

[Dr. Rosenblatt]

Well, I've had a lot of experience in these matters, Mr. Harold. However, to ease your mind, I'll try to drop over sometime this evening or in the morning. We'll have a talk about it. I'm in a meeting now.

[John Hanold]

Well, all right, Doctor, if you say so. Thanks very much.

[Virginia Barton]

Hello?

[John Hanold]

Oh, Virginia, this is John.

[Virginia Barton]

Yes, John.

[John Hanold]

I just spoke to the doctor. He thinks there's nothing to worry about, but, well, I wonder if you'd do me a great favor.

[Virginia Barton]

Of course, John. What is it?

[John Hanold]

I've got a few things here to clean up the desk so I can't get home right away. I wonder if you'd go in and stay with Mary until I get there.

[Virginia Barton]

But, John, I. Frankly, I'm a little frightened.

[John Hanold]

That's silly, Virginia. After all, what can happen?

[Mary Hanold]

The door again. The door. Wait. Row the 23 and I'll come back to you. Say, I will wait for you.

[John Hanold]

I will wait for you.

[Mary Hanold]

Thank you. Thank you, darling. Mary, I wonder if I could visit with you for a while. Why? Why do you want to visit with me? Why, darling? On your neighbor and I thought it would be very nice if we had tea. Don't you want me to come in, Mary? Yes. Yes, I do want you to come in. Come in and meet Robert twenty Tree. Mary. He'd moved since I saw him last. He was standing by the fireplace when I was at the door before, and now he's by the sofa. Darling, that lovely vase I gave you and Johnny. It's broken. Broken in a million pieces. I had him do it. He did it. He did it. What do you mean? You know what I mean. You and your lies and your deceit. Mary, what are you doing? Why are you picking up that microphone? Robert23 loves me as I love John. And you won't destroy my love. You won't. Robert 23. Go to her. Kill her. Kill her. Mary. Mary. No. No.

[John Hanold]

Virginia, please.

[Professor Strager]

Please stop crying.

[John Hanold]

Good heavens, what happened?

[Virginia Barton]

Mary.

[Professor Strager]

Excuse me, Mr. Hano, but I think I can tell you what happened. I'm Professor Strager, one of the men who built that robot. I came to your apartment hoping to persuade you to return the robot. I heard a dreadful commotion inside. Called this patrolman in the corner, and we forced our way in here. The robot was moving toward this young lady here.

[Mary Hanold]

I tried to get away. Wherever I went, it came after me.

[Professor Strager]

I shut off the control box and stopped the robot.

[Mary Hanold]

Mary wanted to kill me, John. Kill me.

[John Hanold]

The doctor. How's Mary? Is she all right?

[Professor Strager]

I've given her sedatives, Mr. Hernold. I'll take her back to the hospital in a few hours. With all this excitement, however, I'm sure she'll be all right in another month or two.

[Mary Hanold]

But she tried to kill me. She tried to kill me.

[Professor Strager]

For some reason, she was jealous of you. But now that we know about obsession, we can treat it psychiatrically.

[John Hanold]

And she'll be all right, Doctor. She won't try to kill again. When I think what might have happened

[Professor Strager]

to Virginia, Mr. Hanlon, nothing would have happened. You see, your wife told the robot to kill. But that was not an instruction the robot could carry out.

[John Hanold]

What do you mean, Professor? You said yourself the robot was going toward Virginia.

[Professor Strager]

Of course, because your wife said go to her. A simple physical action the robot is capable of performing. Due to its directional mechanism. However, the command kill is not sufficiently explicit. The robot cannot kill in general, must have step by step instructions as to how the command is to be carried out. You see, Mr. Hanno, I might put it this way. To strike out blindly, to kill without thinking, requires an emotional drive, the capacity to hate. And that the robot cannot do. It is, after all, a machine, not a human being.