The Helpful Robots ♦ By Robert Shea

The story of Rankin, who prided himself on knowing how to handle robots, but did not realize that the robots of the Clearchan Confederacy were subject to a higher law than implicit obedience to man.Short storyExcerpt They had come to pass judgment on him. He had violated their law--willfully, ignorantly, and very deliberately."Our people will be arriving to visit us today," the robot said."Shut up!" snapped Rod Rankin. He jumped, wiry and quick, out of the chair on his verandah and stared at a cloud of dust in the distance."Our people--" the ten-foot, cylinder-bodied robot grated, when Rod Rankin interrupted him."I don't care about your fool people," said Rankin. He squinted at the cloud of dust getting bigger and closer beyond the wall of kesh trees that surrounded the rolling acres of...