First Rule

“I don’t want to hit it,’ Darwin said.

“You have to,” his supervisor said, “It’s part of the program. Besides, it’s only a robot.”

“Yeah,” Darwin countered, “What if it’s as smart or even smarter than they say it is?”

“Remember Asimov’s First Rule?” the supervisor asked.

“Yes,” Darwin answered.

“Repeat it to me,” the supervisor said.

“A robot may never injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm,” Darwin said.

“Great,” the supervisor said, “Now, hit it.”

Darwin lifted the bat, but the robot took it away before he could swing.

A printer came on somewhere in the laboratory, printing the result: ‘Human is injured by the thought of hitting the robot.’

It had grown more intelligent than its creators.