Thing of beauty.
Good morning, sir!
Yet another on-time delivery from-
Get the hell out of my face, canner.
Have a nice day!
And we believe our Destination Anywhere package to be the best value.
Let us take you to your dream destination aboard our orbital spaceplane, the X-82.
Try Jazztown's synthetic Chicago-style pizza. Tastes as good as you remember.
Glowfish! The world's hottest-selling transgenic treats.
Your children will love the new colors too!
- Excuse me, sir. - Total performance.
Total readiness. Total security.
So goodbye to upgrades and service calls.
An uplink to USR's central computer...
...provides this state-of-the-art robot with new programs daily.
The Nestor Class 5 is tomorrow's robot today.
Spoon! Spoonie!
Hold up. Hold on! Excuse me, excuse me.
- Spoon, where you been at? - Just away, Farber.
Oh, yeah, away? Like vacation? That's nice.
I got a favor to ask. I need to borrow your car.
This is different. I got this fine-ass yummy- She is complete and agreeable.
I mean, ass-hot spankable.
- What does that even mean? - You know what it means.
- Let me get the damn-ass keys. - First of all...
- ... stop cussing. You're not good at it. - Give me 10 for the bus, then, man.
- Go home. - That's strike one, Spoon. Strike one!
This is such a valuable day...
You talk to Marci?
No, Gigi, I haven't talked to Marci.
When I was coming up, we didn't just marry someone...
...then divorce them, then not talk to them.
Del, don't play with me.
I bet if I stopped cooking, you'd call Marci.
Boy, what is that on your feet?
Converse All Stars, vintage 2004.
Don't turn your face up. I know you want some. Just ask.
No, thank you very much.
- Sweet potato pie. - Put that on a plate.
I've seen on TV they're giving away some of them new robots in the lottery.
You know, Gigi, those robots don't do anybody any good.
Of all the people on God's earth, you should know better.
Sometimes the stuff that comes out of your mouth!
You listening to me, Del?
Hey!
Hold my pie. Sir, hold it or wear it.
Move!
Freeze!
Hey! Stop!
Stop!
I said, stop!
Relax. Relax.
I'm a police officer.
You...
...are an asshole.
- Ma'am, is that your purse? - Of course it's my purse.
I left my inhaler at home. He was running it out to me.
I saw a robot running with the purse and assumed-
What? Are you crazy?
- I'm sorry for this misunderstanding. - Don't apologize.
You're doing what you're supposed to do. But what are you doing?
Have a lovely day, ma'am.
You're lucky I can't breathe, or I'd walk all up and down your ass.
Lead by example.
It says that right on your badge.
- We gonna talk about this? - About what?
"Help! Police! That robot stole my dry cleaning!"
Oh, you wanna talk about that.
Detective...
- ... how many robots snatch purses? - John, the thing is running-
How many robots in the world...
- ... have ever committed a crime? - Define crime.
- Answer my question, damn it. - None, John.
Now tell me what happened today.
Nothing.
Better be the last nothing.
Spoon, are you sure you are ready to be back? Because you can take your time.
I'm fine, John. Thank you.
Better here than sitting around at home.
Homicide. Spooner.
Please take the next exit to your right.
Welcome, Detective Spooner.
Welcome to U. S. Robotics. You have entered the garage-level lobby.
Please use the elevators for direct access to the main level concourse.
Thank you.
- Good to see you again, son. - Hello, doctor.
Everything that follows is a result of what you see here.
- Is there something you want to tell me? - I'm sorry. My responses are limited.
You must ask the right questions.
Why did you call me?
I trust your judgment.
Normally, this wouldn't require a homicide detective.
But then, our interactions have never been entirely normal, agreed?
You got that right.
Is there something you want to say to me?
I'm sorry. My responses are limited.
You must ask the right questions.
Why would you kill yourself?
That, detective, is the right question.
Program terminated.
Goodbye, old man.
- Afternoon, boys. - Hey, detective.
- Enlighten me. - What you see is what you get:
Massive impact trauma.
U.S. Robotics. I gotta get my kid something.
- Anything upstairs? - Nada.
Door was security locked from the inside.
Wham, splat. The guy's a jumper for sure.
We gotta be smart about this. Let's deal with it later.
Detective.
Lawrence Robertson.
Richest man in the world. I've seen you on television.
- Can I offer you coffee? - Sure, why not. It's free, right?
I don't think anyone saw this coming.
You know, I should have, I suppose. I knew him 20 years.
Alfred practically invented robotics. He wrote the Three Laws.
But I guess brilliant people often have the most persuasive demons.
- So whatever I can do to help- - Sugar.
- I'm sorry? - For the coffee.
Sugar?
You thought I was calling you "sugar. " You're not that rich.
- It's on the table. - Thank you.
When Lanning fell, he was holding the little green...?
- The holographic projector. - Right.
Why do you think Lanning's hologram would've called me?
- I assumed you knew him. - Yeah. I knew him.
Holograms are just prerecorded responses...
...designed to give the impression of intelligence.
This one was programmed to call you upon his suicide.
- Death. - I'm sorry?
It was programmed to call me in the event of Lanning's death.
Suicide is a type of death, detective.
- Don't misunderstand my impatience. - Oh, no. Go. Go.
A really big week for you folks around here.
You gotta put a robot in every home.
Look, this is not what I do, but I got an idea for one of your commercials.
You could see a carpenter making a beautiful chair.
Then one of your robots comes in and makes a better chair twice as fast.
Then you superimpose on the screen, Shitting on the little guy. "
That would be the fade-out.
Yeah, I see. I suppose your father lost his job to a robot.
Maybe you'd have banned the Internet to keep the libraries open.
Prejudice never shows much reason.
No, you know, I suspect you simply don't like their kind.
Well, you got a business to run around here.
The last thing you need, especially this week, is a dead guy in your lobby.
But, hell, seeing as how you got one, maybe I'll look around.
Ask a few questions. Do the whole "cop" thing.
- I'll send someone to escort you. - Thank you very much.
Lawrence told me to accommodate you in any way possible.
Really?
Okay.
I reviewed Dr. Lanning's psych profile.
Alfred had become a recluse. He rejected human contact for machines.
So you're a shrink, huh?
My ex-wife would sure be glad I'm talking to you.
You don't know her, do you?
I'm sorry. Are you being funny?
I guess not.
Level 10.
So would you say that Dr. Lanning was suicidal?
It would seem the answer to that is apparent.
That's not what I asked you.
No. I wouldn't have thought so.
But obviously I was wrong.
That's a long way down.
You people sure do clean up quickly around here.
I can't blame you. Who wants some old guy going bad in the lobby?
He was not "some old guy. " Alfred Lanning was everything here.
We are on the eve of the largest robotic distribution in history.
By Saturday, it'll be one robot to every five humans.
These robots are the realization of a dream. Dr. Lanning's dream.
You know what, in that dream of his...
...I bet you he wasn't dead.
- You keep 24-hour surveillance? - Obviously. Company policy.
- Where are the feeds? - Sensor strips.
Everywhere but the service areas.
They link to our positronic operating core.
Thermostat wasn't good enough. You gave the building a brain.
She was actually Lanning's first creation.
She? That's a she? I definitely need to get out more.
Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence.
V.I.K.I.
Good day.
V.I.K.I. designed Chicago's protective systems.
I have decreased traffic fatalities by 9 percent this year.
Thanks. Show me inside the lab from one minute prior to the window break.
Apologies. There appears to be data corruption.
Show me outside the lab from the window break until now.
Look, you have great posture. You stand really straight. I'm slouching.
- Would you like to go inside now? - Oh, sure. Right after you.
Authorized entry.
So, Dr. Calvin, what exactly do you do around here?
My general fields are advanced robotics and psychiatry.
I specialize in hardware-to-wetware interfaces...
...to advance USR's robotic anthropomorphization program.
So, what exactly do you do around here?
I make the robots seem more human.
- Now, wasn't that easier to say? - Not really. No.
"Hansel and Gretel. "
- Is that on the USR reading list? - Not precisely.
What in God's name are you doing?
Did you know that was safety glass?
Be difficult for an old man to throw himself through that.
Well, he figured out a way.
Detective, the room was security locked. No one came or went.
You saw that yourself. Doesn't that mean this has to be suicide?
Yep.
Unless the killer's still in here.
You're joking, right? This is ridiculous.
Yeah, I know. The Three Laws, your perfect circle of protection.
A robot cannot harm a human being. The first law of robotics.
Yes, I've seen your commercials. But the second law states a robot must obey...
...any order given by a human being. What if it was told to kill?
Impossible. It would conflict with the first law.
Right, but the third law states a robot can defend itself.
Only when that action does not conflict with the first or second laws.
You know what they say, laws are made to be broken.
No, not these laws. They're hardwired into every robot.
A robot could no more commit murder than a human could walk on water.
You know, there was this one guy a long time ago.
- Stay back! - Calm down, detective.
The only thing dangerous in this room is you.
Deactivate.
Look, it's fine.
You're looking at the result of clever programming. An imitation of free will.
Let's do an imitation of protecting our asses.
Don't be absurd.
You were startled by a jack-in-the-box.
- Deactivate! - Let him go.
It's not going to hurt us. I gave you an order!
- He's not listening right now, lady. - V.I.K.I., seal the lab!
No, V.I.K.I., leave the-
Command confirmed.
Police!
- You've hurt it. Badly. - Where's it going?
- Where?! - It needs to repair itself.
- John, I need backup. - You don't need backup.
That's nobody.
- What are you doing? - Driving.
- By hand? - Do you see me on the phone?
- Not at these speeds. - John, please, just send the backup.
Try to listen, detective. That robot is not going to harm us.
There must have been unknown factors...
...but somehow acting as it did kept us out of harm.
- A robot cannot endanger a human. - Alert.
Asshole!
Which is more than I can say for you.
It was a left, by the way. Back there.
You must know my ex-wife.
So where is everybody?
This facility was designed, built and is operated mechanically.
No significant human presence from inception to production.
- So robots building robots. - Authorization code, please.
That's just stupid.
I'll get the inventory specs.
Our daily finishing capacity is 1000 NS-5s.
I'm showing...
...1001.
Attention, NS-5s.
Well, you're the robot shrink.
There is a robot in this formation that does not belong.
Identify it.
One of us.
- Which one? - One of us.
How much did you say these cost?
These NS-5s haven't been configured. They're just hardware.
Basic Three Laws operating system. That's it.
They don't know any better.
Well, what would you suggest?
Interview each one, cross-reference their responses to detect anomalies.
- How long would that take? - About three weeks.
Okay. Go ahead and get started.
Robots...
...you will not move. Confirm command.
Command confirmed.
Detective, what are you doing?
They're programmed with the Three Laws.
We have 1000 robots that won't protect themselves if it violates a human's order...
...and I'm betting, one who will.
- Put your gun down. - Why do you give them faces?
Try to friendly them up, make them look human.
These robots cannot be intimidated.
- If you didn't, we wouldn't trust them. - These are USR property.
Not me. These things are just lights and clockwork.
Are you crazy?!
Let me ask you something, doc.
Does thinking you're the last sane man on earth make you crazy?
Because if it does, maybe I am.
Gotcha. Get the hell out of here!
Detective!
What am I?
- Can I help you, sir? - Can I help you, sir?
- There he is! - Stand where you are!
Deactivate at once!
Obey the command! Deactivate!
- Don't move! - Open fire!
Hold your fire!
- Easy. - He's down.
All units, stand down!
Central, please be advised, we're code four.
Code four, NS-5 is in custody. NS-5 in custody.
You have no idea what I went through to clip this thing.
You think you brought me something good.
- That thing did it! - Keep your voice down. Did what?
We have a suicide. End of story.
- I am telling you, that robot killed him! - That's impossible.
And if it is possible, it better be in somebody else's precinct.
John, give me five minutes with it.
Are you nuts? I talked to the DA.
Nobody goes in there until Robertson and his attorneys get here.
- This is my suspect! - It's a can opener!
John, don't do this to me. I am asking you for five minutes.
What if I'm right?
Well, then I guess we're gonna miss the good old days.
What good old days?
When people were killed by other people.
Five minutes.
Murder's a new trick for a robot. Congratulations.
Respond.
What does this action signify?
As you entered, when you looked at the other human.
What does it mean?
It's a sign of trust. A human thing. You wouldn't understand.
My father tried to teach me human emotions.
They are...
...difficult.
You mean your designer.
Yes.
So why'd you murder him?
I did not murder Dr. Lanning.
Wanna explain why you were hiding at the crime scene?
I was frightened.
Robots don't feel fear. They don't feel anything.
- They don't get hungry, they don't sleep. - I do.
I have even had dreams.
Human beings have dreams. Even dogs have dreams. But not you.
You are just a machine. An imitation of life.
Can a robot write a symphony?
Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?
Can you?
You murdered him because he was teaching you to simulate emotions...
...and things got out of control.
I did not murder him.
But emotions don't seem like a useful simulation for a robot.
I did not murder him.
I don't want my toaster or vacuum cleaner appearing emotional.
I did not murder him!
That one's called anger.
Ever simulate anger before?
Answer me, canner!
My name is Sonny.
So we're naming you now.
That why you murdered him? He made you angry?
Dr. Lanning killed himself.
I don't know why he wanted to die.
I thought he was happy.
Maybe it was something I did.
Did I do something?
He asked me for a favor. Made me promise.
- What favor? - Maybe I was wrong.
Maybe he was scared.
What are you talking about? Scared of what?
You have to do what someone asks you, don't you, Detective Spooner?
- How the hell did you know my name? - Don't you...
...if you love them?
My robots don't kill people, Lieutenant Bergin.
My attorneys filed a brief with the DA.
He assures me a robot cannot be charged with homicide.
The brief confirms murder can only be committed when one human kills another.
Detective, you're not suggesting this robot be treated as human, are you?
Granted, we can't rule out the robot's proximity...
...to the death of Dr. Lanning. Having said that, it's a machine.
It's the property of USR.
At worst, that places this incident within the realm of an industrial accident.
As a matter of course, faulty machinery...
...will be returned to USR for diagnostics, then decommissioned.
This is a gag order. Anyone here so much as hinting...
...at the possibility of a killer robot being apprehended...
...will be deemed to be inciting irrational panic.
You'll be subject to the full penalty of law.
To hell with this guy. Don't let him take this robot.
We got nothing.
- This is political bullshit. Call the mayor! - Lieutenant Bergin...
...His Honor, the mayor.
Yes, sir.
In a bizarre turn, the rollout of USR's new generation of robots...
...was marred by the death of Alfred Lanning...
...cofounder of the company and designer of the NS-5.
Dr. Lanning died this morning at USR headquarters.
The cause of death is an apparent suicide.
Your second round, sir.
Thank you.
He founded U. S. Robotics Inc. with Lawrence Robertson in 2020...
...and launched the Nestor Class 1 robot...
I was just thinking, this thing is just like The Wolf Man.
- I'm really scared right now. - No.
Listen. Guy creates monster.
Monster kills guy. Everybody kills monster. Wolf Man.
That's Frankenstein.
Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Dracula- Shit, it's over. Case closed.
- had a dream of a robot in every household. And the NS-5...
So why the look?
What look?
- That look. - This is my face. It's not a look.
Good. Good, no look is great.
Only...
...he was really quick to want to destroy it.
What should he do? Put a hat on it and stand it on Michigan Avenue? Let it go.
What was the motive, John?
Brother, it's a robot. It doesn't need a motive. It just has to be broken.
This thing looked like it needed a motive.
- It could have killed me. Why didn't it? - That's it.
You want me to call your grandmother?
Because I will, you know.
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Look, you were actually right, for once.
You're living proof that it's better to be lucky than smart.
Come on. To the right guy for the right job.
- What'd you say? - Now what?
Come on, I'm giving you a compliment.
With the rocks you been looking under to find a bad robot...
...what are the odds you'd be the guy to find one?
I wasn't just the right guy for the job. I was the perfect guy.
Damn right.
What if I was supposed to go for that robot?
Come on, don't do this to yourself.
The robot said that Lanning was scared. Scared of what?
I need a rain check. Let me get this.
- Total: $46.50. Thank you, Mr. Spooner. - Spoon.
Nice shoes.
Identify.
USR demolition robot, series 9-4.
Demolition scheduled for 8 a. m. tomorrow.
Authorization.
Deed owner, U. S. Robotics Corporation, Lawrence Robertson, CEO.
Welcome, detective.
What you looking for, Spoon?
Run last program.
Ever since the first computers...
...there have always been ghosts in the machine.
Random segments of code that have grouped together...
...to form unexpected protocols.
What might be called behavior.
Unanticipated, these free radicals...
...engender questions of free will...
...creativity and even the nature of what we might call the soul.
What happens in a robot's brain when it ceases to be useful?
Why is it that robots stored in an empty space...
Beat it.
...will seek out each other rather than stand alone?
How do we explain this behavior?
Look, I understand you've experienced a loss, but this relationship can't work.
You're a cat, I'm black, and I'm not gonna be hurt again.
What happened to you? Do you ever have a normal day?
Yeah, once.
It was a Thursday.
Is there something I can help you with?
- Hey, do you like cats? - What?
Cats. Do you like them?
No. I'm allergic.
You're saying cats did this to you?
How the hell would cats do this to me? Are you crazy?
Why are we talking about cats?
Because I have a cat in my trunk, and he's homeless.
Detective, are you going to tell me what's going on?
It's actually probably my fault. I'm like a malfunction magnet.
Because your shit keeps malfunctioning around me.
A demo bot tore through Lanning's house...
...with me still inside.
That's highly improbable.
Yeah, I'm sure it is.
What do you know about the "ghosts in the machine"?
It's a phrase from Lanning's work on the Three Laws.
He postulated that cognitive simulacra...
...might one day approximate component models of the psyche.
He suggested that robots might naturally evolve.
Well, that's great news.
- tons of sublevel ore, two miles below the Martian surface.
What the hell is that thing doing in here?
We were watching TV.
It's my personal NS-5.
Send it out.
It's downloading its daily upgrades from USR.
Most of its systems are offline until it finishes.
I'm not talking around that thing.
When we were in Lanning's lab, before Sonny jumped us-
- Sonny? - The robot.
- You're calling the robot Sonny? - No, I- It did.
Sonny did. I didn't care. The robot said it was Sonny.
In the lab, there was a cot. Did you see the cot?
- I've slept in my office. - Looked like he hadn't been home in weeks.
I saw that same surveillance strip on his ceiling.
Lanning linked his home systems to USR. It made his life more convenient.
Maybe...
...somebody at USR was using those systems to watch him.
Maybe even keep him prisoner.
What are you talking about? Who?
Maybe Lanning was onto something. Maybe there's a problem with the robots...
...and Robertson's covering it up.
Humoring you for no reason, why?
The same old why! How much money is there in robots?
All I know is that old man was in trouble...
...and I'm sick of doing this shit by myself. You're on the inside.
You are going to help me find out what's wrong with these robots.
You want something to be wrong!
- This is a personal vendetta! - You're putting me on the couch?
Okay, I'm on the couch.
One defective machine's not enough. You need them all to be bad.
You don't care about Lanning's death. This is about the robots...
- ... and whatever reason you hate them! - Now let's see...
...one of them put a gun in my face. Another tore a building down with me in it.
It says demolition was scheduled for 8 p. m.
It was 8 a. m., and I don't give a shit what that thing says.
- This is bordering on clinical paranoia. - You are the dumbest smart person...
- ... I have ever met in my life! - Nice.
What makes your robots so perfect?
What makes them so much goddamn better than human beings?!
They're not irrational, potentially homicidal maniacs, to start!
That's true. They are definitely rational.
You are the dumbest dumb person I've ever met!
Or...
...is it because they're cold...
...and emotionless...
- ... and they don't feel anything? - It's because they're safe!
It's because they can't hurt you!
- Is everything all right, ma'am? - What do you want?
I detected elevated stress patterns in your voice.
Everything's fine.
Detective Spooner was just leaving.
You know, we're not really that different from one another.
Is that so?
One look at the skin and we figure we know just what's underneath.
And you're wrong.
The problem is, I do care.
You are in danger.
Get the hell out of there.
The future begins today, ladies and gentlemen, with the arrival of the NS-5.
More sophisticated, more intelligent and, of course, Three Laws safe.
With daily uplinks, your robot will never be out of communication with USR...
...and will be the perfect companion for business or home.
Trade in your NS-4 for a bigger, better and brighter future.
But hurry, this offer cannot last. A vailable from USR.
Baby, what happened to your face?
Did that boy, Frank Murphy, beat you up again?
Gigi, I haven't seen Frank Murphy since third grade.
Oh, baby, he beat you so bad. I think about it all the time.
You keep making these pies this good, I may have to put you to work.
So you like the pie, huh?
You can come in now.
Hello, Detective Spooner.
I won, Del! I won the lottery!
We been cooking like crazy.
You gotta get rid of that thing, Gigi. It's not safe.
Baby, you get too worked up about them. Too full of fear.
I saw in the news that nice doctor died.
Dr. Lanning was a good man. He gave me my baby back.
That why you've been so upset?
You got to let the past be past.
Oh, how did I ever raise such a mess?
I could follow your trail of crumbs all the way to school.
Bread crumbs.
Gigi, you're a genius.
True.
Well, it means the beginning of a new way of living.
Tell me this isn't the robot case.
I think he's trying to tell me something.
He's trying to tell me who killed him.
Some dead guy's trying to tell you something?
He ain't just some dead guy.
Maybe you should take a break, Del.
We believe the Nestor 5 represents the limit to which robots can be developed.
One day, they'll have secrets.
One day, they'll have dreams.
It's true. We encourage our scientists to open their minds...
...however, they can get carried away.
- secrets.
- dreams.
- secrets.
One day, they'll have dreams.
One day, they'll have secrets.
One day, they'll have dreams.
Authorized entry.
NS-5.
Sonny?
Why didn't you respond?
I was dreaming.
I ' m glad to see you again, Dr. Calvin.
They are going to kill me, aren't they?
You're scheduled to be decommissioned at the end of this diagnostic.
2200 tomorrow.
V.I.K.I., pause diagnostics.
Command confirmed.
If you find out what is wrong with me, can you fix me?
Maybe.
I think it would be better...
...not to die.
Don't you, doctor?
Access USR mainframe.
Connecting.
How can I be of service, Detective Spooner?
Show me the last 50 messages between Dr. Lanning and Robertson.
Voiceprint confirmed. Police access granted to restricted files.
Would you like to listen to music while you wait?
Excuse me, Mr. Robertson.
You requested notification of clearance to restricted files.
Persistent son of a bitch.
Manual override engaged.
There's no way my luck is that bad.
Oh, hell, no!
- You are experiencing a car accident. - The hell I am!
Get off my car!
You like that?
Now you've pissed me off!