There Will Be School Tomorrow

by V. E. Thiessen

dull flush crept into his cheeks. The Senatorcaught his eyes and winked. The woman moved toward the door. At the doorthe robot bowed.

  The lorgnette waved in appreciation. "It's reahlly been most charming!"

  Wilson said desperately, "If your women's clubs would just visit ourschools and see this work we are carrying on ..."

  "Reahlly, I'm sure the robots are doing a marvelous job. After all,that's what they were built for."

  Wilson called, "Socrates! Come here!" The robot approached from hisposition outside the classroom door.

  "Why were you built, Socrates? Tell the lady why you were built."

  A metal throat cleared, a metal voice said resonantly, "We were made toserve the children. The children are the heart of a society. As thechildren are raised, so will the future be assured. I will do everythingfor the children's good, this is my prime law. All other laws aresecondary to the children's good."

  "Thank you, Socrates. You may go."

  Metal footsteps retreated. The lorgnette waved again. "Very impressive.Very efficient. And now, Senator, if we can go. We are to have tea atthe women's club. Varden is reviewing his newest musical comedy."

  The Senator said firmly, "Thank you, Doctor Wilson."

  His smile was faintly apologetic. It seemed to say that the women'sclubs had many votes, but that Wilson should understand, Wilson's ownvote would be appreciated too. Wilson watched the two re-enter thehelicopter and rise into the morning sunshine. He kicked the dirt withhis shoe and turned to find Socrates behind him. The metallic voicespoke.

  "You are tired. I suggest you go home and rest."

  "I'm not tired. Why can they be so blind, so uninterested in thechildren?"

  "It is our job to teach the children. You are tired. I suggest you gohome and rest."

  How can you argue with metal? What can you add to a perfect mechanism,designed for its job, and integrated with a hundred other perfectmechanisms? What can you do when a thousand schools are so perfect theyhave a life of their own, with no need for human guidance, and, mostsignificant, no failures from human weakness?

  Wilson stared soberly at this school, at the colossus he had helped tocreate. He had the feeling that it was wrong somehow, that if peoplewould only think about it they could find that something was wrong.

  "You are tired."

  He nodded at Socrates. "Yes, I am tired. I will go home."

  Once, on the way home, he stared back toward the school with strangeunease.

  * * * * *

  Inside the school there was the ringing of a bell. The children troopedinto the large play area that was enclosed in the heart of the greatbuilding. Here and there they began to form in clusters. At the centersof the clusters were the newest students, the ones that had moved here,the ones that had been in the robot schools before.

  "Is it true that the roboteachers will actually spank you?"

  "It's true, all right."

  "You're kidding. It's only a story, like Santa Claus or JohnnyAppleseed. The human teachers never spanked us here."

  "The robots will spank you if you get out of line."

  "My father says no robot can lay a hand on a human."

  "These robots are different."

  The bell began to ring again. Recess was over. The children moved towardthe classroom. All the children except one--Johnny Malone, husky JohnnyMalone, twelve years old--the Mayor's son. Johnny Malone kicked at thedirt. A robot proctor approached. The metallic voice sounded.

  "The ringing of the bell means that classes are resumed. You will takeyour place, please."

  "I won't go inside."

  "You will take your place, please."

  "I won't. You can't make me take my place. My father is the Mayor."

  The metal voice carried no feeling. "If you do not take your place youwill be punished."

  "You can't lay a hand on me. No robot can."

  The robot moved forward. Two metal hands held Johnny Malone. JohnnyMalone kicked the robot's legs. It hurt his toes. "We were made to teachthe children. We can do what is necessary to teach the children. I willdo everything for the children's good. It is my prime law. All otherlaws are secondary to the children's good."

  The metal arms moved. The human body bent across metal knees. A metalhand raised and fell, flat, very flat so that it would sting and theblood would come rushing, and yet there would be no bruising, no damageto the human flesh. Johnny Malone cried out in surprise. Johnny Malonewept. Johnny Malone squirmed. The metal ignored all of these. JohnnyMalone was placed on his feet. He swarmed against the robot, striking itwith small fists, bruising them against the solid smoothness of therobot's thighs.

  "You will take your place, please."

  Tears were useless. Rage was useless. Metal cannot feel. Johnny Malone,the Mayor's son, was intelligent. He took his place in the classroom.

  One of the more advanced literature classes was reciting. Theroboteacher said metallically,

  "_The weird sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land, Thus do go about, about: Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, And thrice again, to make up nine. Peace! the charm's wound up._"

  Hands shot into the air. The metallic voice said, "Tom?"

  "That's from Shakespeare's _Macbeth_."

  "And what is its meaning?"

  "The weird sisters are making a charm in the beginning of the play. Theyhave heard the drum that announces Macbeth's coming."

  "That is correct."

  A new hand shot into the air. "Question, teacher. May I ask a question?"

  "You may always ask a question."

  "Are witches real? Do you robots know of witches? And do you know ofpeople? Can a roboteacher understand Shakespeare?"

  The thin metal voice responded. "Witches are real and unreal. Witchesare a part of the reality of the mind, and the human mind is real. Weroboteachers are the repository of the human mind. We hold all thewisdom and the knowledge and the aspirations of the human race. We holdthese for you, the children, in trust. Your good is our highest law. Doyou understand?"

  The children nodded. The metallic voice went on. "Let us return to_Macbeth_ for our concluding quotation. The weather, fortune, manythings are implied in Macbeth's opening speech. He says, '_So foul andfair a day I have not seen._' The paradox is both human and appropriate.One day you will understand this even more. Repeat the quotation afterme, please, and try to understand it."

  The childish voices lifted. "_So foul and fair a day I have not seen._"

  The roboteacher stood up. "And there's the closing bell. Do not hurryaway, for you are to remain here tonight. There will be a school party,a sleep-together party. We will all sleep here in the school building."

  "You mean we can't go home?"

  The face of the littlest girl screwed up. "I want to go home."

  "You may go home tomorrow. There will be a holiday tomorrow. A partytonight and a holiday tomorrow for every school on earth."

  The tears were halted for a moment. The voice was querulous. "But I wantto go home now."

  Johnny Malone, the Mayor's son, put one hand on the littlest girl."Don't cry, Mary. The robots don't care if you cry or not. You can'thurt them or cry them out of anything. We'll all go home in themorning."

  The robots began to bring cots and to place them in the schoolroom, rowon row. The children were led out into the play quadrangle to play. Oneof the robots taught them a new game, and after that took them to supperserved in the school's cafeteria. No other robot was left in thebuilding, but it did not matter, because the doors were locked so thatthe children could not go home.

  The other robots had begun to walk out into the town, and as they walkedthe robots walked from other schools, in other towns. All over thecountry, all over the towns, the robots walked to tell the people thatthe children would not be home from school, and do what had to be done.

  In the schools, the roboteachers told stories until the children fellasleep.

  * *
* * *

  Morning came. The robots were up with the sun. The children were up withthe robots. There was breakfast and more stories, and now the childrenclustered about the robots, holding onto their arms, where they couldcling, tagging and frisking along behind the robots as they went downinto the town. The sun was warm, and it was early, early, and verybright from the morning sun in the streets.

  They went into the Mayor's house. Johnny called, "Mom! Dad! I'm home."

  The house was silent. The robot that tended the house came gliding inanswer. "Would you like breakfast, Master Malone?"

  "I've had