It would have been... unfortunate, had I been destroyed. In a legal sense, that would have been mere property damage. Still, uncovering that motive was a major point in determining the culprit.
[It's a tricky question, and one he's thinking hard on. It seems to trigger a memory; one of the windows flickers into life, Daneel's view again. This time, it shows a long-faced man, in the interior of a spaceship.]
"How about 'roboticide'?" Daneel's voice, then, politely attentive: "Roboticide?" "As the term used to describe the killing of a robot." "But what about the verb derived from the noun, Partner Elijah? One never says 'to homicide' and it would therefore not be proper to say 'to roboticide.'" "You're right. You would have to say 'to murder' in each case." "But murder applies specifically to human beings. One does not murder an animal, for instance." "True. And one does not murder even a human being by accident, only by deliberate intent. The more general term is 'to kill." That applies to accidental death as well as to deliberate murder-- and it applies to animals as well as human beings. Even a tree may be killed by disease, so why may not a robot be killed, eh, Daneel?" "Humans beings and other animals and plants as well, Partner Elijah, are all living things. A robot is a human artifact, as much as this viewer is. An artifact is 'destroyed,' 'damaged,' 'demolished,' and so on. It is never 'killed.'" "Nevertheless, Daneel, I shall say 'killed.' Jander Panell was killed."
[Elijah Baley's face flickers away, and Daneel continues, as though this display were perfectly normal.]
Such terms of grammar aside, If I had been destroyed, Partner Elijah would likely not have been employed to investigate, and would not have risen to the prominence he eventually had. Subsequently, it is highly unlikely his son would have been able to lead the second wave of colonists from Earth that followed. History would have been... different.
no subject
[It's a tricky question, and one he's thinking hard on. It seems to trigger a memory; one of the windows flickers into life, Daneel's view again. This time, it shows a long-faced man, in the interior of a spaceship.]
"How about 'roboticide'?"
Daneel's voice, then, politely attentive: "Roboticide?"
"As the term used to describe the killing of a robot."
"But what about the verb derived from the noun, Partner Elijah? One never says 'to homicide' and it would therefore not be proper to say 'to roboticide.'"
"You're right. You would have to say 'to murder' in each case."
"But murder applies specifically to human beings. One does not murder an animal, for instance."
"True. And one does not murder even a human being by accident, only by deliberate intent. The more general term is 'to kill." That applies to accidental death as well as to deliberate murder-- and it applies to animals as well as human beings. Even a tree may be killed by disease, so why may not a robot be killed, eh, Daneel?"
"Humans beings and other animals and plants as well, Partner Elijah, are all living things. A robot is a human artifact, as much as this viewer is. An artifact is 'destroyed,' 'damaged,' 'demolished,' and so on. It is never 'killed.'"
"Nevertheless, Daneel, I shall say 'killed.' Jander Panell was killed."
[Elijah Baley's face flickers away, and Daneel continues, as though this display were perfectly normal.]
Such terms of grammar aside, If I had been destroyed, Partner Elijah would likely not have been employed to investigate, and would not have risen to the prominence he eventually had. Subsequently, it is highly unlikely his son would have been able to lead the second wave of colonists from Earth that followed. History would have been... different.