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"Last night I drea, but her lined face, old isdoo a microscopic twitch

"Did you hear that?" said Linda Rash, nervously "It&039;s as I told you" She was sht hand opened and closed, over and over

Calvin nodded She said, quietly, "Elvex, you will not ain"

There was no answer The robot sat as though it were cast out of one piece of ain

Calvin said, "What is your computer entry code, Dr Rash? Or enter it yourself if that will make you more comfortable I want to inspect the positronic brain pattern"

Linda&039;s hands fumbled, for a ain The fine pattern appeared on the screen

Calvin said, "Your permission, please, to ranted with a speechless nod Of course! What could Linda, a new and unproven robopsychologist, do against the Living Legend?

Slowly, Susan Calvin studied the screen,in a key-combination so rapidly that Linda didn&039;t see what had been done, but the pattern displayed a new portion of itself altogether and had been enlarged Back and forth she went, her gnarled fingers tripping over the keys

No change ca through her head, she watched all the pattern shifts

Linda wondered It was impossible to analyze a pattern without at least a hand-held computer, yet the Old Woman simply stared Did she have a computer implanted in her skull? Or was it her brain which, for decades, had done nothing but devise, study, and analyze the positronic brain patterns? Did she grasp such a pattern the way Mozart grasped the notation of a symphony?

Finally Calvin said, "What is it you have done, Rash?" Linda said, a little abashed, "I athered that But why?"

"It had never been done I thought it would produce a brain pattern with added complexity, possibly closer to that of the human"

"Was anyone consulted? Was this all on your own?"

"I did not consult It was onat the young woht Rash your name; rash your nature Who are you not to ask? I myself, I, Susan Calvin, would have discussed this"

"I was afraid I would be stopped"

"You certainly would have been"

"Aoing to be fired?"

"Quite possibly," said Calvin "Or you h"

"Are you going to dismantle El - " She had almost said the name, which would have reactivated the robot and been one more mistake She could not afford anotherat all " Are you going to dismantle the robot?"

She was suddenly aware, with soun in the pocket of her smock Dr Calvin had come prepared for just that

"We&039;ll see," said Calvin "The robot may prove too valuable to dismantle"

"But how can it dream?"

"You&039;ve made a positronic brain pattern remarkably like that of a huet rid, periodically, of knots and snarls Perhaps so must this robot, and for the same reason Have you asked him what he has dreamed?"

"No, I sent for you as soon as he said he had dreamed I would deal with this matter no further on my own, after that"

"Ah!" A very small smile passed over Calvin&039;s face "There are lilad of that In fact, I aether see e can find out"

She said, sharply, "Elvex"

The robot&039;s head turned toward her smoothly "Yes, Dr Calvin?"

"How do you know you have dreaht, when it is dark, Dr Calvin," said Elvex, "and there is suddenly light, although I can see no cause for the appearance of light I see things that have no connection hat I conceive of as reality I hear things I react oddly In searching , I ca I finally ca"

"How did you come to have &039;dream&039; in your vocabulary, I wonder"

Linda said, quickly, waving the robot silent, "I gave hiht - "

"You really thought," said Calvin "I&039;ht he would need the verb You know, &039;I never drea like that"

Calvin said, "How often have you dreaht, Dr Calvin, since I have becohts," interposed Linda, anxiously, "but Elvex only told , Elvex?"

"It was not until thisTill then, I had thought there was a flaw in my positronic brain pattern, but I could not find one Finally, I decided it was a dream"

"And what do you dream?"

"I dream always very much the same dream, Dr Calvin Little details are different, but always it seee panora"

"Robots, Elvex? And hus in the dream, Dr Calvin Not at first Only robots"

"What are they doing, Elvex?"

"They are working, Dr Calvin I see so in heat and radiation I see some in factories and some undersea"

Calvin turned to Linda "Elvex is only ten days old, and I&039; station How does he know of robots in such detail?"

Linda looked in the direction of a chair as though she longed to sit down, but the Old Wo and that meant Linda had to stand also She said, faintly, "It seemed to me important that he know about robotics and its place in the world It was ht that he would be particularly adapted to play the part of overseer with his - his new brain"

"His fractal brain?"

"Yes"