Alec Diger rumbled in his deep chest. “Don’t put too much faith in those people. They’re great at giving out tenth-credit oil capsules or a little free wire⁠—but don’t depend on them for anything important.”

It was six now, the robots were pushing through the doors into the silent streets. They joined the crowd moving out, Jon slowing his stride so his shorter friends could keep pace. Dik Dryer moved with a jerking, irregular motion, his voice as uneven as the motion of his body.

“Jon⁠—Venex, I don’t recognize your family name. Something to do⁠—with Venus⁠—perhaps.”

“Venus is right, Venus Experimental⁠—there are only twenty-two of us in the family. We have waterproof, pressure-resistant bodies for working down on the ocean bottom. The basic idea was all right, we did our part, only there wasn’t enough money in the channel-dredging contract to keep us all working. I bought out my original contract at half price and became a free robot.”

Dik vibrated his rusted diaphragm. “Being free isn’t all it should be. I some⁠—times wish the Robot Equality Act hadn’t been passed. I would just l‑love to be owned by a nice rich company with a machine shop and a⁠—mountain of replacement parts.”

“You don’t really mean that, Dik,” Alec Diger clamped a heavy black arm across his shoulders. “Things aren’t perfect now, we know that, but it’s certainly a lot better than the old days, we were just hunks of machinery then. Used twenty-four hours a day until we were worn out and then thrown in the junk pile. No thanks, I’ll take my chances with things as they are.”

Jon and Alec turned into the employment exchange, saying goodbye to Dik who went on slowly down the street. They pushed up the crowded ramp and joined the line in front of the registration desk. The bulletin