THE COSMIC COMPUTER

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Rodney Maxwell and Yves Jacquemont flew to Storisende the next morning,
both more optimistic about finding a ship than Conn thought the
circumstances warranted. Conn stayed at home for the next few days,
luxuriating in idleness. He and Sylvie tore down his mother's household
robots and built sound-sensors into them, keying them to respond to
their names and to a few simple commands, and including recorded-voice
responses in a thick Sheshan accent. All the smart people on Terra, he
explained, had Sheshan humanoid servants.[Pg 95]

His mother was delighted. Robots that would answer when she spoke to
them were a lot more companionable. She didn't seem to think, however,
that Sylvie's mechanical skills were ladylike accomplishments. Nice
girls, Litchfield model, weren't quite so handy with a spot-welder. That
was what Conn liked about Sylvie; she was like the girls he'd known at
the University.

They were strolling after dinner, down the Mall. The air was sharp and