Dr. Fitzhugh looked out over the faces of the crewmen.
"The whole thing can be summed up very quickly," he said.
"Point one: Snookums' brain contains the information that eight years of hard work have laboriously put into it. It's worth billions, so the robot can't be disassembled, or the information would be lost.
"Point two: Snookums' mind is a strictly logical one, but it is operating in a more than logical universe. Consequently, it is unstable.
"Point three: Snookums was built to conduct his own experiments. To forbid him to do that would be similar to beating a child for acting like a child.
"Point four: Emotion is not logical. Snookums can't handle it, except in a very limited way.
"It all adds up to this: Snookums must be allowed the freedom of the ship."
Every one of the men was thinking dark gray thoughts. It was bad enough that they had to take out a ship like the Branchell, untested as she was. Was it necessary to have an eight-hundred-pound, moron-genius child-machine running loose, too?
*
When a super-robot named Snookums discovers how to build his own superbombs, it becomes obvious that Earth is by no means the safest place for him to be. And so Dr. Fitzhugh, his designer, and Leda Crannon, a child psychologist acting as Snookums' nursemaid, agree to set up Operation Brainchild, a plan to transport the robot to a far distant planet.
Mike the Angel -- M.R. Gabriel, Power Design -- has devised the power plant that is to propel the space ship Branchell to its secret destination, complete with its unusual cargo. And, as a reserve officer in the Space Patrol, Mike is a logical replacement for the craft's unavoidably detained engineering officer.
But once into space, the Branchell becomes the scene of some frightening events -- the medical officer is murdered, and Snookums appears to be the culprit. Mike the Angel indulges himself in a bit of sleuthing, and the facts he turns up lead to a most unusual climax.
"The whole thing can be summed up very quickly," he said.
"Point one: Snookums' brain contains the information that eight years of hard work have laboriously put into it. It's worth billions, so the robot can't be disassembled, or the information would be lost.
"Point two: Snookums' mind is a strictly logical one, but it is operating in a more than logical universe. Consequently, it is unstable.
"Point three: Snookums was built to conduct his own experiments. To forbid him to do that would be similar to beating a child for acting like a child.
"Point four: Emotion is not logical. Snookums can't handle it, except in a very limited way.
"It all adds up to this: Snookums must be allowed the freedom of the ship."
Every one of the men was thinking dark gray thoughts. It was bad enough that they had to take out a ship like the Branchell, untested as she was. Was it necessary to have an eight-hundred-pound, moron-genius child-machine running loose, too?
When a super-robot named Snookums discovers how to build his own superbombs, it becomes obvious that Earth is by no means the safest place for him to be. And so Dr. Fitzhugh, his designer, and Leda Crannon, a child psychologist acting as Snookums' nursemaid, agree to set up Operation Brainchild, a plan to transport the robot to a far distant planet.
Mike the Angel -- M.R. Gabriel, Power Design -- has devised the power plant that is to propel the space ship Branchell to its secret destination, complete with its unusual cargo. And, as a reserve officer in the Space Patrol, Mike is a logical replacement for the craft's unavoidably detained engineering officer.
But once into space, the Branchell becomes the scene of some frightening events -- the medical officer is murdered, and Snookums appears to be the culprit. Mike the Angel indulges himself in a bit of sleuthing, and the facts he turns up lead to a most unusual climax.
Used availability for Randall Garrett's Unwise Child
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Hardback Editions
2011 : Hardback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Benediction Classics Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
August 2008 : Hardback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 0-554-39894-X / 978-0-554-39894-5 (USA edition) Publisher: BiblioLife Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
August 2008 : Hardback
| Title: Unwise Child (Large Print Edition) Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 0-554-30591-7 / 978-0-554-30591-2 (USA edition) Publisher: BiblioLife Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
December 2007 : Hardback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 1-60312-646-5 / 9781603126465 (USA edition) Publisher: Aegypan Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 1962 : Hardback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Doubleday & Co. Availability: Amazon More details... |
Paperback Editions
2011 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Unknown Availability: Amazon More details... |
December 2010 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 1-935774-52-2 / 9781935774525 (USA edition) Publisher: Resurrected Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
March 2010 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 1-153-77576-X / 978-1-153-77576-2 Publisher: Unknown Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
March 2008 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 1-4375-0671-2 / 978-1-4375-0671-6 Publisher: BiblioBazaar Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
March 2008 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 1-4375-0670-4 / 978-1-4375-0670-9 Publisher: BiblioBazaar Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 2008 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 0-554-20565-3 / 978-0-554-20565-6 (USA edition) Publisher: BiblioBazaar Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
January 2008 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 0-554-09861-X / 978-0-554-09861-6 (USA edition) Publisher: BiblioBazaar Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
November 2007 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 1-60312-388-1 / 9781603123884 (USA edition) Publisher: Aegypan Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
August 1982 : Paperback
| Title: Starship Death Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 0-352-31169-X / 978-0-352-31169-6 (UK edition) Publisher: Star Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
June 1982 : Paperback
| Title: Starship Death Author(s): Randall Garrett ISBN: 0-8439-1074-7 / 978-0-8439-1074-2 (USA edition) Publisher: Leisure Books (Mm) Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 1982 : Paperback
| Title: Starship Death Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Star Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
January 1963 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Mayflower Dell Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
1962 : Paperback
| Title: Unwise Child. Author(s): Randall Garrett. Publisher: Us Science Fiction Book Club Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
Other Editions
March 2011 : Kindle edition
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Availability: Amazon More details... |
December 2010 : Kindle edition
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Resurrected Press Availability: Amazon More details... |
November 2010 : Kindle edition
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November 2010 : Kindle edition
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September 2010 : Kindle edition
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July 2010 : Kindle edition
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June 2010 : Kindle edition
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June 2010 : Kindle edition
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May 2010 : Kindle edition
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March 2010 : Kindle edition
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Artemis Publishing Availability: Amazon More details... |
October 2009 : Kindle edition
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July 2009 : Kindle edition
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April 2009 : Kindle edition
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January 2009 : Kindle edition
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December 2007 : Kindle edition
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Optal eBooks Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
November 2007 : Kindle edition
| Title: Unwise Child Author(s): Randall Garrett Publisher: Evergreen Review, Inc. Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
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