"Jag gjorde dig"
Detta är en kort historia av Walter M. Miller Jr. Det har publicerats flera gånger.
Den enda överlevaren av tankens överfall är en man i en grotta:
The land was silent, airless. Nothing moved, except the feeble thing that scratched in the cave. It was good that nothing moved. It hated sound and motion. It was in its nature to hate them. About the thing in the cave, it could do nothing until dawn. The thing muttered in the rocks
Den person som fångas i grottan nämner att han visste tanken när den var ung i ett försök att få det att stå upp.
“I’m your friend. The war’s over. It’s been over for months . . . Earthmonths. Don’t you get it, Grumbler? ‘Grumbler’—we used to call you that back in your rookie days—before we taught you how to kill. Grumbler. Mobile autocyber fire control. Don’t you know your pappy, son?”
Det slår ett mål utanför räckhåll genom att bygga upp vapens energi, vilket ger sig smärta:
It analyzed the reports of the emissary ears, and calculated a precise position. The enemy runabout was 2.7 kilometers beyond the maximum range of the magnapultas creation had envisioned the maximum. But creation was imperfect, even inside.
It loaded a canister onto the magnapult’s spindle. Contrary to the intentions of creation, it left the canister locked to the loader. This would cause pain. But it would prevent the canister from moving during the first few microseconds after the switch was closed, while the magnetic field was still building toward full strength. It would not release the canister until the field clutched it fiercely and with full effect, thus imparting slightly greater energy to the canister. This procedure it had invented for itself, thus transcending its programming.