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From: hester%uci-750a@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Does anybody remember these ?
Message-ID: <1001@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-Jun-84 00:31:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.1001
Posted: Tue Jun 19 00:31:19 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Jun-84 01:46:04 EDT
Lines: 112

From:  "Jim Hester" 


    >  To Jim Hester: I think your theories are all wrong, if you take into
    >  account the original story mentioned by Keiran Carroll.  In this
    >  story, the human has just helped Gort to revivify (actually,
    >  reconstruct) the dead Klaatu, and as Gort is carrying Klaatu to the
    >  ship to leave, the dialog goes something like this...  (note, Gort
    >  could speak in this story)

    >  Human: "Gort, when your master awakens, please tell him it was an
    >  accident."

    >  Gort:   "You don't understand.  *I* am the master."

    >  Obviously, things were changed around a bit for the movie!  Still
    >  one of the all-time SF classics.

If you take the short story into account, the question of
the translation is meaningless, since it did not exist in the story.
I am well aware of the story: you might remember I commented on the bboard
that although I considered the plot of the movie better, the story was
worth reading, since it was entirely different.  The ONLY similarity between
the two is a spaceship, a robot, and a man with the same name
that gets shot by Earthlings.
That's exactly the problem: the story is NO authority, since it has nothing
to do with the plot of the movie.  I have a copy of the story.  If it was
any help, I would have used it.  My guesses were based only on the movie.

First, there have been enough people sending in "something like
this"s: let's set the record straight.  The short story was
called "Farewell to the Master", written by Harry Bates.  It was
printed by Street & Smith, Inc., publishers of "Astounding
Stories".  The issue(s) are not given, but S & S has copywrites
for the story dated 1939, 1940, 1942, and 1943.  My copy is in
the anthology "Adventures in Time and Space," edited by Healy and
McComas and printed (as of my copy) 8 times between 1946 and
1954.  I was wrong about the robot's name, it was Gnut.  The end
passage mentioned by so many is as follows (I have no cumpunctions
about spoilers since the beans have already been spilled):

       Of all the things Cliff had wanted to say to Klaatu, one
       remained imperatively present in his mind.  Now, as the
       green metal robot stood framed in the great green ship, (e
       siezed his chance.

       "Gnut," he said earnestly, holding carefully to the limp
       body in his arms, "you must do one thing for me.  Listen
       carefully.  I want you to tell your master - the master
       yet to come - that what happened to the first Klaatu was
       an accident, for which all Earth is immeasurably sorry.
       Will you do that?"

       "I have known it," the robot answered gently.

       But will you promise to tell your master - just those
       words - as soon as he is arrived?"

       "You misunderstand," said Gnut, still gently, and quietly
       spoke four more words.  As Cliff heard them a mist passed
       over his eyes and his body went numb.

       As he recovered and his eyes came back to focus he saw the
       great ship disappear.  It just suddenly was not there any
       more.  He fell back a step or two.  In his ears, like
       great bells, rang Gnut's last words.  Never, never was he
       to disclose them till the day he came to die.

       "You misunderstand," the mighty robot had said.  "I am the
       master."

So much for the story, back to the movie.

The only thing that most people agree on is that Gort consulted the
screen in the ship in response to the message.  Most also agree that he
was about to destroy the planet before he received the message.
Therefore the message was something that (at least temporarily)
overrode Gort's first reflex (Klaatu told the girl that the robots
AUTOMATICALLY act against any and all aggressors).

The two standard guesses concerning the message are that it was a plea
for help or a suggestion (not order, the Robot Police Force might
listen to suggestions, but Klaatu specifically said that in matters of
aggression they were all-powerful and under no direction but their own)
to consult others (or the ship's computer?) before acting.

My only addition was that unless Klaatu's language packed a LOT into a
small space, I thought it possible that the message was something
short, just to get the robot thinking and interrupt it's attack reflex
long enough for it to recognize alternatives.  This message might have
been a quote of some sort of prime directive of peace before war or
some other short message that might be meaningless to Earthlings who
don't know the complete history and relationship between the Robots and
Galactics.

My 'theory' as you call it contradicts the standard assumptions only in
the literal translation of the message.  The spirit (and effect) of the
message is the same in either case, and it's unlikely that the writers
had a much better idea of the literal translation.  Since I don't
believe there is any 'correct' (and thus any 'incorrect') answer, I
speculate freely on possibilities.  That theory appeals to me, since it
explains the terseness of the message in light of the assumed
intentions of the robot.  I would never insist that I am right or that
any theory that does not contradict the known facts is wrong.  I was
merely repeating common assumptions and adding a comment of my own.

If anyone gets a real interview with someone in the know, PASS IT
ON!  All I know offhand is that Klaatu was Michael Renne and Gort
was the (then) bellboy of Grauman's Chinese Restaurant.  The people
in charge of casting were having a hard time finding somebody
right for Gort, and went out for lunch.  They hired him on the
spot.