En ung maskins uppfostran

"George showed Roderick two glasses, one short and squat, the other tall and thin. First he poured the short one full of orangeade.
  'See höw much we have? Let's mark it on the glass.' He marked the level with a crayon. 'Now we'll pour it in this other glass.' He poured from the short into the tall glass and again marked the level. 'See, it's way up here. Now. Do we have more orangeade? Or the same?'
  After hesitating, Roderick said, 'Less.'
  'No I mean now, in this big tall glass. Do we have more here than we did in the short glass? Or the same?
  'Less.'
  'Look it can't be less, Roger, try. How can it be less?'
  'Well...' Roderick picked up the empty short glass and tipped it up. A single orange drop gathered at the rim and fell to the desk blotter. 'That much less, anyhow.'"
ur Roderick or The Education of A Young Machine av John Sladek

Sladek skulle ha fyllt 75 år i går. Jag har tidigare skrivit om hans SF-parodier. Han skrev många roliga, bra böcker. Min favorit och en av hans mest hyllade är Roderick (utgiven samman med sin uppföljare som The Complete Roderick, jag rekommenderar dock en paus mellan de två romanerna.) En av de bästa robotberättelserna. Den postumt utgivna samlingen Maps är en bra ingång till Sladeks noveller.