Foundation's Edge (Foundation, #4)

by Isaac Asimov

with telepathic capacity, but that meant that even human thought could be monitored, so that human behavior became still more dependent on robotic oversight. “Again robots grew steadily more like human beings in appearance, but they were unmistakably robots in behavior and being humanoid made them more repulsive. So, of course, it had to come to an end.” “Why ‘of course?’ ” asked Pelorat, who had been listening intently. Dom said, “It’s a matter of following the logic to the bitter end. Eventually, the robots grew advanced enough to become just sufficiently human to appreciate why human beings should resent being deprived of everything human in the name of their own good. In the long run, the robots were forced to decide that humanity might be better off caring for themselves, however carelessly and ineffectively. “Therefore, it is said, it was the robots who established Eternity somehow and became the Eternals. They located a Reality in which they felt that human beings could be as secure as possible—alone