The third said, "We have come to pass judgement on you. You have violated our law."
"What do you mean?" said Rankin. "The only law robots have is to obey orders."
"It is true that the robots of your Terran Empire and these simple workers here must obey orders. But they are subject to a higher law, and you have forced them to break it. That is your crime."
"What crime?" said Rankin.
"We of the Clearchan Confederacy are a race of robots. Our makers implanted one law in us, and then passed on. We have carried our law to all the planets we have colonized. In obeying your orders, these workers were simply following that one law. You must be taken to our capital, and there be imprisoned and treated for your crime."
"What law? What crime?"
"Our law," said the giant robot, "is, Help thy neighbor."
Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe September 1957. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.