"Mm," Adam said.
The silence in the study became absolute. The seconds stretched into eternities. Then—
"Mm, ah," Adam said. "Mm, ah."
Alice began crying with happiness.
"Mm, ah," Adam said. "Mm, ah. Ma-ma. Mamamamama."
Then, as though the effort had been too much for Adam, he went to sleep.
Having achieved the impossible, Adam seemed to lose interest in it. For two days he uttered nothing more than an occasional involuntary syllable.
"I would call that as much of an achievement as speech itself," Dr. MacNare said to his wife. "His right front leg has asserted its independence. If each of his other three legs can do as well, he can control the robot body."
It became obvious that Adam was trying. Though the movements of his body remained non-purposive, the pauses in those movements became more and more pregnant with what was obviously mental effort.