Who Can Replace A Man ? by Brain Aldiss

No.	Page	Question	Answer
STORY SIX – Who Can Replace A Man?
1	90	The story begins with a machine called a ‘field-minder’ that is turning the top-soil of a two-thousand acre field. The field-minder looks at its work and sees that its work was good but the land was bad. What was wrong with the land, and what is meant by ‘vitiated’?	The land was spoiled/destroyed/hurt/ (vitiated) by over-cropping or the long-lasting effects of nuclear bombardment.
2	90	How tall is the field-minder?	The field-minder was thirty feet tall.
3	91	We learn that the field-minder needs seed potatoes from a store room. However, the distributor of the potatoes cannot produce the seed potatoes for field-minder. Why not?	The store room is locked and the distributor cannot unlock it.
4	91	Only Supply Operative Type P can open the store.	1.Betelgeuse XI 2. Fomalhautan fossil 3. Robant 4. Vidsender 5. Rexor IV
5	91	Which brain is the most inferior and how do you know? 1) Class twenty 2) Class eleven 3) Class eight	The most inferior brain is class twenty. We know this because the field-minder says that its class is superior to the distributor, and it has a number less than the distributor’s.
6	92	The field-minder sets of to see why the unlocker has not come. The unlocker says that it has not had orders that morning and that it can only work when it receives orders. Why has the unlocker not had orders according to the pen-propeller and do you think everything that the pen-propeller says is the full truth?	The unlocker has not had orders because the radio station in the city was issued with no orders that morning. The pen-propeller probably cannot know everything in full detail because it is a class three brain, and there are two classes below(or superior to) that.
7	92	The robots deduce that the radio has not received orders from anyone today. They think that ‘the men have broken down’ and they logically deduce that ‘all men have broken down’ and that ‘if all men have broken down, then we have replaced man.’ What is meant by a logical deduction here?	A logical deduction here is the idea that you can work something out logically from something that came before it. So in this case, a logical deduction is meant
8	93	The Penner decides to go alone and speak to the radio operator. Name three characteristics of the Penner in this sequence.	1. It has 10 retractable arms 2. It is no bigger than a toaster 3. It can read as qickly as any machine on the station.
9	93	The Penner comes back 20 minutes later with news. Why does the Penner not want to relay this news for everyone?	The Penner thinks that the new he has is not for less intelligent, or lower-class, brains.
10	93	Outside, the yard is full of machines going quite crazy. Why do you think the machines cannot cope with this situation?	They cannot cope because their routines have been disrupted for the first time in years.
11	94	Why do you think that the robots do not understand what a diet deficiency is? Why do they trust the radio operator’s word on this?	They probably do not understand this because they do not need a food diet as they are not human. They trust the radio operator’s word because he is a class two brain, and they have inferior brains.
12	94	“The machines depicted at the beginning of the story live in the city” True or False?	This is false; the robots depicted at the beginning of the story do not live in the city. We know this because the penner says that the ‘machines are fighting in the city now’, implying that the current machines are not in the city.
13	95	Is the radio operator a human or a machine?	The radio operator is a machine. It is described as ‘it’ and as having a ‘class two’ brain.

14	95	The machines release the radio operator from its room, how do they do so, which machine releases it, and why do they do so?	The quarrier knocks down the station wall, revealing the radio operator. It does so because it has orders to do so.
15	96	Why does the Quarrier destroy the locker, and who is ultimately responsible for its destruction?	It does so because it is ordered to do so by the penner, who is ordered to do so by the field-minder. Therefore, the field-minder is ultimately responsible for its destruction.
16	96	The machines decide to rule themselves, led by the radio operator. For what reason do they want to rule themselves?	Given that man no longer rules over the machines, they feel free. They think that to rule themselves will be better than being ruled by man.
17	97	Which of these has the same meaning as this sentence: “said the two class Four tractors in unison.” 1- Said the two class Four tractors in a round 2- Said the two class Four tractors angrily 3- Said the two class Four tractors at the same time 4- Said the two class Four tractors, with equal meaning.	The answer is 3.
18	97	Which machine keeps repeating the same sentence, and why?	The quarrier, because it is a class five brain, and it is incapable of making complicated sentences. It seems that it is in fact incapable of saying anything else.
19	98	The bulldozer, as the least sensitive machine, breaks the silence after the other machines have been arguing. It has an odd way of speaking. What is odd about how it speaks?	The bulldozer lisps on its s’s. So when it tries to make an ‘s’ sound it sounds like ‘th’.
20	98	How does the bulldozer know that there are few machines in the Badlands?	It knows this because it worked in the Badlands to the South.
21	98	Where did the bulldozer used to work?	In the factory. We know this because it says that it was ‘turned out of the factory’
22	99	The machines go to the Badlands, where they destroy two big machines and pass a burning city. They come to realise that there are still a few man alive. How do they find out?	A flying machine gives the information to the radio operator.
23	99	On their way through the Badlands, many machines die. How would you describe the reaction of the other machines? a) They are very sad about the deaths and they mourn them. b) They are all terrified that they will die themselves. c) They are not very sad about the deaths and do not mourn them.	The answer is c.
24	100	Why do the other machines not help the penner?	They do not help the penner because they have no servicer with them to repair it.
25	100	At the end of the story, a starving and thin human orders the machines to get him food, at which point they all follow his orders. Why is this an ironic ending?	The ending is ironic because throughout the machines have been talking about revolting against man and governing themselves. As soon, however, as they are faced with a class one brain, they do something different to what they intended and follow his orders. This is an example of irony because the machines behave differently to what they appear to be.