Carstone awoke. Instinctively, he gestured with his right hand, and expected his robot servant to switch on the lights. Everything remained hidden in the darkness. Once again, Carstone cursed his mission and the entire colony. Slowly, his hand searched for the button, but the only reward was a dim and unstable light. He stood up and got dressed - again without a helping robot hand. Remembering the colony administrator's advice, he fastened his weapon belt and examined the energy cells of his weapons. He thought about the safety of his life on Earth, about security robots preventing all violence, when a face appearend on the message screen of his laptop. Carstone knew that the officier at the other side of the comlink could not see him and had to guess everything from his voice, much like phone calls during the early attempts of telecommunication. Quickly, he switched on his laptop's camera and repeated mechanically "Ambassador Carstone, Earth Colonial Inspector". The officer at the other end of the line - a young man, too young to have had any combat experience - seemed very confused. Finally, he reported:

"Ambassador, the situation is dire. Several mining accidents on Mars - probably separatist activities - have caused a lack of uranium back on Earth. As Ganymed has not fulfilled its required amount of export either, both the Northern Mars territories and the entire Ganymed colony are placed under direct control of the military. To prevent uprisings, all soldiers in the colony are at your disposal until we arrive. In three planetary circulations further troops will arrive at the colony. General Thornston is to become the new colonial administrator, and you are expected to support him."

"But the colony's right to elect its own government?" "Ambassador, the colony is now under martial law. At the moment, Earth cannot allow any political activities that might support a rebellion. As you know, uranium is vital for Earth's survival, as none of our robots could be powered without it." Carstone thought about an earth without robots, and found that he could not imagine it. How could they survive without them? The uranium supply had to come! Immediately, he began to prepare a speech for the local broadcasting station, which was somewhat like a TV station of earlier times. Seven planetary circulations later, he had seen the reality of the occupation. Earth had not sent but one hundred soldiers, supported by two thousand security drones, who obeyed the general unwittingly. Several citizens had already been punished for disloyalty or for lack of productive activity. He looked at the display screen of the security drone in front of him. Once more, the stakes had been raised. He read it again and again, hoping the words would change, but they stayed as if they were written in stone: Citizen George Bejwil is guilty of repeated loitering and of inefficient work According to the data file George Bejwil, Earth Colonial Archive, no improvement of his behaviour is to be expected. To prevent unrest and provide an example, the sentence is Death. Carstone averted his eyes from the robot, and General Thornston commented: "Sympathy is something we cannot afford, ambassador. In earlier days, the colonists might have cashed in on benefits because we did not check their work, but these times are past." For the first time, Carstone realized what they had to pay for their life without sorrow. He replied:

"But that's only the sentence of a robot! By the way, who has written the martial law robot instructions?"

"The government's central computing unit has calculated the laws which will provide the most efficient uranium supply from the rebellious colonies!" "You mean we have to obey to these rules because they were calculated by a computer? And by the way, what do you mean by rebellious? They simply couldn't fulfill their export requirements!" "Ambassador, I have to remind you of your duties as assistant of the colony administrator." For a second, Carstone hesitated. But then, his decision was made. "Fear not, for I will fulfill my duties as his assistant. And - whether you like it or not - one of them is thinking." Carstone stood up and left the room. He knew that he was now sacrificing the career he had worked on for so long, but he was convinced that it was the only way. He had all colonists gather near the entrance of the uranium mines. Among them were the former colonial administrator Valden as well as George Bejwil, who had both been freed on Carstone's order. Carstone prepared to speak to the crowd when Thornston arrived - and with him his two thousand security drones. Ignoring this impressive demonstration of military might, Carstone spoke: "Colonists!

In seven generations, you and your ancestors have created this colony!

You have always been able to solve your problems yourself, and now, suddenly, Earth meddles in your affairs! You are called rebellious because Earth wants ore you cannot supply! And now, a computer an Earth thinks he has the right to sentence one of you to death! This is enough. Let them dig themselves for the uranium if they want it!" General Thornston had his drones clear a way through the crowd towards Carstone and shouted: "I have two thousand drones with me. You will return to your work or suffer the consequences!" "Which consequences, General? Without these workers, you will not even get one ounce of uranium."

The general turned to the closest mining machine: "Robot, begin mining!" - But nothing happened. Slowly, he realized that these machines needed humans to control them. In despair, he turned to his drones: "Drone, prepare for mining process". But the drone replied "Insufficient data" and stayed where it was. The general remembered that even his drones had once been programmed for their duties - though, of course, by robot productions units which had calculated the best programmes for security tasks. The general gasped, seeing that the colonists had proven their point.

"But... But what will Earth become without uranium?" Now it was Valden, the true colony administrator, who answered: "Within weeks, Earth will be without robots. But our system does not have infinite uranium, and hence this day was inevitable. We cannot help you save your robots, general, but we can help you to rebuild your planet!". And Carstone added: &quotFor centuries, the colonies have had to export every bit of uranium they found. And jet they thrive - because they have found other sources of energy. There is just one thing which we cannot maintain without nuclear reactors: artificial intelligence. We will just have to learn to decide once again." Three weeks later, Carstone travelled back to Earth as a passenger on the returning military ships. He returned to a planet of anarchy and chaos, and he knew that it would take generations to teach the citizens of Earth to decide once again. It was a decisive time for the future of Earth, and he returned because he hoped that he could contribute his share to the restoration of free will on Earth. Now he understood that the will was indeed the key to a life the citizens of Earth had abandoned long ago: Carstone did not know if humanity would find the right answers to its great questions, but for the first time in centuries, they had the chance to do so - for without decisions, who can make the right decision?