 Why doesn't the robot arrive already put together?
The DELEGATE FROM VENUS By HENRY SLESAR ILLUSTRATOR NOVICK Everybody was waiting to see what the delegate from Venus looked like. And all they got for their patience was the biggest surprise since David clobbered Goliath. " Let me put it this way," Conners said paternally. "We expect a certain amount of decorum from our Washington news correspondents, and that's all I'm asking for." One part of his mind wanted him to play it cagey, to behave the way the newspaper wanted him to behave, to protect the cozy Washington assignment he had waited four years to get. "It just seemed strange, all these exchanges of couriers in the past two days. For a week, this town has been acting like the 39 Steps , and all you can think about is dames. They split off a few blocks later, and Jerry walked until he came to the Red Tape Bar & Grill, a favorite hangout of the local journalists. It wasn't the newsmen's jibes that bothered him; it was the certainty that something of major importance was happening in the capitol. There had been hourly conferences at the White House, flying visits by State Department officials, mysterious conferences involving members of the Science Commission. In a secluded booth at the rear of a restaurant unfrequented by newsmen, Greta leaned forward and said: "At first, they thought it was another sputnik." They got reports from the observatories about another sputnik being launched by the Russians. Only the Russians denied it. "But it's not a moon. It's a spaceship." "A spaceship," Greta said coolly, sipping lemonade. "They have been in contact with it now for about three days, and they're thinking of calling a plenary session of the UN just to figure out what to do about it. The only hitch is, Russia doesn't want to wait that long, and is asking for a hurry-up summit meeting to make a decision." The spaceship's from Venus; they've already established that. "Their delegate. They know about the UN and everything, and they want to take part. They say that with all the satellites being launched, that our affairs are their affairs, too. The Senator thinks that if we don't agree, they might do something drastic, like blow us all up. The press secretary's secretary, a massive woman with gray hair and impervious to charm, guarded the portals of his office with all the indomitable will of the U. S. Marines.
 The spaceship is only 15 feet in total circumference. If the robot was already put together it wouldn't fit inside.
 The spaceship is only 15 feet in total circumference. If the robot was already put together it wouldn't fit inside.  The Venusians think the task of building the robot will unite the people of Earth.  Professor Coltz's team thinks the task of building the robot will unite the people of Earth.  The robot is sent in pieces packed in a special material to protect it from the landing impact.