''The Complete Robot'' (1982) is a collection of 31 of the 37
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
about
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...
s by American writer
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...
, written between 1939 and 1977.
[Introduction, ''The Complete Robot'', Isaac Asimov] Most of the stories had been previously collected in the books ''
I, Robot
''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' bet ...
'' and ''
The Rest of the Robots'', while four had previously been uncollected and the rest had been scattered across five other
anthologies
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...
. They share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots and morality, and put together tell a larger story of Asimov's fictional history of
robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...
. The stories are grouped into categories.
Contents
* Introduction
* Some Non-human Robots
** "
A Boy's Best Friend" (1975)
** "
Sally" (1953)
** "
Someday
Someday or Some Day may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Someday'' (1935 film), a British film directed by Michael Powell
* ''Someday'' (2011 film), a Japanese film directed by Junji Sakamoto
* ''Someday'' (2021 film), an Indian Hindi-langu ...
" (1956), also ''Multivac'' series
* Some Immobile Robots
** "
Point of View" (1975), also ''Multivac'' series
** "
Think!" (1977)
** "
True Love" (1977), also ''Multivac'' series
* Some Metallic Robots
** "
Robot AL-76 Goes Astray" (1942)
** "
Victory Unintentional
"Victory Unintentional" is a humorous science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in the August 1942 issue of '' Super Science Stories'' and included in the collections '' The Rest of the Robots'' (1964) and '' The Co ...
" (1942)
** "
Stranger in Paradise" (1973–74), novelette
** "
Light Verse" (1973)
** "
Segregationist
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...
" (1967)
** "
Robbie" (1940)
* Some Humanoid Robots
** "
Let's Get Together" (1957)
** "
Mirror Image
A mirror image (in a plane mirror) is a reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical effect it results from reflection off from substances ...
" (1972)
** "
The Tercentenary Incident" (1976)
*
Powell and Donovan
** "
First Law
"First Law" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, first published in the October 1956 issue of ''Fantastic Universe'' magazine and later collected in ''The Rest of the Robots'' (1964) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). ...
" (1956)
** "
Runaround" (1941–42), novelette
** "
Reason
Reason is the capacity of Consciousness, consciously applying logic by Logical consequence, drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activ ...
" (1941)
** "
Catch That Rabbit" (1944)
*
Susan Calvin
Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character appearing in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'' series of science fiction short stories. According to I, Robot, Susan Calvin was born in the year 1982 and died at the age of 82, either in 2064 or 2065.
She was ...
** "
Liar!" (1941)
** "
Satisfaction Guaranteed" (1951)
** "
Lenny" (1958)
** "
Galley Slave
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar (''French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing.
In the ancient Mediterranea ...
" (1957), novelette
** "
Little Lost Robot
"Little Lost Robot" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1947 issue of '' Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections '' I, Robot'' (1950), '' The Complete Robot'' ...
" (1947), novelette
** "
Risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
" (1955), novelette
** "
Escape!
"Escape!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published as "Paradoxical Escape" (a publisher's change in the title) in the August 1945 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted as "Escap ...
" (1945)
** "
Evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, eviden ...
" (1946), novelette
** "
The Evitable Conflict" (1950), novelette
** "
Feminine Intuition
"Feminine Intuition" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, originally published in the October 1969 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' and collected in ''The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories'' ...
" (1969), novelette
* Two Climaxes
** "
. . . That Thou Art Mindful of Him
". . . That Thou Art Mindful of Him" (also signed as "That Thou Art Mindful of Him") is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, which he intended to be an "ultimate" probe into the subtleties of his Three Laws of Robotics. ...
" (1974), novelette
** "
The Bicentennial Man" (1976), novelette
* A Last Word
Stories not involving the Three Laws of Robotics
Stories that are about Asimov's
positronic robots that do not obey the
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 colle ...
are:
*"Let's Get Together" robots are used as parts of a bomb that will explode when they get together.
*In "Someday" there are non-positronic computers which tell stories and do not obey the Three Laws.
*In "Sally" there are positronic brain cars who can damage men or disobey without problems. No other kinds of robots are seen, and there is no mention of the Three Laws.
*In ". . . That Thou Art Mindful of Him" robots are created with a very flexible Three Laws management, and these create little, simplified robots with no laws that actually act against the Three Laws of Robotics.
Robot stories not included
This collection includes most of Asimov's robot short stories. Missing ones were either written after its publication, or formed the text connecting the stories in ''I, Robot''.
The six Asimov robot short stories not included in this book are:
* "
Robot Dreams" (found in the
anthology of the same title)
* "
Robot Visions
''Robot Visions'' (1990) is a collection of science fiction short stories and factual essays by Isaac Asimov. Many of the stories are reprinted from other Asimov collections, particularly ''I, Robot'' and '' The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories' ...
" (found in the
anthology of the same title)
* "
Too Bad!
Too or TOO may refer to:
* Threshold of originality, a concept in copyright law
* ''Too'' (Fantastic Plastic Machine album), the fourth studio album by Fantastic Plastic Machine
* ''Too'' (FIDLAR album), the second studio album by American skat ...
" (found in ''Robot Visions'')
* "
Christmas Without Rodney
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
" (found in ''Robot Visions'')
* "
Cal Cal or CAL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty
* "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov
* ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...
" (found in ''
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
'')
* "
Kid Brother" (found in ''Gold'')
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Robot, The
Foundation universe books
Science fiction short story collections by Isaac Asimov
1982 short story collections
Doubleday (publisher) books