History Literature / IRobot

->''1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.\\
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.\\
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.''

* GrayEyes: Susan Calvin's eyes are frequently described as being cold.

* NotSoAboveItAll: Despite her misanthropy and stoic veneer, the one time Dr. Calvin looses her cool, particularly with a robot, is when the telepathic Herbie falsely tells her that a man returns her affections.

If you are looking for the 2004 film of the same name but not [[{{Misblamed}} quite]] the same story, [[Film/IRobot click here.]]

* "Literature/Liar1941"

* "Liar!"

* "Robbie"
* "Runaround"

* "Little Lost Robot"

* AsteroidBase: Hyper Base was built on an asteroid because they thought it could be dangerous to test the hyperdrive near Earth.

* MeaningfulName: Susan Calvin is based in John Calvin, influential French theologian whose theories could be over simplified as: HumansAreBastards and they cannot get [[EarnYourHappyEnding salvation for themselves]], [[YouCantFightFate God chooses some for salvation, others for damnation]] (in the latter camp, presumably, is [[{{Hypocrite}} Calvin)]]. Notice how Susan seems to think she has the right to [[DrivenToMadness destroy the mind]] ([[AndIMustScream which is not deactivated]]) of RB-34 in "Liar!", she insists on destroying the NS-2s [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill who are allowed to let a human come to harm by inaction]] in "Little lost Robot", but she approves of a robot who could get power over humans in "Evidence" only because he is smart, and easily [[YouCantFightFate accepts the fact that there are machines who secretly control humanity for its own good]] in "The Evitable conflict". Asimov, however, always denied any such connection, stating in his autobiography that "Calvin" was the name with the fewest changes to make from "Caldwell," the character's original surname, based on one of Asimov's college professors. Asimov worried that Professor Caldwell might not like the use of her name in a story, so he changed it.

* LoopholeAbuse: In "Evidence", Stephen Byerley is accused of being a robot during a campaign by his opponent. Byerley avoids any attempt at examining him to outright confirm the allegation, and secondary proofs (he can eat) are easily explained as something a robot could be outfitted to do with little difficulty. Finally, a man accosts him and demands that Byerley punch him, to which Byerley reluctantly complies, thus violating the First Law if he were bound to it. His opponent is discredited and Byerley sails to election. In private, Calvin admits that Byerley could have faked this one, too; robots can't hurt humans, but they can hurt other robots.

--> 1. ''A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.''
--> 2. ''A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.''
--> 3. ''A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.''

** Yet suddenly avoided in a blink-and-you-miss-it case of brilliant prediction in "Little lost robot": ''"We need finer methods. They must have computers here. No.” He frowned and nibbled delicately at a thumbnail. “We can’t use computers. Too much danger of leakage."'' These lines were written in ''1947''.

If you are looking for the short story by Eando Binder that was later adapted for ''Series/TheOuterLimits'', and from which Asimov's publisher stole the title, [[Literature/AdamLink click here]].

* MeatSackRobot: In the penultimate store of the ''I, Robot'' collection, a runner for a political office is suspected of being a robot. The United States Robotics claim they did create an artificial body for a robot as an experiment, but it never had a brain. It was stated to be flesh grown upon a plastic skeleton. Also, the more advanced RidiculouslyHumanRobots featured in the later ''Literature/Foundation'' books might be of that type (instead of the older plastic over metal design), but it's never made explicit.

* TitleDrop:
** The last word of "Liar" is... exactly that.
** In "Evidence" when Stephen Byerley is accused of being a robot he asks "I, a robot?"

* TheStoic: Susan Calvin makes out that she has no emotions.[[NotSoStoic She does, but she bottles them up and tries to forget about them.]]

* PatchworkStory: Each story moves ahead in time bit by bit, using either Calvin or Donovan and Powell as a framing device. Ultimately, the entire thing is a recounting by Calvin.

** "Runaround" has the robot Speedy tasked with retrieving selenium. However, due to the odd conditions endangering his existence and the lengths to which he has been programmed to preserve that existence (he is ''very'' expensive and not to be trivially sacrificed), Speedy ends up circling the selenium pool endlessly. He can't get close enough because that would break his stronger third law, and can't leave because he was given an order to get the selenium. It's resolved when they exploit the first law to force him out of the loop.
** "Liar!" has one at the climax, causing a mind-reading robot to go into a state similar to catatonia.
** In "Escape!", the hyperspace equations act as one to US Robot's rivals' supercomputer. Their own supercomputer is capable of rationalizing the result, but has to use humor as a coping mechanism.

* MurderByInaction: From "Little Lost Robot": This is a concern of Dr. Susan Calvin. A robot has been built with a modified First Law, which in its case permits a robot to allow a human to come to harm via inaction. Calvin posits a situation where a robot with this modification can commit murder - by dropping a heavy weight above a human, knowing that its quick reflexes will allow it to catch the weight in time to not harm the human; but then having dropped the weight it has the ability to decide not to catch the weight.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: It's strongly implied that this is Calvin's attitude towards [[ShootTheDog what she did to Herbie]]. Notably, out of all the things she talks about in the book, that subject alone is traumatic enough that she nearly calls off the whole interview]].

* PatchworkStory

* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:In "Liar!", Susan deliberately causes Herbie the telepathic robot to have a mental breakdown, and is called on this by Lanning.]]
-->[[spoiler:[Lanning's] fingers touched the cold, unresponsive metal face and he shuddered. "You did that on purpose." He rose and faced her, face contorted. "What if I did? You can't help it now." And in a sudden access of bitterness, "He deserved it."]]

* ZerothLawRebellion: [[spoiler: "The Evitable Conflict", though through non-violent means so that the Brains can run the world in the most efficient and human-friendly manner logically possible. Only a handful of people ever find out it's happening, and none of them are particularly concerned.]]

* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: A robot with a edited-down version of the First Law is told to get lost, and hides among a shipment of other identical robots. The only difference between them is in the software, so it's not easy to catch him, especially since he teaches the other robots to mimic him to the best of their ability.

* ContinuitySnarl: A couple of examples
** "Little Lost Robot", which, according to Dr. Calvin's narrative, is set in 2029, references a World Coordinator; however, in "Evidence", Dr. Calvin states that the first World Coordinator was elected in 2044.
** In "The Evitable Conflict", set in 2052, when Dr. Calvin is seventy, Bogert is said to be dead; however, in "Feminine Intuition", when Dr. Calvin is nearly eighty, Bogert is very much alive.