1950: I, Robot (Asimov, Isaac)

Superficial threading of mixed bag of robo-stories (3/5)

It's no secret I don't like Foundation (1951). Some could interpret this as a distaste for Asimov himself or for 1940s-1950s science fiction... but they would be wrong. I like Asimov's short stories in collections such as Nightfall and Other Stories (1969) but I think it prose is usually flat. Asimov's popularity rests on his inventiveness rather than his use of the English language, something which tends to drag down even the best of his stories. Lyrically flat but infused with creativity, Asimov is a must read (even I admit that) but it's not the most enjoyable reading in science fiction. However, the most irksome quality springs up in Asimov's dialog. Foundation had some terrible ejaculations with "Oh, space!" and  "Great galloping galaxies!" dotting the conversations; I, Robot isn't as annoying but it still shows Asimov's juvenile use of English: "Sizzling Saturn!", "Jumping Jupiter", and "Great Galaxy!" being among the cheesiest.

Required reading some may say... I would agree. I, Robot is collection of stories that first places robots at the moralistic center of society (even though the robots are later displaced from Earth, their interaction with humanity persists). The three laws are inseparable from the positronic brains of the robots, a dogmatic template which is a danger to the robots as much as it is a savior for humans. A dilemma between the laws can destroy the robot, which the company sees as an occasional necessity. Some of the robots exhibit personality and passion, dedication and cleverness, but the staff of the U.S. Robots company never see themselves in a dilemma--spare the robot death or drive it mad. Are the dogmatic morality and secret reasoning of the robots more favorable than the overt indifference and freedom inhibiting of the humans?

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Robbie (shortstory, 1940) - 4/5 - When a little girl's heart is broken, stemming from the loss of her nursemaid robot Robbie, a dog is simply not a replacement for the non-vocal are Robbie once showered upon the growing girl. 19 pages ----- A cute, fairly juvenile start to the collection, one which doesn't rely on any of the three laws, but highlights the intrinsic humanity the robot Robbie is endowed with.

Runaround (novelette, 1942) - 5/5 - Gregory and Mike need selenium for their Mercury-based laboratory's cooling system, but their only errand running robot, Speedy (S.P.D. 13), seems to be running circles so they must go to rescue him before time and life elapse. 19 pages ----- Ping-ponging between the second and third laws, Speedy is caught in a conundrum which reveals a hazard for their isolation.

Reason (shortstory, 1941) - 5/5 - The field engineers are supervising a new, more intelligent robot (QT-1) which will one day single-handedly run the solar energy transmitter, but the robot starts to contemplate his own existence and that of his maker. 19 pages ----- Though Gregory and Mike are the experts in robotics, Cutie the robot seems to violate the second law but they must have faith in the laws.

Catch the Rabbit (shortstory, 1944) - 2/5 - The mining robot (DV-5) is in charge of six subordinate robots, but the squabbling field engineers can't figure out why the team lapses into a field march every time they're without human supervision. 20 pages ----- Dave is more complicated than Cutie and the engineers are even more stumped with seven times the number of robots violating the second law.

Liar! (shortstory, 1941) - 3/5 - The thought reading one-of-a-kind robot RB-34 is a whiz at mathematics but loves to read fiction, yet the robot is being uncooperative on the math problems but remains oddly congenial when it comes to the heart-to-heart. 18 pages ----- Breaking no laws but simply wanting to please the humans, RB-34 dangerously plays with confines of the first law.

Little Lost Robot (novelette, 1947) - 3/5 - When robot NS-10 of the Nester branch takes a "get lost" command too literally, robotists Susan Calvin and Peter Bogert must concoct elaborate tests to sniff out the rouge robot out of the sixty-three. 27 pages ----- Wishing to obey opposing commands, NS-10 confuses the duo but the couple prove to be too clever for the limitations of an amended set of laws.

Escape! (shortstory, 1945) - 3/5 - The U.S. Robots' competitor Consolidated Robots seeks assistance with the calculation for a hyper-atomic drive, something which crashed their "Super-Thinker" but are still hopeful of U.S. Robots' "Brain" and the two field engineers. 22 pages ----- The three laws are expanded from robotic bodies to the supercomputers which govern the success of each company.

Evidence (novelette, 1946) 4/5 - Francis Quinn has it in his mind that the district attorney and mayor-hopeful Stephen Byerley is a non-sleeping, non-eating, non-drinking, and non-violent robot and sets out to prove it to the entire electorate. 24 pages ----- Aiming to frame the man as a robot, Quinn proves that a polite robot is just as good as decent human.

The Evitable Conflict (novelette, 1950) - 3/5 - Discrepancies in production in the solar system and within the world's four super nations are denied by the same nations' Machines, but Susan and Stephen think the ignored errors are part of something bigger. 24 pages ----- The mega-minds' seemingly secret scheming raises questions which only thorough investigation of the laws and data can cover.

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Some of these stories are perfect with clear inventiveness, purpose, execution, and conclusion. But scattered through the collection are a few stories which are afterthoughts, additions based on a simple idea without the reflective complexity that the others are embedded with. The thread binding the stories (that umbrella story of interviewing Susan Calvin) is superficial at best, with a hearty introduction and paragraph or two between dedicated to the stories' suturing.

1973: Singularity Station (Ball, Brian N.)

The Cadillac of pulp sci-fi (5/5)
From May 12, 2011

Brian Ball hasn't penned a large number of science fiction novels and the ones you do find are obscure derelicts from the 1970s. Leave it to DAW to publish one of Ball's books (#84) and leave it to me to choose the obscure books from the shelves of the second-hand book store: it's what I seek and savor. And savor I did with Singularity Station.

Read cover synopsis: "Robotic minds made interstellar travel possible, but human minds still controlled the destination and purpose of such flight. Conflict develops only when a programmed brain cannot evaluate beyond what is visible and substantial, whereas the human mind is capable of infinite imagination - including that which is unreal.

Such was the problem at the singularity in space in which the Altair Star and a hundred other vessels had come to grief. At that spot, natural laws seem subverted - and some other universe's rules impinged.

From Buchanan, the station meant a chance to observe and maybe rescue his lost vessel. For the robotic navigators of oncoming spaceships, the meaning was different. And at Singularity Station the only inevitable was conflict."

Fairly wordy for a synopsis but it covers nearly everything that makes this 176-page novel a savory morsel to seek out: Buchanan was captain (but not navigator) of a passenger cruiser when the robotic navigators approached the singularity. Buchanan knew the dangers but the robots believed that such a thing could not exist, therefore there was no danger. Because of Buchanan's persistence, the robots ejected the captain from the ship and he witnessed the ship dive into the void.

A handful of years later, with his relationship on the rocks and his partner going back to her home planet, Buchanan applies for the sole post at the observation station near the singularity. His distrust (bordering on hate) of robots allows him to ignore their beckoning calls of oversight. He pushes the station to its limits to explore the singularity rather than to casually observe it.

Meanwhile, his ex-partner Liz accepts a free ride back to her planet by way of the companies convict transport ship, which is heading her way. With the convicts in stasis and the crew a wholesome bunch, the trip should smooth-sailing (intro ominous music). BUT, a much feared cybernetic mad-scientist and criminal is aboard and has subverted the freezing process. With his self-release and utter control of all the  class-1, class-2 and class-3 robots secure, the scientist seeks further escape from the penal cruisers towards the singularity. With Liz aboard acting as his logical conscious, can their death be avoided?

Half-way through the novel, most of the mentioned plot had already occurred. There was a lot happening and yet it was easy to follow the electrifying plot strands: Buchanan groveling in his obsession at the singularity's station and Liz's penal plight with the crazed scientist. I didn't think the novel had the steam to carry the momentum produced in the first half, but after a number of chapters it was obvious that the plot endurance was perpetual. I was wide-eyed with anticipation, my mind was a-bubbling with bountiful possible conclusions and, I swear, my pulse was racing. Kid you not.

There are exciting elements (pretty much the whole novel is gripping), there are very human elements with characters exhibiting idiosyncratic flaws and there is even humor based in the human-robot interactions. The robots are strictly logic oriented and the human commanders are typically vague and snippy, requiring the robots to ask questions repeatedly, in differing ways with a sophisticated snobbish attitude. It has everything a solid stereotypical science fiction novel ought to have: brevity, wit, humanity, action, robots, spaceships and a mad scientist.