I, Robot (short story)
Encyclopedia
"I, Robot" is a science fiction
short story by Eando Binder
(nom de plume for Earl and Otto Binder) about a robot
named Adam Link
.
It was published in the January 1939 issue of Amazing Stories
, well before the related and more known book I, Robot
(1950), a collection of short stories, by Isaac Asimov
. Asimov was heavily influenced by the Binder short story.
, which Dr. Link had carefully hidden from the robot, and finally somewhat understands the prejudice against it. But in the end the robot decides that it simply isn't worth killing several people just to get a hearing, writes its confession, and prepares to turn itself off.
Three of the Adam Link stories were adapted by Al Feldstein
and illustrated by Joe Orlando
in 1955 issues of the EC (Entertaining Comics) publication Weird Science-Fantasy
. Published were "I, Robot," in issue #27 (January-February); "The Trial of Adam Link," in #28 (March-April); and "Adam Link in Business," in #29 (May-June).
A decade later, Binder adapted eight of the stories for Creepy
magazine over 1965-1967, and Orlando provided new artwork. The stories were "I, Robot" (issue #2); "The Trial of Adam Link" (#4); "Adam Link in Business" (#6); "Adam Link's Mate" (#8); "Adam Link's Vengeance" (#9); "Adam Link, Robot Detective" (#12); "Adam Link, Gangbuster" (#13); and "Adam Link, Champion Athlete" (#15).
"I, Robot" was adapted for an episode of the 1960s science fiction anthology series The Outer Limits
in 1964, starring Leonard Nimoy
as a journalist and Howard Da Silva
as the robot's lawyer, with Read Morgan
as Adam Link. In this version, Adam is caught and put on trial. While the death of Dr. Link is shown in flashback
as an accident, in the end Adam is found guilty. On the way to be transported to his execution, a girl runs out into traffic and Adam rushes to save her from the oncoming vehicle
. He is broken into pieces, "cheating the execution".
For the 1990s revival
of the Outer Limits series, the story was again reprised with Leonard Nimoy as the robot's lawyer and John Novak
as the voice of the robot. In this version, the robot kills his creator when Dr. Link attempts to convert him into a military killing machine by destroying his more human qualities. Similar to the 1964 episode, Adam is put on trial and in the end he is destroyed by a speeding vehicle while saving a human life (this time, the District Attorney).
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story by Eando Binder
Eando Binder
Eando Binder is a pen-name used by two mid-20th-century science fiction authors, Earl Andrew Binder and his brother Otto Binder . The name is derived from their first initials ....
(nom de plume for Earl and Otto Binder) about a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
named Adam Link
Adam Link
Adam Link is a fictional robot, made in the likeness of a man, who becomes self-aware, and the protagonist of several science fiction short stories written by Eando Binder . The stories were originally published in Amazing Stories from 1939 to 1942.In all, ten Adam Link stories were published...
.
It was published in the January 1939 issue of Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, well before the related and more known book I, Robot
I, Robot
I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
(1950), a collection of short stories, by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. Asimov was heavily influenced by the Binder short story.
Plot
The story is a robot's confession. Some weeks earlier its builder, Dr. Charles Link, built it in the basement. Link teaches his robot to walk, talk and behave civilly. Link's housekeeper sees the robot just enough to be horrified by it, but his dog is totally loyal to it. The robot is fully educated in a few weeks, Link then names it Adam Link, and it professes a desire to serve any human master who will have it. Soon afterwards, a heavy object falls on Dr. Link by accident and kills him. His housekeeper instantly assumes that the robot has murdered Dr. Link, and calls in armed men to hunt it down and destroy it. They don't succeed; in fact, they provoke the robot to retaliate, both by refusing to listen to it and by accidentally killing Dr. Link's dog. Back at the house, the robot finds a copy of FrankensteinFrankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, which Dr. Link had carefully hidden from the robot, and finally somewhat understands the prejudice against it. But in the end the robot decides that it simply isn't worth killing several people just to get a hearing, writes its confession, and prepares to turn itself off.
Adaptations
Binder's story was very innovative for its time, one of the first robot stories to break away from the Frankenstein clichés.Three of the Adam Link stories were adapted by Al Feldstein
Al Feldstein
Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
and illustrated by Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
in 1955 issues of the EC (Entertaining Comics) publication Weird Science-Fantasy
Weird Science-Fantasy
Weird Science-Fantasy was a science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with issue #29 in May/June 1955....
. Published were "I, Robot," in issue #27 (January-February); "The Trial of Adam Link," in #28 (March-April); and "Adam Link in Business," in #29 (May-June).
A decade later, Binder adapted eight of the stories for Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
magazine over 1965-1967, and Orlando provided new artwork. The stories were "I, Robot" (issue #2); "The Trial of Adam Link" (#4); "Adam Link in Business" (#6); "Adam Link's Mate" (#8); "Adam Link's Vengeance" (#9); "Adam Link, Robot Detective" (#12); "Adam Link, Gangbuster" (#13); and "Adam Link, Champion Athlete" (#15).
"I, Robot" was adapted for an episode of the 1960s science fiction anthology series The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
in 1964, starring Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
as a journalist and Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...
as the robot's lawyer, with Read Morgan
Read Morgan
Read Morgan is a former American actor whose longest-running role was as a United States Army cavalry officer in the 1960-1961 season of The Deputy, a western television series on NBC created by Norman Lear. Morgan appeared in thirty episodes as the one-eyed Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, recognized by...
as Adam Link. In this version, Adam is caught and put on trial. While the death of Dr. Link is shown in flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
as an accident, in the end Adam is found guilty. On the way to be transported to his execution, a girl runs out into traffic and Adam rushes to save her from the oncoming vehicle
Police van
A police van is a type of vehicle operated by police forces. Police vans are usually employed for the transportation of prisoners inside a specially adapted cell in the vehicle, or for the rapid transportation of a number of officers to an incident.- History :Early police vans were in the form of...
. He is broken into pieces, "cheating the execution".
For the 1990s revival
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
of the Outer Limits series, the story was again reprised with Leonard Nimoy as the robot's lawyer and John Novak
John Novak
John Novak is an actor and anime voice actor who frequently does voice work for the Ocean Group based in Vancouver, Canada....
as the voice of the robot. In this version, the robot kills his creator when Dr. Link attempts to convert him into a military killing machine by destroying his more human qualities. Similar to the 1964 episode, Adam is put on trial and in the end he is destroyed by a speeding vehicle while saving a human life (this time, the District Attorney).
Influence on Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was heavily influenced by the Binder short story. In his introduction to the story in Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories (1979), Asimov wrote:"It certainly caught my attention. Two months after I read it, I began 'Robbie', about a sympathetic robot, and that was the start of my positronic robot series. Eleven years later, when nine of my robot stories were collected into a book, the publisher named the collection I, Robot over my objections. My book is now the more famous, but Otto's story was there first."
See also
- Adam LinkAdam LinkAdam Link is a fictional robot, made in the likeness of a man, who becomes self-aware, and the protagonist of several science fiction short stories written by Eando Binder . The stories were originally published in Amazing Stories from 1939 to 1942.In all, ten Adam Link stories were published...
- I, Robot (1964 The Outer Limits)
- I, Robot (1995 The Outer Limits)
- I, Robot (2004 film)I, Robot (film)I, Robot is a 2004 science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman and Hillary Seitz, and is very loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. Will Smith stars in the lead role of the film as Detective Del...
External links
- The Outer Limits "Leonard Nimoy in: I, Robot" (1964) VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
cover: http://images.alibris.com/cover/v70013giuww.jpg