Victory Unintentional
Encyclopedia
Victory Unintentional is a humorous science fiction
short story
by Isaac Asimov
, originally published in the August 1942 issue of Super Science Stories
and included in the collections The Rest of the Robots
(1964) and The Complete Robot
(1982). It is a sequel to a non-robot story, "Not Final
", published the previous year, and one of the few stories by Asimov to postulate non-human intelligences in the Solar System
. It is also one of the few positronic robot stories by Asimov that does not form part of the larger Robot
/Foundation series
.
send three extremely hardy and durable robots, ZZ One, ZZ Two, and ZZ Three, to explore the physically demanding surface of Jupiter
and contact the Jovians.
After initial hostile encounters with both Jupiter's wildlife and the suspicious Jovians, the robots establish a line of communication and are taken on a tour of the Jovian civilization. They quickly discover that the Jovians have a vastly larger population than the humans, since Jupiter has a much greater surface area than Earth
. The robots also realise that the Jovians are considerably more advanced scientifically, and that they have developed force field
technology far beyond that of humanity. Moreover, the Jovians are aware of this superiority, and arrogantly threaten to use their force field technology to leave Jupiter, in order to destroy humanity.
However, as the tour proceeds, the robots repeatedly surprise the Jovians with their imperviousness to extremes of heat, cold and radiation. Because they use gamma radiation for close range vision, they even pose a danger to local microbe
s and the Jovians themselves. At the conclusion of the tour the Jovians return the robots to their spacecraft, only to be astonished that it does not need to provide them with any protection against outer space
. After a flurry of diplomatic activity, the Jovians return to the robots and, unexpectedly, swear eternal peace with humanity.
Returning from the surface of Jupiter, the three robots reflect on this change of heart by the Jovians. ZZ One argues, from the perspective of the First Law
, that the Jovians realised that they couldn't harm humans. The other robots intuit the real reason. When the Jovians' superiority complex
was confronted by the strength and resistance of the robots to all manner of hazards, it crumbled and led to their acquiescence. ZZ Three thoughtfully concludes that the Jovians had simply mistakenly assumed that the three robots were humans.
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
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
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...
, originally published in the August 1942 issue of Super Science Stories
Super Science Stories
Super Science Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 and 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their "Fictioneers" imprint, which they used for magazines paying writers less than one cent per word...
and included in the collections The Rest of the Robots
The Rest of the Robots
The Rest of the Robots is a collection of eight short stories and two full-length novels by Isaac Asimov. The stories, centred on positronic robots, are all part of the Robot Series, most of which take place in the Foundation universe...
(1964) and The Complete Robot
The Complete Robot
The Complete Robot is a collection of 31 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov written between 1939 and 1977. Most of the stories had been previously collected in the books I, Robot and The Rest of the Robots, while four stories had previously been uncollected and the rest had been...
(1982). It is a sequel to a non-robot story, "Not Final
Not Final
Not Final! is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, originally published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and included in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov. Its sequel, "Victory Unintentional", is a robot story...
", published the previous year, and one of the few stories by Asimov to postulate non-human intelligences in the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. It is also one of the few positronic robot stories by Asimov that does not form part of the larger Robot
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of short stories and novels by Isaac Asimov featuring positronic robots.- Short stories :Most of Asimov's robot short stories are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration...
/Foundation series
The Foundation Series
The Foundation Series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. There are seven volumes in the Foundation Series proper, which in its in-universe chronological order are: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and...
.
Plot
Human colonists on GanymedeGanymede (moon)
Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
send three extremely hardy and durable robots, ZZ One, ZZ Two, and ZZ Three, to explore the physically demanding surface of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
and contact the Jovians.
After initial hostile encounters with both Jupiter's wildlife and the suspicious Jovians, the robots establish a line of communication and are taken on a tour of the Jovian civilization. They quickly discover that the Jovians have a vastly larger population than the humans, since Jupiter has a much greater surface area than Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The robots also realise that the Jovians are considerably more advanced scientifically, and that they have developed force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
technology far beyond that of humanity. Moreover, the Jovians are aware of this superiority, and arrogantly threaten to use their force field technology to leave Jupiter, in order to destroy humanity.
However, as the tour proceeds, the robots repeatedly surprise the Jovians with their imperviousness to extremes of heat, cold and radiation. Because they use gamma radiation for close range vision, they even pose a danger to local microbe
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
s and the Jovians themselves. At the conclusion of the tour the Jovians return the robots to their spacecraft, only to be astonished that it does not need to provide them with any protection against outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
. After a flurry of diplomatic activity, the Jovians return to the robots and, unexpectedly, swear eternal peace with humanity.
Returning from the surface of Jupiter, the three robots reflect on this change of heart by the Jovians. ZZ One argues, from the perspective of the First Law
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
, that the Jovians realised that they couldn't harm humans. The other robots intuit the real reason. When the Jovians' superiority complex
Superiority complex
Superiority complex refers to an exaggerated feeling of being superior to others. The term was coined by Alfred Adler , as part of his School of Individual psychology...
was confronted by the strength and resistance of the robots to all manner of hazards, it crumbled and led to their acquiescence. ZZ Three thoughtfully concludes that the Jovians had simply mistakenly assumed that the three robots were humans.