History Literature / TheBicentennialMan

First published in ''{{Literature/Stellar}} #2'' (1976), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, this ScienceFiction {{Novelette}} is about Andrew Martin, a RobotButler, as he pursues his dream of [[PinocchioSyndrome becoming human]].

Andrew designs the prosthetics to more closely imitate human life, but his [[PinocchioSyndrome dream of becoming human]] is blocked by his positronic brain. The World Congress refuses to [[AndroidsArePeopleToo recognize a robot as "human"]], despite being more organic-based than the average person.

* TheAgeless: Robots do not age, and can conceivably be immortal. When Andrew finds that this is the biggest obstacle to his [[PinocchioSyndrome desire to become human]], he immediately schedules a surgery to correct this and dies after being recognized as a [[FinaleTitleDrop Bicentennial Man]].

* BecomeARealBoy: Andrew Martin was originally an [[RobotNames NDR model robot]], but he [[PinocchioSyndrome wanted to become human]] for many years. The line that finally convinces the [[OneWorldOrder World Congress]] to grant him recognition as a human is when he alters his [[{{Unobtainium}} platinum-iridium positronic brain]] so that its potential will slowly drain away, killing him.

* DeathMeansHumanity: Andrew realizes that his [[TheAgeless agelessness]] is the one barrier to being [[PinocchioSyndrome recognized as human]], because humans can accept their own mortality so long as it's universal. He has a [[YourDaysAreNumbered deadly flaw]] added to his positronic brain, is finally named human by the World Court, and dies within the year.
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: Andrew learned enough about robotics and biology to make himself appear almost perfectly human. Over the course of two centuries, he started to wear clothes, design ArtificialLimbs to require food and drink, and modified himself enough that other robots [[MistakenIdentity started to treat him as human]]. This is because Andrew Martin [[PinocchioSyndrome wants to be human]], and he [[BecomeARealBoy achieves humanity]] by [[spoiler:designing a replacement brain to kill himself in [[ThreeLawsCompliant violation of the Third Law]]]].

* FinaleTitleDrop: The phrase "bicentennial man" shows up at the end of the penultimate chapter, in a heartfelt recognition of Andrew's very ''[[PinocchioSyndrome human]]'' life.

* JustAMachine: The default of any human is to assume that Andrew is just a machine. As he develops a unique personality and experiences, he finds that [[GenerationalSaga each generation of humanity]] can only be pushed so far before being unwilling to see him [[PinocchioSyndrome become more human]]. He couldn't even contemplate wearing clothes while Sir was alive and only started wearing them on a regular basis after Little Miss died. Each step of legal freedom that he seeks is thwarted, [[NoAntagonist not by anyone specifically]], but by the general resentment of humanity against the idea that AndroidsArePeopleToo.

* NoAntagonist: This story is a Person vs Society conflict, with Andrew Martin's 200 year [[PinocchioSyndrome quest to become human]] being thwarted by humanity in general being apathetic at best to his dreams, and often [[JustAMachine actively resentful]] that he'd demand [[AndroidsArePeopleToo to be treated as an equal]]. Even the incident with the youths serves more to illustrate how society doesn't respect Andrew's rights than to build conflict.

* PinocchioSyndrome: Andrew Martin gradually works towards becoming more human over two centuries. From the first generation of Martins, he buys his freedom. Then, he starts wearing clothes and studying robots. He begins designing [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetic organs]] that allow him to eat, breathe, and even appear to have human skin. He becomes so lifelike that other robots [[MistakenIdentity think he's a human]]. However, he doesn't BecomeARealBoy in the eyes of the law until he designs a new prosthetic brain that breaks down, making him deteriorate quickly and die.

* ThreeLawsCompliant: This story, after quoting the Three Laws for the audience, shows how more complex robots can take a more nuanced view. Andrew starts off unable to ask for basic rights because he fears hurting humans. He learns "tough love" and how to threaten people into behaving themselves. He starts off obeying every order, and ends by giving orders to human beings. The Third Law takes the greatest beating, as Andrew decides to undergo a surgery that will cause him to rapidly decay/die. He agrees to it because, otherwise, he'd have to give up [[PinocchioSyndrome his dream of becoming human]].

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The [[ProtagonistTitle protagonist]] is a robot, who can quite literally live forever by repairing himself whenever necessary. However, [[PinocchioSyndrome he wants to be human]]. He develops [[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic prosthetics and replacement body parts]] that bring him closer and closer to that goal, but he's told that popular opinion will never accept an immortal as an equal. Therefore, he breaks the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Third Law]] by designing a prosthetic brain that will decay quickly, ensuring that he will ''die'' like any other human, rather than live forever as a robot. After making this choice, the [[OneWorldOrder World President]] announces that he is [[BecomeARealBoy The Bicentennial Man]].

* InsistentTerminology: After Andrew starts to behave more as a human, instead of the robot he started as, he becomes determined to be called "human"; almost everyone else continue to label him a robot (e.g. "The Sesquicentennial Robot"), particularly U.S. Robotics. Andrew then enlists the aid of a legal team in an attempt to find out what it would
take to make the shift from "Robot" to "Human" in a series of test cases before the World Court.

* BecomeARealBoy: Andrew Martin was originally an [[RobotNames NDR model robot]], but he [[PinocchioSyndrome wanted to become human]] for many years. The line that finally convinces the [[OneWorldOrder World Congress]] to grant him recognition as a human is when he replaces his [[{{Unobtainium}} platinum-iridium positronic brain]] with a new brain that would quickly deteriorate and kill him.

The story starts InMediasRes, with Andrew arranging a surgery that will replace the last robotic organ in his body. Then we return to his earliest days, working in the Martin household, with "[[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Sir and Ma'am and Miss and Little Miss]]." During this time, he was a [[RobotMaid Robot Butler and lady's maid]], a household staff of one for a politician in the [[OneWorldOrder World Council]]. He spent many decades in their service, but his quirks became apparent early on, as he surprises everyone by [[CreativeSterility carving sculptures]].

* ArtificialLimbs: In order to [[BecomeARealBoy become more human]], Andrew Martin designs more and more prosthetics. He starts with a simple stomach system and builds more from there, with realistic skin, and eventually a replacement brain. He replaces all of his metal with organic imitations.

* FailureGambit: In order to create precedent for Andrew Martin being considered a [[BecomeARealBoy human being]], the law office of Feingold and Martin starts taking cases where they argue that replacing body parts with [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetics]] make people [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul lose their humanity]], but they want to lose their arguments because they're trying to open the door to precedent that Andrew Martin

* FictionalFieldOfScience: Andrew initially names his creation of ArtificialLimbs "robobiology", but as other people studied his designs, it became known as prosthetology instead. It refers to the creation of extremely life-like prosthetics, equivalent to DeceptivelyHumanRobots level replacements for humans.

* FogOfAge: The [[ProtagonistTitle main character]] used to be an NDR-model robot, but he doesn't remember which model number. This forgetfulness was deliberate, as he could have remembered, but he was built two centuries ago and he prefers his InSeriesNickname, Andrew Martin.

* RobotNames: The robot in this story is part of the NDR series, although [[FogOfAges he cannot recall what those numbers are after all these years]].

* OnceMoreWithClarity: In chapter 1, Andrew is visiting a surgeon to request an operation be done on him. [[HowWeGotHere Then the rest of the story happens]], and between chapters 20 and 21 is "1. (reprise)", where we see Andrew with the same surgeon, continuing the original scene.
* OneWorldOrder: Like many other stories in the Literature/RobotSeries, America's form of government has expanded to encompass the entire world. Sir is a member of the Regional Legislature, while there also exists a World Legislature, World Court, and World President.
* OrwellianRetcon: According to ''Literature/BicentennialManAndOtherStories'', when Creator/JudyLynnDelRey had included it in ''{{Literature/Stellar}} #2'', she had revised several things in the story. However, Dr Asimov restored it to his final draft when including it in his own collection. Future printings continued to use Asimov's version.

The story was expanded into the 1992 novel ''Literature/ThePositronicMan'', co-written with Creator/RobertSilverberg. The 1999 film ''Film/BicentennialMan'' was based on the novel and short story.

The story starts InMediaRes, with Andrew arranging a surgery that will replace the last robotic organ in his body. Then we return to his earliest days, working in the Martin household, with "[[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Sir and Ma'am and Miss and Little Miss]]." During this time, he was a [[RobotMaid Robot Butler and lady's maid]], a household staff of one for a politician in the [[OneWorldOrder World Council]]. He spent many decades in their service, but his quirks became apparent early on, as he surprises everyone by [[CreativeSterility carving sculptures]].