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Certain details are changed or clarified, such as Andrew Martin being originally the robot model NDR-113, and how being the inventor of the [[FictionalFieldOfScience field of prosthetology]] brought with it [[FamedInStory incredible fame]]. Despite this, his [[PinocchioSyndrome struggle]] to be [[BecomeARealBoy recognized as human]] is still hard-fought and risks disastrous consequences in failure.
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Certain details are changed or clarified, such as Andrew Martin being originally the robot model NDR-113, and how being the inventor of the [[FictionalFieldOfScience field of prosthetology]] brought with it [[FamedInStory incredible fame]]. Despite this, his [[PinocchioSyndrome struggle]] struggle to be [[BecomeARealBoy recognized as human]] is still hard-fought and risks disastrous consequences in failure.
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* ShipOfTheseus: Andrew's company starts a FrivolousLawsuit in which they know they are in the wrong in order to get an official ruling on how much of a human can be replaced with mechanical parts before they're no longer human, in the hopes of being able to use that to have Andrew, who has himself been mostly replaced with human-compatible parts, declared human. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the line is drawn at the one part Andrew can't swap out - organic versus positronic brains.]]
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* ShipOfTheseus: Andrew's company starts Andrew has Feingold and Charney start a FrivolousLawsuit in which they know they are in the wrong in order to get an official ruling on how much of a human can be replaced with mechanical parts before they're no longer human, in the hopes of being able to use that to have Andrew, who has himself been mostly replaced with human-compatible parts, declared human. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the line is drawn at the one part Andrew can't swap out - organic versus positronic brains.]]
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* ShipOfTheseus: Andrew's company starts a FrivolousLawsuit in which they know they are in the wrong in order to get an official ruling on how much of a human can be replaced with mechanical parts before they're no longer human, in the hopes of being able to use that to have Andrew, who has himself been mostly replaced with human-compatible parts, declared human. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the line is drawn at the one part Andrew can't swap out - organic versus positronic brains.]]
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* FamedInStory: Chapter one establishes that Andrew [[InMediaRes will have become]] famous for what he is by the end of the story. By the time chapter one happens, Andrew has already been acclaimed as the Sesquicentennial Robot. He seems to regret that his fame doesn't come from ''who'' he is, just ''what'' he is.
to:
* FamedInStory: Chapter one establishes that Andrew [[InMediaRes [[InMediasRes will have become]] famous for what he is by the end of the story. By the time chapter one happens, Andrew has already been acclaimed as the Sesquicentennial Robot. He seems to regret that his fame doesn't come from ''who'' he is, just ''what'' he is.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/positronicman1993.jpg]]
%% [[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
''The Positronic Man'' is a {{Novel}} written by Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/RobertSilverberg, first published in 1992 and based on Dr Asimov's story, "Literature/TheBicentennialMan". Unlike the previous two collaborations, Silverberg doesn't add new chapters to this {{Novelization}}, instead [[AdaptationExpansion lengthening]] each individual chapter by adding in NarrativeFiligree in the form of additional character quirks and WorldBuilding.
Certain details are changed or clarified, such as Andrew Martin being originally the robot model NDR-113, and how being the inventor of the [[FictionalFieldOfScience field of prosthetology]] brought with it [[FamedInStory incredible fame]]. Despite this, his [[PinocchioSyndrome struggle]] to be [[BecomeARealBoy recognized as human]] is still hard-fought and risks disastrous consequences in failure.
----
!!''The Positronic Man'' provides examples of:
* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The [[Literature/TheBicentennialMan original story]] ends with Andrew's dying words, but this {{Novelization}} ends when the World President appears to shake hands with Andrew in recognition of Andrew [[BecomeARealBoy as a human]].
* AdaptationExpansion: The original {{Novelette}}, "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", was expanded into a full-length {{novel}}, which was later adapted into the film ''Film/BicentennialMan''.
* AdaptationNameChange: While [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] from "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", some of the names change, although they're supposed to represent the same characters. George Martin is called George Charney here, keeping his father's last name instead of his mother's. This has a direct effect on the Feingold law firm, which becomes Feingold and Charney instead of Feingold and Martin. When meeting representatives of US Robots for the first time, robopsychologist Merton Mansky is replaced by robopsychologist Merwin Mansky.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: When upgrading himself into an [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots android body]], Andrew deliberately {{Invoke|dTrope}}s this, wishing for a blend of skin tones because he is not a member of any ethnicity.
-->For his skin color Andrew had selected something neutral in tone, a kind of blend of the prevailing skin colors of the various human types, darker than the pale pink of the Charneys but not quite as dark as some. That way no one would be able to tell at a glance which race he belonged to, since in fact he belonged to none.
* AmicableExes: In this adaptation of "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", it is established that when Ma'am leaves to go to an art colony, she is also leaving the marriage. However, she remains in contact with the rest of the family, especially Sir.
* BilledAboveTheTitle: The authors have their name emblazoned over the title (and usually at the top of the cover). Sometimes the cover only shows their last names, which are more recognizable.
* CanonForeigner: When [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] the [[Literature/TheBicentennialMan original story]] into a {{Novel}}, Silverberg introduced several new characters.
** Instead of meeting the robopsychologist Merton Mansky at the regional offices of US Robots, managing director Elliot Smythe and robopsychologist [[AdaptationNameChange Merwin]] Mansky came to the Martin house.
** The researchers from Luna City that welcome Andrew to the [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonies on the moon]].
** Roger Hennessey is the victim of Feingold and Chaney's first legal action to "[[FailureGambit prove]]" that robot parts [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul mean you aren't human]].
* ColonizedSolarSystem: Colonies from Ganymede and the rings of {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} are mentioned, WorldBuilding the [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture distant future]] of humanity by [[AdaptationExpansion further developing]] the details of colonization in the solar system.
* DeathbedConfession: When Sir is dying, he has his grandson fetch Andrew so that he has a chance to apologize for getting upset over Andrew's request for freedom.
* {{Dedication}}: This novel is dedicated to their wives; Creator/JanetAsimov and Karen Silverberg.
* DoesntKnowTheirOwnBirthday: In chapter three, Andrew witnesses a birthday party. He starts to wonder when his birthday would be and what he would use to determine it. Nevertheless, the hundred-and-fiftieth and two-hundredth anniversaries of his construction are publicly celebrated.
* FaceFramedInShadow: The 1993 {{Creator/Doubleday}} cover has a small [[FaceOnTheCover portrait representing Andrew Martin]], with a [[TwoFaced half-human, half-robot]] face. The robot side of his face is much darker than the human half, the better to emphasize his glowing red eye.
* FaceOnTheCover: Most of the covers have some sort of humanoid figure, implied to be Andrew Martin. The 1993 cover gives him a [[TwoFaced half-human, half-robot]] face, with [[FaceFramedInShadow the robot half in darkness]] to emphasize his robotic red eye. Other covers show him as all-human or all-robot, or as a "something else", obscuring the features entirely and leaving only a silhouette.
* FamedInStory: Chapter one establishes that Andrew [[InMediaRes will have become]] famous for what he is by the end of the story. By the time chapter one happens, Andrew has already been acclaimed as the Sesquicentennial Robot. He seems to regret that his fame doesn't come from ''who'' he is, just ''what'' he is.
-->He was more than a little famous. He had never asked for his fame, of course-that was not his style-but fame, or at any rate notoriety, had come to him all the same. Because of what he had achieved: because of what he was. Not who, but what.
* FatAndSkinny: When Sir invites US Robots executive Elliott Smythe and Chief Robopsychologist Merwin Mansky, it is apparent that Smythe is tall and skinny, while Mansky is short and fat.
-->They were a curiously mismatched pair, for Elliott Smythe was a slender, towering, athletic-looking man with long limbs and a great mane of dense white hair, who seemed as though he would be more at home on a tennis court or in a polo match than in a corporate office, while Merwin Mansky was short and stocky and had no hair at all, and gave the appearance of someone who would leave his desk only under great duress.
* FunetikAksent: In chapter two, Little Miss mispronounces "algae" as "algy".
* InSeriesNickname: [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Little Miss]], whose name is actually Amanda, is typically called Mandy by her father.
* JobStealingRobot: One of the groups objecting to Andrew's attempt to gain his freedom is the Regional Labor Federation, who always oppose robot distribution and suddenly find themselves arguing the same side as United States Robots and Mechanical Men. They don't want robots to be recognized as people who deserve freedom because they fear that it will cause a loss of work for human beings.
-->"How ironic! To have built a tool so good that it takes command of its builders! To be supplanted by our own machinery-to be made obsolete by it, to be relegated to the scrapheap of evolution-"
* LiteralMinded: During his first decade of service, Andrew runs into trouble with idiomatic language, such as "You've got a look on your face" because, as a robot, his face cannot change expression. After stumbling several times with linguistic drift, he decides that he needs to go to the library and learn about language so that he isn't confused by idioms anymore (at least, no more than another human would be when encountering an unfamiliar one).
-->Even after all this time, it was still difficult sometimes for Andrew to keep pace with humans when they struck out along linguistic pathways that were something other than the most direct ones.
* MythologyGag: In order to tie this story more explicitly to other stories in TheVerse of Dr Asimov's Literature/RobotSeries, Alfred Lanning, Peter Bogert, and Susan Calvin are mentioned by name in chapter two. The RobotNames and nicknames from the stories collected in ''Literature/IRobot'' are also mentioned, such as RG and QT being nicknamed Archie and Cutie. The company itself is declared to have been founded in 1982, confirming the introduction of ''I, Robot''.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: While [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] from "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", more information about some of the character's names is added. Andrew's original serial number is NDR-113. Ma'am and Miss's first names are Lucie and Melissa. The judge and opposing attorney from Andrew's battle for freedom are given the names Harold Kramer and James Van Buren.
* NextSundayAD: The book was published in 1993, and cites a BanOnAI taking place by 2007. This, [[AvertedTrope however]], is merely background information, as the events in the book takes place [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture in the twenty-second century]] (through to the [[GenerationalSaga twenty-fourth century]]), after the ban has been revoked.
* {{Novelization}}: This {{novel}} is an AdaptationExpansion of a {{novelette}}, "Literature/TheBicentennialMan". However, after the release of ''Film/BicentennialMan'', a new copy of this novel was published with the film poster as the cover.
* ShoutOut:
** In chapter three, ''Literature/TheRubaiyatOfOmarKhayyam'' is one of the gifts Miss gets for her birthday.
** In chapter thirteen, Andrew incorporates a reference to two authors who wrote about robots in the prologue of his FictionalDocument, Creator/ETAHoffmann and Creator/KarelCapek.
** In chapter sixteen, the Director of Research for US Robots summarizes ''[[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Alice in Wonderland]]'' for Andrew, calling it an absurd adventure.
* {{Tagline}}: "The poignant story of a robot's journey toward humanity" -- Creator/BantamBooks 1995 paperback cover.
* ThreeLawsCompliant: When complaining about his mother's obstinance, George Charney says that the First Law of the Martin household is to obey her whim (the Second and Third Laws are restatements of the same).
* TwoFaced: The 1993 {{Creator/Doubleday}} cover has a small [[FaceOnTheCover portrait representing Andrew Martin]], with a half-human, half-robot face. The robot side of his face is much [[FaceFramedInShadow darker than the human half]], the better to emphasize his glowing red eye.
* UncertifiedExpert: When Andrew Martin arrives on Luna City, one of the [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonies on the moon]], he is shocked by [[FictionalFieldOfScience prosthetologists]] calling him "Dr Martin", as (despite being the inventor of the field and [[ProfessorGuineaPig foremost researcher and experimental subject]]) he only has an honorary degree (hundreds of them, [[PhonyDegree but still]]). He requests that they simply call him "Andrew", as he is a [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots robot]], and despite their promises they occasionally lapse into calling him Dr Martin.
* {{Vibroweapon}}: One household item in the Martin family is an electric vibro-blade, useful for carving wood.
----
%% [[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
''The Positronic Man'' is a {{Novel}} written by Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/RobertSilverberg, first published in 1992 and based on Dr Asimov's story, "Literature/TheBicentennialMan". Unlike the previous two collaborations, Silverberg doesn't add new chapters to this {{Novelization}}, instead [[AdaptationExpansion lengthening]] each individual chapter by adding in NarrativeFiligree in the form of additional character quirks and WorldBuilding.
Certain details are changed or clarified, such as Andrew Martin being originally the robot model NDR-113, and how being the inventor of the [[FictionalFieldOfScience field of prosthetology]] brought with it [[FamedInStory incredible fame]]. Despite this, his [[PinocchioSyndrome struggle]] to be [[BecomeARealBoy recognized as human]] is still hard-fought and risks disastrous consequences in failure.
----
!!''The Positronic Man'' provides examples of:
* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The [[Literature/TheBicentennialMan original story]] ends with Andrew's dying words, but this {{Novelization}} ends when the World President appears to shake hands with Andrew in recognition of Andrew [[BecomeARealBoy as a human]].
* AdaptationExpansion: The original {{Novelette}}, "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", was expanded into a full-length {{novel}}, which was later adapted into the film ''Film/BicentennialMan''.
* AdaptationNameChange: While [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] from "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", some of the names change, although they're supposed to represent the same characters. George Martin is called George Charney here, keeping his father's last name instead of his mother's. This has a direct effect on the Feingold law firm, which becomes Feingold and Charney instead of Feingold and Martin. When meeting representatives of US Robots for the first time, robopsychologist Merton Mansky is replaced by robopsychologist Merwin Mansky.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: When upgrading himself into an [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots android body]], Andrew deliberately {{Invoke|dTrope}}s this, wishing for a blend of skin tones because he is not a member of any ethnicity.
-->For his skin color Andrew had selected something neutral in tone, a kind of blend of the prevailing skin colors of the various human types, darker than the pale pink of the Charneys but not quite as dark as some. That way no one would be able to tell at a glance which race he belonged to, since in fact he belonged to none.
* AmicableExes: In this adaptation of "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", it is established that when Ma'am leaves to go to an art colony, she is also leaving the marriage. However, she remains in contact with the rest of the family, especially Sir.
* BilledAboveTheTitle: The authors have their name emblazoned over the title (and usually at the top of the cover). Sometimes the cover only shows their last names, which are more recognizable.
* CanonForeigner: When [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] the [[Literature/TheBicentennialMan original story]] into a {{Novel}}, Silverberg introduced several new characters.
** Instead of meeting the robopsychologist Merton Mansky at the regional offices of US Robots, managing director Elliot Smythe and robopsychologist [[AdaptationNameChange Merwin]] Mansky came to the Martin house.
** The researchers from Luna City that welcome Andrew to the [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonies on the moon]].
** Roger Hennessey is the victim of Feingold and Chaney's first legal action to "[[FailureGambit prove]]" that robot parts [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul mean you aren't human]].
* ColonizedSolarSystem: Colonies from Ganymede and the rings of {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} are mentioned, WorldBuilding the [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture distant future]] of humanity by [[AdaptationExpansion further developing]] the details of colonization in the solar system.
* DeathbedConfession: When Sir is dying, he has his grandson fetch Andrew so that he has a chance to apologize for getting upset over Andrew's request for freedom.
* {{Dedication}}: This novel is dedicated to their wives; Creator/JanetAsimov and Karen Silverberg.
* DoesntKnowTheirOwnBirthday: In chapter three, Andrew witnesses a birthday party. He starts to wonder when his birthday would be and what he would use to determine it. Nevertheless, the hundred-and-fiftieth and two-hundredth anniversaries of his construction are publicly celebrated.
* FaceFramedInShadow: The 1993 {{Creator/Doubleday}} cover has a small [[FaceOnTheCover portrait representing Andrew Martin]], with a [[TwoFaced half-human, half-robot]] face. The robot side of his face is much darker than the human half, the better to emphasize his glowing red eye.
* FaceOnTheCover: Most of the covers have some sort of humanoid figure, implied to be Andrew Martin. The 1993 cover gives him a [[TwoFaced half-human, half-robot]] face, with [[FaceFramedInShadow the robot half in darkness]] to emphasize his robotic red eye. Other covers show him as all-human or all-robot, or as a "something else", obscuring the features entirely and leaving only a silhouette.
* FamedInStory: Chapter one establishes that Andrew [[InMediaRes will have become]] famous for what he is by the end of the story. By the time chapter one happens, Andrew has already been acclaimed as the Sesquicentennial Robot. He seems to regret that his fame doesn't come from ''who'' he is, just ''what'' he is.
-->He was more than a little famous. He had never asked for his fame, of course-that was not his style-but fame, or at any rate notoriety, had come to him all the same. Because of what he had achieved: because of what he was. Not who, but what.
* FatAndSkinny: When Sir invites US Robots executive Elliott Smythe and Chief Robopsychologist Merwin Mansky, it is apparent that Smythe is tall and skinny, while Mansky is short and fat.
-->They were a curiously mismatched pair, for Elliott Smythe was a slender, towering, athletic-looking man with long limbs and a great mane of dense white hair, who seemed as though he would be more at home on a tennis court or in a polo match than in a corporate office, while Merwin Mansky was short and stocky and had no hair at all, and gave the appearance of someone who would leave his desk only under great duress.
* FunetikAksent: In chapter two, Little Miss mispronounces "algae" as "algy".
* InSeriesNickname: [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Little Miss]], whose name is actually Amanda, is typically called Mandy by her father.
* JobStealingRobot: One of the groups objecting to Andrew's attempt to gain his freedom is the Regional Labor Federation, who always oppose robot distribution and suddenly find themselves arguing the same side as United States Robots and Mechanical Men. They don't want robots to be recognized as people who deserve freedom because they fear that it will cause a loss of work for human beings.
-->"How ironic! To have built a tool so good that it takes command of its builders! To be supplanted by our own machinery-to be made obsolete by it, to be relegated to the scrapheap of evolution-"
* LiteralMinded: During his first decade of service, Andrew runs into trouble with idiomatic language, such as "You've got a look on your face" because, as a robot, his face cannot change expression. After stumbling several times with linguistic drift, he decides that he needs to go to the library and learn about language so that he isn't confused by idioms anymore (at least, no more than another human would be when encountering an unfamiliar one).
-->Even after all this time, it was still difficult sometimes for Andrew to keep pace with humans when they struck out along linguistic pathways that were something other than the most direct ones.
* MythologyGag: In order to tie this story more explicitly to other stories in TheVerse of Dr Asimov's Literature/RobotSeries, Alfred Lanning, Peter Bogert, and Susan Calvin are mentioned by name in chapter two. The RobotNames and nicknames from the stories collected in ''Literature/IRobot'' are also mentioned, such as RG and QT being nicknamed Archie and Cutie. The company itself is declared to have been founded in 1982, confirming the introduction of ''I, Robot''.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: While [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] from "Literature/TheBicentennialMan", more information about some of the character's names is added. Andrew's original serial number is NDR-113. Ma'am and Miss's first names are Lucie and Melissa. The judge and opposing attorney from Andrew's battle for freedom are given the names Harold Kramer and James Van Buren.
* NextSundayAD: The book was published in 1993, and cites a BanOnAI taking place by 2007. This, [[AvertedTrope however]], is merely background information, as the events in the book takes place [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture in the twenty-second century]] (through to the [[GenerationalSaga twenty-fourth century]]), after the ban has been revoked.
* {{Novelization}}: This {{novel}} is an AdaptationExpansion of a {{novelette}}, "Literature/TheBicentennialMan". However, after the release of ''Film/BicentennialMan'', a new copy of this novel was published with the film poster as the cover.
* ShoutOut:
** In chapter three, ''Literature/TheRubaiyatOfOmarKhayyam'' is one of the gifts Miss gets for her birthday.
** In chapter thirteen, Andrew incorporates a reference to two authors who wrote about robots in the prologue of his FictionalDocument, Creator/ETAHoffmann and Creator/KarelCapek.
** In chapter sixteen, the Director of Research for US Robots summarizes ''[[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Alice in Wonderland]]'' for Andrew, calling it an absurd adventure.
* {{Tagline}}: "The poignant story of a robot's journey toward humanity" -- Creator/BantamBooks 1995 paperback cover.
* ThreeLawsCompliant: When complaining about his mother's obstinance, George Charney says that the First Law of the Martin household is to obey her whim (the Second and Third Laws are restatements of the same).
* TwoFaced: The 1993 {{Creator/Doubleday}} cover has a small [[FaceOnTheCover portrait representing Andrew Martin]], with a half-human, half-robot face. The robot side of his face is much [[FaceFramedInShadow darker than the human half]], the better to emphasize his glowing red eye.
* UncertifiedExpert: When Andrew Martin arrives on Luna City, one of the [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonies on the moon]], he is shocked by [[FictionalFieldOfScience prosthetologists]] calling him "Dr Martin", as (despite being the inventor of the field and [[ProfessorGuineaPig foremost researcher and experimental subject]]) he only has an honorary degree (hundreds of them, [[PhonyDegree but still]]). He requests that they simply call him "Andrew", as he is a [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots robot]], and despite their promises they occasionally lapse into calling him Dr Martin.
* {{Vibroweapon}}: One household item in the Martin family is an electric vibro-blade, useful for carving wood.
----
