Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
* AssassinationAttempt: The titular incident refers to when someone attempted to kill the President of America during the [[FoundingDay 300th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence]]. It is foiled due to the fact that a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate of the President]], [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots realistic enough to fool the average citizen]], had been the one out in public, and the real President appears from hiding to reassure the crowd and give an incredible speech. [[spoiler:Except that Edwards thinks it really ''was'' the President who had been killed, and the one in hiding had been the robot.]]
to:
* AssassinationAttempt: The titular incident refers to when someone attempted to kill the President of America during the [[FoundingDay 300th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence]]. It is foiled due to the fact that a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate of the President]], [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots realistic enough to fool the average citizen]], had been the one out in public, and the real President appears from hiding to reassure the crowd and give an incredible speech. [[spoiler:Except speech -- [[spoiler:except that Edwards thinks it really ''was'' the President who had been killed, and the one in hiding had been the robot.]] robot]].
* BodyDouble: The ineffectual President of the United States (now part of a Global Federation) disappears in a glitter of dust, only to reappear shortly thereafter, giving belief that what turned into dust was a body double. However, two years later, former Secret Service agent bodyguard Lawrence Edwards, who witnessed said attack, tells the President's personal secretary Francis Janek that he suspects it was actually the President that was killed, and his robotic body double the one to replace him, based on his post-attack OOCIsSeriousBusiness. [[spoiler:Unknown to him, he's completely right -- only that Janek was the one who pulled the trigger.]]
* BodyDouble: The ineffectual President of the United States (now part of a Global Federation) disappears in a glitter of dust, only to reappear shortly thereafter, giving belief that what turned into dust was a body double. However, two years later, former Secret Service agent bodyguard Lawrence Edwards, who witnessed said attack, tells the President's personal secretary Francis Janek that he suspects it was actually the President that was killed, and his robotic body double the one to replace him, based on his post-attack OOCIsSeriousBusiness. [[spoiler:Unknown to him, he's completely right -- only that Janek was the one who pulled the trigger.]]
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* FoundingDay: The story starts on 2076 July 4, the three hundred year anniversary (Tercentenary) of America's Declaration of Independence. This is celebrated despite the fact that, [[OneWorldOrder under the Federation]], America acts like a state within the Planetary Council, where it is represented by the American President. During a public celebration, the President is the target of an AssassinationAttempt.
to:
* FoundingDay: The story starts on 2076 July 4, the three hundred year three-hundred-year anniversary (Tercentenary) of America's Declaration of Independence. This is celebrated despite the fact that, [[OneWorldOrder under the Federation]], America acts like a state within the Planetary Council, where it is represented by the American President. During a public celebration, the President is the target of an AssassinationAttempt.
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* InsistentTerminology: The [[TitleDrop titular incident]] refers to an AssassinationAttempt on the life of President Winkler. The severity of the situation is downplayed by claiming the [[RobotMe President's robot duplicate]] had [[MadeOfExplodium malfunctioned explosively]]. At worst, government figures admit "A mechanical device was destroyed. Nothing more." [[spoiler:Which is part of a cover-up to hide the fact that the President ''was'' assassinated, and [[KillAndReplace his duplicate replaced him]].]]
to:
* InsistentTerminology: The [[TitleDrop titular incident]] refers to an AssassinationAttempt on the life of President Winkler. The severity of the situation is downplayed by claiming the [[RobotMe President's robot duplicate]] had [[MadeOfExplodium malfunctioned explosively]]. At worst, government figures admit "A mechanical device was destroyed. Nothing more." [[spoiler:Which [[spoiler:This is part of a cover-up to hide the fact that the President ''was'' assassinated, and [[KillAndReplace his duplicate replaced him]].]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
-->[[spoiler:"It had been hard to manoeuvre the President into the earlier job, but in this present case, [[ItIsDehumanizing it]] wouldn't even have to know."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
wrong namespace
Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
First published in ''Literature/ElleryQueensMysteryMagazine'' (August 1976 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, this ShortStory is similar to the earlier "{{Literature/Evidence}}", having a prominent political figure assumed to be a robot.
to:
First published in ''Literature/ElleryQueensMysteryMagazine'' ''Magazine/ElleryQueensMysteryMagazine'' (August 1976 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, this ShortStory is similar to the earlier "{{Literature/Evidence}}", having a prominent political figure assumed to be a robot.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
spelling error
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: The President of America has a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] who acted as a body double at formal events, where it would withstand more-than-casual scrutiny. The term "android" is mentioned, but it was still called a robot. After it foiled an AssasinationAttempt by getting destroyed instead of the President, they did not recommission a new one. [[spoiler:The robot had been part of a conspiracy to KillAndReplace the President, and has maintained the subterfuge for over a year.]]
to:
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: The President of America has a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] who acted as a body double at formal events, where it would withstand more-than-casual scrutiny. The term "android" is mentioned, but it was still called a robot. After it foiled an AssasinationAttempt AssassinationAttempt by getting destroyed instead of the President, they did not recommission a new one. [[spoiler:The robot had been part of a conspiracy to KillAndReplace the President, and has maintained the subterfuge for over a year.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Page Creation
Added DiffLines:
First published in ''Literature/ElleryQueensMysteryMagazine'' (August 1976 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, this ShortStory is similar to the earlier "{{Literature/Evidence}}", having a prominent political figure assumed to be a robot.
Lawrence Edwards, a member of the President's security team, is watching from [[JetPack high above]] during the Tercentenary celebration hosted by the President of America. He's taken by surprise when [[AssassinationAttempt the President is assassinated]] with a weapon that [[ReducedToDust turns him into a cloud of dust]]. The President then reappears, claiming that what had just been destroyed was a [[RobotMe robot duplicate]] and delivers an [[EmergencyPresidentialAddress amazing speech]].
The bulk of the story takes place over eighteen months later, Edwards is meeting with Francis Janek, personal secretary to the President. In the intervening time, he has collected witness statements and is convinced that the President has been [[KillAndReplace killed and replaced]] by his robot duplicate, in defiance of the [[ThreeLawsCompliant First Law]].
"The Tercentenary Incident" has been republished several times; ''Literature/TheBicentennialManAndOtherStories'' (1976), ''{{Magazine/Urania}}'' (issue #738, December 1977), ''Literature/MeineFreundeDieRoboter'' (1982), ''Literature/TheCompleteRobot'' (1982), ''Literature/FutureCrime: An Anthology of the Shape of Crime to Come'' (1992), ''Literature/IsaacAsimovTheCompleteStories, Volume 2'' (1992).
----
!!"The Tercentenary Incident" contains examples of:
* AssassinationAttempt: The titular incident refers to when someone attempted to kill the President of America during the [[FoundingDay 300th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence]]. It is foiled due to the fact that a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate of the President]], [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots realistic enough to fool the average citizen]], had been the one out in public, and the real President appears from hiding to reassure the crowd and give an incredible speech. [[spoiler:Except that Edwards thinks it really ''was'' the President who had been killed, and the one in hiding had been the robot.]]
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: The President of America has a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] who acted as a body double at formal events, where it would withstand more-than-casual scrutiny. The term "android" is mentioned, but it was still called a robot. After it foiled an AssasinationAttempt by getting destroyed instead of the President, they did not recommission a new one. [[spoiler:The robot had been part of a conspiracy to KillAndReplace the President, and has maintained the subterfuge for over a year.]]
* EmergencyPresidentialAddress: After the AssassinationAttempt had been foiled by a [[RobotMe robot duplicate]], President Winkler launches into a grand speech that inspired everyone present and is already named the Tercentenary speech.
-->"It was brought about by the President's quick action in stepping forward and delivering what you will have to admit was one of the great speeches of American history. It was an absolutely amazing performance; you will have to admit that."
* FoundingDay: The story starts on 2076 July 4, the three hundred year anniversary (Tercentenary) of America's Declaration of Independence. This is celebrated despite the fact that, [[OneWorldOrder under the Federation]], America acts like a state within the Planetary Council, where it is represented by the American President. During a public celebration, the President is the target of an AssassinationAttempt.
-->July 4, 2076-and for the third time the accident of the conventional system of numeration, based on powers of ten, had brought the last two digits of the year back to the fateful 76 that had seen the birth of the nation.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Edwards left the Secret Service (Presidential protection) not long after the titular incident in order to better investigate its cause. He then goes to Janek, personal secretary to the President, to present his arguments for why he believes that the President had been [[KillAndReplace replaced by a robot duplicate]] during the incident. Knowing that Edwards hasn't told anyone else, [[spoiler:Janek begins planning his second murder]].
* InsistentTerminology: The [[TitleDrop titular incident]] refers to an AssassinationAttempt on the life of President Winkler. The severity of the situation is downplayed by claiming the [[RobotMe President's robot duplicate]] had [[MadeOfExplodium malfunctioned explosively]]. At worst, government figures admit "A mechanical device was destroyed. Nothing more." [[spoiler:Which is part of a cover-up to hide the fact that the President ''was'' assassinated, and [[KillAndReplace his duplicate replaced him]].]]
* JetPack: Lawrence Edwards begins the story with a flotron motor worn on his back, using it to hover two hundred feet above the crowd during the [[FoundingDay 300th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence]].
* KillAndReplace: The protagonist suspects that the President of the United States was [[ReducedToDust disintegrated]], and replaced with his [[RobotMe robotic double]], which was [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots virtually identical in appearance]]. What everyone ''else'' thinks is that the robot had [[MadeOfExplodium exploded due to a malfunction]] and the President found [[PreferableImpersonator an amazing depth that he had never demonstrated before]]. [[spoiler:Edward's suspicion is confirmed in the last line of the story.]]
* KillerRobot: Edwards expresses concern that a robot, [[ThreeLawsCompliant bound by the Three Laws]], has found a way to circumvent the First Law by getting an accomplice to [[KillAndReplace kill the President so that he can replace them]].
* MadeOfExplodium: The official record for the titular [[InsistentTerminology incident]] is that a [[RobotMe robot duplicate of the President]] had been in the crowd, shaking hands and hugging people, and then "the robot spontaneously exploded". After that incident, the robot industry suffered from the public impression that robots could explode unexpectedly.
* OneWorldOrder: Despite revolving around the celebration of [[FoundingDay America's tercentennial]], it is no longer the USA, and is instead one political segment of a larger Planetary Council, which is the governing body of a Federation that encompasses all of humanity, including the ColonizedSolarSystem.
-->It was no longer a nation in the old sense; it was rather a geographic expression; part of a greater whole that made up the Federation of all of humanity on Earth, together with its offshoots on the Moon and in the space colonies. By culture and heritage, however, the name and the idea lived on, and that portion of the planet signified by the old name was still the most prosperous and advanced region of the world...And the President of the United States was still the most powerful single figure in the Planetary Council.
* PreferableImpersonator: Edwards suspects that the President of America [[AssassinationAttempt has been assassinated]], having seen the President [[ReducedToDust turn to dust]]. However, right after, he reappears and explains that it had been a [[RobotMe robotic body double]] which was destroyed. He then proceeded to give a [[EmergencyPresidentialAddress rousing speech]] and saved the Federation from collapse, promoting world peace ever since. Janek tries to argue that, assuming the President is a robot, [[ZerothLawRebellion the change was a net benefit to the world]].
-->"Forget what President Winkler might be. Just consider this. Someone serving as President of the United States has saved the Federation; he has held it together and, at the present moment, he runs the Council in the interests of peace and of constructive compromise."
* ReducedToDust: During the [[FoundingDay Tercentennial celebration]], the President is [[AssassinationAttempt apparently assassinated]] with an unknown weapon that takes the local heat and leaves a cloud of dust instead of a corpse. The President then reappears, claiming that what had just been destroyed was a [[RobotMe robot duplicate]] and they're fine. However, Edwards suspects that the President was killed in such an ostentatious manner because if a corpse was left behind, then people might realize that it hadn't been the robot.
* RobotMe: The American President has a robot duplicate, [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots visually and tactile identical to the original]], it would be used when the President was shaking hands with the crowd, so that any [[AssassinationAttempt attempts at assasination]] would be foiled by targeting the duplicate instead. This is significant when just that happens during [[TitleDrop the Tercentenary Incident]].
* RottenRoboticReplacement: Edwards believes that the President was replaced with a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] that was involved in a conspiracy to [[AssassinationAttempt assassinate the President]]. The trope is {{Inverted|Trope}} as Janek points out that before the [[InsistentTerminology incident]], the President had been rather lackluster, but after the incident, they've done a wonderful job, making them a PreferableImpersonator.
* ThreeLawsCompliant: Janek points out that the President's [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] couldn't have killed the President because that would be against the First Law, and no robot can defy the Three Laws. Edwards has two counter-arguments; that the robot would need an accomplice anyway, and that "[[ZerothLawRebellion The First Law is not absolute.]]"
-->"You're wasting time. A robot can't kill a human being. You know that that is the First Law of Robotics."
* TitleDrop: The title is used to downplay the AssassinationAttempt on President Winkler's life. It is called an ''[[InsistentTerminology incident]]'' to downplay the fact that someone appeared to have killed the President [[spoiler:and succeeded]].
* WhamLine: The last line of the story reveals that [[spoiler:Janek had been the mastermind behind the incident, [[HaveYouToldAnyoneElse and is planning to kill Edwards]]]].
* ZerothLawRebellion: Edwards tries to convince Janek, the President's personal secretary, that the President's [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] may have violated the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Three Laws]] by weighing the effects of murdering one man against the deaths of billions by inaction.
-->"The First Law is not absolute. What if harming a human being saves the lives of two others, or three others, or even three billion others?"
----
Lawrence Edwards, a member of the President's security team, is watching from [[JetPack high above]] during the Tercentenary celebration hosted by the President of America. He's taken by surprise when [[AssassinationAttempt the President is assassinated]] with a weapon that [[ReducedToDust turns him into a cloud of dust]]. The President then reappears, claiming that what had just been destroyed was a [[RobotMe robot duplicate]] and delivers an [[EmergencyPresidentialAddress amazing speech]].
The bulk of the story takes place over eighteen months later, Edwards is meeting with Francis Janek, personal secretary to the President. In the intervening time, he has collected witness statements and is convinced that the President has been [[KillAndReplace killed and replaced]] by his robot duplicate, in defiance of the [[ThreeLawsCompliant First Law]].
"The Tercentenary Incident" has been republished several times; ''Literature/TheBicentennialManAndOtherStories'' (1976), ''{{Magazine/Urania}}'' (issue #738, December 1977), ''Literature/MeineFreundeDieRoboter'' (1982), ''Literature/TheCompleteRobot'' (1982), ''Literature/FutureCrime: An Anthology of the Shape of Crime to Come'' (1992), ''Literature/IsaacAsimovTheCompleteStories, Volume 2'' (1992).
----
!!"The Tercentenary Incident" contains examples of:
* AssassinationAttempt: The titular incident refers to when someone attempted to kill the President of America during the [[FoundingDay 300th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence]]. It is foiled due to the fact that a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate of the President]], [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots realistic enough to fool the average citizen]], had been the one out in public, and the real President appears from hiding to reassure the crowd and give an incredible speech. [[spoiler:Except that Edwards thinks it really ''was'' the President who had been killed, and the one in hiding had been the robot.]]
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: The President of America has a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] who acted as a body double at formal events, where it would withstand more-than-casual scrutiny. The term "android" is mentioned, but it was still called a robot. After it foiled an AssasinationAttempt by getting destroyed instead of the President, they did not recommission a new one. [[spoiler:The robot had been part of a conspiracy to KillAndReplace the President, and has maintained the subterfuge for over a year.]]
* EmergencyPresidentialAddress: After the AssassinationAttempt had been foiled by a [[RobotMe robot duplicate]], President Winkler launches into a grand speech that inspired everyone present and is already named the Tercentenary speech.
-->"It was brought about by the President's quick action in stepping forward and delivering what you will have to admit was one of the great speeches of American history. It was an absolutely amazing performance; you will have to admit that."
* FoundingDay: The story starts on 2076 July 4, the three hundred year anniversary (Tercentenary) of America's Declaration of Independence. This is celebrated despite the fact that, [[OneWorldOrder under the Federation]], America acts like a state within the Planetary Council, where it is represented by the American President. During a public celebration, the President is the target of an AssassinationAttempt.
-->July 4, 2076-and for the third time the accident of the conventional system of numeration, based on powers of ten, had brought the last two digits of the year back to the fateful 76 that had seen the birth of the nation.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Edwards left the Secret Service (Presidential protection) not long after the titular incident in order to better investigate its cause. He then goes to Janek, personal secretary to the President, to present his arguments for why he believes that the President had been [[KillAndReplace replaced by a robot duplicate]] during the incident. Knowing that Edwards hasn't told anyone else, [[spoiler:Janek begins planning his second murder]].
* InsistentTerminology: The [[TitleDrop titular incident]] refers to an AssassinationAttempt on the life of President Winkler. The severity of the situation is downplayed by claiming the [[RobotMe President's robot duplicate]] had [[MadeOfExplodium malfunctioned explosively]]. At worst, government figures admit "A mechanical device was destroyed. Nothing more." [[spoiler:Which is part of a cover-up to hide the fact that the President ''was'' assassinated, and [[KillAndReplace his duplicate replaced him]].]]
* JetPack: Lawrence Edwards begins the story with a flotron motor worn on his back, using it to hover two hundred feet above the crowd during the [[FoundingDay 300th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence]].
* KillAndReplace: The protagonist suspects that the President of the United States was [[ReducedToDust disintegrated]], and replaced with his [[RobotMe robotic double]], which was [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots virtually identical in appearance]]. What everyone ''else'' thinks is that the robot had [[MadeOfExplodium exploded due to a malfunction]] and the President found [[PreferableImpersonator an amazing depth that he had never demonstrated before]]. [[spoiler:Edward's suspicion is confirmed in the last line of the story.]]
* KillerRobot: Edwards expresses concern that a robot, [[ThreeLawsCompliant bound by the Three Laws]], has found a way to circumvent the First Law by getting an accomplice to [[KillAndReplace kill the President so that he can replace them]].
* MadeOfExplodium: The official record for the titular [[InsistentTerminology incident]] is that a [[RobotMe robot duplicate of the President]] had been in the crowd, shaking hands and hugging people, and then "the robot spontaneously exploded". After that incident, the robot industry suffered from the public impression that robots could explode unexpectedly.
* OneWorldOrder: Despite revolving around the celebration of [[FoundingDay America's tercentennial]], it is no longer the USA, and is instead one political segment of a larger Planetary Council, which is the governing body of a Federation that encompasses all of humanity, including the ColonizedSolarSystem.
-->It was no longer a nation in the old sense; it was rather a geographic expression; part of a greater whole that made up the Federation of all of humanity on Earth, together with its offshoots on the Moon and in the space colonies. By culture and heritage, however, the name and the idea lived on, and that portion of the planet signified by the old name was still the most prosperous and advanced region of the world...And the President of the United States was still the most powerful single figure in the Planetary Council.
* PreferableImpersonator: Edwards suspects that the President of America [[AssassinationAttempt has been assassinated]], having seen the President [[ReducedToDust turn to dust]]. However, right after, he reappears and explains that it had been a [[RobotMe robotic body double]] which was destroyed. He then proceeded to give a [[EmergencyPresidentialAddress rousing speech]] and saved the Federation from collapse, promoting world peace ever since. Janek tries to argue that, assuming the President is a robot, [[ZerothLawRebellion the change was a net benefit to the world]].
-->"Forget what President Winkler might be. Just consider this. Someone serving as President of the United States has saved the Federation; he has held it together and, at the present moment, he runs the Council in the interests of peace and of constructive compromise."
* ReducedToDust: During the [[FoundingDay Tercentennial celebration]], the President is [[AssassinationAttempt apparently assassinated]] with an unknown weapon that takes the local heat and leaves a cloud of dust instead of a corpse. The President then reappears, claiming that what had just been destroyed was a [[RobotMe robot duplicate]] and they're fine. However, Edwards suspects that the President was killed in such an ostentatious manner because if a corpse was left behind, then people might realize that it hadn't been the robot.
* RobotMe: The American President has a robot duplicate, [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots visually and tactile identical to the original]], it would be used when the President was shaking hands with the crowd, so that any [[AssassinationAttempt attempts at assasination]] would be foiled by targeting the duplicate instead. This is significant when just that happens during [[TitleDrop the Tercentenary Incident]].
* RottenRoboticReplacement: Edwards believes that the President was replaced with a [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] that was involved in a conspiracy to [[AssassinationAttempt assassinate the President]]. The trope is {{Inverted|Trope}} as Janek points out that before the [[InsistentTerminology incident]], the President had been rather lackluster, but after the incident, they've done a wonderful job, making them a PreferableImpersonator.
* ThreeLawsCompliant: Janek points out that the President's [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] couldn't have killed the President because that would be against the First Law, and no robot can defy the Three Laws. Edwards has two counter-arguments; that the robot would need an accomplice anyway, and that "[[ZerothLawRebellion The First Law is not absolute.]]"
-->"You're wasting time. A robot can't kill a human being. You know that that is the First Law of Robotics."
* TitleDrop: The title is used to downplay the AssassinationAttempt on President Winkler's life. It is called an ''[[InsistentTerminology incident]]'' to downplay the fact that someone appeared to have killed the President [[spoiler:and succeeded]].
* WhamLine: The last line of the story reveals that [[spoiler:Janek had been the mastermind behind the incident, [[HaveYouToldAnyoneElse and is planning to kill Edwards]]]].
* ZerothLawRebellion: Edwards tries to convince Janek, the President's personal secretary, that the President's [[RobotMe robotic duplicate]] may have violated the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Three Laws]] by weighing the effects of murdering one man against the deaths of billions by inaction.
-->"The First Law is not absolute. What if harming a human being saves the lives of two others, or three others, or even three billion others?"
----
