Line #22 Literature/Runaround


1	-> "A robot must react to orders, but must, on the other hand, have sense enough to disobey if the order would destroy it. But that can lead to a most embarrassing sort of situation, when a robot gives its owners a handsome [[TitleDrop runaround]]!"
2	--> -- Editor Creator/JohnWCampbell, ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction''
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4	First published in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' ([[Recap/Analog1942 March 1942 issue]]) by Creator/IsaacAsimov, this {{Novelette}} is about [[AIIsACrapshoot a robot that seems to have gone insane]].
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6	Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan, from United States Robot & Mechanical Men Corporation, were sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}} to evaluate the possibility of reopening the [[TidallyLockedPlanet Sunside Mercury]] mining operation. The mining operation had been shut down due to bad luck before, and now Powell and Donovan were encountering another bit of bad luck; their only robot was sent to retrieve selenium, and they'll die if it doesn't return.
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8	Observing [[YouAreNumberSix SPD 13]] ([[AffectionateNickname Speedy]]) tells them that the robot is circling the nearest pool of selenium, but they don't know why. So Powell proposes that they reactivate the robots from the first expedition and send one of them to help Speedy. They refuse to move unless accompanied by a human, so Donovan and Powell [[MiniMecha mount two of the robots]] and head off through the mining tunnels to minimize their exposure to Mercury's sunlight.
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10	When they reach Speedy, the robot greets them irreverently and runs off back the way it came. Donovan and Powell think for awhile, [[AsYouKnow going over their situation to help focus on the problem]]. They try a few different ideas, but they fail. Getting desperate, Powell [[MoreHeroThanThou tricks Donovan in order to put himself at risk]]. The selenium pool (and Speedy) are far enough away from the darkness that Powell's suit will fail and he will die if Speedy doesn't save him. Fortunately, the trick works, and it looks like the jinx has been broken. Powell is looking forward to their next job, at 273 degrees below Centigrade.
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12	This story has been republished several times; ''Literature/IRobot'' (1950), ''Literature/TheComingOfTheRobots'' (1963), ''Literature/AsTomorrowBecomesToday'' (1974), ''Literature/MeineFreundeDieRoboter'' (1982), ''Literature/TheCompleteRobot'' (1982), ''Literature/HallucinationOrbitPsychologyInScienceFiction'' (1983), ''Literature/WarWithTheRobots'' (1984), ''Literature/TheAsimovChroniclesFiftyYearsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1989), and ''Literature/RobotVisions'' (1990). Creator/HarlanEllison adapted [[Script/IRobotTheIllustratedScreenplay the story]] for his attempt at an ''Literature/IRobot'' movie in The70s.
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14	!!"Runaround" contains examples of:
15	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Published in 1942, this story takes place in 2015, with ubiquitous robots and interplanetary space travel.
16	* AffectionateNickname: Rather than using the model designation, [[YouAreNumberSix SPD 13]], Powell and Donovan call their robot Speedy.
17	* AsYouKnow: When trying to figure out what went wrong with their robot, Donovan and Powell review the situation they're in, which Dr Asimov uses as an opportunity for {{Exposition}} about [[ThreeLawsCompliant the three Rules of Robotics]].
18	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In order to refute concerns that robots might [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters rebel against their owners]], robots in 2005 were programmed with "[[ServantRace healthy slave complexes]]", including calling all humans "Master". The analogy between [[ServantRace robots replacing slaves]] is not subtle.
19	-->The monster's head bent slowly and the eyes fixed themselves on Powell. Then, in a harsh, squawking voice -- like that of a medieval phonograph, he grated, "Yes, Master!"\
20	Powell grinned humorlessly at Donovan. "Did you get that? Those were the days of the first talking robots when it looked as if the use of robots on Earth would be banned. The makers were fighting that and they built good, healthy slave complexes into the damned machines."
21	* EurekaMoment: Powell and Donovan are quite proud of themselves for thinking of using the mining laboratory to create oxalic acid to chase Speedy away from the danger. Up until [[spoiler:they realize, too late, that it only shifts the problem a few meters in one direction or another without solving the LogicBomb]].
22	* GoneHorriblyRight: [[YouAreNumberSix SPD 13]]'s [[ThreeLawsCompliant Third Law (self-preservation)]] was modified to be a higher priority than normal. When Donovan casually sends the robot on a mission to fetch selenium, he accidentally creates a LogicBomb, where the robot must fetch the selenium (because of the second law) and mustn't get too close to the selenium (because of the third law). The bomb makes the robot act drunk while it runs around the lake.
23	* IndustrializedMercury: Mercury is the site of an abandoned mining facility. The problems with Mercury mining had caused humanity to retreat for years, so United States Robot & Mechanical Men Corporation has sent Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan with a new robot model to test the feasibility of restarting operations on [[TidallyLockedPlanet Sunside]].
24	* LogicBomb: Because the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Rules of Robotics]] ensure that [[AffectionateNickname Speedy]] will take care to avoid danger to self, Donovan set up an unintentional conflict by casually sending Speedy into a situation he didn't know would be dangerous. To resolve the weak Rule 2 against the strong Rule 3, Speedy has been spending hours running around where the two priorities are exactly equal. The conflict is resolved when they exploit the first Law to force him out of the loop.
25	* MiniMecha: The robots from the first Sunside Mercury Mining operation were [[ServantRace programmed with a strong sense of subservience]] and are unable to move unless someone is riding them. All this to reassure the population that the robots won't [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters rebel against the humans]].
26	* MoreHeroThanThou: Powell and Donovan are arguing over who should risk their life to rescue a malfunctioning robot. Powell proposes a math contest: whoever can solve a difficult math problem gets to go. Of course, he already solved it in his head before proposing the contest, and immediately runs off before Donovan can realize he was tricked.
27	* OneWordTitle
28	* PowerSource: The robots are powered by a two-inch sphere of atomic energy.
29	* ServantRace: During the timeframe when the first Sunside Mercury Mining operation occurred, people were extremely distrustful of the mechanical men. To reassure the population, these robots have a strong sense of subservience and are unable to move unless [[MiniMecha a human is riding them]].
30	--> "Those were the days of the first talking robots when it looked as if the use of robots on Earth would be banned. The makers were fighting that and they built good, healthy slave complexes into the damned machines." -- Gregory Powell
31	* ShoutOut: The proximity to selenium has disturbed Speedy's sensitive computer brain, causing him to speak whimsically, such as quoting from several Creator/GilbertAndSullivan plays.
32	* TidallyLockedPlanet: Donovan and Powell are sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}} to try reopening the "Sunside" mining operation. The story was premised on the conflict that the fields keeping the humans from dying would fail before sunset (since it was common scientific knowledge [[ScienceMarchesOn at the time]] that Mercury was tidally locked).
33	* YouAreNumberSix: The robot model Donovan and Powell are field-testing is designated SPD 13.

Context Literature / Runaround