< previous page page_47 next page >

Page 47
Powell but must have been created by the most powerful thing around, the energy convertor, which he therefore reasons to be a god and a pragmatic conclusion. When Cutie handles the energy beam perfectly, even through an "electron" storm, the two engineers decide to leave him with his delusion and even to ship other QT models to the station to be indoctrinated with the religious belief that works so well. "Liar!," the third robot story written by Asimov, incorporated the Three Laws of Robotics for the first time.4 Campbell had suggested the Three Laws during a discussion that preceded the writing of the story, and Asimov codified them:
f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Typically, Asimov always insisted that Campbell originated the laws, and Campbell always said that they were implicit in Asimov's stories and discussions. Whatever the exact truth of origin, the Three Laws, as Asimov noted in his autobiography, "revolutionized science fiction":
f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif
Once they were established in a series of stories, they made so much sense and proved so popular with the readers that other writers began to use them. They couldn't quote them directly, of course, but they could simply assume their existence, knowing well that the readers would be acquainted with the Laws and would understand the assumption.
Campbell may have worked more intuitively than through conscious theory, but what he wanted was a rational inspection of all premises; a movement away from traditional responses, primarily emotional and irrational, toward pragmatism; and the construction of new and more logical systems of operation. Campbell, as a writer, also may have perceived the fictional opportunities the Laws of Robotics would provide.
As Asimov noted in The Rest of the Robots, "There was just enough ambiguity in the Three Laws to provide the conflicts and uncertainties required for new stories, and, to my great relief, it seemed always to be
f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif f9a522f89232d5b7d27e9f2bbc694306.gif
4. The mention of the First Law in "Robbie" and of the Three Laws in "Reason" clearly are interpolations for the 1950 book, as is the mention of Susan Calvin in "Robbie" and "Runaround."

 
< previous page page_47 next page >