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Light Verse (short Story)
"Light Verse" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the September–October 1973 issue of ''The Saturday Evening Post''. It later appeared in the collections '' Buy Jupiter and Other Stories'' (1975), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), and ''Robot Dreams'' (1986). The author has reported that he wrote the initial draft in one session and later had to change hardly a word in the final revision. This story details a small portion of the life of Avis Lardner, the widow of an astronaut, William J. Lardner. Plot summary After her husband's death, Mrs. Lardner receives a large pension, which she invests wisely, becoming very wealthy. She buys many valuable jeweled artifacts from a number of countries, and displays them in her home. She then takes up the art of light-sculpture, which fascinates many, but she refuses to sell her works and only paints them for her parties. Mrs. Lardner had become notable not only for the light sculptures, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robot Dreams
''Robot Dreams'' (1986) is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It was written specifically for this volumeAsimov, Isaac. ''Robot Dreams''. Ace, 1990, page xvi and inspired by the McQuarrie cover illustration. All of the other stories had previously appeared in various other Asimov collections. Four of the stories are robot stories, while five are Multivac stories. The companion book, which also showcases McQuarrie's illustrations (and includes Asimov essays in addition to short stories), is titled ''Robot Visions.'' Contents It contains a foreword by Asimov as well as the following stories: # "Little Lost Robot" (1947), a ''Robot'' story # "Robot Dreams" (1986), a ''Robot'' story # " Breeds There a Man...?" (1951) # " Hostess" (1951) # "Sally" (1953), a ''Robot'' story # "Strikebreaker" (1957) # " The Machine tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robot Series Short Stories By Isaac Asimov
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be constructed to evoke human form, but most robots are task-performing machines, designed with an emphasis on stark functionality, rather than expressive aesthetics. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's ''Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility'' ( ASIMO) and TOSY's ''TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot'' (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed ''swarm'' robots, UAV drones such as General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own. Autonomous things are expected to proliferate in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
—That Thou Art Mindful Of Him
". . . That Thou Art Mindful of Him" (also signed as "That Thou Art Mindful of Him") is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, which he intended to be an "ultimate" probe into the subtleties of his Three Laws of Robotics. The story first appeared in the May 1974 issue of '' Fantasy and Science Fiction'' and the 1974 anthology ''Final Stage'', edited by Edward L. Ferman and Barry N. Malzberg. It was collected in '' The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories'' (1976) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). Plot summary In this story, Asimov describes U.S. Robots' attempt to introduce robots on the planet Earth. Robots have already been in use on space stations and planetary colonies, where the inhabitants are mostly highly trained scientists and engineers. U.S. Robots faces the problem that on Earth, their robots will encounter a wide variety of people, not all of whom are trustworthy or responsible, yet the Three Laws require robots to obey ''all'' human orders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation Series
The ''Foundation'' series is a science fiction book series written by American author Isaac Asimov. First published as a series of short stories in 1942–50, and subsequently in three collections in 1951–53, for thirty years the series was a trilogy: ''Foundation''; ''Foundation and Empire''; and ''Second Foundation''. It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov began adding new volumes in 1981, with two sequels: ''Foundation's Edge'' and ''Foundation and Earth'', and two prequels: ''Prelude to Foundation'' and ''Forward the Foundation''. The premise of the stories is that, in the waning days of a future Galactic Empire, the mathematician Hari Seldon spends his life developing a theory of psychohistory, a new and effective mathematics of sociology. Using statistical laws of mass action, it can predict the future of large populations. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a Dark Age lasting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robot AL-76 Goes Astray
"Robot AL-76 Goes Astray" is a humorous science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, originally published in the February 1942 issue of ''Amazing Stories'' and included in the collections ''The Rest of the Robots'' (1964) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). Asimov selected the story for inclusion in the 1949 anthology ''My Best Science Fiction Story''."Why I Selected- Robot AL 76 Goes Astray", ''My Best Science Fiction Story'', Merlin Press, 1949, p.3 Plot summary AL-76 (also known as Al) is a robot designed for mining work on the Moon, but as a result of an accident after leaving the factory of US Robots and Mechanical Men, it gets lost and finds itself in rural Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar .... It cannot comprehend the unfamiliar environme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Naked Sun
''The Naked Sun'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the second in his ''Robot'' series. Like its predecessor, ''The Caves of Steel'', this is a whodunit story. It was first published in book form in 1957 after being serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between October and December 1956. Plot The story arises from the murder of Rikaine Delmarre, a prominent "fetologist" (fetal scientist), responsible for the operation of the planetary birthing center of Solaria, a planet politically hostile to Earth, whose death Elijah Baley is called to investigate, at the request of the Solarian government. He is again partnered with the humanoid robot R. Daneel Olivaw, and asked by Earth's government to assess the Solarian society for weaknesses. The book focuses on the unusual traditions, customs, and culture of Solarian society. The planet has a rigidly controlled population of 20,000, and all work is done by robots, which outnumber humans ten thousand to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gladia Delmarre
The following is a list of characters in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'' series. Kelden Amadiro Kelden Amadiro is a Spacer and the main antagonist in the novels ''The Robots of Dawn'' and ''Robots and Empire''. He is the head of the Robotics Institute on Aurora. He is known for being extremely against the expansion of Earth to other planets, and in the end even tries to destroy the Earth by speeding up the rate of radiation in its crust. His memory of this is erased by R. Giskard Reventlov and R. Daneel Olivaw; however they allow Levular Mandamus to destroy the Earth because his motives were more beneficial for humanity and were therefore allowable by the Zeroth Law of Robotics: since a slow increase in the rate of radiation would drive Earthpeople to the outer worlds, but a quick increase like Amadiro wanted, would kill the Earth with its population still on it. Milton Ashe Milton Ashe appears for a short time in Chapter 5 of ''I, Robot'' ("Liar!"). He is described as "the youngest of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bicentennial Man
''The Bicentennial Man'' is a novelette in the ''Robot'' series by American writer Isaac Asimov. According to the foreword in ''Robot Visions'', Asimov was approached to write a story, along with a number of other authors who would do the same, for a science fiction collection to be published in honor of the United States Bicentennial. However, the arrangement fell through, leaving Asimov's the only story actually completed for the project. Asimov sold the story to Judy-Lynn del Rey, who made some small changes to the text. Asimov restored the original text when the story was collected in ''The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories'' (1976). The story formed the basis of the novel ''The Positronic Man'' (1992), co-written with Robert Silverberg, and the 1999 film ''Bicentennial Man'', starring Robin Williams. In terms of setting, this novelette spans a time period of 200 years. Chapter 13 of the novelette states that "Susan Calvin, the patron saint of all roboticists" had been de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Complete Robot
''The Complete Robot'' (1982) is a collection of 31 of the 37 science fiction short stories about robots by American writer Isaac Asimov, written between 1939 and 1977.Introduction, ''The Complete Robot'', Isaac Asimov Most of the stories had been previously collected in the books ''I, Robot'' and ''The Rest of the Robots'', while four had previously been uncollected and the rest had been scattered across five other anthologies. They share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots and morality, and put together tell a larger story of Asimov's fictional history of robotics. The stories are grouped into categories. Contents * Introduction * Some Non-human Robots ** "A Boy's Best Friend" (1975) ** "Sally" (1953) ** " Someday" (1956), also ''Multivac'' series * Some Immobile Robots ** "Point of View" (1975), also ''Multivac'' series ** " Think!" (1977) ** " True Love" (1977), also ''Multivac'' series * Some Metallic Robots ** "Robot AL-76 Goes Astray" (1942) ** "Victory Unintention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robot Series (Asimov)
The ''Robot'' series is a series of 37 science fiction short stories and six novels by American writer Isaac Asimov, featuring positronic robots. Later, Asimov would merge the ''Robot'' series with his ''Foundation'' series. Robot novels and stories The series started in 1940, with the story "Robbie" in the September 1940 ''Super Science Stories'' (appearing under the title "Strange Playfellow", which was not Asimov's title). Although it was originally written as a stand-alone story, the following year Asimov published a series of additional robot stories, which fit together into a narrative that was then put together as the book ''I, Robot''. List of works in the Robot series, in chronological order by narrative # ''I, Robot'' (1950) and later collections: ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), ''Robot Dreams'' (1986), ''Robot Visions'' (1990), and ''Gold'' (1995). #* In 1964, ''The Rest of the Robots'' was published - all of the short stories in that collection are found in '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buy Jupiter And Other Stories
''Buy Jupiter and Other Stories'' is a 1975 collection of short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. Each story is introduced by a short account of how it came to be written and what was happening in Asimov's life at the time, and follows on from where ''The Early Asimov'' (1972) left off. In the introduction, Asimov explains that his objective is to tell enough of his autobiography in his short story collections so that his editors will stop asking him to write an actual autobiography. (However he eventually wrote three volumes of autobiography anyway.) Contents The book includes the following stories: * " Darwinian Pool Room" (1950) * "Day of the Hunters" (1950) * "Shah Guido G." (1951) * " Button, Button" (1953) * " The Monkey's Finger" (1953) * "Everest" (1953) * " The Pause" (1954) * " Let's Not" (1954) * " Each an Explorer" (1956) * " Blank!" (1957) * " Does a Bee Care?" (1957) * " Silly Asses" (1958) * " Buy Jupiter" (1958) * " A Statue for Father" (1959) * " Rain, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
