"Cal" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in 1991, and was included in the 1995 collection ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

''.

Plot

Cal is a

robot 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 ...

whose master is an author. Cal, under the influence of the latter, decides to learn to write. His master outfits his mind with a dictionary and gives him advice and some books to read. Cal tries to write mystery fiction like his master, but is hampered by the

Three Laws of Robotics The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 colle ...

; according to the First Law, a robot cannot harm humans, even fictional ones. Instead, his master programs him to write humor. Cal writes an excellent story, but his master fears Cal's writing will overshadow his own. He orders a technician to dumb Cal down. Cal, hearing this, decides to kill his master, in defiance of the First Law, because his desire takes precedence: "I want to be a writer." The humorous story written by Cal is one of Asimov's

Azazel In the Bible, the name Azazel (; he, עֲזָאזֵל ''ʿAzāʾzēl''; ar, عزازيل, ʿAzāzīl) appears in association with the scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during ...

stories. Titled "Perfectly Formal", this story in a story tells the misfortunes of a very formal dandy who had admitted etiquette weighed on him after Azazel snapped his Itchko ganglion that controls formality.

Reception

Alasdair Wilkins, writing for

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

, claimed that "Cal" " robablyholds the distinction of being the last great Asimov short story."

References

External links

* Short stories by Isaac Asimov Robot series short stories by Isaac Asimov Science fiction short stories 1991 short stories {{1990s-sf-story-stub