"Dolly" is a 2011

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

short story by

Elizabeth Bear Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky (born September 22, 1971) is an American author who works primarily in speculative fiction genres, writing under the name Elizabeth Bear. She won the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the 2008 Hugo A ...

. It was first published in ''

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publicatio ...

''.

Synopsis

When a billionaire is killed by his

sex robot Sex robots or sexbots are anthropomorphic robotic sex dolls that have a humanoid form, human-like movement or behavior, and some degree of artificial intelligence. , although elaborately instrumented sex dolls have been created by a number of i ...

, police must determine whether the robot was a murder weapon, or the culprit.

Reception

In ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'',

Lois Tilton Lois Tilton is a science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and horror writer. She won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in the short form category for her story "Pericles the Tyrant" in 2006. In 2005, her story, "The Gladiator's War" w ...

found the story "rather sad", and noted that the murder mystery "distract(ed)" from the theme of "humans forming attachments to artificial beings".Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, early November
by

, in ''

''; published November 5, 2010; retrieved April 3, 2019

Tangent Online ''Tangent Online'' is an online magazine launched in its online incarnation in 1997, though it began as a print magazine in 1993. ''Tangent Online'' is edited by Dave Truesdale, with web-hoster Eric James Stone. The magazine covers reviews of sci ...

considered it "interesting", and praised Bear for "subversion of the machine's role".Asimov's -- January 2011
reviewed by Mark Lord, at ''

''; published November 14, 2010; retrieved April 3, 2019 At the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'',

Paul Kincaid Paul Kincaid (born 22 September 1952 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a British science fiction critic. Career Kincaid's writing has appeared in a wide range of publications including New Scientist, Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, New York ...

described it as "not a bad story (...) efficiently told, with enough detail of character and setting to reward the reader", but added that he was disappointed by what he saw as Bear's re-use of tropes first developed by

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 (192 ...

in the 1940s.The Widening Gyre: 2012 Best of the Year Anthologies
reviewed by

, at the ''

''; published September 3, 2012; retrieved April 3, 2019 ''

Communications of the ACM ''Communications of the ACM'' is the monthly journal of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). It was established in 1958, with Saul Rosen as its first managing editor. It is sent to all ACM members. Articles are intended for readers with ...

'' included it in an article on the use of science fiction to teach

computer ethics Computer ethics is a part of practical philosophy concerned with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. Margaret Anne Pierce, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computers at G ...

, noting in particular its relevance to

deontology In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek: + ) is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules and principles, r ...

.How to Teach Computer Ethics through Science Fiction
by Emanuelle Burton, Judy Goldsmith, and Nicholas Mattei; in ''

'' August 2018, Vol. 61 No. 8, Pages 54-64; doi: 10.1145/3154485

Adaptation

In 2021,

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

announced that it had won the right to produce a full-length adaptation of "Dolly", which would star

Florence Pugh Florence Pugh ( ; born 3 January 1996) is an English actress. She made her acting debut in 2014 in the drama film '' The Falling''. Pugh gained recognition in 2016 for her leading role as a young bride in the independent drama ''Lady Macbeth' ...

, and have a script by

Vanessa Taylor Vanessa Taylor is an American screenwriter and television producer. She is known for writing '' Hope Springs'', '' Divergent'', and '' The Shape of Water'', as well as for her work as a writer and co-executive producer on seasons two and three of ...

and

Drew Pearce Drew Pearce is a British screenwriter, director, and producer. He is known for creating the British TV comedy '' No Heroics'', co-writing ''Iron Man 3'' and '' Hobbs & Shaw'', and writing the story for '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'' ...

. Apple Studios Lands Hot Package ‘Dolly’ With Florence Pugh On Board To Star And Vanessa Taylor And Drew Pearce Penning The Script
at ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

''; by Justin Kroll; published February 10, 2021; retrieved February 10, 2021

References

External links

Text of the story
at

Apex Magazine ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been nominated for several awa ...

* Works by Elizabeth Bear Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction 2011 short stories {{2010s-sf-story-stub