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| The Positronic Man
| | Isaac Asimov
| Based on the classic short story that introduced the Three Laws of Robotics to the world, The Positronic Man marks the final collaboration between two of the most beloved authors in science fiction history. In the first rush to develop robots for domestic service, a few corners are cut, a few guesses made. The new technology of the positronic pathway is a quantum leap in the field of artificial intelligence, but it's hardly an exact science. Aberrations occur. Aberrations like Andrew, a most extraordinary robot who, it seems, is capable of creating, learning, adapting, and even feeling. Andrew is the first robot of his kind, and also the last, for when U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., learns of his talents, they terminate this entire line, terrified by its implications. But Andrew's owners, the Martins, refuse to give him up. They love their robot; he is a cherished member of the family, and a valuable one - sales of the furniture he creates are phenomenal. Andrew is fond of the Martins too, even beyond the minimum standards ensured by the Three Laws of Robotics that are hardwired into his circuits. He has it easy as robots go, but something gnaws at him, something that moves him to risk everything he has in an impossible struggle for his freedom. With quiet dignity, Andrew faced down the all-too-familiar forces of bigotry and hatred in a daring bid to obtain the only thing that really matters to him ... his humanity. Written with incomparable strength, wit, and beauty, The Positronic Man is a brilliant novel of science fiction, and a fable for our time.
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