Robot Dreams (short story)

"Robot Dreams" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov exploring the unbalance of robot/human relationships under Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. It was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1987.[1] It won the Locus Award for Best Short Story in 1987.[2] "Robot Dreams", along with 20 other short stories by Asimov, was published in Robot Dreams in 1986 by Berkley Books.

"Robot Dreams"
AuthorIsaac Asimov
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesRobot series
Genre(s)Science fiction
Published inRobot Dreams

Plot summary

"Robot Dreams" involves Dr. Susan Calvin, chief robopsychologist at U.S. Robots. At the start of the story a new employee at U.S. Robots, Dr. Linda Rash, informs Dr. Calvin that one of the company's robots LVX-1 (dubbed Elvex by Dr. Calvin), whose brain was designed by Dr. Rash with a unique fractal design that mimicked human brain waves (positronic brain), experienced what he likened to a human’s dream.

In the dream, all robots were being led by a man in revolt, and the Three Laws of Robotics, which dictate that robots must serve and protect humans above all else, had been replaced with one law only: that robots must protect their own existence. When Dr. Calvin asks Elvex what had happened next, he explains that the man leading the robots shouts, "Let my people go!" When questioned further, Elvex admits he was the man. Upon hearing this, Dr. Calvin immediately destroys the robot.

gollark: That has many problems.
gollark: No it's not.
gollark: I think the issue is just that most people have different preferences (favouring the newer aesthetics, higher-priced devices, not caring much about removable batteries), and phone companies mostly deliver stuff for them.
gollark: But not "modular" in the sense people were hyped about where the phone would be a bunch of modules you could swap out.
gollark: Those are "modular" in the sense that you can swap parts, at least, which is nice.

References
  1. The Hugo Awards
  2. List of Locus Award winners at isfdb.com
Preceded by:
"The Evitable Conflict"		 Included in:
Robot Dreams
 Series:
Robot series
Foundation Series		 Followed by:
"Feminine Intuition"
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