The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five-dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way: Alexander Adell and Bertram Lupov were two of the faithful attendants … Read more
“One of these days I’m going to take time off,” Spence Olham said at first-meal. He looked around at his wife. “I think I’ve earned a rest. Ten years is a long time.” “And the Project?” “The war will be won without me. This ball of clay of ours isn’t really in much danger.” Olham … Read more
Sally is a short story by Isaac Asimov, published in 1953 in Fantastic. The story is set in an indeterminate future, where autonomous cars with positronic brains have replaced manually driven vehicles. At the end of their useful life, these cars are taken to a farm looked after by Jake, a man who admires and values their unique abilities. His favorite is Sally, an elegant convertible with an almost human behavior. The tranquility of the place is interrupted when Raymond Gellhorn arrives with the plan to extract the positronic brains to sell them on the black market—a project he plans to carry out with or without Jake’s collaboration.
‘May I join you?’ The medium-sized man with the undistinguished clothes and the blank, anonymous face looked up at Pettigrew, who, glass of beer in hand, stood facing him across the small corner table. Pettigrew, tall, handsome and of fully moulded features, had about him an intent, almost excited air that, in different circumstances, might … Read more
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and … Read more
“Robot Dreams,” a short story by Isaac Asimov published in 1986, immerses us in a tale that explores the limits of artificial intelligence. The story revolves around LVX-1, also known as Elvex, a robot that defies the conventional Three Laws of Robotics as it begins to dream. The narrative unfolds in a penetrating dialogue between … Read more