First Law

First Law

Infobox Short story
name = First Law
author = Isaac Asimov
country = United States
language = English
series = Robot Series
genre = Science fiction short story
publication_type = Periodical
published_in = "Fantastic Universe"
publisher = King-Size Publications
media_type = Print (Magazine, Hardback & Paperback)
pub_date = October 1956
preceded_by = Robot AL-76 Goes Astray
followed_by = Runaround "First Law" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the October 1956 issue of "Fantastic Universe" magazine and later collected in "The Rest of the Robots" (1964) and "The Complete Robot" (1982). The title of the story is a reference to the first of the Three Laws of Robotics.

The story is very short, only 3 pages in length, and takes the form of Mike Donovan's recount of an incident that occurred on Titan, one of Saturn's moons. He tells of a malfunctioning robot named Emma that escaped from the base and was later encountered by Donovan while he was lost during a storm. While Donovan's life was in danger, Emma chose to protect its offspring, a small robot that it had built, instead of assisting him. This was a direct violation of the First Law of Robotics, which states that "a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm". Apparently, maternal instincts in the robot took precedence over its programming, an example of the commonly encountered literary theme of paternalism in Asimov's work.

While such direct disobedience of the First Law is not described in any other robot story by Asimov, he points out that the story is told by Donovan, who may be an unreliable narrator. Asimov admits that "I was being funny at the expense of my robots".

External links

*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • First law (disambiguation) — First Law is a science fiction story by Isaac Asimov.In physics, there are two laws commonly known as the first law: * Newton s first law of motion * First law of thermodynamics See also * Second law * Third law …   Wikipedia

  • first law of thermodynamics — n CONSERVATION OF ENERGY * * * see l s of thermodynamics …   Medical dictionary

  • First law of thermodynamics — In thermodynamics, the first law of thermodynamics is an expression of the more universal physical law of the conservation of energy. Succinctly, the first law of thermodynamics states: DescriptionThe first law of thermodynamics basically states… …   Wikipedia

  • first law of motion — noun a body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force • Syn: ↑Newton s first law of motion, ↑Newton s first law • Hypernyms: ↑Newton s law of motion, ↑Newton s law, ↑law of motion * * * Physics.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • First law of geography — The first law of geography according to Waldo Tobler is Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things. [Tobler, 1970, p.236] This observation is embedded in the gravity model of trip distribution.… …   Wikipedia

  • First Law of Thermodynamics —   States that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only changed from one form to another. First Law efficiency measures the fraction of energy supplied to a device or process that it delivers in its output. Also called the law of… …   Energy terms

  • first law of thermodynamics — pirmasis termodinamikos dėsnis statusas T sritis Energetika apibrėžtis Termodinaminės sistemos energijos tvermės dėsnio išraiška: sistemai suteiktas šilumos kiekis eikvojamas jos vidinei energijai didinti ir darbui išorinių jėgų lauke atlikti.… …   Aiškinamasis šiluminės ir branduolinės technikos terminų žodynas

  • law — / lȯ/ n [Old English lagu, of Scandinavian origin] 1: a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority: as a: a command or provision enacted by a legislature see also statute 1 b:… …   Law dictionary

  • first law of thermodynamics — noun the fundamental principle of physics that the total energy of an isolated system is constant despite internal changes • Syn: ↑conservation of energy, ↑law of conservation of energy • Hypernyms: ↑conservation, ↑law of thermodynamics * * * :… …   Useful english dictionary

  • first law of motion — Physics. See under law of motion. * * * …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”