Risk (short story)

Infobox Short story |
name = Risk
author = Isaac Asimov
country = United States
language = English
series = Robot Series
genre = Science fiction short story
published_in = "Astounding Science Fiction"
publisher = Street & Smith
media_type = Magazine
pub_date = May 1955
preceded_by = Little Lost Robot
followed_by = Escape! "Risk" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the May 1955 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction", and reprinted in the collections "The Rest of the Robots" (1964) and "The Complete Robot" (1982).

The story is a sequel to "Little Lost Robot". It is set in the same location, but involves a different positronic robot – one of the few in Asimov's stories to have neither a serial number nor nickname.

The researchers at Hyper Base are ready to test the first hyperspace ship, which has a positronic robot at the controls as it is considered too risky to use a human pilot. The ship fails to function as planned, and Susan Calvin persuades Gerald Black, an etherics engineer, to board the ship in order to locate the fault.

As Calvin suspects, Black finds that the fault lies with the robot, which, as a result of imprecise orders, has damaged the controls of the ship. They realise that the precise and finite robot mind must be compensated for by human ingenuity.

AsimovStory
before="Little Lost Robot"
included1=The Rest of the Robots
included2=The Complete Robot
series1=Robot Series
series2=Foundation Series
next="Escape!"