Robota

The principal facts of this story have been extracted from the comprehensive files of the CRIB (Criminal Robot Investigation Bureau) which undertook a particularly difficult case relating to infringement of Section IV, Clause I of the legislation governing the manufacture of robots. Other information obtained from a wide range of sources has been pieced together and collated, though the authenticity of minor details other than those acquired from the police documents, is subject to confirmation. Mansell Howard, the offending robotist, made a great contribution to robotics and robotronics, not only in proposing a new computer hardware but in developing the necessary technology. His application of ETA (electron transitions in atoms) to programming and storage of information illustrates the vast progress in techniques from the early computer elements of the tube, transistor, printed and integrated circuits, and computer chips of the 20th Century to the inorganic and organic molecular-state patterns and eventually ETA of the present day. Expert robotist, Howard Mansell, is fired from Robotics International for not adhering to company policy regarding robot design. He persists in endeavouring to make them appear too human. It is an era when it is illegal to have personal robots since they can be programmed to commit crimes. Only commercial robots are permitted. A string of circumstances causes Mansell to justify building his own robot maid in spite of the law, but he becomes entangled in a web of contradictory experiences: danger from the law, obsession in his creation; and failure to confront his own weaknesses, resulting in programming flaws and faulty behaviour of his robot, which could seemingly only culminate in disaster. The story presents a realistic evaluation of the problems which could arise under these futuristic circumstances. It combines science, comedy, and risque episodes involving the robot, Robota.