#isaac asimov's robot city

[darrisgrove]

Robot City - Suspicion Notes

-Already a page in and I can tell that the author's, Mike McQuay, writing style is different from the previous author's, Michael P. Kube-McDowell. I don't exactly hate it, but I think it's more that I'm not used to it. It's a stark difference from Kube-McDowell's.

-3 pages in and it feel's as though McQuay's Derec and Kate are completely different people. His intro to Derec and his amnesia felt more like the author leaving himself a note to remind himself that Derec is struggling with amnesia rather than allowing it to be fluid and natural, a thing that happened. My reason for thinking this is because in the first book, Derec can remember his job and robot sciences, now he doesn't know what a parade is.

-I do like that the robots feel and sound kind of like a cult.

-What do they mean nudity is common on spacer worlds, what?!

-These robots have not had much experience with humans before.

-Robot City has rain with drops the size of a fist and cold as ice.

-No robots saved him yet. Interesting.

-Unrelated but I faceclaim Derec as Tobias Sammet. Sammet plays a similar personality to Derec in Ayreon's The Source.

-THE ROBOT HARMED DEREC, I SAW IT

-If Kathrine wants to leave so bad then why doesn't she?

-It is a cult, I knew it.

-"What are our lives worth without freedom?"

-I found an inconsistency. The author is implying that since the death of David, the rains have gotten worse and it rains nightly, however in the first book, it did not rain both nights that Derec and Kate had stayed the first time they arrived to Robot City.

-I think it's selfish that Kathrine won't tell Derec about his life before he became an amnesiac. She knows more about him than he does and he desperately want's to know more, but she won't tell him.

-What's with robots being called 1-1. There was one in Infinity Train too.

-"She smiled at the thought of a Derec-proof city" like childproofing.

-If that's Derec then who's Derec? Suspicious indeed.

-If he's David, and he's David, and she's David, are we all David?

-Kathrine is a transwoman. Its canon.

-Wohler died :( It all could have been avoided if Katherine wasn't being stupid and impulsive

-I've noticed many misspelled words.

-There's no reason for him to love they, she's been nothing but rude to him and was willing to abandon him. They have 0 chemistry. Actually, they had more chemistry in the first book than the second one. They absolutely hate each other in this one.

-PRIVACY DUDE, YOU STILL DON'T KNOW HER!

-"A new friendship is like new wine. When it has aged, you will drink it with pleasure".

[backstudio235]

Me realizing that if Fastolfe or Elijah gets their feet on 21st Century Earth, they'll probably die(metaphorically AND literally)- so the "future guy gets sent to the past" cliche wouldn't work on Asimov fandom:

[capt-t-leela]

Literary References in Futurama

buckle up, it's a deep cut.

Today we're going to talk about Season 1 Episode 3 - I, Roommate (the title alone, of course, being a reference to the classic Isaac Asimov sci-fi short story collection I, Robot). Spoilers ahead for an episode of television that is almost 25 years old and a short story that's over 60 years old!

In this episode, Fry needs a place to live now that he's in the future, and Bender offers (lol he was nicer then) for Fry to live with him. But, it turns out, Bender, a robot, lives in a closet:

We all know how the episode goes right? They fight, Fry moves out, but then, thanks to someone's meddling (👋) they reconcile and Fry decides to try to make the whole closet thing work.

Then, Bender reveals that the apartment has an entire 'closet' where Fry could live, which is just an enormous, well-lit apartment:

Bender then laments that humans are weird for wanting to live in a closet.

Sooo, turns out, this whole setup is based on a sci-fi short story from the early 60s called Billennium by: J. G. Ballard.

In it, the world's population has reached over 20 billion people, most of whom live in very densely populated cities, leaving the rest of the land for farming to feed so many people.

Thanks to the crowding, people are forced to live in tiny apartments. The two protagonists in Billennium, John and Henry, decide to move in together to save money. While hanging in their new, very tiny apartment, they accidentally discover that, when the building was converted into tiny apartments, the builders missed an entire space that was still attached to their apartment. Never having had space without massive crowding, they keep it a secret, but only share it with their two closest friends. Eventually, word gets out about personal space, and people end up flooding their apartment and they're back to being crowded...and now landlords, the very thing they hated.

If you want to read it, the full text of the story is free here.

[greater-than-the-sword]

do you have any fiction recs that aren't necessarily fantasy? i'm in a bit of a reading slump.

Yeah! Do you like sci-fi?

Some of these are teen fiction or homeschool assigned books, I hope that's ok. I don't know what you've already read, so.

Sci-Fi:

The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

Among the Hidden (Shadow Children Series) - Margaret Peterson Haddix

I, Robot (the story collection) - Isaac Asimov

Starship Troopers - Robert A Heinlein

The Last Thing I Remember (Homelanders series) - Andrew Klavan

The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau

Historical Fiction

The Sherwood Ring - Elizabeth Marie Pope

Mara, Daughter of the Nile - Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Shadow Spinner - Susan Fletcher

The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth George Speare

Understood Betsy - Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Great Brain - John D. Fitzgerald

Classic:

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

???:

The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin

Homer Price - Robert McKloskey

[watanabes-cum-dump]

Interesting things abt PGR

Things I want to put into a video but I’m really fucking lazy so....

ALSO

Massive spoilers for PGR’s main and extra stories, including hidden. And character interludes. You have been warned

- Remember Bruce from Fostered by Blade and Cyril from Land of the Fallen star? Watanabe’s interludes? We know they’re father and son, but did you know that they’re Scottish? Cyril’s nickname, The Beak of Islay clues us into this, as Islay is an island in Scotland.

- Nikola isn’t actually part of Kurono. Idk why but my dumb of ass (and a other people from what I’ve seen) thought that he was with Kurono in some way. But, he actually left it long before the main story.

- Speaking of Nikola, despite how cold he seems, he is scared of one person: Collins, the leader of Kurono. It’s not explicitly stated, and we don’t know why, but Collins was his superior and even after leaving Kurono, he has leverage over Nikola. Spicy.

- While we’re still on the topic of command, despite how Nikola and Hassen seem at odds with each other in earlier chapters, they actually work pretty well together and seem to go back pretty far. I will do a whole other analysis post of command/pgr npcs bc they’re so interesting. (And I’m also filling the void where the Dominik’s orphan’s comic is supposed to be, idk if it ever got updated ueehh) 

- Idk if anyone else noticed but in Inscription of Labyrinth but when you first walk up to Luna and Lucia’s old home, you see a shadow dash away. That’s Roland, as you later find out in the Hidden Story.

- Pfaff, Rosetta’s grandfather, shares a name with a name with a sewing machine manufacturing company. Idk, it was interesting to me since they have Pfaff sewing machines at my school. Pfaff is also a German name, so Pfaff and Rosetta (if she’s related by blood which idk if that’s been confirmed) are possibly of German origin

- Kowloong as we all know is inspired by East Asia, mostly China. The description supports this and says that Kowloong is made up of mostly coastal east Asian cities. So there are three possible candidates for Kowloong’s location: Shanghai, as it’s one of China’s most prominent cities Hong Kong is also a strong candidate, as it is also a port city And Hong Kong Island, you know, and island surrounded by water.

- Watanabe wields two kukri knives, a type of machete originally from India but heavily associated with Nepal.

- Asimov is named after the sci fi author Isaac Asimov. It’s pretty fitting, since Asimov is responsible for designing construct frames. Double fitting since constructs fit nicely with Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Someone on the PGR writing team really loved sci fi lol

- The second agent, Vonnegut is also named after an author. Kurt Vonnegut, known for his dark humor in his novels. Interesting, since I believe that Vonnegut says only to call him Vonnegut, meaning it is not his real name. I wonder what prompted him to choose it, but trying to answer that means actually researching Kurt Vonnegut which is... uh... not something I want to do on a weekend. Since I would probably have to read the synopsis of every single one of his works which he has well over 27 of since more were published after he died, and they’re not all novels. Someday, perhaps. 

- Nanami says yeet. I think it’s in chapter 7 or 8 hidden story but she says yeet. I don’t know how to feel about this. It has been haunting me for the past year. 

- In Roland’s interlude, he is an actor on the Mansdati show (I think glbl renamed it but I forgor) in which the main character, Mansdati doesn’t know he’s actually in a show and is just living his regular everyday life while everyone around him are actors. It’s basically the Truman Show, an old movie with the same premise. Except without robots and depressed clowns. (maybe? idk I haven’t seen that movie in a while. It’s pretty good tho, watch it) 

And that’s it, that’s all I got. Let me know if I got anything wrong. 

[cockamamieschemes]

Sci-Fi Classics for the Uninitiated

I’ve read A LOT of old sci fi throughout the years and wanted to drop the ones here that are good reads, also distinguished by difficulty to get into.  So without further ado:

Victorian Era (fairly easy reads, just requires a bit of explanation for certain things pertaining to the times, so try to get an annotated copy)

The Food of the Gods by HG Wells --revolves around a growth formula that can turn chickens into the size of houses...A LOT funnier than I thought it’d be

The Invisible Man by HG Wells --takes a while to get going but goes fast once The Invisible Man starts his plan rolling

War of the Worlds by HG Wells --kinda dark with more involved than you typically see in the television/movie adaptions

The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells --Scientist who makes crazy experiments on an island--warped and weird but I liked it

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne --Adventuring uncle drags his anxious nephew on a trip to the earth’s core

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne --adventuring below the sea, feels more grounded since nothing too fantastical happens, but of course, the characters are on a giant sophisticated submarine so that’s the most sci fi part

“Golden Age” Era (bold ones are a little more heady)

The Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation (also including Prelude to Foundation in here because it’s actually a really good prequel!) by Isaac Asimov --the books span several decades/centuries so don’t get too attached to any one character, save in Prelude which follows Hari Seldon and his journey into coming up with psychohistory

Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov --fun sci fi whodunit--with robots!

Pebble in the Sky/The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov --haven’t gotten to the third one in this trilogy yet but I liked these two!

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury --short stories set on Mars that are more like fantasy/sci fi

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury --you probably read this in school...still a good book nevertheless

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke --I mean...kinda weird but I enjoyed it

2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke --if you liked 2001, you’ll like this since it expands on a few things, and it’s a little easier to get into with a bigger cast

The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke --Utopian future story that’s pretty short and intriguing in regards to worldbuilding

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke --Crew explores an alien generation ship, not as high stakes as the Space Odyssey ones so it feels more like a sci fi Jules Verne

Dune/Dune Messiah/Children of Dune/God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert --first book takes some time to get into but goes quickly once you get to Arrakis; to be fair, the books get easier to read once you know the world and what’s going on!

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein --a little more philosophical than what you’d expect from a book about sci fi war

[pluralzalpha]

Galactic Gazetteer: Trantor

Franchise: Robots/Empire/Foundation universe

First appearance: "Black Friar of the Flame" (Isaac Asimov 1942)

AKA: Hame

Affiliation: Kingdom of Trantor (AD 5500); Trantorian Republic (c. AD 7500); Trantorian Confederation (c. AD 8500); Trantorian Empire (AD 11,086); Galactic Empire (AD 11,586/1 GE)

Type: terrestrial/city planet

Inhabitants: humans

Population: 45 billion at height

Notable individuals: Hari Seldon, Cleon I

Fun fact: the galactic capital of Asimov's Galactic Empire stories

Another fun fact: a planetwide city at its height, it reverted to an agricultural world after its sacking and the fall of the Empire.

Fun fact 3: inspiration for Coruscant in the Star Wars universe

[cmdrburton]

10, 37 and 117 for the book ask meme 💙

thank you for the ask :D ask game here

a book that got me through something I don't know. Unsatisfying, I know xD but if there was ever a book like this, I don't remember it.

my favourite heist book Looking through my reads to see what counts... I'd say Artemis by Andy Weir. It's a fun action flick of a book, and the city of Artemis feels so much like Dubai (where I grew up) that it's almost nostalgic.

my favourite anthology I haven't read many anthologies, but my absolute favourite out of those I have read is The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov. I got it when I was about twelve. Formative!

[nickmacleanjazz]

I've been an absolute hermit of late because when I haven't been chasing around a 2 year old I've been IMMERSED in writing for Snaggle's next record!

My producer and often featured trumpet player Brownman Ali and I are HUGE science fiction fans, so on his recommendation I just finished reading through one of science fiction's masterwork series' - Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION SERIES which caps off a three series arc: - The Robot Series - The Galactic Empire Series - The Foundation Series

15 books spanning a rich tapestry of a possible 'future history' of humanity, it's a stunning epic and because I've been so wrapped up in it it's been deeply affecting my writing. Lot's of the new Snaggle tunes have inspirations springing from Asimov, some of the working titles I'm playing with include:

THE MULE: PSYCHIC TYRANT A tune that delves into the character of 'The Mule', a mysterious mutant who's ability to manipulate emotions leads him to conquer numerous worlds.

TWILIGHT OF CIVILIZATION A tune depicting the decline and fall of the great Galactic Empire, which in it's height, spanned millions of worlds and a dozen millennia, all kept in line by the world-city of Trantor.

THE ZEROTH LAW A robot must not harm or through inaction allow harm to come to humanity. The discovery of this law creates (in my opinion) one of the most satisfying saviour archetypes in R. Daneel Olivaw, a robot driven to ever walk the knife's edge in order to help shepherd the fate of humanity.

I'm starting to round the halfway mark of the writing process, so a little ways before the band will be hitting the stage and then the studio... but I can't wait!

---------------------

While I see many of my colleagues are looking with great trepidation at the recent shuttering of Finale (boo!), and the annoying prospect of having to learn an entirely new piece of notation software... I'm just gonna stick my fingers in my ears and keep using my 2007 copy of Finale Allegro that my parents gifted me for my birthday in Grade 11. Still works great almost 20 years later... I'm sure one day Windows will inform me that it's no longer compatible with my operating system, but until that day... WHEEEEEEEEE!

[spicebiter]

Reading List (Latest Update Aug. 4, 2024)

The full list of books I'm interested in reading. Spoiler before you open the read-more: This list has 500+ entries so it's a tad long. The only reason it isn't numbered is because of tumblr's character limit on blocks of text, which this far exceeds. It is, instead, bulleted and separated into chunks of 50 after the cut.

I'm pretty much constantly adding things to all of my lists- hence why I'm amending when this was last updated to the title itself- and will update this post anytime I update the wheel I use to randomize my next choice, which usually happens after I've added or subtracted a significant number of options.

Beowulf

Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism; Third Edition

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Watership Down by Richard Adams

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

Andersen’s Fairy Tales by H.C Andersen

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Animorphs Series by K.A Applegate

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Emma by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Oracle Night by Paul Auster

Bunny by Mona Awad

Borderline by Mishell Baker

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Just Above My Head by James Baldwin

Crash by J.G Ballard

North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud

Cousin Betty by Honore de Balzac

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

I’m With the Band by Pamela Des Barres

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron

Gateways to Abomination by Matthew M. Bartlett

Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone De Beauvoir

The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir

Art of Fiction by Walter Besant and Henry James

Pushkin; A Biography by T.J Binyon

The Etched City by K.J Bishop

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Out of Africa by Karen Blixen

In the Vanisher’s Palace by Aliette De Bodard

Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

Sonnets From The Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner

The Serpent and the Rose by Kathleen Bryan

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry

Notes of a Dirty old Man by Charles Bukowski

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Pontypool Changes Everything by Tony Burgess

Song of the Simple Truth by Julia de Burgos

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler

Parable of the Sower Octavia E. Butler

American Predator by Maureen Callahan

A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre

Through the Woods by Emily Carrol

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

The Vorrh by B. Catling

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Moliere Biography by H.C Chatfield-Taylor

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Journey to the West by Wu Cheng-en

Wicket Fox by Kat Cho

The Awakening by Kat Chopin

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Finna by Nino Cipri

The Divinity Student by Michael Cisco

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark

Pranesi by Susanne Clarke

Parasite by Darcy Coates

The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Swimming With Giants by Anne Collet

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Inherit the Wind by Linda Cushman

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Dreadnought by April Daniels

The Devourers by Indra Das

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

The Collected Stories by Welty Eudora

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Introducing Evolutionary Psychology by Dylan Evans and Oscar Zarate

A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Sanctuary by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Time and Again by Jack Finney

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes

The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

A Passage to India by E.M Forster

The Diary of Anne Frank

Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them) by Al Franken

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

At Fear’s Altar by Richard Gavin

Count Zero by William Gibson

The Miracle Worker by William Gibson

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

The Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Marathon Man by William Goldman

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

My Life in Orange by Tim Guest

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J Hackwith

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

Empire of Light by Alex Harrow

The Little Locksmith by Katherine Butler Hathaway

City of Lies by Sam Hawke

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

Dune Series by Frank Herbert

Cover-Up by Seymour M. Hersh

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Rule of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman

The Iliad by Homer

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Songbook by Nick Hornby

To Escape the Stars by Robert Hoskins

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Daisy Miller by Henry James

False Bingo by Jac Jemc

The City We Became by N.K Jemisin

The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin

Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce

Ulysses by James Joyce

The Trial by Franz Kafka

The Archidamian War by Donald Kagan

The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan

The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan

The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Out of Control by Kevin Kelly

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Liu Ken

Ironweed by William Kennedy

You By Caroline Kepnes

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Very Best of Caitlin R Kiernan

Carrie by Stephen King

Christine by Stephen King

Cujo by Stephen King

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by Sir James Knowles and Sir Thomas Malory

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Gidget by Frederick Kohner

The Cipher by Kathe Koja

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Extravagance by Gary Krist

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

Babel by R.F Kuang

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

False Hearts by Laura Lam

The Wide, Carnivorous Sky by John Langan

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Changeling by Victor Lavelle

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by David Herbert Lawrence

Lies of the Fae by M.J Lawrie

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee

The Dirt; Confessions of the Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

The Complete Pyramids by Mark Lehner

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin

Human Errors by Nathan H. Lents

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Small Island by Andrea Levy

A Ruin of Shadows by L.D Lewis

Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Let the Right One In by John Lindquist

Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link

The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The Hike by Drew Magary

The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Gregory Rabassa

A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin

Property by Valerie Martin

The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy

The Group by Mary McCarthy

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald

Atonement by Ian McEwan

The Rapture by Claire McGlasson

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Quattrocento by James McKean

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin

Terms of Endearment Larry McMurtry

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Colonizer and the Colonized by Albert Memmi

A Mencken Chrestomathy by H.L Mencken

My Life as Author and Editor by H.L Mencken

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyer

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

The Life of Edna by St. Vincent Millay

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Sexus by Henry Miller

Slade House by David Mitchell

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy by Barrington Moore Jr.

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Jazz by Toni Morrison

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

The Ritual by Adam Nevill

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Ringworld by Larry Niven

Vurt by Jeff Noon

Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Bernard Nordhoff and James Norman Hall

Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W Ocker

Revenge by Yoko Ogawa

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Flowers of the Sea by Reggie Oliver

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

How To Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

White Is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Certain Dark Things by M.J Pack

The Secret of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

Complete Stories of Dorothy Parker

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

How the Light Gets In by Jolina Petersheim

The Song the Owl God Sang by Benjamin Peterson

A Mankind Beyond Earth by Claude A. Piantadosi

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodie Piccoult

We Owe You Nothing by Punk Planet

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe

Witchmark by C.L Polk

Complete Novels by Dawn Powell

Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell

The Overstory by Richard Powers

Truth and Beauty by Ann Pratchett

Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett

The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

High Moor by Graeme Reynolds

Sybil by Schreiber Flora Rheta

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Stiff by Mary Roach

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry M. Robert

The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson

The Language Construction Kit by Mark Rosenfelder

The Planet Construction Kit by Mark Rosenfelder

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Lisa and David by Theodore Isaac Rubin, M.D

The Hacker and the Ants by Rudy Rucker

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Sallinger

Franny and Zooey by J.D Sallinger

The Man Who Collected Machen by Mark Samuels

Ariah by B.R Sanders

Blindness by Jose Saramago

Shane by Jack Schaefer

Vicious by V.E Schwab

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

Bhagavad Gita by Graham M. Schweig

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Love Story by Erich Segal

The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Unless by Carol Shields

City Come A-Walkin’ by John Shirley

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Crush by Richard Siken

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

The Terror by Dan Simmons

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Oil! by Upton Sinclair

Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Flinch by Julien Smith

Chlorine by Jade Song

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza

Last Breath by Peter Stark

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

City Under the Moon Hugh Sterbakov

Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susane

Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Walden by Henry D. Thoreau

An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley

Secrets of the Flesh by Judith Thurman

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Sisyphean by Dempow Torishima

The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Crier’s War by Nina Varela

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Around the World in Eighty Days Jules Verne

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne

The Last Empire- Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal

Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Candide by Voltaire

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Fire in the Sky; The Walton Experience by Travis Walton

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L Wang

The Graduate by Charles Webb

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

The Invisible Man by H.G Wells

The Time Machine by H.G Wells

The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

Prophesy Deliverance by Cornel West

Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Roman Fever by Edith Wharton

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

The Code of the Woosters by P.G Wodehouse

Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

The Electric Koolaid Test by Tom Wolfe

Old School by Tobias Wolff

John Dies at the End by David Wong

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dolloway by Virginia Woolf

Bitch; In Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel

The Black Tides of Heaven by Jy Yang

Negative Space by B.R Yeager

Beneath the Moon by Yoshi Yoshitani

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Tomorrow, and Tommorow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

[darrisgrove]

Isaac Asimov's Robot City Suspicion REVIEW

4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book opens with a word from Asimov as well, discussing the human laws that robots have given. Similar to the Laws of Robotics, the robots dub them the Laws of Humanics. Asimov only states them shortly, however McQuay details them later in his book. There are flaws in these laws.

This book was quick paced compared to the first book. It is also more of a murder mystery than adventure. However, McQuay does balance the mystery with world building. The balance is perfectly written. I am not much of a mystery type of reader, however I never found myself getting bored. The culprit of the murder was not who I thought it was, however I never really had a suspect to begin with.

My only critiques are that there were many spelling errors throughout the book, more so towards the end. As well as McQuay kind of forcing Derec and Kathrine into a relationship. They have no chemistry. Kathrine hated Derec throughout the whole book.

All in all, it was good. Though, I liked the first book more than this one.

Here are my notes during reading. WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

-Already a page in and I can tell that the author's, Mike McQuay, writing style is different from the previous author's, Michael P. Kube-McDowell. I don't exactly hate it, but I think it's more that I'm not used to it. It's a stark difference from Kube-McDowell's. -3 pages in and it feel's as though McQuay's Derec and Kate are completely different people. His intro to Derec and his amnesia felt more like the author leaving himself a note to remind himself that Derec is struggling with amnesia rather than allowing it to be fluid and natural, a thing that happened. My reason for thinking this is because in the first book, Derec can remember his job and robot sciences, now he doesn't know what a parade is. -I do like that the robots feel and sound kind of like a cult. -What do they mean nudity is common on spacer worlds, what?! -These robots have not had much experience with humans before. -Robot City has rain with drops the size of a fist and cold as ice. -No robots saved him yet. Interesting. -Unrelated but I faceclaim Derec as Tobias Sammet. Sammet plays a similar personality to Derec in Ayreon's The Source. -THE ROBOT HARMED DEREC, I SAW IT -If Kathrine wants to leave so bad then why doesn't she? -It is a cult, I knew it. -"What are our lives worth without freedom?" -I found an inconsistency. The author is implying that since the death of David, the rains have gotten worse and it rains nightly, however in the first book, it did not rain both nights that Derec and Kate had stayed the first time they arrived to Robot City. -I think it's selfish that Kathrine won't tell Derec about his life before he became an amnesiac. She knows more about him than he does and he desperately want's to know more, but she won't tell him. -What's with robots being called 1-1. There was one in Infinity Train too. -"She smiled at the thought of a Derec-proof city" like childproofing. -If that's Derec then who's Derec? Suspicious indeed. -If he's David, and he's David, and she's David, are we all David? -Kathrine is a transwoman. Its canon. -Wohler died :( It all could have been avoided if Katherine wasn't being stupid and impulsive -I've noticed many misspelled words. -There's no reason for him to love they, she's been nothing but rude to him and was willing to abandon him. They have 0 chemistry. Actually, they had more chemistry in the first book than the second one. They absolutely hate each other in this one. -PRIVACY DUDE, YOU STILL DON'T KNOW HER! -"A new friendship is like new wine. When it has aged, you will drink it with pleasure".

[tvguidancecounselor]

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 645: Chris Martin

July 22-28, 1995

This week Ken welcomes comedian (his new special "Above Ground Comedian" is out now), Chris Martin to the show.

Ken and Chris discuss being from the UK, Ken living in London, doing stand up, moving to LA, The New Adventures of Superman vs Lois and Clark, Cain-iacs, Dog Boys, softcore, Channel 5, Mario Lopez, snooker, Sunday UK TV, both you and your wife having their own remote control, Jack Lemon, walking on water, being good looking, Teri Hatcher, Brain Smasher: A Love Story, Lethal Weapon, Action police comedy, Baywatch, Beverly Hills Cop, the cost of living, bad residual checks, Misery, having half a lemon in warm water every morning, The George Carlin Show, Isaac Asimov, I Robot, Leonard Nimoy, The Outer Limits, how adult shows in the US are kids shows in the UK, Tim Allen, The Laugh Factory, Home Improvement, Fraiser, Niles, Party of Five, Dawson's Creek, Burke's Law, Carl Reiner, Spin City,  how massive Friends was, Fresh Prince, Matt Perry's death, Boy Meets World, California Dreams, Terminator, Demolition Man, and great character names. 

[whanaukaretao]

Supervisor hui #2

28 February 2024

I enjoyed my check-in with Dave. I showed him some recent work. He said to put a few of the images on my studio wall and start to live in the environment I'm creating.

Here's my to do list from today:

Experiment with Photoshop filters and workspaces (top image) with my robot sequence images. Also, go through some of the tutorials: Help > Hands on Tutorials. Check out YouTube tutorials eg. Premiere Gal.

Photograph every building on K Road, both sides, at different times of day. Do this from a bus as well. Also, photograph the surrounding area like Cross Rd and Pitt st.

Check out photo to manga guides online.

Check out the Halftone anime phone app.

References for building a futuristic world: Watch movies like Bladerunner. Look at sci-fi genre, including reading Frederick Jameson on Utopia (Dave has book), White Chapel series (Shady has given me Utopia pdf from the series.) and Isaac Asimov's iRobot. Talk to Julie in Library Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Listen to Akira on Buildings and cities podcast, ep 54.

Print out photos and draw on them, block colours and trace.

[oleander-neria]

2023 Reading List

River Secrets (Books of Bayern #3) - Shannon Hale

Heartless - Marissa Meyer

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Something Fresh - P.G. Wodehouse

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken

I, Robot - Isaac Asimov

Queen’s Peril - E.K. Johnston (Note: Star Wars)

The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson

Crooked House - Agatha Christie

The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken

The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events #3) - Lemony Snicket

Dragonsinger (Harper Hall Trilogy #2) - Anne McCaffrey

The Thief (Queen’s Thief #1) - Megan Whalen Turner

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Coraline - Neil Gaimen

Ahsoka - E.K. Johnston (Note: Star Wars)

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

The Queen of Attolia (Queen’s Thief #2) - Megan Whalen Turner

The King of Attolia (Queen’s Thief #3) - Megan Whalen Turner

Speaking from Among the Bones (Flavia deLuce #5) - Alan Bradley

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

Day Boy and Night Girl - George MacDonald

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien (Note: read by Andy Serkis)

A Conspiracy of Kings (Queen’s Thief #4) - Megan Whalen Turner

Rebel Rising - Beth Revis (Note: Star Wars)

Thick as Thieves (Queen’s Thief #5) - Megan Whalen Turner

Return of the Thief (Queen’s Thief #6) - Megan Whalen Turner

The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events #4) - Lemony Snicket

Two Tales from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Arthur Conan Doyle (Note: The New Catacomb & The Beetle-Hunter)

Moira’s Pen (Queen’s Thief) - Megan Whalen Turner

The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales from the Old French - Arthur Quiller Couch (Note: illustrated by Kay Neilsen)

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) - J.R.R. Tolkien (Note: fan-made audiobook by Phil Dragash)

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings #2) - J.R.R. Tolkien (Note: fan-made audiobook by Phil Dragash)

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings #3) - J.R.R. Tolkien (Note: fan-made audiobook by Phil Dragash)

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1) - Johnathan Stroud

Partners in Crime (Tommy and Tuppence #2) - Agatha Christie

The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe

Rebecca - Daphne duMaurier

Dracula - Bram Stoker (Note: Dracula Daily)

Afterworlds - Scott Westerfeld

The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co. #2) - Johnathan Stroud

Uneasy Money - P.G. Wodehouse

Renegades (Renegades Trilogy #1) - Marissa Meyer

Archenemies (Renegades Trilogy #2) - Marissa Meyer

Total: 44

Favorites: Persuasion, Queen’s Thief

Honorable Mentions: Lockwood & Co., Something Fresh

Further notes on LOTR: Andy Serkis is great but I thought his Hobbit was just fine, not remarkable. A little disappointing. Phil Dragash never disappoints and I truly think his audiobooks are the ultimate way to experience the trilogy (provided one likes the Peter Jackson movies).

[tmarshconnors]

"Education isn't something you can finish."

Isaac Asimov was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. 

Born, January 2, 1920 Petrovichi, Russian SFSR

Died April 6, 1992 (aged 72) New York City, U.S.

ChatGPT

Isaac Asimov was a prolific author and biochemist known for his contributions to science fiction and popular science writing. Here are five lesser-known facts about him:

Prolific Writer: Isaac Asimov was incredibly prolific, having written or edited over 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His works covered a wide range of subjects, including science fiction, popular science, history, religion, and literature.

Multilingual Scholar: Asimov was proficient in multiple languages. He could read and write in English, Russian, Yiddish, and even had a good understanding of several classical languages, including Latin and ancient Greek. His linguistic skills allowed him to delve into a wide range of literary and scientific works.

Three Laws of Robotics: Asimov formulated the famous "Three Laws of Robotics" which he introduced in his short story "Runaround" in 1942. These laws became a fundamental framework in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. The three laws are designed to govern the behavior of robots and ensure their ethical use.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Educational Background: Asimov earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Although he is best known for his contributions to science fiction, his scientific background and expertise were significant influences in his science fiction writing, especially in his Foundation series.

Humanism and Rationalism: Asimov was a self-proclaimed humanist and rationalist. He was a strong advocate for scientific thinking, secularism, and the pursuit of knowledge. His non-fiction works often reflected his humanist philosophy, and he was an outspoken supporter of reason, education, and the scientific method.