I, Robot (short story)

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For other uses, see I, Robot (disambiguation).

"I, Robot" is a science fiction short story by Eando Binder about a robot named Adam Link. It was published well before the unrelated and more famous book I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.

It was adapted for an episode of the 1960s science fiction anthology series The Outer Limits, and again for the 1990s revival of the series. Binder's story was very innovative for its time, one of the first robot stories to break away from the Frankenstein clichés.

The story is a robot's confession. Some weeks earlier its builder, Dr. Link, built it in the basement. Dr. Link teaches his robot to walk and talk and behave civilly. Dr. Link's housekeeper sees the robot just enough to be horrified of it. The robot is fully educated in a few weeks, Dr. Link's dog is totally loyal to the robot, and Dr. Link names the robot Adam Link, and it professes a desire to serve any human master who will have it. Soon afterwards, a heavy object falls on Dr. Link by accident and kills him. His housekeeper instantly assumes that the robot has murdered Dr. Link, and calls in armed men to hunt it down and destroy it. They don't succeed; in fact, they provoke the robot to retaliate, both by refusing to listen to it and by accidentally killing Dr. Link's dog. Back at the house, the robot finds a copy of Frankenstein, which Dr. Link had carefully hidden from the robot, and finally somewhat understands the hysterical prejudice against itself. But in the end the robot decides that it simply isn't worth killing several people just to get a hearing, writes its confession, and turns itself off.