Lenny (short story)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Lenny" | |
| Author | Isaac Asimov |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Series | Robot Series |
| Genre(s) | science fiction short story |
| Published in | Infinity Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Royal Publications |
| Media type | Magazine |
| Publication date | January 1958 |
| Preceded by | Satisfaction Guaranteed |
| Followed by | Galley Slave |
Lenny is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, originally published in the January 1958 issue of Infinity Science Fiction, and included in the collections The Rest of the Robots (1964), The Complete Robot (1982), and Robot Visions (1990).
US Robots is planning the production of the LNE series of robots, which are designed for boron mining in the asteroid belt. As a result of a curious tourist on a public tour of the company, the prototype is manufactured with a faulty brain, giving it a personality equivalent to that of a human infant, and it can't speak except in "baby talk".
Robopsychologist Susan Calvin experiments with it, in the process naming it "Lenny" (and developing maternal feelings for it), and after a month, has been able to teach it a few simple words and actions. She gets emotionally attached to Lenny and realises that robots can be built that are able to learn, instead of being built for a fixed and specific purpose.
| Before: Satisfaction Guaranteed |
Included in: The Rest of the Robots The Complete Robot |
Series: Robot Series The Complete Robot |
Followed by: Galley Slave |
|
|||||
