Some Humanoid Robots

            In science fiction it is not uncommon to have a robot built with a surface, at least, of synthetic flesh; and an appearance that is, at best, indistinguishable from the human being. Sometimes such humanoid robots are called “androids” (from a Greek term meaning “manlike”) and some writers are meticulous in making the distinction. I am not. To me a robot is a robot.

            But then, Karel Capek’s play R.U.R., which introduced the term “robot” to the world in 1920, did not involve robots in the strictest sense of the word. The robots manufactured by Rossum’s Universal Robots (the “R.U.R.” of the title) were androids.

            One of the three stories in this section, “Let’s Get Together,” is the only story in the book in which robots don’t actually appear, and “Mirror Image” is a sequel (of sorts) to my robot novels THE CAVES OF STEEL and THE NAKED SUN.