Publishing Data
First published in Astounding Science Fiction, April 1941
Collected in I, Robot, 1950
Collected in The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction, ed. Arthur B. Evans et al.
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| A robot on an Earth outpost reasons that the humans who made him are inferior beings. |
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| Background |
- René Descartes (1596-1650), French philosopher, is famously known for his declaration: "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think; therefore, I am.")
- Cutie's declaration "There is no Master but the Master. . ." echoes the Shahada, the Muslim creed which is roughly translated as "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his Prophet."
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| Navigation Guide |
| Characterize Powell and Donovan. How are they different from one another? |
| What is the purpose of Solar Station 5? What is the danger from the electron storm? |
| How is QT-1 (Cutie) different from previously-developed robot models? |
| What was Cutie developed to do and why? |
| What is Cutie's dilemma? How does he attempt to resolve it? Is his logic reasonable? Why or why not? |
| According to Asimov's own Laws of Robotics a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such
orders conflict with the First Law. Does Cutie flaunt this law? |
| Cutie claims that robots are superior to humans. Does this story support or refute this view? |
| Is Cutie sentient or just a reasoning machine? |
| How does Asimov portray the relationship between reason, religion, and truth? |
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