"Helen O'Loy" Rating: 3 Planets
by Lester del Rey  
pub. Astounding, 1938  
collected in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. I

   
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Preview
A robot repairman and a medical doctor modify a robot to give her the capability to learn and to develop emotions and self-awareness. Then she falls in love with one of her creators.

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Background Data
Atom Bullet"Helen O'Loy" is considered the first breakthrough robot story; it paved the way for other stories of humanized robots. This story predates Isaac Asimov's positronic robots and his Three Laws of Robotics.
Atom Bullet Del Rey regarded this story as one of his very best.
Atom BulletHelen is technically an android, humanlike in appearance, rather than a robot, a mechanical being.

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Navigation Guide

Atom BulletMatters of form:

  • Note the clear indication that this story is science fiction in the very first sentence.
  • Note that Phil's absence during Helen's activation allows him to become the reader's surrogate to find out what is going on.
Atom BulletCharacterize Phil, the narrator.
Atom BulletCharacterize Dave.

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Further Exploration
Atom BulletThis story is a variant of the myth of Pygmalion. Read about the myth and demonstrate how this story follows the same course as the myth.

Atom BulletCompare Helen to other, more recent portrayals of robots and androids:

  • Asimov's robots, especially R. Daneel Olivaw
  • the computer Mike from Robert Heinlein's novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
  • Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation
  • the little boy in the film AI

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SciFi Guide
© 2002 Agatha Taormina
Last Revised: January 4, 2005