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the first time in human history the economy is running smoothly, except for a few small problems here and there. These problems, however, should not occur, and they worry Stephen Byerley, who has now become World Coordinator. He tells Susan Calvin about his investigation. One by one, he and Susan discard hypotheses that the machines are being given wrong data or that their instructions are being ignored. Wrong data or sabotage (by the anti-robot Society for Humanity) simply become part of the data for the next problem and are taken into account by the Machines. The small inefficiencies, they finally decide, have been caused by the Machines themselves as they shake loose those few persons who cling to the side of the boat for purposes the Machines consider harmful to humanity. The Machines are acting for the ultimate good of the human species, which only the Machines know or can know. Mankind has lost any voice in its own future, but then, if one considers the uncontrolled swings of the economy when it was in the hands of humans and the seemingly inevitable conflicts that accompanied them, humanity never had any control. For all time now, all conflicts are finally evitable. Only the Machines are inevitable. |
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One might contrast this attitude toward the omniscient and omnipotent machine with Jack Williamson's treatment of the same theme in "With Folded Hands," which appeared three years before "The Evitable Conflict" and may have been on Asimov's mind. Indeed, the title of Asimov's story might refer to Williamson's conclusion about his "humanoids," who do everything for humanity and leave mankind with nothing to do but sit with folded hands. "The Evitable Conflict" and ''With Folded Hands" exhibit two major differences, however: Asimov's Machines not only control human affairs better than humans but humanity never has been "free," and the Machines do not let humanity know it no longer is in control. |
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This account of the stories that make up I, Robot gives only a hint of the qualities that make the stories, and the book, persistently appealing. Except for "Liar!" and "Evidence," these are not stories in which character plays a significant part. Virtually all plot develops through conversation, with little if any action. Nor is there a great deal of local color or description of any kind. The dialogue is a function of the ideas, and the style is transparent. |
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At times, as in the climactic moment in which Susan Calvin torments Herbie into insanity with a dilemma, Asimov's unadorned language rises to the demands placed upon it by the narrative. But mostly it lies |
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