"
Lenny" is a
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
by
Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov , was an American author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books...
, originally published in the January 1958 issue of
Infinity Science FictionInfinity Science Fiction was a short-lived American science fiction magazine. It was published from November 1955 to November 1958 and released a total of 20 issues. The editor of the magazine was Larry T...
, and included in the collections
The Rest of the RobotsThe Rest of the Robots is a collection of eight short stories and two full-length novels by Isaac Asimov. The stories, centred on positronic robots, are all part of the Robot Series, most of which take place in the Foundation universe...
(1964),
The Complete RobotThe Complete Robot is a collection of 31 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov written between 1940 and 1976, which were previously collected in books I, Robot, The Rest of the Robots, and other anthologies...
(1982), and
Robot VisionsRobot Visions is a collection of science fiction short stories and factual essays by Isaac Asimov. Many of the stories are reprinted from other Asimov collections, particularly I, Robot and The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories. However, the stories in I, Robot were edited to make a more...
(1990).
US Robots is planning the production of the LNE series of robots, which are designed for
boronBoron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a trivalent metalloid element which occurs abundantly in the evaporite ores borax and ulexite....
mining in the
asteroidthumb|260px|right|[[253 Mathilde]], a [[C-type asteroid]] measuring about across. Photograph taken in 1997 by the [[NEAR Shoemaker]] probe.Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, especially in the inner Solar System; they are...
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 CalvinDr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. She was the chief robopsychologist at US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., the major manufacturer of robots in the 21st century. She was the main character in many short stories from the books I, Robot and The Complete...
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.
Discussion
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"
Lenny" is a
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
by
Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov , was an American author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books...
, originally published in the January 1958 issue of
Infinity Science FictionInfinity Science Fiction was a short-lived American science fiction magazine. It was published from November 1955 to November 1958 and released a total of 20 issues. The editor of the magazine was Larry T...
, and included in the collections
The Rest of the RobotsThe Rest of the Robots is a collection of eight short stories and two full-length novels by Isaac Asimov. The stories, centred on positronic robots, are all part of the Robot Series, most of which take place in the Foundation universe...
(1964),
The Complete RobotThe Complete Robot is a collection of 31 science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov written between 1940 and 1976, which were previously collected in books I, Robot, The Rest of the Robots, and other anthologies...
(1982), and
Robot VisionsRobot Visions is a collection of science fiction short stories and factual essays by Isaac Asimov. Many of the stories are reprinted from other Asimov collections, particularly I, Robot and The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories. However, the stories in I, Robot were edited to make a more...
(1990).
Plot
US Robots is planning the production of the LNE series of robots, which are designed for
boronBoron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a trivalent metalloid element which occurs abundantly in the evaporite ores borax and ulexite....
mining in the
asteroidthumb|260px|right|[[253 Mathilde]], a [[C-type asteroid]] measuring about across. Photograph taken in 1997 by the [[NEAR Shoemaker]] probe.Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, especially in the inner Solar System; they are...
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 CalvinDr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. She was the chief robopsychologist at US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., the major manufacturer of robots in the 21st century. She was the main character in many short stories from the books I, Robot and The Complete...
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 realizes that robots can be built that are able to learn, instead of being built for a fixed and specific purpose.