I’m about to commit what some might call tantamount to geek treason. I’m about to trash an Isaac Asimov book.
First, though, I’m going to make a somewhat shocking confession: Prior to now, I have never actually read an Isaac Asimov novel.
Okay, I’ll wait while you all digest that.
…
Yes, I did just admit that I was an Asimov virgin until now. Well, not completely. You can’t be a geek, especially a TNG geek, without knowing Asimov. After all, our favorite android possessed a “Soong-type positronic brain.” Positronic brains came straight from the brain of one Mr. Isaac Asimov, father of the three laws of robotics:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
This is all moot, however, since none of this relates to the Asimov book I did read, The Stars, Like Dust. Apparently, this is a recent re-release. It was positioned on the New Arrivals shelf at the library, all sparkly new and, strangely enough, without a protective plastic cover. I quickly snatched it up, taking its presence as a sign that it was time I delved into something Asimovian.
I should have gone to find I, Robot instead. This was not at all what I was expecting