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Runaround

Isaac Asimov

First published March 1942
Type Short Fiction
Length Novelette
Series The Positronic Robot Stories › Mike Donovan

Synopsis

Robot SPD-13 or "Speedy" sent for liquid selenium on Mercury gets stuck (actually running "drunkenly" in a circle and babbling nonsense) between the vague command and the danger the pool seems to pose for him; Powell must risk his life in direct sunshine to end the impasse by invoking the First Law.

Notes

Explicit formulation of all 'Three Laws of Robotics'.

External Links

Wikipedia

Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
2018 Retro Hugo Award Best Short Story Nominee/Finalist
2018 Retro Hugo Award Best Novelette Nominee/Finalist

Publications (85)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
March 1942 Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942 Street & Smith Publications, Inc. MAGAZINE 94
1950 I, Robot Gnome Press Collection 41
1950 I, Robot Gnome Press Collection
1952 I, Robot Grosset & Dunlap Collection
1952 I, Robot Grayson & Grayson Collection
March 1954 I, Robot The Science Fiction Book Club (UK) Collection
March 1956 I, Robot Signet / New American Library Collection 28
May 1957 I, Robot Signet / New American Library Collection 28
1958 I, Robot Digit Books Collection
January 1961 I, Robot Signet Collection 28
1963 I, Robot Doubleday Collection 40
February 1963 The Coming of the Robots Collier Books Anthology 99
August 1963 I, Robot Doubleday / SFBC Collection 40
April 1964 I, Robot Signet / New American Library Collection 28
1966 The Coming of the Robots Collier Books Anthology 99
March 1966 I, Robot Doubleday Collection 40
1967 I, Robot Dennis Dobson Collection 40
1968 The Coming of the Robots Collier Books Anthology 99
1968 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
1968 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
July 1968 I, Robot Signet / New American Library of Canada Collection 28
1969 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
August 1970 I, Robot Fawcett Crest Collection 30
1971 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
1973 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
1974 As Tomorrow Becomes Today Prentice-Hall Anthology 222
1974 As Tomorrow Becomes Today Prentice-Hall Anthology 222
1974 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
1975 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
1975 I, Robot Panther / Granada Collection 33
April 1977 I, Robot Doubleday / SFBC Collection 40
June 1977 I, Robot Panther Collection 33
1978 I, Robot Panther / Granada Collection 33
1980 I, Robot Fawcett Crest Collection 30
1981 I, Robot Granada Collection 33
April 1982 The Complete Robot Doubleday Collection 209
July 1982 The Complete Robot Doubleday & Company / SFBC Collection 209
October 1982 The Complete Robot Granada Collection 209
1983 The Robot Collection Doubleday Omnibus
March 1983 Hallucination Orbit: Psychology in Science Fiction Farrar, Straus and Giroux Anthology 127
December 1983 I, Robot Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 80
December 1983 I, Robot Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 80
1984 The Complete Robot Panther Collection 257
1984 I, Robot Panther / Granada Collection 33
1984 Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories About Robots and Computers Allen Lane Anthology 209
1984 The Complete Robot Panther Collection 257
January 1984 Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories About Robots and Computers Holt, Rinehart and Winston Anthology 209
July 1984 I, Robot Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 30
November 1984 I, Robot Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 30
1985 Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories About Robots and Computers Penguin Books Anthology 209
July 1985 I, Robot Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 30
August 1985 I, Robot Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 30
1986 The Complete Robot Grafton Collection 257
May 1986 I, Robot Grafton Collection 33
1988 The Complete Robot Grafton Collection 257
May 1989 The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov Dark Harvest Collection 61
May 1989 The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov Dark Harvest Collection 61
1990 The Complete Robot Grafton Collection 257
1990 Robot Visions Guild Publishing Collection 96
April 1990 Robot Visions Roc / Penguin Collection 113
July 1990 The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov!: Volume One Ace Books Collection 87
September 1990 Robot Visions Gollancz Collection 96
1991 The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov Legend Collection 64
March 1991 Robot Visions Roc / New American Library Collection 113
May 1991 Robot Visions VGSF / Victor Gollancz Collection 96
October 1991 The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov: Volume One Legend Collection 64
December 1991 I, Robot Bantam Spectra Collection 30
1992 I, Robot Doubleday Collection 30
1992 War with the Robots: 28 of the Best Short Stories by the Greatest Names in 20th Century Science Fiction Wings Books Anthology 209
1993 The Complete Robot HarperCollins (UK) Collection 257
September 1993 Robot Visions VGSF / Gollancz Collection |13
October 1993 I, Robot HarperCollins (UK) Collection 38
1995 The Complete Robot Voyager Collection 257
July 1996 I, Robot Bantam Spectra Collection 30
February 1997 Robot Visions Vista Collection |13
November 2000 The Complete Robot Doubleday / SFBC Collection 209
April 2001 Robot Visions Gollancz Collection |13
June 2004 I, Robot Bantam Spectra Collection 25
June 2004 I, Robot Bantam Spectra Collection 30
July 2004 Robot Visions Roc / New American Library Collection 113
March 2013 I, Robot Harper Voyager (UK) Collection 31
June 2013 I, Robot HarperVoyager / HarperCollinsPublishers Collection 30
September 2015 Robot Visions Recorded Books Collection |96
May 2018 The Complete Robot HarperVoyager Collection 221
May 2018 I, Robot HarperVoyager / HarperCollinsPublishers Collection 30