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"The world is really so surreal these days that it's necessary for us to blunt it somehow in order to stay sane. The artist functions to short-circuit the buffering mechanism, so that people can occasionally perceive the weirdness of things as they are."
- William Gibson
 |
| Killer Robot | ||
| An autonomous robot made for the express purpose of killing living creatures. |
Very early use of this idea.
| Countless wars had taken more from men than science had given them. X-120 and his kind were the culmination of this primal killer instinct.
In the haste of a war-pressed emergency man had not taken the time to refine his last creation, or to calculate its result. And with that misstep man had played his last card on the worn gaming table of earth. That built-in urge to kill men in yellow uniforms had changed, ever so slightly, to an urge to kill - men...
 (Rust, the robot by Joseph Killeam) He lumbered forward. A few birds were stirring. Suddenly, almost at his feet, a rabbit darted from the bushes. X-120's long jointed arms swung swiftly. The tiny animal lay crushed upon the ground. Instinctively he stamped upon it, leaving only a bloody trace upon the new grass. Then remorse and shame stole over him. He went on silently. Somehow the luster of the day had faded for him. He did not want to kill. Always he was ashamed, after the deed was done. And the age-old question went once more through the steel meshes of his mind: Why had he been made to kill? |
| Technovelgy from Rust,
by Joseph E. Kelleam. Published by Astounding Stories in 1939 Additional resources -
|
Here's another quote, from a portion of the story in which X-120 was attempting to repair and rebuild a living robot:
X-120 huddled against the far wall. "It is as I said," he moaned; "we can build nothing. We were not made to work at anything. We were made for one purpose, to kill." He looked at his sulky claws, and shook them as though he might cast them away...
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Rust
More Ideas
and Technology by Joseph E. Kelleam
Tech news articles related to Rust
Tech news articles related to works by Joseph E. Kelleam
Killer Robot-related
news articles:
- DARPA Seeks Self-Repairing Hunter-Killers?
- Killer Robot COTSBot Stalks Starfish
| Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You |
| SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits |
| Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots |
| What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots? |
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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
