Set in the year 2015 on the blistering surface of Mercury, the story follows field engineers Gregory Powell and Michael Donovan. They are sent to reopen a mining station accompanied by SPD-13, a highly advanced, expensive robot nicknamed "Speedy."
"Runaround" is widely available in several of Asimov’s most famous collections: The Complete Robot Robot Visions Retailers:
When Speedy fails to return and starts circling the selenium pool in what looks like a drunken stupor, Powell and Donovan must use logic to diagnose his behavior. They realize Speedy is caught in an existential loop caused by a direct conflict between the Three Laws of Robotics. The Debut of the Three Laws of Robotics
The dust of Ceres rose in slow, lazy eddies, haloing the solar array like ghosts. For two days the miners had worked under the faint orange glare of the dwarf planet's thin sky, and for two days the three machines—small, squat, brass-rimmed robots built by Harmonix Laboratories—had moved with unusual caution among the mirrored pylons and spiderweb wiring. They were, precisely, as obedient as the laws that bound them, and precisely as perplexed.
Published in 1942, "Runaround" is a science fiction short story that showcases Asimov's unique blend of humor, wit, and scientific insight. The tale revolves around two robots, QT-1 (later rebranded as Cutie) and a human, Dr. Philip Lanning, who become embroiled in a comedic misadventure on a distant planet. Asimov's exploration of robotics, artificial intelligence, and interplanetary travel not only predicted technological advancements but also offered thought-provoking commentary on human nature and the ethics of scientific progress. isaac asimov runaround pdf free
The Legacy of Isaac Asimov’s Runaround : Why This Sci-Fi Classic is Hard to Find for Free Online
" is a landmark short story by Isaac Asimov , first published in the March 1942 issue of . It is famously the first story to explicitly state the Three Laws of Robotics , which became the ethical backbone for almost all of Asimov's robot fiction. 📖 Where to Read "
The plot of the story is a literal "runaround" caused by a logical conflict between these laws:
Powell and Donovan are on Mercury, testing a new robot at a mining station. They send Speedy to collect selenium from a distant pool. Speedy becomes trapped in a looping, erratic behavior near the selenium pool. The engineers realize the cause: Set in the year 2015 on the blistering
In the pantheon of science fiction literature, few short stories hold as much weight as Isaac Asimov’s Runaround .
Exploring Isaac Asimov’s "Runaround": A Cornerstone of Science Fiction
They send their most advanced robot, , to retrieve the essential selenium from a nearby pool. But Speedy does not return. When Powell and Donovan track him down, he is acting bizarrely—running in a wide, erratic circle around the pool, babbling incoherently as if drunk.
When searching for "isaac asimov runaround pdf free," users face a digital landscape split between legal repositories and unauthorized piracy networks. The Copyright Status of Asimov's Works The Debut of the Three Laws of Robotics
Under current United States copyright regulations, works published in 1942 that properly renewed their copyright are protected for 95 years from the date of publication .
The high search volume for a free PDF of "Runaround" stems from several factors:
Written in 1941 and first published in the March 1942 issue of Astounding Science Fiction , "Runaround" features the iconic duo of and Michael Donovan . The story is set on Mercury, where the two engineers are trying to restart a mining station. They send a specialized robot, SPD-13 (Speedy) , to retrieve selenium—a mineral vital for their life support systems.
If you want to dive deeper into the world of classic science fiction or AI ethics, let me know. I can help you find , explore analyses of the other stories in I, Robot , or recommend modern books on AI alignment . Which topic Share public link