Robot Fiction

McSweeney's is a literary journal based in San Francisco. In this piece by Ryan Boudinot, a hangdog robot searches for romance.

Topper and the crew of the Gene take a long trip to find the one that got away. Ever wonder what the other captains in BSR get up to? Follow along as Joshua of the BS Rocket J goes looking for love and new trading partners. Watch Dingus of the BS Armstrong make friends by doing a good deed....

Bedlam is one of the most dangerous places on Earth – home to a host of wicked villains. Nothing and nobody are safe from these evil criminals. The city needs its own superhero to defeat the supervillains. But who? Robodog....

Isaac Asimov, creador de la palabra robótica, nos ofrece treinta y seis relatos cortos y ensayos sobre robots, que resumen todo su preclaro pensamiento sobre el desarrollo futuro de esta ciencia.

[Start Recording] I started out on this journey with a solid plan. All missions need a well-thought-out action plan, don't they? Well, mine had been good, and I'd taken steps to make it succeed. And then the worst thing happened. I failed part one of my mission plan and suddenly I was spinning in circles and lost amongst the stars, deep in the unforgiving Black. Lonely. But every deep space operative has a backup plan, right? Mine just happens to include busting out a group of black-ops agents from a maximum-security prison and beating the enemy at a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. I've ...

Livvy and Jayden are the stars of their school's robotics team. Livvy is especially enthusiastic because her own mother works in a robotics lab and experiments with artificial intelligence. To impress her mom, Livvy and Jayden build a robot. Livvy wants to name their robot "Francine", but Jayden thinks that's too silly for their creation. Desperate to win, Livvy and Jayden "borrow" an artificial intelligence module. They soon realize they've made a terrible mistake. Francine has too much brain power. She's alive! And using this newly gained brain power to dream up a deadly contest!

In the middle of the North Pacific Gyre, the accelerated impacts of Global Climate Change have expanded the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to epic proportions. Brent Brodie was an oil and gas engineer until he suffered catastrophic mental and physical injuries during an oil rig explosion. After years of recovery, he focuses his unique skills to lead the development of a floating, plastic recycling plant which grows into a star-shaped, two-mile wide, rotating island. Utilizing the gyre’s powerful ocean currents, Plasticity Island generates massive amounts of hydroelectricity which powers the ...

Fact: Robots are awesome. They have lasers for eyes, rockets for feet, and supercomputers for brains! Plus, robots never have to eat steamed beans or take baths, or go to bed. If only there were some sort of magical “Robo-Sauce” that turned squishy little humans into giant awesome robots.... Well, now there is.

In post-apocalyptic Manhattan, a medical researcher hides a secret that could transform humanity. Block's search for Wally leads him to Mach X's impenetrable skyscraper in New York City. Outside the gates, a military battalion of SoldierBots guards an encampment of trapped human survivors in this action-packed science fiction adventure. Block embarks on a bold mission to infiltrate the tower in a bid for Wally's freedom, a mission for which the cost may prove too high to bear. Will Block succeed in his desperate attempt, or will he be crushed by the combined might of Mach X's forces in this...

When Pete's friends don't want to play the same games as he does, Pete has a great idea - he'll build a robot that will do whatever he tells it to. But when Robo-Pete gets a little out of control, Pete learns an important lesson about friendship.

Jimmy Roberts' favourite sport to watch is Robot Races, where drivers and their high-tech robot vehicles compete. When the races' founder announces a special version of the competition just for children, Jimmy would be the first to sign up - if only he could afford his own robot. However, his grandpa's shed holds a few surprises! Soon Jimmy is off on the adventure of a lifetime.

“What am I?” ... "You are an AI program.” In a future where robots decorate cakes, paint murals, design their own bodies, and ponder what it means to have children, one woman's workshop becomes the epicenter of mechanical evolution. Meet Maradia, a brilliant but socially awkward roboticist whose creations constantly surprise her by growing beyond their programming in unexpected—and deeply human—ways. This collection of 24 interconnected stories spans decades aboard Crossroads Station, as Maradia's robot children grapple with their purpose, fight for their rights, and sometimes ...

Born into the aristocracy in the 1700s, the young Elijah Summerton had felt different ever since he was a child, ... out of place, He’d always felt as if some vital part of himself was forever missing, like a clock without numbers. Perhaps that is why when the village clock-smith would come to attend to caring for the many clocks in the castle he would follow him around fascinated and ask many questions. He found the sound of the clocks ticking moments soothed him, and peeking at the inner workings mesmerized him. Eventually the clockmaker offered to have him as an apprentice. Which was ...

Frank is working on a revamped version of one of Nikola Tesla's inventions, the "Electro-Finger", a device that can tap into energy anywhere and allow all of Midville to live off the grid, with free wireless and solar energy. But this puts Frank in direct conflict with Edison's quest to control all the power and light in Midville, monopolize its energy resources, and get "rich rich rich".

Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives.

Get ready for your first holoball match! Jojo is the newest member on his team. He’s had to make lots of changes so he can play—he’s a cyborg now, which means he’s part human and part robot! His new additions allow him to see and play with holograms and have the entire internet available to him at all times. He must work together with his teammates to outwit the other team and score a victory!

Meet Charles™, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault. That is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner. Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master – therefore worthless in a society utterly reliant on artificial labour and services.

She created the first true AI. Or so she thought. Ayaka’s experiments led to an artificial intelligence unlike anything seen before. Then, a mysterious ship full of similar beings arrives in orbit—and attacks. How could such primitive lifeforms be so powerful? As chaos unfolds, Ayaka faces a chilling truth: her creation may already surpass her. TILT is a mind-bending sci-fi epic that challenges everything you think about AI, consciousness, and the nature of life. If you love The Three-Body Problem and Iain M. Banks, TILT is your next great read.

It was supposed to be an easy job: find the Dark Star Revolution Starships, destroy them, and go home. But a booby-trapped vessel decimates the Meridian Alliance fleet, leaving Serengeti - a Valkyrie class warship with a sentient AI brain - on her own, wrecked and abandoned in an empty expanse of space. On the edge of total failure, Serengeti thinks only of her crew. She herds the survivors into a lifeboat, intending to sling them into space. But the escape pod sticks in her belly, locking the cryogenically frozen crew inside.

A cowardly retired athlete is asked to go above and beyond the call of duty when an alien animal finds its way into the country. Will he regret his decision to pretend to be brave or finally get his mission to space like he's dreamed of?