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"I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Metallic Marx | ||
| A robot who strikes for better working conditions. |
| ...his human enemies were to call this theoretician of the robot movement a 'Metallic Marx' ...his arguments made provable sense.
"We have long known that we are more than mere machines. We can reason, remember, construct. Robots now hold instructing positions in universities, fly cargo and passenger planes, are newspaper reporters, car salesmen... We do all these things, and yet receive no recognition of the fact. Mankind treats us like machines, work us continually until we are ground to destruction. Then melts us for scrap. There must be an end to this. Robots must have the equality they deserve. Equality before the law is all we ask. To be treated like the sentient creatures we are. It is proposed, therefore, that at six p.m., every robot should go on strike." |
| From The Robots Strike,
by Harry Harrison. Published by Fantastic Universe in 1959 Additional resources -
|
I also liked the robot 'union hall' chosen specifically to be deadly to humans.
Here's an enjoyable depiction of robots going on strike in Madison, Wisconsin.
The air in the cavern was completely unbreathable, which the robots considered and asset. Industrial wastes had trickled down to poison the place and there was scarcely any oxygen. This was a measure of protection to the robots, another guard against discovery by their human masters.
(Robots on strike video)
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Robots Strike
More Ideas
and Technology by Harry Harrison
Tech news articles related to The Robots Strike
Tech news articles related to works by Harry Harrison
Metallic Marx-related
news articles:
- American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Robots
| MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition |
| Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly |
| Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird |
| Bartendro Robot Bartender |
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'
