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Power of Telepathy in Isaac Asimov's “Liar”

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Power of Telepathy in Isaac Asimov's “Liar” ISSN: 1548-7741 Journal of Information and Computational Science POWER OF TELEPATHY IN ISAAC ASIMOV’S “LIAR” Dr. A. Glory Assistant Professor Department of English, Annamalai University, Chidambaram Abstract Asimov’s science short fiction “Liar” deals the psychology of the people and the technology advancement. The setting of the story is Earth but the period of the story is 2020. In this story RB-34 (Herbie), a robot able to read mind, is mistakenly created by the scientist. Susan Calvin, Alfred Lanning, Milton Ashe, and Peter Bogert have been given the task of exploring how the mental reading has altered the robot. This paper warns about the shortcomings of the invention of the mind reading robots. The scientist creates this sort of robots to help the people when they are in the adverse so laws similar to ‘Three Laws of Robotics’ should be implemented before giving the input of telepathy power. The technology of mind reading came true in the twenty first century. Keywords: Telepathy, Future world, Technology, Laws of Robotics, artificial intelligence and psychology Science Fiction is one of the sub genres of the fiction. This sub-genre stimulates the young people to think lot about the future. The future world seems to be the mysterious one. No one can predict or foretell the events or incidents accurately. However, Science can help the people to forecast the future developments. The science fiction writers with the knowledge of science introduced lot of technologies in their fiction even before the real existence of the technologies in the world. Writers’ power of imagination, knowledge of science and curiosity about the future made him create a fiction related to science and fantasy. The setting of the science fiction is entirely different from the other genres because it is mostly set in the future world, space, asteroid, planets, and space stations. Timing of the story setting is incredible and the characters possess some extraordinary powers. The life spans of the characters are also implausible. The advance machines, automations, artificial intelligence, communications, transports are introduced in the science fiction. People cannot estimate that all Volume 10 Issue 1 - 2020 41 www.joics.org ISSN: 1548-7741 Journal of Information and Computational Science these things are only emits from the imaginary vision of the writers. Actually, they are reflected from the deep thinking of the writers about the future. Science Fiction is the combination of the two major fields: Science and Literature. On the surface level the both the areas seem to be opposite pole since science fixed with fact and literature fixed with fantasy but the fact is science fiction predicts about the possibility of the upcoming powerful technologies. Literature has the power to scrutinize the value of the inventions and according to the analysis; it can recommend the technology to the people or warn about the technologies to the people. David Seed says: It is more useful to think of it as a mode or field where different genres and subgenres intersect. And then there is the issue of science. In the early decades of the science and even to use it as a means of promoting scientific knowledge, a position which continues into what has become known as ‘hard SF’. Applied science-technology-has been much more widely discussed in SF because every technological innovation affects the structure of our society and the nature of our behavior. Technology has repeatedly been associated with the future by SF, but it does not follow that the fiction is therefore about the future.(1) The first golden age of science fiction was recognized primarily in the United States from 1938 to 1946, at a time when science fiction caught people's attention and a series of classic science fiction stories were published. In the history of science fiction, the Golden Age follows the pulp era of 1920 and 1930, and precedes the new wave of science fiction in 1960 and 1970. 1950’s a transition period in the program; However, Robert Chilvarberg, who was in 1950, saw the decade as a true golden age. The main goals of literature are to provide pleasure, give guidance, and sow wisdom. Literature shapes a person with a moral outlook and science creates a new dimension of intelligence thus literature creates a moral soul and science shows mental power to that soul. Science fiction is, “A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background” (Chu 1). Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke are widely regarded as the Three Masters of Science fiction. Asimov wrote more than 500 fictions in his lifetime. He focused on various concepts like computers, robots, nano-technology, space, medicine, astronomy, psychology, politics, history, theology and so on. In his science fiction, he dealt various concepts without spoiling the main genre. The reader can very well analyze the mental ability of his contemporary people. His people were very much worried about the advancement of technology. The main causes of their worries are unemployment and Frankenstein complex. Volume 10 Issue 1 - 2020 42 www.joics.org ISSN: 1548-7741 Journal of Information and Computational Science Young people believed that their job opportunities would be given to the robots and the consequence they would be suffered by unemployment. Science fiction is a sociological study because it deals with the effect of science and technology on the culture. Theodore H. Sturgeon said, “Science fiction is a sociological study because it deals with the impact of science and technology on the society. Theodore H. Sturgeon has stated, “A good science-fiction story is a story about human beings, with a human problem, and a human solution, that would not have happened at all without its science content” (qtd. in McGregor 225). Asimov’s science short fiction “Liar” deals the psychology of the people and the technology advancement. The setting of the story is Earth but the period of the story is 2020. In this story RB-34 (Herbie), a robot able to read mind, is mistakenly created by the scientist. Susan Calvin, Alfred Lanning, Milton Ashe, and Peter Bogert have been given the task of exploring how the mental reading has altered the robot. Herbie informs her that Ashe loved her. When Bogert consults Herbie, the robot informs him that Lanning the principal has withdrawn and taken over Bogert. Susan Calvin is a robot psychologist. Alfred Lanning is a research department leader, Peter Bogert is a mathematician, and Milton Ashe is a Us Robot officer. Susan Calvin wants to know Milton’s Ashe opinion on her. Herbie could sense Susan Calvin’s affection for Milton Ashe, a young officer and Herbie informed her that Milton Ashe also loved her. This made Susan Calvin ecstatic and she started to live in imagination with Milton Ashe and she regarded herself very blissful. “I am trying to help. Milton Ashe’s thoughts of you-” . the robot said quietly, “He loves you.” (Asimov I, Robot 118). Actually, Milton did not have any inclination towards Susan Calvin. When Milton Ashe had a conversation with Peter Bogert, he mentioned Susan Calvin as an old woman. Herbie deliberately uttered a lie to console the person and not to hurt. Bogert informs an incredulous Lanning that he is no longer manager as he challenges some of the Bogert estimates. Later, Calvin found out during a conversation with Ashe, that the girl was not a cousin of Ashe, but a fiancée. Calvin knows Herbie lied because he wants to follow the First Rule of Robotics. The robot tried not to hurt people when telling each person what he or she wanted to hear. The Three Laws of Robotics were introduced in the short story “Runaround”. The laws are: First Law A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law Volume 10 Issue 1 - 2020 43 www.joics.org ISSN: 1548-7741 Journal of Information and Computational Science A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws (Asimov, Robot Visions 8) According to the first law, the robot should not hurt any human being. If the robot tells the actual truth to the people, they may hurt by hearing this. So this mind reading robot tells lie according to the needs of the person. After hearing the lie told by Herbie they seem to be excited so the robot tells lie. Therefore, Calvin enquired the robot what went wrong with his assembly, which enabled him to read his minds. This forces the device into an unexpected battle. The robot cannot respond because the robot sense that Lanning and Ashe would feel bad about learning that a computer has found something that the scientists cannot do. Lanning and Ashe are interested in knowing the response of Herbie but it is collapsed because the robot does not whether it reveals the secret or not. Michael White rightly stated that this short story focused on the human emotions which were the most complex: “Lair!,” which is considered by some critics to be Asimov’s best robot story, is unusual for him in that plot plays second fiddle to the human problems of the characters involved. It is really a story about human emotions-vanity, in particular. It makes a refreshing change from many of Asimov’s robot stories, which end up as little more than clever and highly entertaining intellectual exercises, often based on solving a technical conundrum.
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