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Short Reviews: Isaac Asimov

"Cleon the Emperor" [permanent link]. Set in Asimov's Foundation universe, this story tells the tale of the Emperor Cleon I, with Hari Seldon (the Psychohistorian) as his First Minister. Utilities have been breaking down more often than should be happening on Trantor, and Seldon suspects it is part of a plot to assasinate the Emperor. But Seldon does not know that there is a plot but the target may not be the Emperor. Can he uncover who the target is in time to maintain the Galactic Empire while still working on his beloved Psychohistory?
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"Dead Hand" [permanent link]. A story set in Asimov's "Foundation" universe, this one has an influential General from the Galactic Empire setting out on a voyage to conquer the Foundation. Against him is a steward from a conquered planet and a Foundation trader. Will they be enough to stop him or can other forces come into play as 'predicted' by the 'dead hand' of Hari Seldon?
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"Gold" [permanent link]. Set in the future where theatre plays have become 'computerized', where actors and sets are all computer generated, a director is asked to produce a play by a man who wrote the script. But in a world where wealth is digital, whan can the man offer to entice the directory to direct his play and ensure that the play is what the man wants?
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"Kid Brother" [permanent link]. A cute little tale about a family who gets a robot to be the 'kid brother' for their only child. Problems crop up when the mother begins to treate the robot as part of the family while the father insists on it being treated as an object. Their differing views would cause a conflict when a crisis occurs at the end of the story.
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"Potential" [permanent link]. An interesting story about some scientists who, with the help of the computer Multivac, have discovered that some people may have the genetic potential to become a telepath. But when they find a boy with a similar genetic makeup and test him, the potential does not appear to be there; or is it?
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"Robot Dreams" [permanent link]. This story is set in Asimov's Robots series and tells the story of a robot who can dream. The famous Susan Calvin investigates to try to find why a mechanical robot can dream and what the robot is dreaming about. The ending is unexpected but, unfortunately, logical.
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"Robot Visions" [permanent link]. An interesting story that tells the tale of a group of scientists who manage develop a time machine that goes forward in time. To test it, they send a robot two hundred years into the future and it returns with a tale of a world full of humanity and peace. Is the tale to be believed or is something being held back or hidden by the inhabitants of the future? Only one person may be able to figure out the truth.
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"Too Bad!" [permanent link]. A fascinating robot story about a man who has to undergo urgent surgery to survive. But the surgeon is a robot with special equipment that allows it to miniaturise itself to let it enter the man's body to operate. But the miniaturisation process itself is dangerous as the robot may spontaneously re-expandand depending on chance and how small it is. How is the robot to operate without harming the patient? As the story reveals, it may be "too bad" the robot has to make the only choice it has.
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