Essay Questions

Why does Del hate robots?

Del was rescued by a robot who saved him from a car while he was attempting to himself save a young girl. The robot chose Del over the girl as he statistically had a better chance of living that she did. Del lived, the girl died, and he can't live with the belief that robots can help society when they make a decision to allow a child to die.

Why should one be skeptical that Lanning's death was declared a suicide?

Dr. Alfred Lanning dies from a fall from the great height of his office in a skyscraper. The police deem his death a suicide. But it is an unlikely cause of death as no human has the ability to break through the glass which encased his office. Only a robot has the capacity to break through the glass, and this causes Del to believe that a robot has in fact broken the first law of robotics and killed Dr. Lanning.

How is there no evidence of Del's attack in his car that nearly kills him?

Del is under attack from a demolition machine and a slew of robots while driving. They attempt to kill him but are unsuccessful. His car is totaled and there is major damage everywhere, but there is no evidence to support Del's story. The reason for this is that robot clean up crews clean up any evidence of the crash and with cameras turned off there is no physical proof that Del was attacked and is thus considered to be mentally ill.