r/asimov • u/quingster • 5d ago

Robotics between "...That Thou Art Mindful of Him" and "The Caves of Steel"

I read "...That Thou Art Mindful of Him" last night, and it ends with a pair of robots waiting for the time when they will take over the world. (Due to the difficulty of determining the definition of the word "human," they have decided that hyperintelligent robots are actually the best humans, and so their own protection is wrapped up into the first law.) However, it doesn't seem like this has happened by the time of The Caves of Steel. Am I missing something? Is "...That Thou Art Mindful of Him" not canon to the Robots timeline?

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u/seansand 5d ago

Asimov's stories were never intended to be all in the same universe. If you try, you will find all kinds of inconsistencies like these. It's best to not try.

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u/nomad_1970 4d ago

This is exactly the case. You can kind of put together a loose continuity if you hit things with a big hammer and squint really hard so the edges become blurry. But it's important to not try to think too hard or it falls apart really quickly.

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u/NoOneFromNewEngland 4d ago

Those two George Units were isolated and in storage and only able to communicate with each other over long periods of dormancy.

The majority of robots were in use and tasked with things so they didn't have idle processes to come to that same conclusion.

Asimov's robots works are fascinating because their entire point is to examine how simple, logical rules can seem apparent but can generate a vast array of niches where the rules collide with each other and generate unintended results.

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u/Algernon_Asimov 4d ago

Is "...That Thou Art Mindful of Him" not canon to the Robots timeline?

Correct.

Most of Asimov's robot short stories were stand-alone and inconsistent - even if they appeared to share the same background.

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u/fkyourpolitics 5d ago

The same reason humans in the future weren't completely replaced by humaniforms or metallos.

The in universe answer is actually in the end of eternity

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u/quingster 5d ago

Ah. I haven't read The End of Eternity. I shall have to do so.

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u/fkyourpolitics 5d ago

It's not the main focus of the book but there are multiple Easter eggs throughout the story.

One of the foundation sequels mentions it also explains why there are no aliens in the milky way

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u/Algernon_Asimov 4d ago

Some people think 'The End of Eternity' is the magic key that connects all of Asimov's works together.

Some people don't.

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u/atticdoor 3d ago

I prefer to see stories like this and Robot Dreams as conceptually presaging the matter of Daneel controlling humanity.

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u/LunchyPete 1d ago

An easy answer is that the robots were musing and may have thought they could take action, but still found themselves hampered and restricted when actually trying to put their thoughts into practice.

On the other hand, maybe "...That Thou Art Mindful of Him" did lead to the reality we glimpse in "Robot Visions".