Caves of Steel is the first of Asimov's Robot series. It
essentially is a detective story with two "Odd Couple" detectives,
Elijah Baley, a human detective from New York, and his new partner, R.
Daneel Olivaw, a humanoid robot. The crime is a violent murder of a
cutting edge robotic designer. It is a fun read and has an interesting
subplot in Baley's wife, Jezebel.
Elijah. Jezabel. Despite the futuristic setting, there is a biblical atmosphere here and it extends into the scratchy relationship between the two detectives in an illuminating way. Baley does not like robots generally but is interested in Daneel because of the insight understanding him might provide towards the crime.
In one encounter he tries to explain the bible to Daneel and uses the gospel where Christ is presented with the adulterous woman and is asked if she should be stoned, as the law demands. Christ responds with silence, then says the man without sin should cast the first stone. When the crowd melts away He tells the woman, "Go and sin no more."
Daneel is nonplussed. The law demands her death. He is a creation of rigid algorithms. He cannot see this dichotomy between the physical world's law and the abstract law Christ advocates.
Of course, Asimov has zeroed in on the essence of the New Testament, the step from the old and new law, the astonishing revolution that His new law demands. There is a law superior to human law, a law beyond temporal, cultural law. A law of the cosmos. This is scary, the essence of revolutionaries, the stuff of "certain inalienable rights."
And everyone has his visions.
Elijah. Jezabel. Despite the futuristic setting, there is a biblical atmosphere here and it extends into the scratchy relationship between the two detectives in an illuminating way. Baley does not like robots generally but is interested in Daneel because of the insight understanding him might provide towards the crime.
In one encounter he tries to explain the bible to Daneel and uses the gospel where Christ is presented with the adulterous woman and is asked if she should be stoned, as the law demands. Christ responds with silence, then says the man without sin should cast the first stone. When the crowd melts away He tells the woman, "Go and sin no more."
Daneel is nonplussed. The law demands her death. He is a creation of rigid algorithms. He cannot see this dichotomy between the physical world's law and the abstract law Christ advocates.
Of course, Asimov has zeroed in on the essence of the New Testament, the step from the old and new law, the astonishing revolution that His new law demands. There is a law superior to human law, a law beyond temporal, cultural law. A law of the cosmos. This is scary, the essence of revolutionaries, the stuff of "certain inalienable rights."
And everyone has his visions.
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