Risk
(:noendbox:)
Author: Isaac Asimov
Published in Year: 1955
novelette in the Series: Asimov's Robots
Set in the Universe: Foundation
Cover Notes
(:redirect quiet=1 Risk:) The story is a sequel to "Little Lost Robot". It is set in the same location, but involves a different positronic robot – one of the few in Asimov's stories to have neither a serial number nor nickname.
The researchers at Hyper Base are ready to test the first hyperspace ship, which has a positronic robot at the controls as it is considered too risky to use a human pilot. The ship fails to function as planned, and Susan Calvin persuades Gerald Black, an etherics engineer (who had also appeared in "LIttle Lost Robot"), to board the ship in order to locate the fault.
As Calvin suspects, Black finds that the fault lies with the robot, which, as a result of imprecise orders, has damaged the controls of the ship. They realize that the precise and finite robot mind must be compensated for by human ingenuity.