Review: A very clever, unusual, and thought-provoking sci-fi tale
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 27, 2012
This unusual very clever and thought-provoking short 42 page science fiction story focuses on a robot, named Calvin, that is able to think, imagine, and sense, but who was not built for labor. Calvin was sent by futuristic humans to explore planets and secure information that humans can use, such as what kind of humans once lived on the planet, why did they leave, what is left, and are there any valuables that the humans can scavenge. There are no humans in the story, and we are given an opportunity to read how Calvin thinks and acts when confronted with problems such as collisions with space junk, crashing, harm done to fellow robots, and meeting various kinds of seemingly hostile alien robots and dealing with them. We identify with Calvin as we would with a human character in a fictional novel. We can read the tale as an allegory about people or about human aspirations. The tale is filled with suspense as readers seek to understand who are the Body, the Grak, and the Grashing, why were they left on the planet, and what are they trying to do?