正子人 (1992)

《正子人》（The Positronic Man）是由星云奖及雨果奖常年得主，科幻大师艾西莫夫（Isaac Asimov）和罗伯特·席维伯格合作著作的长篇小说，改编自早期中篇双百人。

故事大纲

二十一世纪初，劳力被机器人取代。第一个人型机器人NDR113面世，并被命名为安德鲁‧马丁。一天，安德鲁帮小小姐（其主人的二女儿）做一个木坠子，被发现拥有惊人的创造天分，创意和巧思胜过人类的艺术家，而美国机器人与机器人公司则为了这个“不守常规的差错”而回收正子机器人。经过了十数年，安德鲁成为家喻户晓的工匠机器人。安德鲁向法院争取机器人自由，法院判决安德鲁胜诉。但是却遭到人类的嘲讽，甚至是欺压。小小姐决定要帮安德鲁争取公民权，另一方面，安德鲁开始书写“机器人的历史”。在保罗（马丁家族的第四代）的丧礼上，安德鲁回想和马丁家族四代的相处，终于承认这是份关系是“爱”。安德鲁主动找上美国机器人与机器人公司，将自己改做成可以进食、呼吸。一百五十年后，安德鲁更为自己装上人工心脏。

The Positronic Man is a 1992 novel by American writers Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, based on Asimov's 1976 novelette "The Bicentennial Man".

It is about a robot that begins to display characteristics, such as creativity, traditionally the province of humans; the robot is ultimately declared an official human being.

The 1999 film Bicentennial Man, starring Robin Williams, was based both on the original story and the novel.

Plot summary

In the 21st century, the creation of the positronic brain leads to the development of robot laborers and revolutionizes life on Earth. Yet to the Martin family, their household robot NDR-113 is more than a mechanical servant. "Andrew" has become a trusted friend, a confidant, and a member of the Martin family.

The story is told from the perspective of Andrew (later known as Andrew Martin), an NDR-series robot owned by the Martin family, a departure from the usual practice by U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men of leasing robots.

Andrew's initial experiences with the Martin family are replete with awkward moments which demonstrate his lack of socialization. However, he is much better with inanimate objects and animals and begins to display sentient characteristics (such as creativity; emotion; self-awareness) traditionally the province of humans. He is taken off his mundane household duties, for which he was intended, and allowed to pursue his creativity, making a fortune by selling his creations.

Andrew seeks legal protection stemming from his initial creative output and eventual full recognition as a human, by gradually replacing his robotic components with synthetic organs, and citing the process as a transformation from robot to human. Succeeding generations of the Martin family assist him in his quest for humanity, but each is limited to what degree they are prepared to acknowledge Andrew's humanity.

In The Positronic Man, the trends of fictional robotics in Asimov's Robot series (as outlined in the book I, Robot) are detailed as background events, with an indication that they are influenced by Andrew's story. No more robots in Andrew's line are developed. There is also a movement towards centralized processing, including centralized control of robots, which would avoid any more self-reflecting robots such as Andrew.

Only when Andrew allows his positronic brain to "decay", thereby willfully abandoning his immortality, is he declared a human being. This event takes place on the two-hundredth anniversary of his creation, hence the title of the novella and film.

Foundation universe

This story is set within Asimov's Foundation universe, which also includes his earlier Susan Calvin positronic robot tales. It is clearly set centuries prior to the events of his novelette "Mother Earth" and the novel The Caves of Steel, during a period in which the Spacer worlds have yet to turn against the people of the Earth, and in which the U.S. Robots corporation is still active.

Adaptations

Bicentennial Man (1999), film directed by Chris Columbus, based on novelette "The Bicentennial Man" and on novel The Positronic Man