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INTRODUCTION

Patricia Bray

As a child, I was fascinated by robots. The first Christmas present I remember receiving was a B9 Robot from the Lost in Space television show—a present that conclusively proved the existence of Santa Claus since my parents would surely have chosen a traditional doll. In later years, I spent my hard-earned babysitting money on a Tobor remote control robot.

Powerful, intelligent, loyal, fearless, no one could ask for a better companion or guardian angel. But for every tale of a robot bound to serve humanity, there were a dozen tales of robots run amok—servants who had risen up to overthrow their human masters or conquering aliens who disdained primitive humans and our biological limitations. As the pace of change accelerated in the 50s and 60s, these robots represented our fears of technology out of control.

In All Hail Our Robot Conquerors! we asked authors to revisit those early days of science fiction, when robots were creatures of imagination rather than the factory floor. The result is fifteen tales of robots trying—and sometimes succeeding—to conquer humanity. Humor, horror, action, mystery, there’s a story to fit every taste, and a robot for every situation.

I hope you enjoy.


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Framed