After getting all excited over the robot Philip K. Dick in our latest excerpt, we asked all of you on Facebook and Twitter which other deceased authors should be turned into robots. Some answers probably shouldn’t have surprised us, but all of them made us giggle. Take a look at the new Robot Author Hall of Fame!
Isaac Asimov
Perhaps unsurprisingly Asimov got the majority vote on this one, but our favorite comment to that affect came from @jimworrad, who said “Let’s see how HE likes having his own three laws dumped on him!” Touché, Jim. Really, we just love the idea of those incredible robot sideburns.
Douglas Adams
Do robots still need to carry towels? We suppose part of the advantage of a Douglas Adams robot is that he could carry the entire Hitchhiker’s Guide inside his massive robot brain, thereby preventing Arthur Dent from throwing it in the river. Then maybe he could pen another Doctor Who episode! Can you imagine what a New Who Adams episode would be like? If only….
H.P. Lovecraft
As mentioned by @RJH1981 on Twitter, Lovecraft would be “an incredibly creepy machine.” We agree. But does android Lovecraft mean android Cthulhu (or whatever spelling variant you prefer) will rise from the deep? The answer is probably yes, in which case, we might want to rethink this particular ressurrection.
Gene Roddenberry
Sort of irresistable, isn’t it? We’d have to create some sort of cage match between he and J.J. Abrams, even if Robo-Roddenberry (yes, that’s definitely his name) liked the new movie. Can we bring he and Majel Roddenberry back together? We’re going to miss her computer voice in every incarnation of Trek for years to come.
H.G. Wells
This one is a no-brainer. We want Wells back. He’d probably love taking a look at how the future turned out, and then he’d make friends with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and they’d become some sort of super team. They’d fight future crime. Okay, maybe not, but doesn’t that sound awesome?
Other authors on the list included William S. Burroughs, Edgar Alan Poe, and Robert Anton Wilson—fine choices all. Do you have anyone to add? Where are the robots ladies? Or robot Oscar Wilde? Give us your picks below!
Stubby the Rocket is the Tor.com mascot. Stubby made a Death Star android once (and they chatted for a long while), but the crew made Stubby put its toys away.
