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Stephen Byerley
A politician who is running for a mayoral office in “Evidence.” Quinn suspects that his political rival, Stephen Byerley, may be a robot, and so he enlists the help of Calvin and Lanning in order to help him prove this theory. The irony of this smear campaign is that Quinn proves himself to be far less ethical than Byerley (whom Calvin does suspect to be a robot) during the campaign, and therefore he prompts readers to wonder whether a robot might be better suited for that kind of job. Ultimately, Byerley is able to convince the public that he is not a robot, and Quinn loses the election.
Francis Quinn Quotes in I, Robot
The I, Robot quotes below are all either spoken by Francis Quinn or refer to Francis Quinn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Evidence Quotes
“Actions such as his could come only from a robot, or from a very honorable and decent human being. But you see, you just can’t differentiate between a robot and the very best of humans.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Francis Quinn Character Timeline in I, Robot
The timeline below shows where the character Francis Quinn appears in I, Robot. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Evidence
...Machines, she says that she has to tell the story of Stephen Byerley and Francis Quinn.
(full context)
In 2032, Quinn and Byerley are locked in a political race for mayor. During the campaign, Quinn approaches...
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...Byerley, and Lanning asks him point blank if he is a robot. Byerley guesses that Quinn is the one who put Lanning up to this and is slightly irked, but he...
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The next day, Calvin, Lanning, and Quinn meet again, and they report to Quinn that they saw Byerley eat. Calvin admits, however,...
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Lanning tries to examine evidence they may already have, as Byerley is a district attorney. Quinn remarks that Byerley boasts about having never prosecuted an innocent man. Lanning points out that...
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Quinn decides the next step is to try to find out what Byerley’s insides look like....
(full context)
...tiny mechanism in his pocket—a small X-ray camera. But when he presents the image to Quinn, he discovers that Byerley must have been wearing something that shielded his body from radiation,...
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Byerley and Quinn speak over visorphone, and Quinn threatens to reveal that Byerley wears this shield to the...
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Byerley denies Quinn’s claims, but thanks him for the publicity. Quinn again affirms that Byerley is a robot...
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...Calvin and Stephen Byerley meet once more, a week before he takes office. Calvin explains Quinn’s theory to him fully, but Byerley points out that his ability to hit the man...
(full context)
