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The primary robot in “Runaround.” Speedy is an SPD model whom Donovan and Powell send out to retrieve selenium in order to be able to power the station on Mercury. But Speedy has been programmed with a strengthened Third Law of robotics because he was so expensive to build, and so when he approaches the selenium pool and encounters an unforeseen danger, he is simultaneously driven toward it by the Second Law and driven away by the Third Law. He becomes caught in a loop and acts “drunk,” swaying back and forth and spewing nonsensical children’s rhymes. It is only when Powell puts himself in danger that the First Law kicks in and Speedy is able to snap out of his loop. Thus, Speedy becomes an example of how the robots will follow their ethical code no matter what, even if doing so renders them completely inoperable.
Speedy Quotes in I, Robot
The I, Robot quotes below are all either spoken by Speedy or refer to Speedy. 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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Runaround Quotes
It was Powell who broke the desperate silence. “In the first place,” he said, “Speedy isn’t drunk—not in the human sense—because he’s a robot, and robots don’t get drunk. However, there’s something wrong with him which is the robotic equivalent of drunkenness.”
“To me, he’s drunk,” stated Donovan, emphatically, “and all I know is that he thinks we’re playing games. And we’re not. It’s a matter of life and very gruesome death.”
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He called a last time, desperately: “Speedy! I’m dying, damn you! Where are you? Speedy, I need you.”
He was still stumbling backward in a blind effort to get away from the giant robot he didn’t want, when he felt steel fingers on his arms, and a worried, apologetic voice of metallic timbre in his ears.
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Speedy Character Timeline in I, Robot
The timeline below shows where the character Speedy appears in I, Robot. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Runaround
...on the surface of Mercury for 12 hours now, realize that their robot SPD 13 (Speedy) hasn’t returned to their space station with selenium, even though they sent him out five...
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...selenium in order to power the photo-cell banks that protect them from Mercury’s sun, and Speedy is the only one who can retrieve the selenium. If he doesn’t come back, they...
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When Donovan and Powell power up the first robot and tell him to go find Speedy, he responds, “Yes, master.” Powell explains that the makers built “good, healthy slave complexes” into...
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...surface of Mercury, staying within the shadows and trying to avoid the sun. They find Speedy, still circling the selenium pool and lurching from side to side, and they try to...
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Donovan and Powell try to figure out what could be wrong with Speedy. Powell asks Donovan what he said to Speedy when he sent him to find the...
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Powell realizes what is wrong with Speedy: Speedy is very expensive, and so his “allergy to danger is unusually high.” The Third...
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...they can’t send their other robots alone. Donovan suggests that they increase the danger in Speedy’s vicinity to try to drive him back to the space station.
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...the spot a few hours later with oxalic acid, which will pose a threat to Speedy’s metal body. The men are grim, realizing that their photo-cell banks are deteriorating rapidly. They...
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...to invoke the First Rule, which supersedes the Second and Third Rules and would cure Speedy of his “drunkenness.” Powell dashes out into the sunlight on the back of his robot,...
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When Powell wakes, Donovan is bending over him. He explains that Speedy brought Powell back to their Station, and then Donovan sent Speedy out to get the...
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