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Mike Donovan
A politician running for mayoral office in “Evidence.” His political opponent, Francis Quinn, accuses him of being a robot. Quinn employs Calvin and Lanning to investigate the situation, citing that Byerley never eats, drinks, or sleeps. Though Calvin agrees that Byerley is a robot, she is never able to prove it. Byerley eats an apple in front of the roboticists, though this doesn’t prove anything—Calvin says that he could simply be a very advanced robot. Byerley also does several things that make them question his innocence: he actively prevents them from taking X-rays of his insides to see if he is a robot, and he also lives with a paralyzed teacher of his named John, whom Quinn claims is the real Stephen Byerley. Ultimately, Byerley is able to convince the public that he is human by hitting another person and violating the First Law, and thus wins the election. However, Calvin later argues that the person he hit could also have been a robot, which would have allowed him to avoid breaking the First Law. Byerley’s case proves just how advanced the robots have become, and also how they can be more ethical than humans, since Quinn ironically goes to unethical lengths in his attempts to prove that Byerley is a robot. In the following story, “The Evitable Conflict,” Byerley has become a World Coordinator and works with Calvin once more to try and deduce errors in the Machines that regulate the world’s economy.
Stephen Byerley Quotes in I, Robot
The I, Robot quotes below are all either spoken by Stephen Byerley or refer to Stephen Byerley. 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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Francis Quinn approaches Calvin and Lanning to try to help him prove that his political opponent, Stephen Byerley, is a robot. Calvin explains here why that is impossible. If Byerley does not follow the Three Laws, he is not a robot, but if he does follow the Three Laws, they cannot distinguish between a robot and a good person. They cite several ways in which Byerley does uphold the Three Laws, thus making it impossible to tell. But Calvin’s statement here gets at more than Byerley’s case specifically: Calvin implies that all robots, ethically speaking, are on a par with Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Acc
“I like robots. I like them considerably better than I do human beings. If a robot can be created capable of being a civil executive, I think he’d make the best one possible. By the Laws of Robotics, he’d be incapable of harming humans, incapable of tyranny, of corruption, of stupidity, of prejudice.” […]
“Except that a robot might fail due to the inherent inadequacies of his brain. The positronic brain has never equalled the complexities of the human brain.”
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After Stephen Byerley proves that he is a human by hitting another man at a rally, Calvin goes to visit Byerley for a final time before he is sworn in. Calvin laments the fact that Byerley is not a robot, and provides all the reasoning as to why robots would actually make better political leaders than humans do. Calvin recognizes that human beings would likely never elect a robot to lead them because they would fear losing control over their fates. However, because robots obey the First Law, they would be better suited for the office and would likely do Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum.
The Evitable Conflict Quotes
“Very well, then, Stephen, what harms humanity? Economic dislocations most of all, from whatever cause. Wouldn’t you say so?”
“I would.”
“And what is most likely in the future to cause economic dislocations? Answer that, Stephen.”
“I should say,” replied Byerley, unwillingly, “the destruction of the Machines.”
“And so should I say, and so should the Machines say. Their first care, therefore, is to preserve themselves, for us.”
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After Calvin and Byerley interview the four Regional Coordinators on Earth, Calvin starts to realize what is happening with the Machines. They are intentionally causing a minimal amount of harm to certain humans and groups associated with the Society for Humanity, which poses a threat to their own existence and therefore to their ability to help humanity as a whole. Like in several of the other stories in the collection, most notably “Reason” and “Evidence,” the humans are losing control of their Machines, but the Machines are acting in the interest of humanity. They are still maintaining their ethical principles, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum d
“But you are telling me, Susan, that the ‘Society for Humanity’ is right; and that Mankind has lost its own say in its future.”
“It never had any, really. It was always at the mercy of economic and sociological forces it did not understand—at the whims of climate, and the fortunes of war.” […]
“How horrible!”
“Perhaps how wonderful! Think, that for all time, all conflicts are finally evitable. Only the Machines, from now on, are inevitable!”
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Calvin explains to Byerley that the Machines are the ones causing the issues with the economy, so that they can maintain control of it. Asimov shows how humanity has created a kind of paradox for itself, because it has created Machines whose job it is to protect humans, but the only way to protect humans is to take control of the economy away from them. This is the only way, as Calvin points out, to avoid the conflicts that had so plagued humanity throughout its entire history prior to the robots. Here, Byerley points out the principles that make this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro p
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Stephen Byerley Character Timeline in I, Robot
The timeline below shows where the character Stephen Byerley appears in I, Robot. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Evidence
...more about the Machines, she says that she has to tell the story of Stephen Byerley and Francis Quinn.
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In 2032, Quinn and Byerley are locked in a political race for mayor. During the campaign, Quinn approaches Lanning and...
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Lanning and Calvin go to visit Byerley, and Lanning asks him point blank if he is a robot. Byerley guesses that Quinn...
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That night, when Byerley returns home, he greets a man named John in a wheelchair. Byerley carries John out...
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...day, Calvin, Lanning, and Quinn meet again, and they report to Quinn that they saw Byerley eat. Calvin admits, however, that this does not prove he is not a robot. The...
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...are the essential guiding principles of a good many of the world’s ethical systems.” If Byerley follows all of the laws, he may be a robot, or he “may simply be...
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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...
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Quinn decides the next step is to try to find out what Byerley’s insides look like. A week before Byerley is to be nominated, Quinn leaks the news...
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One day, a man named Harroway appears at Byerley’s door and presents him with a court order that allows him to search the premises...
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...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, and therefore the picture...
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Byerley and Quinn speak over visorphone, and Quinn threatens to reveal that Byerley wears this shield...
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Byerley denies Quinn’s claims, but thanks him for the publicity. Quinn again affirms that Byerley is...
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Later, just before the election, Byerley makes a final speech in front of a roaring crowd. During the speech, a man...
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Dr. Calvin and Stephen Byerley meet once more, a week before he takes office. Calvin explains Quinn’s theory to him...
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Back with the reporter, Calvin says that when Byerley died, he had his body atomized so that there was never any legal proof. She...
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The Evitable Conflict
Stephen Byerley and Susan Calvin meet in his study. He is now World Coordinator of Earth. He...
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Byerley explains that all periods of human development have led to “inevitable conflicts,” where groups have...
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Byerley goes on to say that these errors, however, may lead to another war, because the...
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Byerley says they asked the Machine for explanations for these economic aberrations, but the Machine could...
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Byerley starts with the Eastern Region, coordinated by Ching Hso-Lin. Ching explains that over the last...
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...It was strange that the Machine did not warn Vrasayana to renovate. Otherwise, Ching assures Byerley and Calvin that this is the only issue they’ve had.
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Byerley goes through the same steps with the Tropic Region, coordinated by Lincoln Ngoma. Ngoma explains...
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Next, Byerley and Calvin meet with the Coordinator of the European Region, named Madame Szegeczowska. They talk...
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Byerley and Calvin finish with the Northern Region, coordinated by Hiram Mackenzie. Mackenzie refutes the idea...
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Byerley and Calvin regroup with what they have been told. They wonder if people are deliberately...
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Calvin offers an alternative theory to Byerley. The Machines follow the First Law, and work for the good of humanity as a...
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Byerley is stunned, wondering if this means that mankind has lost its say in its future....
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