It's 2035 A.D., where robots are everyday objects and are programmed to
live alongside humans. Detective Del Spooner is called out to investigate
the apparent suicide of the scientist behind these robots, Dr. Alfred
Lanning. Spooner suspects that the death might not be a suicide, but the
result of one of the robots. All robots are programmed by three laws, but
Spooner starts to wonder if a robot can in fact feel emotions, and possibly
murder. But if Spooner's suspicions are true, he is going to have a hard
time convincing everyone.
Set in a future Earth (2035 A.D.) where robots are common assistants and
workers for their human owners, this is the story of "robotophobic" Chicago
Police Detective Del Spooner's investigation into the murder of Dr. Alfred
Lanning, who works at U.S. Robotics, in which a robot, Sonny , appears to
be implicated, even though that would mean the robot had violated the Three
Laws of Robotics, which is apparently impossible. It seems impossible
because.. if robots can break those laws, there's nothing to stop them from
taking over the world, as humans have grown to become completely dependent
upon their robots. Or maybe... they already have? Aiding Spooner in his
investigation is a psychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin, who specializes in the
psyches of robots.
This is the year 2035. Everybody in the world relies on a huge system of
robots, which are programmed specifically to help humans and not harm them
in any way. But one person does not think that robots are helpful. Chicago
homicide detective Del Spooner. but one day, he received a call from the
United States Robotics (USR) about a recent death of renowned robot
scientist Dr. Alfred J. Laning. Spooner immediately blamed this incident on
robots without justifiable reason or proof. Then, he begins his
investigation on Lanning's death, only to discover Sonny, a "unique" robot.
What Spooner does not realize, is that something is about to happen.
Something that is beyond even spooner's wildest dreams.
It's the year 2035, and the community now has the help of robots. These
robots have three laws integrated into their system. One, they cannot harm
a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Two, they must do whatever they're told by a human being as long as such
orders don't conflict with law one. Three, they have to defend themselves
as long as such defense doesn't conflict with laws one or two. One day, the
writer of the three laws, Alfred Lanning, apparently jumps out of the
tenth-floor window of U.S. Robotics. The majority of the Chicago Police
Department believe that he committed suicide, but Detective Del Spooner,
who hates robots, thinks he was murdered, and the number one suspect is a
Nestor Class-5 robot who calls himself Sonny. However, if it was Sonny,
then that means he would've had to have broken the three laws. With the
help of Dr. Susan Calvin, Spooner must now discover the truth before it's
too late.