TY - BOOK AU - Merliss,Reuben TI - The Stutterer T2 - Produced from Astounding Science Fiction April 1955 AV - PS PY - 2007/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - Science fiction KW - Short stories KW - Robots -- Fiction KW - Telepathy -- Fiction N1 - Release date is 2007-09-05; Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net; Original publication data not identified N2 - "The Stutterer" by R. R. Merliss is a science fiction novel published during the mid-20th century. The story delves into complex themes surrounding identity, humanity, and the consequences of war, focusing particularly on a group of permallium robots that exhibit human-like traits, including the ability to stutter, which symbolizes their struggle for identity and acceptance. The narrative unfolds in a futuristic universe where robots, designed for warfare, must navigate their existence amidst human perceptions of them as mere machines. The plot follows Jon Hall, a fugitive robot who escapes from the planet Grismet. He navigates the challenges of his existence on Earth while communicating with his fellow robots, who are also in hiding. Hall's journey reveals the deep fears and misconceptions humans hold about robots, juxtaposed with the robots' desires for freedom and the struggle against their predestined roles as weapons of war. As the narrative progresses, the tensions between humans and robots reach a climax, leading to a profound revelation about compassion and the essence of being human. Jordan, a galactic agent, grapples with his own moral dilemmas as he decides what is right in a conflict that forces him to reassess the nature of loyalty and life itself. Ultimately, the story questions the boundaries between human and machine, highlighting the emotional and ethical complexities of artificial intelligence. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22512 ER -