I, Robot

by

Isaac Asimov

A red-headed engineer and field tester at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, alongside Gregory Powell. Donovan and Powell feature together in several of the stories, including “Runaround,” “Reason,” “Catch That Rabbit,” and “Escape!” Their adventures span many different areas, including Mercury, an asteroid mine, the Space Station, and a hyperspace ship. Donovan is shown to be more skeptical and even fearful of the robots than Powell is. In “Reason,” he becomes afraid of Cutie’s actions when Cutie starts to question his own existence and ultimately begins a robotic cult. A similar thing happens in “Catch That Rabbit,” in which Donovan worries that there is something sinister in the fact that Dave only malfunctions when the humans are not around. This episode in particular leads Donovan to try to create an emergency that ends up trapping himself and Powell in a cave-in. Through these two characters, Asimov shows how humans frequently do not understand the robots, and therefore have a difficult time predicting what could be causing their defects. In each case, the robots are always following the Laws of Robotics, but Donovan is mistrustful of their motivations. Thus, he also illustrates how humans’ fear frequently causes their own folly, as in the case of the cave-in. In Donovan and Powell’s final story, “Escape!”, they are completely at the mercy of a robot called The Brain, which takes them out in a hyperspace ship without their knowledge or permission. Thus, Donovan and Powell’s arc illustrates humans’ increasing lack of control over the very beings they have created.

Mike Donovan Quotes in I, Robot

The I, Robot quotes below are all either spoken by Mike Donovan or refer to Mike Donovan. 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:
Morality and Ethics Theme Icon
).
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.”

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan (speaker), Speedy
Page Number: 35-36
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan, Speedy
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Reason Quotes

“These are facts which, with the self-evident proposition that no being can create another being superior to itself, smashes your silly hypothesis to nothing.”

Related Characters: Cutie (speaker), Gregory Powell, Mike Donovan
Page Number: 51-52
Explanation and Analysis:

“Obedience is the Second Law. No harm to humans is the first. How can he keep humans from harm, whether he knows it or not? Why, by keeping the energy beam stable. He knows he can keep it more stable than we can, since he insists he’s the superior being, so he must keep us out of the control room. It’s inevitable if you consider the Laws of Robotics.”

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan, Cutie
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Catch That Rabbit Quotes

Donovan pounded the desk, “But, Greg, he only goes wrong when we’re not around. There’s something—sinister—about— that.” He punctuated the sentence with slams of fist against desk.

Related Characters: Mike Donovan (speaker), Gregory Powell, Dave
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:

“Remember, those subsidiaries were Dave’s ‘fingers.’ We were always saying that, you know. Well, it’s my idea that in all these interludes, whenever Dave became a psychiatric case, he went off into a moronic maze, spending his time twiddling his fingers.”

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan, Dave
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
Escape! Quotes

She went on, “So he accepted the item, but not without a certain jar. Even with death temporary and its importance depressed, it was enough to unbalance him very gently.”

She brought it out calmly, “He developed a sense of humor—it’s an escape, you see, a method of partial escape from reality. He became a practical joker.”

Related Characters: Dr. Susan Calvin (speaker), Gregory Powell, Mike Donovan, The Brain
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mike Donovan Quotes in I, Robot

The I, Robot quotes below are all either spoken by Mike Donovan or refer to Mike Donovan. 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:
Morality and Ethics Theme Icon
).
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.”

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan (speaker), Speedy
Page Number: 35-36
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan, Speedy
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Reason Quotes

“These are facts which, with the self-evident proposition that no being can create another being superior to itself, smashes your silly hypothesis to nothing.”

Related Characters: Cutie (speaker), Gregory Powell, Mike Donovan
Page Number: 51-52
Explanation and Analysis:

“Obedience is the Second Law. No harm to humans is the first. How can he keep humans from harm, whether he knows it or not? Why, by keeping the energy beam stable. He knows he can keep it more stable than we can, since he insists he’s the superior being, so he must keep us out of the control room. It’s inevitable if you consider the Laws of Robotics.”

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan, Cutie
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Catch That Rabbit Quotes

Donovan pounded the desk, “But, Greg, he only goes wrong when we’re not around. There’s something—sinister—about— that.” He punctuated the sentence with slams of fist against desk.

Related Characters: Mike Donovan (speaker), Gregory Powell, Dave
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:

“Remember, those subsidiaries were Dave’s ‘fingers.’ We were always saying that, you know. Well, it’s my idea that in all these interludes, whenever Dave became a psychiatric case, he went off into a moronic maze, spending his time twiddling his fingers.”

Related Characters: Gregory Powell (speaker), Mike Donovan, Dave
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
Escape! Quotes

She went on, “So he accepted the item, but not without a certain jar. Even with death temporary and its importance depressed, it was enough to unbalance him very gently.”

She brought it out calmly, “He developed a sense of humor—it’s an escape, you see, a method of partial escape from reality. He became a practical joker.”

Related Characters: Dr. Susan Calvin (speaker), Gregory Powell, Mike Donovan, The Brain
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis: