SEARCH IN THE GALAXY

Randy0, it's in poor taste to write pseudocode for a killer robot, don't you know that? Some of us actually build gadgets for a living. I think the origins of the Laws of Robotics were about Asimov talking with engineers that were pissed off about stories of killer robots, and engineers talking about how they build machines. The Laws of Robotics were originally about how engineers believe a robot should behave, and then, if robots reach a point that they are able to believe stuff, then the robots themselves should believe the Laws of Robotics. But hey, I appreciate that people who work in software have stopped taking responsibility for what their software might do. I think that the Emperor thought that Zephyr Halima could still be dangerous after discredited. She told Demerzel she had coached the Emperor well, so she probably suspected the vision wasn't genuine. And charismatic as she is, she would probably gain popularity again even after some discrediting. I think invoking the Zeroth Law for Demerzel is totally appropriate because it's a fundamental part of the character of Demerzel. The assassination then would be following the Zeroth Law and a command from the Emperor, that clearly has some rather high priority in her programming. There is good reason to think that Demerzel has some modified version of the Laws of Robotics, with obeying commands from the Emperor somewhere above the First Law, and it's unclear where that protocol stands in relation to the Zeroth Law. As for the Third Law, it explains why Demerzel reveals herself to Zephyr Halima: it's to make herself a little more comfortable. It's clear that following her assassination command makes her feel rather conflicted. I'm pretty sure she would have done it anyway (tricking herself by putting herself in danger is probably not logical enough for a robot), but by putting herself in danger and then eliminating the threat straight away it's easier to carry out the assassination.

Maria, agreed. Esau, if your goal was simply trolling you may have succeeded. However, if your sentiments were truly thoughtful then you should be ashamed for ridiculing the surely careful consideration of a daughter‘s understanding of her father’s intentions for his legacy which I’m certain were difficult. Unless of course you knew him better than his own daughter?

My best guess at the kind of bomb that could be small enough to be hidden in somebody's body and still cause that kind of damage is some sort of antimatter bomb. I think the bombers didn't get detected because the Empire is falling. If everything was all right in the Empire, the attack wouldn't have succeeded, but because there were problems, the bombers found the cracks in the system, whatever they were. And actually, that's more or less what Hari Seldon says.

I don't see a massive problem with different Cleons of different ages having different tolerance to risk. People change as they age and with different life experiences. I don't think Brother Dawn intended to kill himself. Once we learned that he's colorblind, it makes more sense. I think he was trying to see the garden design but he couldn't because he's colorblind, and that upset him, and then he fell by accident. Strictly speaking, we are told that the replacements would be good enough to be Empire, not that they are as good as one raised from birth. Brother Dawn is a mutant, and clearly his mutations go beyond being colorblind, he mentions several differences and he makes it clear that he finds it hard to be like his brothers. He must think that his DNA, at least in the parts that affect his brain functioning, is quite different from his brothers, and his replacement is free from mutations. So, by replacing him, they'd have a Brother Dawn that is an identical clone, with the memories of the previous Brother Dawn. He clearly thinks that having the correct DNA is more important than having the right memories in order to be Empire. We don't know yet what his brothers think. I think it's unlikely this Brother Dawn is the Mule because the Mule should be happening later in the future. I suppose it could be a future mutant Brother Dawn, though I'd find it disappointing too. He was a more impressive character in the books by coming from nowhere. Having inside knowledge on how the Empire works would make him less impressive. But I gather that teen villains are a fashionable concept these days. The point about Halima is off-topic for this thread, I'll write my answer on the Laws of Robotics thread.

The photo has also been updated thanks. Do I have to credit a photographer (name + website link) ?