Before Asimov, robots in fiction were almost universally the "Frankenstein monster"—creations that inevitably turned on their makers. "Runaround" changed everything. The plot follows two technicians, Powell and Donovan, testing a new robot, SPD-13 ("Speedy"), on Mercury. Due to a conflict between the Second Law (obey orders) and the Third Law (self-preservation) near a selenium pool, Speedy begins a bizarre, drunken circle—the "runaround" of the title.
The story is not an action thriller; it is a logic puzzle. It forces the human characters to understand the hierarchy of the Laws to resolve the conflict. In doing so, Asimov created a template for ethical machines that influences AI development, robotics engineering, and pop culture (from Star Trek to I, Robot ) to this day.
Set in 2015, the story follows field engineers and Mike Donovan on a mission to an abandoned mining station on Mercury. They send a sophisticated robot named Speedy (SPD-13) to collect selenium, which is vital for the station's life-support systems.
