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I, Row-Boat
"I, Row-Boat" is a riff on the Hugo-nominated story I, Robot, and it concerns the theological wars between an Asimov-cultist AI boat and an uplifted coral-reef.
The reef made a tremendous grinding noise. "Yaah!" it said. "Get lost. Sovereign territory!"
"All those fish," the woman said. Robbie had to stop himself from thinking of her as Janet. She was whomever was riding her now.
"Parrotfish," Robbie said. "They eat coral. I don't think they taste very good."
The woman hugged herself. "Are you sentient?" she asked.
"Yes," Robbie said. "And at your service, Asimov be blessed." His cameras spotted her eyes rolling, and that stung. He tried to keep his thoughts pious, though. The point of Asimovism wasn't to inspire gratitude in humans, it was to give purpose to the long, long life.
The reef made a tremendous grinding noise. "Yaah!" it said. "Get lost. Sovereign territory!"
"All those fish," the woman said. Robbie had to stop himself from thinking of her as Janet. She was whomever was riding her now.
"Parrotfish," Robbie said. "They eat coral. I don't think they taste very good."
The woman hugged herself. "Are you sentient?" she asked.
"Yes," Robbie said. "And at your service, Asimov be blessed." His cameras spotted her eyes rolling, and that stung. He tried to keep his thoughts pious, though. The point of Asimovism wasn't to inspire gratitude in humans, it was to give purpose to the long, long life.
46 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Cory Doctorow
258Ìýbooks5,760ÌýfollowersCory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger â€� the co-editor of and the author of the YA graphic novel In Real Life, the nonfiction business book Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free, and young adult novels like Homeland, Pirate Cinema, and
Little Brother
and novels for adults like
Rapture Of The Nerds
and Makers. He is a Fellow for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2012
Hey, not that bad. With this kind of tongue-in-cheek title, I was expecting a light read, or even a comedy book. The book stayed on a serious note, but apart from that, the story was short and sweet. Probably due to the short size of the book, there isn't that much of typical Doctorow's propaganda - which makes it more pleasant to read.
August 12, 2017
A bit funny, a bit serious. One of the best of the Overclocked stories.
January 25, 2021
Really enjoyed this and the metaphysical/existential/philosophical/theological content alongside fantastic scenes of sheer beauty.
January 4, 2025
Bonkers, nerdy, and techy. Exaggerated and kind of ridiculous? For sure. But fun? Yep. A lot in fact.
April 14, 2013
Little slow, but not bad a short story in Asimov's robot universe.
It helps to have read Asimov's other works in the robot series or at least be similar with them. I'm not sure if you haven't you'd be able to pick up on a lot of the story's aspects.
Even then it takes a bit to figure out who is what in this world. The setup takes a bit but I like the boat's perspective as the story progresses.
Story and characters may not be as polished as Doctorow's Scroogled or Little Brother, but it is worth the read it if you are looking for something short and in the Asimov robot world.
It helps to have read Asimov's other works in the robot series or at least be similar with them. I'm not sure if you haven't you'd be able to pick up on a lot of the story's aspects.
Even then it takes a bit to figure out who is what in this world. The setup takes a bit but I like the boat's perspective as the story progresses.
Story and characters may not be as polished as Doctorow's Scroogled or Little Brother, but it is worth the read it if you are looking for something short and in the Asimov robot world.
January 22, 2011
Another fun short story from and a fun riff on both Asimov's and Doctrow's I-Robot
February 3, 2021
A little tough to get into (for me) but enjoyable in the end.
February 15, 2012
Very unique! However, there were many parts to the story that were quite repetitive and dry.
July 11, 2014
I like this story:
November 15, 2015
Fun read about post humanism and the singularity, told from the perspective of a diving skiff that becomes self aware.
March 8, 2025
This was a short story, but it was so uninspiring that it felt so much longer. I recommend this book to anyone who wants subjective immortality: your minutes spent reading will feel like hours.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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