R.U.R.: (Annotated Edition)

The Rossum Universal Robot Factory perfects the production of mechanical men and women. The formula was developed originally by old Rossum, but it was left to his son, an engineer, to manufacture the robots. Robots know no joy, no desire to take a solitary walk, no personal wish of any kind. They are highly developed, with mechanisms devised for only one purpose: work. The robots manufactured by Rossum's Universal Robot Factory are so lifelike, however, that when the president's daughter, Helena Glory, calls at the factory and is shown around by Harry Domin, general manager, she can hardly believe that the robots are not human. Helena was sent by the Humanity League on a mission to gain better living conditions for the robots. Helena knows that when the robots begin to act strangely, as they sometimes do, they are destroyed and their parts are used to make new robots. She is dismayed to find that the robots she meets and talks with in the factory do not care whether they are killed or are starved. They think of nothing but their work. They talk rationally, answering her questions, but they seem to have no desires or feelings beyond their given jobs. Domin and the other executives are willing to have her preach to the robots all she wishes.