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Victory Unintentional

 Victory Unintentional
type
TVTItem
 Victory Unintentional
label
Victory Unintentional
 Victory Unintentional
page
VictoryUnintentional
 Victory Unintentional
comment
First published in Super Science Stories (August 1942 issue), by Isaac Asimov, this Science Fiction Short Story is a Sequel to "Not Final!", about a trio of robots who represent humanity in a First Contact situation with aliens on Jupiter.ZZ Three, ZZ Two, and ZZ One are robotic pioneers, custom-built to survive the dangers of space and Jupiter. They represent humanity in the first face-to-face meeting with alien life. While meeting with the Jovians, it becomes apparent that the aliens wish to intimidate these representatives of Earth.First, the Jovians fire a heat gun at the ZZ robots when they leave their spaceship, although the ZZ robots are hardy enough to resist. Trying to save face, the Jovians offer to show the robots from Ganymede (the Jovians insist there is no Earth) around the town they landed near. ZZ One checks out a local lake, accidentally killing an enormous sea creature that represented a danger to the Jovians.Finally arriving in the town, this "small" settlement is home to ten million Jovians, stretches fifty miles across, and at least eight miles underneath the crust. Impressed with these constructions, the ZZ robots worry about the bad news they'll be sharing with their human masters. They're offered the opportunity to eat and sleep, but the robots decline, since they don't need either.When the Jovians are finished resting, the robots are queried on how they can see and what they're made of. The Jovians then show the ZZ robots factories and manufacturing plants, even scientific centers where force fields are developed. Along the way, the robots discover that they're a danger to Jupiter's microscopic life. As the ZZ robots are preparing to leave, the Jovian representative begs them to relay their declaration of peace to the humans of Ganymede. On the way back, the robots ponder the Jovian's change of heart.This story has been reprinted several times; Invasion From Mars Interplanetary Stories (1949), Scienza Fantastica (#6 issue, February 1953), Looking Forward (1953), Sprong In Ruimte En Tijd (1957), The Rest of the Robots (1964), Out of This World 8 (1970), The Days After Tomorrow (1971), Jupiter (1973), Classic Science Fiction The First Golden Age (1978), and The Complete Robot (1982).
 Victory Unintentional
fetched
2023-09-30T13:16:04Z
 Victory Unintentional
parsed
2023-09-30T13:16:04Z
 Victory Unintentional
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Victory Unintentional / int_13d2ffe1
type
Humanity Is Superior
 Victory Unintentional / int_13d2ffe1
comment
Humanity Is Superior: The ZZ robots accidentally convince the Jovian aliens that humanity is physically superior in every respect, because nobody remembered to tell them that the ZZ robots aren't human. The Jovians presumably assume that all humans are as strong and tough as the ZZ robots are.
 Victory Unintentional / int_13d2ffe1
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 Victory Unintentional / int_13d2ffe1
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_13d2ffe1
 Victory Unintentional / int_27ae4a75
type
Poisonous Person
 Victory Unintentional / int_27ae4a75
comment
Poisonous Person: The ZZ robots closely examine a few specimens of Jovian microorganisms, which quickly perish. They realize that the creatures succumbed to the gamma radiation the robots use for close-range vision. After they mention this, they note that the Jovians keep a considerably greater distance from them.
 Victory Unintentional / int_27ae4a75
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 Victory Unintentional / int_27ae4a75
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_27ae4a75
 Victory Unintentional / int_2e0c6c38
type
Eskimos Aren't Real
 Victory Unintentional / int_2e0c6c38
comment
Eskimos Aren't Real: The Jovians insist that there aren't any inner planets (like Earth), so Jupiter and its moons are the closest thing to the sun. This is part of how Isaac Asimov shows their mental inflexibility.
 Victory Unintentional / int_2e0c6c38
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_2e0c6c38
 Victory Unintentional / int_2f226fee
type
You Didn't Ask
 Victory Unintentional / int_2f226fee
comment
You Didn't Ask: At the end of the story, one of the ZZ robots realizes that they never explained that they are robots, not humans. The subject never came up, and the Jovians never thought to ask.
 Victory Unintentional / int_2f226fee
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 Victory Unintentional / int_2f226fee
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_2f226fee
 Victory Unintentional / int_31c5e7fb
type
Starfish Aliens
 Victory Unintentional / int_31c5e7fb
comment
Starfish Aliens: The Jovians have tentacles and radial symmetry, and... that's the best description the ZZ robots can give. Even their method of locomotion seems to be somewhat eldritch.
 Victory Unintentional / int_31c5e7fb
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 Victory Unintentional / int_31c5e7fb
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_31c5e7fb
 Victory Unintentional / int_38291355
type
Does Not Know His Own Strength
 Victory Unintentional / int_38291355
comment
Does Not Know His Own Strength: ZZ One unintentionally kills an aquatic predator and damages some Jovian machines, and laments that it didn't mean to but everything is so fragile.
 Victory Unintentional / int_38291355
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Victory Unintentional / int_38291355
 Victory Unintentional / int_3eee0728
type
Captain Obvious
 Victory Unintentional / int_3eee0728
comment
Captain Obvious: The robots are very young, and their naivete makes it difficult to read the intentions of the Jovians, so they take turns reaching minor epiphanies and explaining the obvious conclusion to the other two. The last epiphany they have is that nobody remembered to explain to the Jovians that the ZZ were robots, not humans.
 Victory Unintentional / int_3eee0728
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 Victory Unintentional / int_3eee0728
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Victory Unintentional / int_3eee0728
 Victory Unintentional / int_4cb90f31
type
Three Laws-Compliant
 Victory Unintentional / int_4cb90f31
comment
Three Laws-Compliant: The ZZ robots have been sent to Jupiter for First Contact meeting with the Jovian aliens. As an early example of Asimov's robots, instead of using his formal laws, a devotion to their human masters akin to worship motivates them.
 Victory Unintentional / int_4cb90f31
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 Victory Unintentional / int_4cb90f31
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Victory Unintentional / int_4cb90f31
 Victory Unintentional / int_4ee5989a
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Bizarre Alien Senses
 Victory Unintentional / int_4ee5989a
comment
Bizarre Alien Senses: The Jovians have a mass-sensitive organ, and their scientists want to know how the ZZ from Ganymede are able to sense distant objects without it.
 Victory Unintentional / int_4ee5989a
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 Victory Unintentional / int_4ee5989a
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_4ee5989a
 Victory Unintentional / int_5fc516bf
type
Mechanical Lifeforms
 Victory Unintentional / int_5fc516bf
comment
Mechanical Lifeforms: An interesting case. After a series of mishaps, during which the Jovians note the ZZ robots' durability, they sue for peace. The robots realize that they never told the Jovians that they were artificial lifeforms. The Jovians simply assumed that all humans are extremely tough mechanical organisms.
 Victory Unintentional / int_5fc516bf
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 Victory Unintentional / int_5fc516bf
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Victory Unintentional / int_5fc516bf
 Victory Unintentional / int_61ff365d
type
Deflector Shields
 Victory Unintentional / int_61ff365d
comment
Deflector Shields: The ZZ robots have been sent to meet the Jovians for a face-to-face meeting. Their objective? To discover if the Jovians have developed force field technology. Once the Jovians demonstrate the technology, the robots somberly return to their ship to report the bad news to their human masters.
 Victory Unintentional / int_61ff365d
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 Victory Unintentional / int_61ff365d
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Victory Unintentional / int_61ff365d
 Victory Unintentional / int_7360806f
type
In-Series Nickname
 Victory Unintentional / int_7360806f
comment
In-Series Nickname: United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation usually nicknames each series, and one technician suggested the ZZ series be known by the Ironic "Sissy", but ultimately an Averted Trope (because said technician was immediately shushed and the subject never mentioned again).
 Victory Unintentional / int_7360806f
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Victory Unintentional / int_7360806f
 Victory Unintentional / int_a2921d68
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Mistook the Dominant Lifeform
 Victory Unintentional / int_a2921d68
comment
Mistook the Dominant Lifeform: The robots realize at the end that the Jovians probably thought they were humans.
 Victory Unintentional / int_a2921d68
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 Victory Unintentional / int_a2921d68
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Victory Unintentional / int_a2921d68
 Victory Unintentional / int_a67a8d91
type
Bluffing the Advance Scout
 Victory Unintentional / int_a67a8d91
comment
Bluffing the Advance Scout: An inversion of sorts occurs. By the end of the story, the Jovians surrender to humans, and after some confusion, it's realized that the humans never told them they were sending robots to negotiate, leading them to assume that humans are a race of super-powered indestructible metallic beings.
 Victory Unintentional / int_a67a8d91
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Victory Unintentional / int_a67a8d91
 Victory Unintentional / int_a7caa5b5
type
First Contact
 Victory Unintentional / int_a7caa5b5
comment
First Contact: The humans on Ganymede and the alien Jovians have been communicating via radio-waves. Remote contact had been going well, until the Jovians realized that the people they were talking to weren't Jovian. Angry at the unintentional deception, the Jovians declared war against the beings of Ganymede. The humans designed the ZZ robots (our Protagonists) to land on Jupiter to talk with the aliens directly, and establish if they're able to create spaceships.
 Victory Unintentional / int_a7caa5b5
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_a7caa5b5
 Victory Unintentional / int_a8c6a317
type
Super-Strength
 Victory Unintentional / int_a8c6a317
comment
Super-Strength: Since they must explore a very hostile environment, the ZZ robots are designed so they can use the full power of their atomic batteries if needed. They are much stronger than regular robots as a result.
 Victory Unintentional / int_a8c6a317
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_a8c6a317
 Victory Unintentional / int_a9c7258a
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Absent Aliens
 Victory Unintentional / int_a9c7258a
comment
Absent Aliens: The ZZ robots explore the surface of Jupiter and contact the Jovians living there. The aliens are so impressed by the robots, they promise to leave outer space to the obviously superior species, which makes this an Enforced Trope example.
 Victory Unintentional / int_a9c7258a
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 Victory Unintentional / int_a9c7258a
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_a9c7258a
 Victory Unintentional / int_b1f18adb
type
Ray Gun
 Victory Unintentional / int_b1f18adb
comment
Ray Gun: The Jovians greet the ZZ robots by opening fire with some sort of heat ray, raising the ambient temperature of their target ninety degrees centigrade (roughly 150 degrees Fahrenheit). The ZZ robots were built to be nearly indestructible, so they don't notice the effect immediately.
 Victory Unintentional / int_b1f18adb
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Victory Unintentional / int_b1f18adb
 Victory Unintentional / int_b6cd707f
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Strolling on Jupiter
 Victory Unintentional / int_b6cd707f
comment
Strolling on Jupiter: It turns out that while there is an inhabited surface the atmospheric pressure is a million atm with temperatures of -70 C. Fortunately the ZZ robots are ridiculously overengineered.
 Victory Unintentional / int_b6cd707f
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Victory Unintentional / int_b6cd707f
 Victory Unintentional / int_c48a0fe6
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Actually, That's My Assistant
 Victory Unintentional / int_c48a0fe6
comment
Actually, That's My Assistant: It occurs to the robots at the end that they never specified they were robots and that the Jovians probably thought they were humans.
 Victory Unintentional / int_c48a0fe6
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 Victory Unintentional / int_c48a0fe6
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Victory Unintentional / int_c48a0fe6
 Victory Unintentional / int_d10d5eb5
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Made of Indestructium
 Victory Unintentional / int_d10d5eb5
comment
Made of Indestructium: The ZZ robot series is made of mostly iridium, beryllium, tin, and copper. The exotic alloy means these robots can regulate their own temperature, survive vacuum and Jupiter's pressure, and tolerate extreme temperatures.
 Victory Unintentional / int_d10d5eb5
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_d10d5eb5
 Victory Unintentional / int_e2d457
type
The Ditz
 Victory Unintentional / int_e2d457
comment
The Ditz: ZZ One has a less sophisticated processor than the other ZZ robots (due to being the first one to be built), and is notably more naive and Literal-Minded than the others.
 Victory Unintentional / int_e2d457
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 Victory Unintentional
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Victory Unintentional / int_e2d457
 Victory Unintentional / int_fd5ce6a3
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Robot Names
 Victory Unintentional / int_fd5ce6a3
comment
Robot Names: One technician suggested the ZZ series be known by the ironic "Sissy", but said technician was immediately shushed and the subject never mentioned again.
 Victory Unintentional / int_fd5ce6a3
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Victory Unintentional

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Victory Unintentional
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Absent Aliens / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Alien Works / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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American Literature (T to Z) / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Bizarre Alien Senses / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Bluffing the Advance Scout / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Deflector Shields / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Eskimos Aren't Real / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Made of Indestructium / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Ray Gun / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Robot and A.I. Works / int_455e9579
 Victory Unintentional
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Robot Names / int_455e9579