Book Review: Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (Classic Sci-Fi Novel)

Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov is the first novel of the Robot Series. The first book of the Robot Series consists of short stories and the title is “I, Robot”. Caves of Steel is at the same time science fiction and mystery (detective) novel. By putting two genres in one novel, Asimov is trying to show that you can combine any other genre with science fiction.

After I read Asimov’s famous Foundation Series, I had a desire to read Robot Series. Because, two sequels of the Foundation Series, often mention robots, how humans spread across the galaxy with the help of the robots, and in the end the Galactic Empire was formed. The sequels also tell some myths about Earth and how after a nuclear attack its surface became radioactive. So people had to live underground.

When I saw that the name of this book is “Caves of Steel” I thought that it is telling the story of humans living underground after that nuclear attack. But caves in this book are not the caves people were forced to live underground. These caves are enormous cities covered with steel. And people live in these cities by their own will.

In the book, Asimov is telling the story of humankind 3,000 years in the future. Humanity has hyperspace travels and Earth colonized 50 planets. People went to these planets and with the help of robots established their own societies and civilizations. But then, colonies became more technologically advanced than Earth and even now can dictate what to do on Earth. Now they are called Spacers. Even though they are originally from Earth, people on the mother planet see them as others.

The main difference between Spacers and people from Earth is about robots. Spaces integrated robots into their new lifestyle and society. But people on Earth don’t like them much. There are even movements against technology and robots. Because of this, there was some unrest on Earth.

“You don’t like the Spacers. I don’t. Who on Earth does? Someone didn’t like them a little too much, that’s all.”
“Sure, but—”
“There was the fire at the Los Angeles factories. There was the Berlin R-smashing. There were the riots in Shanghai.”
“All right.”

Enormous cities under one roof 

Now let’s talk about the book's name. Why the “Caves of Steel”? Because now humanity is not living in plane lands or in the open air. The cities evolved and humans lived in huge cities and were completely covered with a metal dome. The idea of going out of the cities, feeling fresh air, wind and even staying under the sun is unthinkable for people.

And one more thing. The population of the Earth has grown so much that it can’t sustain itself anymore. For example, no uranium is left on Earth. They have to bring it from other planets. So how are these very big cities? Let’s look at one where our protagonist lives and where everything will happen.

“New York City spread over two thousand square miles and at the last census its population was well over twenty million. There were some eight hundred Cities on Earth, average population, ten million. Each City became a semiautonomous unit, economically all but self-sufficient. It could roof itself in, gird itself about, burrow itself under. It became a steel cave, a tremendous, self-contained cave of steel and concrete.”

Bu now these cities like enormous caves are a big problem. Spacers don’t let people from Earth come and settle to their planets. But still, interfered with Earth and even built a Spacer city near New York. But people can’t go there and Spacers also don’t go to other cities.

“Earth’s population was still rising. Some day, with all that the Cities could do, the available calories per person would simply fall below basic subsistence level.”

“It was all the worse because of the existence of the Spacers, the descendants of the early emigrants from Earth, living in luxury on their under-populated robot-ridden worlds out in space. They were coolly determined to keep the comfort that grew out of the emptiness of their worlds and for that purpose they kept their birth rate down and immigrants from teeming Earth out.”

Asimov and science fiction detective novel 

Caves of Steel is a science fiction novel as a part of Asimov’s Robot Series. Bu at the same time is detective fiction. So the plot of the novel is like this: There was a murder in Spacers city. So they invited Detective Elijah Baley from New York to investigate the crime. But Spacers have one condition. Baley will take a robot partner. But this robot is not an ordinary one. It is a human look alike. Not everyone can understand that it is a robot. Evet for robot specialists it will take a while to understand that R. Daneel Olivaw is a robot. By the way, the “R” in front of his name indicates that he is a robot, not a human.

R. Daneel Olivaw is also a very unique and special robot.  He explains this himself: “A particularly strong drive has been inserted into my motivation banks; a desire for justice.” For this, we can also call him a detective robot. And more importantly, if you read Asimov’s “Foundation and Earth” book, the name “Robot Daneel Olivaw” will seem very familiar to you. Because we see him at the end of that book. Even, one of the protagonists of “Foundation and Earth” will tell the robot that he saw the same name in some very old legends. Daneel Olivaw will reply that he is the same robot from legends and that he is 30,000 years old.

Read more - Book Review: Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov (Foundation Series - Book 5) 

Now, let’s go back to our subject. So detective Elijah Baley and his partner R. Daneel Olivaw will start investigating the murder. Baley actually doesn’t like robots. He has his own reasons for this. But in the end, he will really get used to Daneel and even really trust him as a partner and friend.

Relationship between humans and robots

As I mentioned above, like Baley, most people don’t like robots. For example, Baley’s father lost his job because of the robots. The number one reason is that robots don’t make mistakes. But his father made a mistake. Because of this, most people don’t like robots and are against them. But, as the novel also tells us, opposing new things is in the nature of humans.

“Moaning like that was a built-in facet of human nature. Back in the Coal Century, people moaned about the invention of the steam engine. In one of Shakespeare’s plays, a character moaned about the invention of gunpowder. A thousand years in the future, they’d be moaning about the invention of the positronic brain.”

Humans have been against the robots since the beginning.  The first book of the Robot Series, “I, Robot” consists of short stories and tells us the origin of the robots. And explains why humans don’t like them. Especially goes deeply into human and robot interaction.

Read more: Book Review: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (Robot Series - Short Stories)

In this book, Asimov is telling the story of humankind 3,000 years from us. Even though they have hyperspace travel and advanced robot technologies, some are medieval enthusiasts. So being a medieval enthusiast also makes them against Spacers and robots. And this is a reason.

“Most Earthmen were Medievalists in one way or another. It was an easy thing to be when it meant looking back to a time when Earth was the world and not just one of fifty. The misfit one of fifty at that.” 

As we said before, Earthmen don’t like Spacers. Spacers also don’t like Earthmen. The reason for this is the large population of Earth. Because if they start accepting people from Earth, firstly they can’t get along. Secondly, Spacers can lose the comfort they have on their planet. Because of this, they want Earthmen to travel and settle on new planets. Most importantly not to Spacers planets.

“…continuing failure on Earth has strengthened the Nationalist parties on the Outer Worlds. They say that it is obvious that Earthmen are different from Spacers and cannot be fitted into the same traditions. They say that if we imposed robots on Earth by superior force, we would be loosing destruction on the Galaxy. One thing they never forget, you see, is that Earth’s population is eight billions, while the total population of the fifty Outer Worlds combined is scarcely more than five and a half billions.”

“What about emigration to new worlds? There are a hundred billion stars in the Galaxy. It is estimated that there are a hundred million planets that are inhabitable or can be made inhabitable.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Why?” asked Dr. Fastolfe, with vehemence. “Why is the suggestion ridiculous? Earthmen have colonized planets in the past. Over thirty of the fifty Outer Worlds, including my native Aurora, were directly colonized by Earthmen. Is colonization no longer possible?”
“Well…”
“No answer? Let me suggest that if it is no longer possible, it is because of the development of City culture on Earth. Before the Cities, human life on Earth wasn’t so specialized that they couldn’t break loose and start all over on a raw world. They did it thirty times. But now, Earthmen are all so coddled, so enwombed in their imprisoning caves of steel, that they are caught forever.”

Why robots are in human form? 

Ever wondered when in fiction or in reality people make robots, they make them in human forms. Asimov is answering this in the book. But before going to Asimov’s explanation, let me point out one thing. I watched on the internet how Asimov was talking about atheism. But he also points out here that humans have the “most successful generalized form in all nature”. And this can only mean that there is a great creator behind this design. In a sense, here Asimov contradicts his atheist view. If a very advanced robot means that there is a very intelligent maker behind it, perfect human, worlds, the universe must also mean that there is an almighty creator behind all these. So this is what he says:

“But why the human form?”
“Because the human form is the most successful generalized form in all nature. We are not a specialized animal, Mr. Baley, except for our nervous systems and a few odd items. If you want a design capable of doing a great many widely various things, all fairly well, you could do no better than to imitate the human form. Besides that, our entire technology is based on the human form. An automobile, for instance, has its controls so made as to be grasped and manipulated most easily by human hands and feet of a certain size and shape, attached to the body by limbs of a certain length and joints of a certain type. Even such simple objects as chairs and tables or knives and forks are designed to meet the requirements of human measurements and manner of working. It is easier to have robots imitate the human shape than to redesign radically the very philosophy of our tools.”

“We can’t ever build a robot that will be even as good as a human being in anything that counts, let alone better. We can’t create a robot with a sense of beauty or a sense of ethics or a sense of religion. There’s no way we can raise a positronic brain one inch above the level of perfect materialism.”

Last but not least, this book is a mystery novel too. There was a murder and Baley with Robot Olivaw must solve this. Each has a different approach to the issue. So the question is which one will solve the murder first? We must accept that a robot detective with a positronic brain can analyze things better. But he also has confidence that he knows everything and can never make a mistake. This a big obstacle for him not to see details that can lead to solving the case. On the other hand, each time Baley assumes that he has a clue, he is wrong. But in the end, it is he who solves the case, not the robot. This way Asimov is showing with all their high functions, robots are not superior to humans.

“Headquarters level was approaching. Baley said, “What time is it?” He thought, pettishly: Nuts, I could look at my watch and take less time that way. But he knew why he asked him, nevertheless. The motive was not so different from Clousarr’s in punching R. Daneel. To give the robot a trivial order that he must fulfill emphasized his roboticity and, contrariwise, Baley’s humanity.”

Isaac Asimov
Caves of Steel
Robot Series - Novel 1
Doubleday
1954
224 pages.

Mystery / detective / science fiction / novel