Caves of Steel

by Lacey Kat
This work is copyrighted by the author (c)2010

In 1950 Horace L. Gold, a minor author from the 1940s, was starting a new science fiction magazine to be called “Galaxy.” By this time Isaac Asimov was a well-established writer in the field so natural Mr. Gold contact him and asked for a story for the first issue. Up until this time, John W. Campell had all but dominated the world of science fiction as well as the talents of Isaac Asimov. However, Campbell was now steering his life toward "Dianetics" and a series of other follies, and Asimov found it increasingly difficult to write the stories Campbell wanted for his magazine “Astounding.”

The world of science fiction was changing and with it so was Isaac Asimov. Not content with being only a short story author, Isaac was trying his hand in novels as well as articles and textbooks of science fact. However, at this time, science fiction was still his first love, and he welcomed the new markets that were opening up.

By 1952 Asimov had six books published, including his famous “Foundation” stories, and his first collection of Robot tales. He also had two original novels in the stores, a third one in the hands Doubleday Publishers, and the first of his “Lucky Starr” books in the juvenile market.

On April 19, Asimov met with Gold to talk about his next project. “The Currents of Space,” was going to be serialized in “Astounding” and Horace wanted the next novel to appear in “Galaxy.” Asimov liked to keep all of the markets happy, they buy your work more that way, and so he met with Gold and listen to his ideas.

Gold suggested a robot “novel.” Asimov was already the father of the modern robot story so why not make the transition from short tale to broader themes? Asimov was reluctant at first, not knowing if the three laws of robotics, now an Asimov trademark, were enough to carry a whole novel.

Gold had the idea to feature a world over populated and with robots taking over human jobs. Asimov found that idea too depressing and did not think he was up to sociological implications of such an idea. Gold then suggested making the story a simple murder mystery. A story about a cop with a robot partner who must solve the murder or be replaced by automation. With give and take between author and publisher, the final story became known as “The Caves of Steel.” 

The story takes place on earth, a thousand years from the era of the previous robot stories. There are fifty distant planets that were first colonized by Earthmen, but now look at their home world with disgust. The “Space Worlds,” as they are known, are clean, reasonably populated planets were technology flourishes, robots are plentiful, if not mandatory, and almost all disease is eliminated. This results in people who live very long lives, and do not want anything interfering with them. The earth, on the other hand, still distrusts robots, has been cut off from space by the outer worlds, and whose dense population now lives in enormous underground cities, must use communal washrooms and eating centers, and eat almost nothing but engineered varieties of yeast. Even at this, resources are running thin and almost every calorie of energy must be accounted for.

The “Spacers,” a collective term earthmen use for all inhabitants of the other worlds, have used their superior technology to keep earth subjugated to their authority. They have a consulate known as “Spacetown” outside the domed upper level of what is now called “New York City.” A complex hive of humanity over two thousand square miles and holding twenty million people. A “Spacer” has been killed, three days ago, and an earth detective has been called into the Commissioner’s office to solve the crime. That is where the story opens.

The detective’s name is Elijah Baley. He is a plainclothesman, rating C-5, who is nothing more than a good detective in a large metropolitan police force. He has a wife and one son and resents the fact that robots, until recently banned on earth from anything but farming and dangerous jobs, are now starting to be seen in the city, and are starting to take the menial jobs away from men. The Commissioner wants Baley to investigate the murder. The “Spacers” want him to take on a partner in the investigation. The partner’s name is R. Daneel Olivaw. The “R” stands for “Robot.”

R. Daneel is a “humaniform” robot. This is not a new concept in the robot world of Isaac Asimov. Several of his earlier tales involved humaniform robots, but the story stresses that it is a new concept to the world he has created for this story. The idea of robots is unsettling enough for the people of earth. That you could make a robot that was almost indistinguishable from a human would lead to riots and other protests. R. Daneel is to be Elijah’s partner, but his true identity is to remain classified.

The story then follows both detective and robot partner as they try to discover who killed an eminent “spacer,” why, and what will the consequences be for Earth when the rest of the “Spacer” worlds find out. Asimov also paints a complete picture of the earth society a thousand years hence

This is a science fiction and a good mystery novel. Some reviewers have felt that this is Asimov’s best novel, but I must disagree with that.

Isaac Asimov once lamented that his most famous and popular short story was “Nightfall.” He felt this way because he wrote it in the 1940’s and thought that he had grown as an author since then. While he did grow, I have always felt that “Nightfall” was one of those unique short stories that transcended an author’s talents. That it is almost an alchemical blend of talent, story idea, and alignment of the planets, that results in a piece f literature that is better than the author's talent of the time.

Having said that, it is this author’s opinion that Asimov’s talent as a novelist did develop over the years, and that his early novels, while good, were improved upon as he got older. “The Caves of Steel,” reads more like a pilot episode for a proposed series than a novel. Asimov spends an inordinate amount of time setting the stage for future stories. The society of earth, buried in huge, underground beehives of activity, are described in more passages than are needed to establish the plot. Baley’s daily life and family relationships, not a critical part of the story, are laid out in exact detail. The problems that earth now faces, and will soon face, are presented here as if this were the show bible for a T.V. series.  That it is a book used to help writers keep future show stories in line with the past ones. It is almost as if Asimov planned to present a series of Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw stories or even a future earth series. However there is no evidence that that was ever on his mind, and for a significant period of time Asimov only wrote one other story with these characters and universe.

[Note: Those familiar with Asimov’s literary history know that he did write other Baley/ Olivaw stories much later in his career. Those familiar with Asimov’s literary work also know the important role R. Daneel Olivaw plays in blending the originally separate worlds of “I, Robot,” and “Foundation.” However, that idea was not even a neuron pulse at this time in Asimov’s life.]

Please understand that this is a good book and well worth reading. My only point is that it is not Asimov’s “best” work. That would come later.

It is always interesting to read science fiction from another era. To see how even a man well trained in science tries to build the technology of the worlds of tomorrow. For example, Asimov has a world so overpopulated that they are forced to live underground in “Caves of Steel.” The population? Eight Billion. Only two billion more than the current population. Books are on film and must be viewed with a reader (palm pilots and e-books?) Videos are viewed through a “Video-piping system” or what we now call “cable.” Walls can be made transparent with the touch of a switch, like polarized glass. Yet the head roboticist in this city a thousand years hence still uses a “slide rule” to do his calculations and his electronic book is “indexed” to the amazement of his colleagues. Science fiction authors, it would seem, have some trouble letting go of technology they deal with most closely.

One interesting note. In his world of the future, Asimov paints earthmen as extremely agoraphobic. Living in underground cities for generations have made excursions to the outside world unbearable. This plays a key part in the story but I found it an interesting extrapolation of the society Asimov built, and not one I saw as inevitable. However, as I read his autobiography Asimov mentioned that the publisher of Galaxy, and the originator of the story idea for “Caves of Steel,” could not go out in the open, nor could he speak, face to face, with people he did not know for any period of time. One meeting Asimov had with Gold, in Gold’s own home, had to be conducted by phone, between two rooms. It was the only way Horace Gold could relate to other people without panic. Asimov never mentioned if this was the inspiration for the agoraphobia plot point in his story, but I feel there must have been a subconscious push to include this psychiatric anomaly.

“Caves of Steel” is a seamless blend of science fiction and mystery and is a must read for fans of either genre’. However, it is not without its faults. The “plot twists” are clumsy and the final culprit will not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention throughout the story. Still, it is a good example of Asimov’s developing talent and a good transition from his short stories to his novel works. He would get better, but I would give my Nancy Drew decoder ring to have my talent at this level.