R. U. R.

In the last few decades, we have witnessed remarkable scientific and mechanical advances. Men in Houston have consulted computer printouts, pushed buttons, turned knobs, and delivered instructions to astronauts walking on the moon over 200,000 miles away. Increasing numbers of products are being turned out almost entirely by machines, with only occasional assistance by human labor. Much of our food is being processed with assembly-line techniques. Is the robot, once considered the fanciful creation of science fiction writers, moving closer to reality in our civilization? In R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), Karel Capek addressed himself to this question more than a half century ago in a play that seems to have increased in interest and relevance for the modern reader.