Helen O'Loy

At only 20 pages long and if you're a fan of sci-fi you should definitely take a smidgen of time to read this.

This was the first story to convince Isaac Asimov that robots could be our friends - benevolent partners instead of waring machines - first published in 1938, WWI behind us and WWII just around the corner, people saw robots as hostile accomplices to conquer our enemies and eventually rebel and turn against us, but not everyone, and Helen O'Loy (a mix of Helen of Troy / Helen of Alloy) is a quirky well-intentioned little tale that looks far into the future.

You've seen Blade Runner and the android mechs, some of them female pleasure models, and books like The Stepford Wives and its disturbing 1950s vision of the perfect wife cooking gourmet dinners, keeping the house spic n' span while remaining eternally attractive and alluring?

You also know about Asimov's three laws of robotics? Shall not hurt man, shall obey man, shall self-preserve itself - this is where it all possibly started from.

And on top of that it's a cute little story. A bit creepy and weird - but who doesn't want the perfect partner, 100% reliable, committed, loyal, loving, woman, man, chihuahua, or android?

And there's even a bit of romance thrown in!

A fabulous bonus package with plenty of thought provoking punch in less than two dozen pages.

Read this and give Lester del Rey the love and recognition he deserves.