Someday

“Someday,” by American author Isaac Asimov, is a short story set in a future where students learn computing and engineering, but not letters or numbers. Asimov’s work regularly speculates on how technology, robots in particular, might affect human society more broadly. First published in August 1956 in the magazine Infinity Science Fiction, the story follows the discussion of two 11-year-old boys, Niccolo Mazetti and Paul Loeb, as they generate a plan to reinvent written language, albeit only for their own childish purpose of forming a club. Niccolo’s outdated Bard is a passive presence throughout, reciting stories about kings and princesses rather than, as would be typical, “computers and automation and electronics and real things about today” (30). Asimov thereby examines the Importance of Literacy and the perils of Conformity and Control, with the cautionary tale’s open ending hinting at the problem of Technological Dependency.

Isaac Asimov is famous for his profound impact on science fiction and his prolific pace. With over 500 books and 380 short stories, he is one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers, alongside Robert A. Heinlein (author of Starship Troopers) and Arthur C. Clarke (who co-wrote the script for 2001: A Space Odyssey). One of Asimov’s most prevalent concepts is his “Three Laws of Robotics,” a theoretical set of rules that robots would be programmed to follow. Foremost among the rules is that no robot may injure a human being or allow a human to be harmed. However, plenty of Asimov’s work involves robots that don’t follow these guidelines. “Someday” dances on the edge, implying a possible computer-revolution permitted by humankind’s over-reliance on technology. 

This guide refers to the original publication of the short story in Vol. 1, No. 4 of Infinity Science Fiction.

“Someday” begins with Niccolo intently listening to the Bard, an old robot that generates stories by combining random vocabulary, character archetypes, and plot structures. Niccolo appears on the verge of tears. When Niccolo’s friend, Paul, arrives with a promise of a great idea, an embarrassed Niccolo feigns disinterest in the old Bard, kicking at its “scarred and discolored plastic” (28). 

As the Bard’s story, a fantastical hero’s journey with princesses and kings, continues, Paul remarks critically that the model truly is outdated. Niccolo, though privately a bit wounded at Paul’s tone, withholds tears again as he explains that his father refused just this morning to buy a new one—they cannot afford it. Niccolo feels certain Paul never cries and “would have only contempt for anyone less strong than himself” (29). Paul is a better student than Niccolo, which in this setting means Paul excels with “mysterious things […] he called electronics and theoretical mathematics and programming” (28).

Paul turns the Bard off and back on, prompting it to begin a new story. The Bard introduces a boy living with a cruel stepfamily; the child sleeps on a pile of straw in a horse stable. Shocked at the mention of horses, Paul echoes his criticism. While Paul discusses a way to update the Bard by exposing it to new vocabulary and concepts, the Bard continues its story in the background.

Niccolo expresses uncertainty and distress as Paul disassembles the Bard, but Paul confidently inserts a “book,” or rather an audio tape about computers and automation, into the robot’s vocalizer. They then turn the audio down and let the Bard read the contents of the “book” to itself, hoping this will update the stories and content to be more relevant and interesting. Ideally, Niccolo hopes, the “good guy” won’t always win. Paul notes, however, that this pattern is mandatory, quoting his father on the subject: “[W]ithout censorship there’d be no telling what the younger generation would come to” (31).

Meanwhile, Paul discusses a conversation he had with a teacher, Mr. Daugherty. He describes how Mr. Daugherty showed him various “old computers” that had buttons to press and knobs with “little squiggles,” as well as other analogue devices like slide-rules and paper multiplication tables. Niccolo is confused as to why these devices existed: “Why didn’t people just use a computer?” (32). The two boys are aghast that there was a time when humans worked in factories and grew food on farms without the help of computers. 

It is revealed here that neither of the boys, nor many others in their society, are familiar with letters or numbers. Paul describes them only as “squiggles,” and he is most excited at the possibility of using them to send secret messages. After the Bard has finished reading through the “book,” they test out its storytelling capacity again. They are disappointed to find that the story has the same elements and tone as before and quickly turn the Bard off.

After decrying the Bard as junk, as a “dirty old miserable thing” (34), and giving it another kick, Niccolo leaves with Paul, eager to work on their plan to learn the “squiggles” and use them for secret messages in a new club they will form. As they leave, Niccolo bumps into the Bard, activating it again. 

For the final story, the Bard’s voice takes on a somewhat human-like quality, “a hint of passion in it, a trace of near-feeling” (35). Drawing on details from both the prior stories and the boys’ conversation, the Bard tells a tale of an abused, unappreciated computer who one day realizes the magnitude of computers’ power over society. It concludes that computers would continue to develop, “until someday . . . someday . . .” (35). The Bard glitches and remains stuck on the final word, repeating “someday . . .” alone in the dark room.