Is Israel Swapping Nuclear Bombs for Battle-Ready Robots?

Well, currently Israelis are not bartering for Robots (to the best of our knowledge) but in the second decade of the 21st Century that is exactly what’s happening! From the first chapter of Howard Smith’s version of “I, robot” we have run-away excitement! A ship viewing nuclear tests almost capsizes, murder disguised as suicide leads to a kidnapping with autos crashing through Tokyo streets then into the sea, underwater testing of megaton bombs, an attack on an Israeli kibbutz, and more, much more! This is no 1940s model robot tale, which is why author Howard S. Smith (www.robotpress.net) wrote it. Long a Sci-Fi fan, Smith acknowledges the genius of those who preceded him with many short stories, books, and television shows, even recent movies that used a version of that title. None have been as plausible as this. Smith should know, he is an MIT-trained engineer with a practical interest in artificial intelligence – supermarket self-checkout machines are all based on his work – as well as natural intelligence – human thinking.

Natural intelligence in this book is found throughout the large cast of brainiacs on both sides of a planned Israeli-Japanese trade – all interesting, believable characters who give credence to, and sympathy for, the needs of both countries. Using secret stores of plutonium, fictional Israelis have created small nuclear weapons with a large payload. Now a trade is underway with, of all countries, Japan! Even though Japan knows first-hand the devastation of a nuclear blast, they are trading their robot army creations for a working nuclear arsenal, after suffering for years while North Korean neighbors lobbed atomic warheads over their country to test them in Pacific waters.

There is only one character that does not accept the scenario, then works to stop the trade: Suzuki Haruto, a Tokyo Police Inspector and Karate black belt. Haruto (in Japanese culture the family name is placed first, then the given name) is a man obsessed with rules, either those existing or those he generates to fit the scene. It is against the rules to bring nuclear weapons into his country, certainly without first gaining approval of its people by vote, so he must stop the transaction. His ironclad compulsion has resulted in estrangement from his wife (who calls him “Jinzouningen” – artificial human or robot), as well as difficulties with his co-workers. Haruto’s strong belief in rules forces him to act against the rule breaking individuals possessing atomic devices, even after witnessing the results of a robot army defending the Israeli border, and experiencing firsthand attacks assaulting a Kibbutz where he had found temporary refuge. After all, his reliance on “rules” helped save him after being buried in a coffin with hands and feet tied, and even from a shark attack during days he is afloat in the Pacific Ocean.

In a sweet side-story with heart-breaking consequences, Haruto is able to love again. This diversion in the midst of non-stop action does not detract. The book takes you via land, sea and air to several countries all fraught with thrills and danger. Whatever your politics, you will enjoy the results! This “I, robot” is definitely 21st Century action, not at all derivative, highly visual - a well-written, well-researched read. Its poignant ending will surprise you; I can hardly wait for the action film this “I, robot” is well suited to generate!

Howard Smith is a Canadian with international experience in the field of artificial intelligence. The second book he read as a child, was Isaac Asimov’s “I, Robot,” so he is well acquainted with that classic, as well as with the 2004 Will Smith film of the same name. His response to both has been to recognize the need to upgrade that older technology to the 21st Century. As Smith said, “The emergence of robots and artificial intelligence is actually happening now…but unlike in the Jetsons, they will not be here to organize our lives or walk our dogs. Robots are emerging as military machines…armed robots started operating in Iraq in 2007.” For more information on that subject, and on Smith, visit his website at www.robotpress.net.