This collection of seven stories about humanoid robots and their place in our future communities tries to illustrate some of the benefits and consequences of their presence among us.

From the first story, Bug, in which a household robot kills its owner without apparent method or reason, to the humorous farce of a cocktail-lounge robot that tries to arrange romantic liaisons among its customers, the stories delve into the relationships that humans try to form with their silicon friends, and how these relationships don’t always follow the predicted path.

The final story, Fatboy, is a suspense novella in which a criminal gang acquires control over an ex-military robot. What the young gang-leader doesn’t realize is that Fatboy can take strategic detail into its own hands, making decisions that will place the whole community at risk. This is a story of hubris and its tragic outcome.