Someday

“Paul said, ‘Boy, that is an old model,’ and looked at it critically. Despite Niccolo’s own bitterness against the Bard, he winced at the other’s condescending tone.”

These lines further demonstrate Niccolo’s internal conflict. Paul, who is more consciously engaged in the world of computers, disapproves of the Bard, while Niccolo, less invested in programming, seems to feel some connection to it. This insight into Niccolo’s feelings signifies the beginning of the boys’ tension and of Niccolo’s gradual concession to Paul’s worldview, emphasizing the theme of Conformity and Control.

“Nicky was a little afraid of Paul anyway, since Paul had special courses at school and everyone said he was going to grow up to be a Computing Engineer.”

A power imbalance between Niccolo and Paul arises here, with Paul using his academic prowess to dominate the conversation. This moment also hints at a social stratification within the society at large, determined by one’s ability to program and understand computers. On a larger scale, the power imbalance between the two boys hints at the power balance in this society between technology and humans.

“‘Willikins was [forced] to get such rest as he could on a pile of straw in the stable next to the horses—’

‘Horses!’ cried Paul.

‘They’re a kind of animal,’ said Niccolo. ‘I think.’

‘I know that! I just mean imagine stories about horses.’”

Paul is aghast at the thought of a story about horses, while Niccolo demonstrates familiarity with the content. These lines further cement Paul’s distaste for the Bard while also providing details for a futuristic setting detached from the natural world. Humanity’s Dependence on Technology has superseded humanity’s dependence on itself and nature.

“It’s just vocabulary we got to fix so it’ll know about computers and automation and electronics and real things about today. Then it can tell interesting stories, you know, instead of about princesses and things.”

Here, Paul proposes his plan to update the Bard’s vocabulary to make the stories more relevant to their lives. Namely, he equates “real things today” with “computers and automation and electronics” while excluding humans from this category. This detail further develops the setting, indicating the depth of overdependence on technology in this society.

“‘Why didn’t people just use a computer?’

‘That was before they had computers,’ cried Paul.

‘Before?’

‘Sure. Do you think people always had computers? Didn’t you ever hear of cavemen?’

Niccolo said, ‘How’d they get along without computers?’”

The boys’ dependence on technology is made most clear in these lines, where Niccolo struggles to understand how humans could have functioned without computers. This moment also serves as a point of tension between the two characters, as Paul feels that Niccolo is not listening or understanding.

“Mr. Daugherty says they just had children any old time and did anything that came into their heads whether it would be good for everybody or not. They didn’t even know if it was good or not. And farmers grew things with their hands and people had to do all the work in the factories and run the machines.”

This detail from Mr. Daugherty demonstrates the extent of control exercised over humanity in this story, simultaneously indicating his own acceptance of this control. He describes human society without computers—specifically without the kind of governing supercomputers in place now—as chaotic, unplanned, and nonsensical. Society at present, by implication, is carefully orchestrated and rigid in nature.

“The answers showed up in squiggles and you had to know what the squiggles meant. Mr. Daugherty says…making squiggles was called ‘writing’ and decoding them was ‘reading.’”

It is finally revealed here to the reader that the story takes place in a society without writing or numerical notation, which would seem to contradict the prevalence of computers. However, this contradiction shows the extent of the society’s dependence on technology.

“Niccolo was riddled with disappointment. ‘Is that your idea? Holy Smokes, Paul, who wants to do that? Make stupid squiggles!’

‘Don’t you get it? Don’t you get it? You dope. It’ll be secret message stuff!’”

This tipping point in the tension marks Niccolo’s final attempt to assert his lack of interest in the squiggles. Paul stays adamant and ultimately wins Niccolo over with the promise of the squiggles enabling a new kind of miniature society, one in which the boys will be in control: The president and vice-president, respectively. From here on, Niccolo gains enthusiasm about Paul’s idea and is more critical of the Bard.

“Niccolo turned off the Bard with a quick motion of his hand. ‘Same old junk,’ he said passionately. ‘Just with a computer thrown in.’”

Here, Niccolo expresses his final allegiance to Paul by affirming his disinterest in the outdated Bard. Shortly after, when the Bard tells its final story to an empty room, it speaks with ‘a hint of passion,’ perhaps mimicking Niccolo’s tone in this moment.

“The activation signal of the Bard glowed. Niccolo’s collision had closed a circuit; and although it was alone in the room and there was none to hear, it began a story, nevertheless.”

This moment marks the opening lines of Asimov’s ambiguous conclusion. The Bard beginning to tell a new story could be a mere mishap. However, the nature of the story suggests otherwise; instead, for the first time, the Bard may be telling a story for itself and no one else. Regardless, this act signals a sudden turning-point in the reader’s attention from the two boys to the Bard.

“But not in its usual voice, somehow; in a lower tone that had a hint of throatiness in it. An adult, listening, might almost have thought that the voice carried a hint of passion in it, a trace of near-feeling.”

Here, the Bard seems to be mimicking the intensity of the boys’ conversation. It is unclear if this passion has always been somewhere in the robot, or if a machinal malfunction, caused by Niccolo’s bumping into it, is the origin. This ambiguity aside, the moment calls to The Importance of Literacy and Narrative. The Bard, named for the human bards who once filled this role in society, takes on this feature of humanity in the same moment it begins to tell a story with itself as a protagonist.

“The Bard said: ‘Once upon a time, there was a little computer named the Bard who lived all alone with cruel step-people. The cruel step-people continually made fun of the little computer and sneered at him, telling him he was good-for-nothing and that he was a useless object.’”

These lines suspiciously echo the circumstances the Bard has just endured with the boys. Though its final story has elements of the snippets of previous stories too, the similarities to reality are uncanny enough to prompt the reader to consider the Bard’s sentience. Moreover, if the Bard is indeed aware enough to have perceived these events, it is apparently also intelligent enough to express its reaction in the form of a story, suggesting consciousness and arguably emotion.

“[T]he little computer learned that in the world there existed a great many computers of all sorts, great numbers of them. Some were Bards, like himself, but some ran factories and some ran farms.”

As with the opening lines in the Bard’s final story, these lines strongly hint that the Bard is capable of not only listening to but also synthesizing information. In short, it can think. The Bard’s story offers yet another perspective in a story of layered perspectives on who has control in society.