"I've Always Been a Benefactor of Man, Not a Destroyer"

"Benefactor."

By George H. Smith (1922-96; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; and the SFE HERE).

First appearance: Fantastic Universe, August 1958.

Reprints page (ISFDb HERE).

Short short short story (3 pages as a PDF).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

   "We can anticipate that robots will be fiercely resented, at first, in a society that will see them as the latest—and an indestructible—widespread threat to the workers whom they will replace . . ."

"O God!" said King Henry, "that one might read the book of fate, and see the revolution of the times." A brilliant inventor is about to see a revolution and find out where he fits into the book of fate . . .

Principal characters:

~ Jacob Clark ("I'll tell them what I've done for them and make them understand"), Bill Towney ("they mean to kill you"), and the Guardians of the Shrine ("wanted to help him 

but they were very puzzled").

References:

- Two views about robots and unemployment from the United Nations (HERE) and M.I.T. (HERE).

Resources:

- You might wonder how the robot revolution could impact detectives; see "Brisk Money" (HERE) and "RAM Shift Phase 2" (HERE).

- George H. Smith has caught our attention several times: "The Undetected" (HERE), "Witness" (HERE), and "Paradox Lost" (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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