1936: "The Scarab" , en kort historia av Raymond Z. Gallun (rimar med "ballong"); först publicerad i Förtrollande historier , augusti 1936 ; reprinted i 1954-antologin Science-fiction tänkande maskiner: Robots, Androids, Datorer redigerad av Groff Conklin ; granskades på Technovelgy . Historien börjar:
The message sped through the ether at 7:40 P.M., Eastern Standard Time. At 7:43 the Scarab crept out on a window ledge of the room topping a tall building popularly known as the N.J. House.
The Scarab paused on its perch for a moment, as if to determine for itself whether it was perfectly fit for action. It was a tiny thing, scarcely more than an inch and a half in length. The fancy of the craftsman who had made it had given to the Scarab the form of the beetle after which it was named. But its body had a metallic sheen, and its vitals were far more intricate than those of the finest watch.
The Scarab rubbed its hind legs together, as flies will do when at rest. Then, apparently satisfied that it was in condition, it unfolded the coleoptera-like plates over its wings. With a buzz that any uninformed person would have mistaken for that of a beetle, it started out on its journey.
Det bör noteras att Scarab, även om den kallas en "robot" i historien, är fjärrstyrd av en man:
It was 8:43 P.M. in the topmost room of the N.J. House, more properly known as the National Justice Building.
The wizened little man leaned back wearily and triumphantly in his wheel chair. He drew his hands away from the complicated maze of levers and buttons before him. By means of them, through a system of radio impulses, the intricate, tiny robot could be guided and directed. The radiovision screen was still portraying a wild though satisfying view, picturing what the Scarab's eyes beheld. The speaker in a mahogany box still reproduced the sounds heard by the Scarab's microphonic ears.