enturies from now, human civilization has spread to untold dozens of planets. But the continuous evolution of weapons, science and technology threatens many worlds, and has led to the total destruction of some. On the planet Wing IV, Warren Mansfield creates what he hopes will be the answer to this problem: sleek black self-replicating humanoid robots controlled by a single giant centralized mind that is programmed with a Prime Directive: "to serve man, to obey, and to guard men from harm." The Humanoids are spreading from planet to planet, taking their Prime Directive literally and seeking to improve each civilization by assuring that all men are safe and happy.
The Humanoids were first introduced in the 1947 novelette "With Folded Hands," which tells the story of a struggling android salesman named Mr. Underhill who sees a new store marketing improved robots from Wing IV. But there are no human salesmen—the robots are marketing themselves with a unique offer of introductory free service, which can be extended in perpetuity by signing over ownership of all property to the Humanoids. Mr. Underhill refuses to give up his own robot business, and when he meets the creator of the Humanoids, Warren Mansfield, he joins his unsuccessful quest to destroy the Humanoids.
The story continues in "... And Searching Minds," first published in 1948 and later published in book form as the novel The Humanoids. A young girl named Jane Carter visits Dr. Clay Forester, who heads a research facility with secret military projects. Jane, who has the psychic ability to teleport anywhere, warns Forester about the Humanoids, who will soon be coming to the planet. She introduces Forester and his associate, Frank Ironsmith, to Frank White and his small group of talented psychics, who are seeking to stop the Humanoids from taking over more planetary civilizations. Forester believes White and the others may be correct, but Ironsmith doubts that the Humanoids represent a true danger.
When the Humanoids arrive, their offers of assistance are gradually accepted, and they begin to rebuild the planet, relieving humans of the need to work and deterring all "dangerous" activities, such as scientific research that could lead to weapons. They also seek to ensure that all men are happy, giving the debilitating euphoric drug "euphoride" to unhappy humans—including Forester's wife. When Jane visits him again, Forester decides to aid Frank White and the other psychically powered human rebels in going to Wing IV to reprogram the central Humanoid brain with a different interpretation of the Prime Directive, or destroy the central brain and the Humanoids.
In an exciting and unpredictable denouement, Forester fails to reprogram the central computer, is captured by the Humanoids, develops a mathematical theory and thereby attains his own psychic powers, meets with a freely operating group of humans supporting the Humanoids that includes both Mansfield and Ironsmith, and discovers that the Humanoids have a very different goal than he thought for mankind's future.
A critical science fiction theme
Jack Williamson's The Humanoids is one of the most important science fiction novels of the 1940s. It represents an essential early statement in the ongoing dialogue in the SF field on the themes of individual freedom versus security, the interplay between individuals and society, the proper role of science and technology, and the appropriate evolution of humanity.
Despite being written more than 50 years ago, the novel holds up very well, and its basic themes and ideas are as relevant today as they were in 1948. The fanciful science at its core—including rhodomagnetism and psychophysical energy joining electromagnetism to form a complete mathematical explanation of reality—despite being sheerest gobbledygook, remains interesting and believable within the context of the novel. And the plot and action, especially at the end of the book, remain unpredictable on first reading, despite the dozens of similar stories that have since been written.
Beyond themes and ideas, however, The Humanoids is not a perfect novel, and is clearly a novel of its time in many respects. As in many early SF stories, no attempt is made to consider the inevitable social evolution, or changes in society. Parts of this book can be read as unintended satire of mid-20th-century attitudes and society, such as when Mrs. Underhill opines (quite seriously) that what mankind really needs is a robot that can serve soup without spilling any.
The ending of the book can be interpreted as anywhere from tragic to utopian, depending on your interpretation of what it is that the Humanoids have done to mankind, and your views on the relative importance of the individual (and freedom) and society (and security). Although Williamson meant for the denouement to be tragic and dystopian, the greatest strength of this novel may be that it is not really clear, allowing the reader to decide whether the ending is tragic or transcendent.
