Internal Combustion (short story)

Short story by L. Sprague de Camp

"Internal Combustion"

Short story by L. Sprague de Camp

Robert Engle's illustration of
the story in Infinity Science Fiction

Country| United States
Language| English
Genre(s)| Science fiction
Publication
Published in| Infinity Science Fiction
Publisher| Royal Publications, Inc.
Media type| Print (Magazine)
Publication date| February, 1956

"Internal Combustion" is a classic science fiction robot story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Infinity Science Fiction for February, 1956.[1][2] It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales (Doubleday, 1963);[1][2] it later appeared in the anthologies Souls in Metal (Hale, 1977)[1][2] and Top Science Fiction: The Authors' Choice (J. M. Dent, 1984).[2] The story has been translated into German.[1][2]

## Plot summary

[edit]

A group of six worn-out robots, colloquially called robums, has been squatting in an abandoned mansion in Coquina Beach, North Carolina. Having reached the point where humans no longer consider them worth repairing, they have been discarded, emancipated and left to shift as best they can. They self-identify by nicknames reflective of their personalities or talents taken from human history, legend or literature. Most run on liquid fuel, for which they must forage; their leader, Napoleon, is nuclear-powered, but confined to the rotting mansion by his great weight and an inoperative leg.

While the robums share the usual robotic inhibitions against hostility to human beings, this programming has been eroded by their decrepitude, and in the case of Napoleon completely broken down under the influence of hard radiation leaking from his atomic pile. He has conceived a grandiose scheme of making a human his puppet, through which he hopes to achieve political domination of mankind. The other robums readily fall in with the plan, dreaming it will grant them "all the kerosene we want and a good gasoline binge whenever we feel like it."

As we first encounter the robums, Napoleon's first attempt to realize his scheme has just miscarried. The kidnapped mendicant intended as his patsy has bolted in panic and been felled by his hench-robot, Hercules; under the heaviness of the latter's blow the victim has been "damaged beyond repair." An alternative plan is adopted, to secure a child they can rear and train. The robum Galahad observes that the absent Homer, another of their number, knows a child — "the Sanborn kid."

Homer, meanwhile, is beachcombing along the shore for shells he can sell for kerosene. As he passes the Sanborn home he is commissioned by the householder, Archie Sanborn, to buy him some gasoline for one of the antique cars he collects. Homer, replying as is his wont in poetry, agrees. Archie's young son Gordon wants to go with Homer but is denied permission. Back at the mansion, Napoleon sends out the robums to fetch a child. Two of them, Galahad and Confucius, meet Homer on his way back from the service station with Archie's gasoline. Learning what he carries, they cajole him to share it with them, and over time succeed. Soon all three robots are on a gasoline binge. While this is happening, Gordon runs away from home looking for Homer. He encounters Hercules, who promises to take the boy to his robot friend.

Back at the mansion Gordon is introduced to Napoleon, who attempts to recruit him to the cause. But Gordon only wants Homer, and his childish petulance quickly drives the robum boss to distraction. He calls for Hercules, only to find him drunk; Galahad, Confucius and Homer have returned with the gasoline, and Hercules has joined in the orgy. Homer is upset that the others have kidnapped Gordon. Then Sancho Panza, the robum on watch, reports the approach of policemen, no doubt in search of the child. Napoleon orders Gordon and the gasoline concealed. The robums feign cooperation with the search, and the police leave without finding anything.

Afterwards the gas is brought back out and the party continues apace. Homer, finding his poetry unappreciated, departs to join Napoleon in the library. After he leaves, a spontaneous gasoline explosion puts an end to the merriment, incapacitating Galahad, Confucius, Hercules and Sancho. Apprehending the danger, Napoleon orders Homer to get him out of the mansion, but Homer, remembering Gordon, abandons his boss and runs up to the attic to save the boy instead.

Shielding his friend from the blaze, Homer knocks out a window and leaps from the burning mansion. The blaze has attracted a crowd, including Gordon's parents, who take him from the robot's arms. Archie asks Homer what happened, but he, his vocal circuits damaged, can only spout a few lines of meaningless poetry before his remaining systems fail. The fire department has arrived, but realizing the mansion is a complete loss the firemen concentrate their attention on saving the neighboring residences.

## Reception

[edit]

P. Schuyler Miller, commenting on the stories in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur, called this piece "[o]ne of the best stories in the lot--in part because it is so unlike the rest." He notes that it "points out that used-up robots may become bums, just like used-up people."[3]

John Clute, reviewing Souls in Metal, considered the collection an "atrocious little money-spinner," whose contents could not have "required more than a modicum of research to uncover," but was kinder in regard to the stories themselves. He rated de Camp's story among its several "warhorses."[4]

Peter D. Pautz lumped the story together with the rest of the contents of Top Science Fiction as "precious gems," and rated the anthology as a whole as "the kind ... that creates new fans, warms the hearts of old ones, and restores the faith of the jaded."[5]

Mike Ashley, discussing de Camp's science fiction from the 1950s, cited the story as an instance of his humorous works, characterizing it as "a spoof about a bunch of robot gangsters." Noting that the author "dipped his toe into the science-fiction pool less frequently as the decade progressed," Ashley called "[h]is appearances ... always welcome, because de Camp's fiction seldom followed the fashion."[6]

## Relation to other works

[edit]

"Internal Combustion" is de Camp's only published robot story. Writing after his colleague Isaac Asimov's influential Three Laws of Robotics had replaced science fiction's traditional concept of robots as menaces with a more benign model, de Camp devised an in-story rationale for his own robots' anti-social actions.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Laughlin, Charlotte, and Levack, Daniel J. H. De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco, Underwood/Miller, 1983, page 187.
2. ^ a b c d e Internal Combustion title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
3. ^ Miller, P. Schuyler. "The Reference Library." In Analog Science Fact - Science Fiction, v. 71, no. 5, July 1963, p. 90.
4. ^ Clute, John. "Books," in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, v. 54, no. 1, January 1978, p. 29.
5. ^ Pautz, Peter D. "Lives Up To Its Names[s]," in Fantasy Review, v. 8, no. 3, March 1985, p. 22.
6. ^ Ashley, Michael. Transformations: The Story of the Science-fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970, Liverpool University Press, 2005, pp. 133-134.

* v
* t
* e

L. Sprague de Camp

Viagens
Interplanetarias|

| Krishna|

* "Finished" (1949)
* The Queen of Zamba (1949)
* The Hand of Zei (1950)
* "Perpetual Motion" (1950)
* "Calories" (1951)
* The Virgin of Zesh (1953)
* The Tower of Zanid (1958)
* The Hostage of Zir (1977)
* The Prisoner of Zhamanak (1982)
* The Bones of Zora (1983)
* The Swords of Zinjaban (1991)

|

Kukulkan|

* The Stones of Nomuru (1988)
* The Venom Trees of Sunga (1992)

Other|

* "The Animal-Cracker Plot" (1949)
* "The Colorful Character" (1949)
* "Git Along!" (1950)
* "The Inspector's Teeth" (1950)
* "Summer Wear" (1950)
* The Continent Makers (1951)
* "The Galton Whistle" (1951)
* Rogue Queen (1951)

Harold Shea|

* "The Roaring Trumpet" (1940)
* "The Mathematics of Magic" (1940)
* The Castle of Iron (1941/50)
* The Wall of Serpents (1953)
* The Green Magician (1954)
* Sir Harold and the Gnome King (1990)
* Sir Harold of Zodanga (1995)

Pusadian|

* The Tritonian Ring (1951)
* "The Eye of Tandyla" (1951)
* "The Owl and the Ape" (1951)
* "The Hungry Hercynian" (1953)
* "The Stronger Spell" (1953)
* "Ka the Appalling" (1958)
* "The Rug and the Bull" (1974)
* "The Stone of the Witch Queen" (1977)

Novarian|

* The Goblin Tower (1968)
* The Clocks of Iraz (1971)
* "The Emperor's Fan" (1973)
* The Fallible Fiend (1973)
* The Unbeheaded King (1983)
* The Honorable Barbarian (1989)

Neo-Napolitanian|

* The Incorporated Knight (1987)
* The Pixilated Peeress (1991)

Conan|

| Novels|

* Conan and the Spider God (1980)
* Conan of the Isles (1968)
* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Buccaneer (1971)
* Conan the Liberator (1979)
* The Return of Conan (1957)

|

Short stories|

* "Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973)
* "The Treasure of Tranicos" (1953)
* "Black Tears" (1968)
* "The Blood-Stained God" (1955)
* "The Castle of Terror" (1969)
* "The City of Skulls" (1967)
* "The Curse of the Monolith" (1968)
* "Drums of Tombalku" (1966)
* The Flame Knife (1955/81)
* "The Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan (1953)
* "The Gem in the Tower" (1978)
* "The God in the Bowl" (1952)
* "The Hall of the Dead" (1967)
* "Hawks Over Shem" (1955)
* "The Ivory Goddess" (1978)
* "The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969)
* "Legions of the Dead" (1978)
* "Moon of Blood" (1978)
* "The People of the Summit" (1970/78)
* "Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974)
* "The Road of the Eagles" (1955)
* "Shadows in the Dark" (1978)
* "Shadows in the Skull" (1975)
* "The Snout in the Dark" (1969)
* "The Star of Khorala" (1978)
* "The Thing in the Crypt" (1967)
* "The Witch of the Mists" (1972)
* "Wolves Beyond the Border" (1967)

Other
speculative
fiction|

| Novels|

* The Carnelian Cube (1948)
* Genus Homo (1950)
* The Glory That Was (1960)
* The Great Fetish (1978)
* Land of Unreason (1942)
* Lest Darkness Fall (1941)
* None but Lucifer (1939)
* Solomon's Stone (1942)

|

Short stories|

* "Aristotle and the Gun" (1958)
* "The Blue Giraffe" (1939)
* "The Command" (1938)
* "The Contraband Cow" (1942)
* "Cornzan the Mighty" (1955)
* "Divide and Rule" (1939)
* "The Egg" (1956)
* "Employment" (1939)
* "The Gnarly Man" (1939)
* "The Guided Man" (1952)
* "A Gun for Dinosaur" (1956)
* "The Hardwood Pile" (1940)
* "The Hibited Man" (1949)
* "Hyperpilosity" (1938)
* "In-Group" (1952)
* "Internal Combustion" (1956)
* "The Isolinguals" (1937)
* "Judgment Day" (1955)
* "Let's Have Fun" (1957)
* "Living Fossil" (1939)
* "The Merman" (1938)
* "Nothing in the Rules" (1939)
* "The Reluctant Shaman" (1947)
* "The Saxon Pretender" (1952)
* "The Space Clause" (1952)
* "The Stolen Dormouse" (1941)
* "Throwback" (1949)
* "The Wheels of If" (1940)

Historical fiction|

* The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
* The Arrows of Hercules (1965)
* An Elephant for Aristotle (1958)
* The Bronze God of Rhodes (1960)
* The Golden Wind (1969)

Fiction edited|

* The Wolf Leader (1950)
* Swords and Sorcery (1963)
* The Spell of Seven (1965)
* Conan the Warrior (1967)
* The Fantastic Swordsmen (1967)
* Conan the Conqueror (1967)
* Warlocks and Warriors (1970)
* 3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
* Tales Beyond Time (1973)

Nonfiction|

| Science and
history|

* Inventions and Their Management (1937)
* The Evolution of Naval Weapons (1947)
* Antarctic Conquest (1949)
* Engines (1959)
* The Heroic Age of American Invention (1961)
* Man and Power (1961)
* Energy and Power (1962)
* The Ancient Engineers (1963)
* Ancient Ruins and Archaeology (1964)
* Elephant (1964)
* Spirits, Stars, and Spells (1966)
* The Story of Science in America (1967)
* The Day of the Dinosaur (1968)
* The Great Monkey Trial (1968)
* Darwin and His Great Discovery (1972)
* Great Cities of the Ancient World (1972)
* The Ragged Edge of Science (1980)
* The Fringe of the Unknown (1983)
* The Ape-Man Within (1995)
* Rubber Dinosaurs and Wooden Elephants (1996)

|

Lit crit and
biography|

* Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages (1975)
* The Conan Reader (1968)
* Dark Valley Destiny (1983)
* Lands Beyond (1952)
* Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976)
* Lost Continents (1954)
* Lovecraft: A Biography (1975)
* The Miscast Barbarian (1975)
* Science-Fiction Handbook (1953/75)
* Time and Chance (1996)

Nonfiction edited|

* The Conan Swordbook (1969)
* The Conan Grimoire (1972)
* To Quebec and the Stars (1976)
* The Blade of Conan (1979)
* The Spell of Conan (1980)

Poetry|

* Demons and Dinosaurs (1970)
* Heroes and Hobgoblins (1981)
* Phantoms and Fancies (1972)

Collections|

* The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (1953)
* The Virgin of Zesh & The Tower of Zanid (1983)
* The Incomplete Enchanter (1941)
* Wall of Serpents (1960)
* The Compleat Enchanter (1975)
* The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989)
* The Enchanter Reborn (1992)
* The Exotic Enchanter (1995)
* The Mathematics of Magic (2007)
* The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (1953)
* The Reluctant King (1985)
* Conan (1967)
* The Conan Chronicles (1989)
* The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990)
* Conan of Aquilonia (1977)
* Conan of Cimmeria (1969)
* Conan the Adventurer (1966)
* Conan the Avenger (1968)
* Conan the Freebooter (1968)
* Conan the Swordsman (1978)
* Conan the Usurper (1967)
* Conan the Wanderer (1968)
* Sagas of Conan (2004)
* Tales of Conan (1955)
* The Treasure of Tranicos (1980)
* Aristotle and the Gun (2002)
* The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (1978)
* Divide and Rule (1948)
* Footprints on Sand (1981)
* A Gun for Dinosaur (1963)
* The Purple Pterodactyls (1980)
* The Reluctant Shaman (1970)
* Rivers of Time (1993)
* Scribblings (1972)
* Sprague de Camp's New Anthology (1953)
* Tales from Gavagan's Bar (1953/78)
* The Undesired Princess (1951)
* The Virgin & the Wheels (1976)
* The Wheels of If (1948)
* Years in the Making (2005)

About de Camp|

* GURPS Planet Krishna (1997)
* The Enchanter Completed (2005)

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