Moxon's Master
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"Moxon's Master" is a short story by the late 19th Century American author Ambrose Bierce that speculates on the nature of life and intelligence. It describes a chess-playing robot automaton that murders its creator. Published in 1909, it is one of the first descriptions of a robot in English literature.
[edit] Plot summary
In the story, the master, Moxon, holds a conversation with the unnamed narrator. After a thorough discussion about what it is to be "thinking" and "intelligent", the unnamed narrator leaves. At this point the narrator is not aware of the existence of the robot.
Shortly after the narrator returns to Moxon's in order to learn more. He enters the house and heads toward the machine room, where he finds Moxon playing a chess game with the "automation". After winning the game, the "automation" kills Moxon. The narrator having witnessed this later questions whether what he saw was real, although he does not directly deny it.
[edit] See also
Real or hoax chess-playing automatons:
[edit] External links
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