Early SF then explores robots/automata as workers, servants, or thinking machines—distinct from gothic “created-being” tales.
# Chronological Order - The Steam Man of the Prairies (1868) - The Automatic Maid-of-All-Work (1893) - Moxon’s Master (1899)- The Clockwork Man (1923) - Rossum’s Universal Robots (R.U.R., 1920–21) - Robots of the World! Arise! (1952)
# Hitchhiker Relevance
- Mid-century labor/rights twist on robot society - Mari Wolf — “Robots of the World! Arise!” (1952)
- The Steam Man and The First Robot (1868)
- Early cyborg/automation novel; “clockwork” man appears in 1920s England. - E. V. Odle — The Clockwork Man (1923, full text)
The modern word **robot** derives from Czech **robota** (“forced labour/serf work”), introduced via Karel Čapek’s play **R.U.R.** (1920–21).
- Coinage and dramatization of industrial “robots.” - Rossum’s Universal Robots (1920/1923) by Karel Čapek
- Domestic automaton comedy of errors - The Automatic Maid-of-All-Work (1893)
- A chess automaton and the idea of a thinking machine - Ambrose Bierce — “Moxon’s Master” (1899)
## See Free Justice · Robot Judges · Living Documents · Language Game