“Key Item” By Isaac Asimov

This story is science fiction: The setting is an invented time and place. Events are based on some scientific discovery. The story examines the relationship or the interaction between technology and humans, and the effect this has on human minds.

About the Author: Isaac Asimov Born in Russia and immigrated to the U.S., grew up in Brooklyn, NY Studied chemistry in college Author of 500 books! Including science fiction, mystery, nonfiction science, history, and more! Known for robot stories Wrote often about space travel but was afraid to fly. (He flew only twice in his lifetime.)

Preview Vocabulary stolid: unemotional efficient: when you produce what you want with least amount of effort; well-organized sufficient: when somebody does just enough to satisfy himself/herself desperation: having extreme anxiety or worry diffidently: shyly, having a lack of confidence

Setting up the story: The world’s economy depends on Multivac, a complicated computer system. One day Multivac refuses to respond to a command program. Two computer technicians, Weaver and Nemerson, are part of a team trying to fix Multivac. You will quickly notice that they disagree about what to do…Will they fix the system in time? Or will the world suffer from a computer meltdown? What are they missing? What is the key item?