The first diary of The Western took place on a Sunday. Some football game was on, so The Western had a rival.
Nevertheless, it was good I think. There was some homework. And the comments from the readers? Excellent, I thought.
The time span of the first diary was the 1860s. And The Western will eventually be returning to that era. But for now, The Western goes to the 1940s.
So join the Scrumble and read on, just a little below the orange antimacassar.
In an article about Isaac Asimov and his The Three Laws, the writer said, "These form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic-based fiction..." And Asimov was not the only maker of rules. Gene Autry had his own Rules. And between the two, Autry and Asimov, there is enough to build a viable Scrumble around.
Gene Autry got fired because he played his guitar at work. No doubt somebody later told young Gene that he should have paid more attention to his key and less to his strings. That would have been Oklahoma style humor - then. Fortunately, one of the customers that heard Gene Autry play was Will Rogers. And Will Rogers told Gene Autry that he was pretty good. In fact, he suggested to Gene that he should try to get on the radio. And since Will Rogers was on the radio already (and knew a bit about Oklahoma humor), Gene Autry followed the suggestion.
A couple of decades later, Gene Autry had become a star. And he had fans. And many of those fans were impressionable young boys. So Gene Autry published his Cowboy Code:
1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.
Now you know, sometimes people meet in strange ways. And while I have no idea whether Gene Autry and Isaac Asimov ever met or not, there was one common interest: robots.
Oh yes. And while I might try to describe the door from Gene's ranch to the robot's underworld lair, I'd rather you find it on your own. Just search under 'Autry Empire.'
Asimov started with three codes, and then an 0th later (Autry started with 9 and then added a 10th). Asimov had an older group of fans. So instead of a cowboy code of his own, Asimov had his The Three Laws.
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
and then an 0th:
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
I want to get this diary published, so I'll stop here. You are welcome to add more re: "...an organizing principle and unifying theme..." for the Internet of Things.
For the homework, design your own door to your robot's underworld lair. And protection of the Scrumble saves gear.