Good News From the Vatican

Robert Silverberg tackled the question of God and robots in his Nebula Award winning 1971 short story. It is less a story about the robot who becomes elected pope and more a discussion between a set of travelers in Rome waiting for the puff of white smoke that will confirm what everyone knows: that the gentle robot Cardinal will be elected Pope. Is the story a satire? A discussion of religion becoming more secular? Or a thoughtful why wouldn’t a robot pope be a good choice, especially with the doctrine of papal infallibility? The story isn’t as good as Articles of Faith, but worth the $2.99 to buy it on Amazon here.