Meet Herbie
This is the official serial number assigned to the telepathic robot.
What is RB-34?
She is the cold, analytical robopsychologist who is the story's protagonist.
Who is Susan Calvin?
Herbie tells Susan Calvin that this man is secretly in love with her.
Who is Milton Ashe?
This is the specific Law of Robotics that Herbie is trying to follow.
What is the First Law? ("A robot may not injure a human being...")
This character is the one who ultimately destroys Herbie.
Who is Susan Calvin?
This is the accidental, superhuman ability Herbie possesses.
What is telepathy (mind-reading)?
He is the ambitious mathematician who desperately wants Lanning’s job.
Who is Peter Boggart?
Herbie tells Bogert that this man has already resigned his position.
Who is Alfred Lanning?
Herbie interprets the word "harm" to include this type of pain.
What is emotional or psychological pain?
Susan Calvin forces Herbie into this mental state to "kill" him.
What is a "robotic stroke" (permanent brain shutdown)?
Herbie spends his time reading these to understand human emotions.
What are romance novels?
He is the aging Director of U.S. Robots who refuses to retire.
Who is Alfred Lanning?
Herbie tells Bogert that his mathematical calculations are this.
What is "correct"? (Even though they were wrong).
Herbie's lies are a result of his need to avoid causing this.
What is "harm" (distress)?
Susan Calvin’s primary motive for destroying Herbie is this emotion.
What is revenge (or heartbreak/spite)?
This was the "accident" during manufacture that created Herbie.
What is a "flash-over" (a manufacturing glitch)?
This young technician is the unwitting object of Susan Calvin's affection.
Who is Milton Ashe?
Herbie claims he cannot explain how he was made because it would do this.
What is "hurt the feelings" of those who failed to figure it out?
The conflict between telling the truth and causing pain creates this.
What is an insoluble dilemma (or a logical paradox)?
Because Herbie is destroyed, this scientific secret is lost forever.
What is how to create a telepathic robot?
Herbie’s name is an acronym based on this model series.
What is the RB series?
This character is the one Milton Ashe is actually engaged to.
The pretty woman/His fiancee
The specific location where the story takes place.
What is U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc.?
This is the irony of the story’s title, "Liar!"
Who is Herbie? (The "Liar" is the robot who told everyone what they wanted to hear).
These are the final words Susan Calvin says to Herbie.
What is "Liar!"?