In 1941 John W. Campbell of Astounding Science Fiction began a new department, "Probability Zero", for very short stories.

Having learned that a rejected story might sell elsewhere, he saved "First Law" until it was published by Fantastic Universe in October 1956.

[2] The story is very short, only three pages in length, and takes the form of Mike Donovan's account of an incident that occurred on Titan, one of Saturn's moons.

He tells of a malfunctioning robot named Emma that escaped from the base and was later encountered by Donovan while he was lost during a storm.

While Donovan's life was in danger, Emma chose to protect its offspring, a small robot that it had built, instead of assisting him.