Jenkins

Jenkins is a robot who is introduced in tale two but plays a major part in several other tales as well. He is one of the unifying elements in many of the tales. He is the robot who serves the Webster family, even when better models of robots are made. Jenkins is considered a Webster by the Websters because they love him. When Jerome Webster discovers that he has agoraphobia and decides he must go to Mars despite his issues, Jenkins takes the decision out of his hands by sending the ship home. This is the first time we see how Jenkins' decisions play a pivotal role in deciding someone's fate.

When the Websters move to Geneva, Jenkins stays with the Webster's dogs and takes care of them. In tale six, he has the Dogs listen for cobblies, spy on the mutants and wild robots, and try to...