Asclepius was a crazed rogue droid and antagonist in the Red Dwarf episode, Give & Take. Asclepius was an advanced medi-bot constructed in the late 23rd century, programmed to perform all procedures, be it physical or psychological.
Asclepius derives his name from the Greek god of medicine of the same name.
Background[]
As explained in a deleted scene, the space station that housed Asclepius and other artificial intelligence constructed them out of recycled space junk. This provided an explanation as to Asclepius's terrifiying appearence and Snacky, the space station's resident snack dispenser, looking quite naff in comparison.
When the boys from the Dwarf were near Asclepius's station, they detected it to be rich in technology and spare parts and decided to scavenge it. However, it was due for a collision course with an asteroid storm in a few hours, so they had to hurry. Kryten and Rimmer were also keen on finding Asclepius and recruiting him to the team.
Role in the Episode[]
As Rimmer and Kryten were wandering Asclepius's medical suite, they encountered a robot who they presumed to be Asclepius, but who was in fact the ship's automated snack dispenser, Snacky. Under the assumption Snacky was Asclepius, they recruited it to the team and went off looking for Lister and the Cat.
Meanwhile, Lister and the Cat were exploring the station and caame across the corpse of a one Romero G. Gonzalez, who had stabbed himself in the back possibly centuries previous. Suddenly, Asclepius appeared behind them, under the delusional state that they were patients of his. Before Lister and the Cat could run away, Asclepius fired sedative into their backs, knocking them unconscious.
As Kryten and Rimmer were looking around for them, Kryten received a notice that the asteroid storm would hit the station sooner than expected, and so they had to get Lister and the Cat now and hurry back to Starbug with Snacky, who they were still under the impression was Asclepius.
Kryten and Rimmer eventually discover Lister and the Cat on gurneys being prepped for operation by Asclepius. Asclepius, in turn, misidentifies them as more patients of his and prepares to sedate them as he did to Lister and the Cat. Rimmer quickly takes cover behind Kryten and fires his bazookoid at Asclepius, temporarily knocking him out.
As Rimmer, Kryten, and Snacky escape with Lister and the Cat, the station is hit by multiple asteroids. While Asclepius reawakens and chases after them, the boys from the Dwarf alongside Snacky are able to escape on Starbug and Asclepius perishes on the station which is destroyed by the horde of incoming asteroids.
Gallery[]
