Olivaw is a Robot built by Roj Nemennuh Sarton and Han Fastolfe, who are Spacer roboticists from the planet Aurora, in the year 4920 AD. Unlike many robots of the period, Olivaw is constructed to be virtually indistinguishable from a human being (an android) and was the first of the humanoid robots. This "undercover" attribute enables him to help earth-policeman Elijah Baley solve crimes. Olivaw and Baley first meet while Baley is investigating the murder of his co-creator Sarton in Spacetown. Olivaw and Baley work together on a murder case on Spacer planet Aurora, as well as on the case of the "roboticide" of Olivaw's "brother," Jander Panell. Also on Aurora, he first meets R. Giskard Reventlov, a robot with unique telepathic and mind control powers. In an interesting evolution of robotic sociology, Olivaw comes to see the need for a new law to be added to the "Three Laws of Robotics": the "Zeroth Law of Robotics" ("A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm") For that time onward, Olivaw manipulates the galaxy with the help of his many robot allies. He sets up both the Galactic Empire and Gaia in order to create a society that does not need robots.