Weekly Short Stories: 1946 Science Fiction, Part 4

I conclude my look back at 1946, the year following the end of World War II and the explosions of nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as it was reflected in the world of science fiction short story literature.  The retrospective anthology I'm using is Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 6 (1946).  And without further ado, here are my reactions to the final four tales from this book...

EVIDENCE by Isaac Asimov
This story is an example of an author creating his or her own literary universe, with its own history and characters...and then capitalizing on that creation with stories set within it.  Asimov wrote extensively about robots...and roboticist Dr. Susan Calvin.  In Evidence popular opinion has turned strongly against the presence of robots on Earth in spite of the Three Laws of Robotics that ensure goodwill toward humans on the part of all positronic robots.  Stephen Byerley is running for elective office and his opponent, Francis Quinn, strongly suspects him of being a robot...intending to capitalize on the population's strong opposition to them to defeat him.  But how can he prove his accusation?  Dr. Calvin steps in to figure it all out in her own ingenious, sly way...

ABSALOM by Henry Kuttner
A series of generational mutations is progressively creating a superhuman race among a minority of the population.  A father, himself a second-generation mutant, fears that his ten-year-old son Absalom will soon be as mentally superior to him as he was to his own father...and the generational struggle between the two dominates the story.  This is one of those tales where the final line is the most memorable part...

MEWHU'S JET by Theodore Sturgeon
A couple with their toddler daughter are vacationing out in the woods in their cottage when their roof gets ripped off suddenly by a falling object...it turns out to be an alien named Mewhu on his special portable jet device.  This catlike humanoid creature, very intelligent in his own right, quickly befriends them and helps them use the jet to repair the house.  And little Molly seems to have a special rapport with Mewhu...there seems to be something telepathic between them.  Just what kind of civilization does Mewhu represent and how role does he play in it?  The answers are implied toward the story's end...a very sweet little tale about first contact...reminded me a bit of E.T.....

TECHNICAL ERROR by Arthur C. Clarke
A very powerful generator operating on principles of superconductivity is being put into use for the first time.  Engineer Richard Nelson finds himself standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when something goes very wrong during its startup...he comes out unscathed, at least until it becomes revealed that he has become his mirror image...all the way down to his molecular structure.  And that causes a great number of problems as Clarke gives the reader a short lesson not only about the nature of organic chemistry but that the unseen very small determines the ultimate reality of our world and our lives...

Next week I start with the year 1947 in science fiction short stories...