Today I conclude my look back at the year 1947 in short science fiction literature with my reactions to the final six stories from the anthology Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 9 (1947). Here they are...
WITH FOLDED HANDS... by Jack Williamson
At some time in the future humanity has already explored and settled other star systems and robotics (or "mechanicals" as named here) are a big part of the economy. One day, out of the blue, a new "humanoids" store is standing, ready to sell their uniform models to each and every person...and they're all tied in to the central intelligence form the home planet, adhering to the principle that no harm befalls any human being. This is one of those stories that gets me reflecting in different directions on its messages. On one level, there is an ominous level of prophecy at our increasing dependency on artificial intelligence as device after device makes assumptions as to our liking or well-being, whether we happen to agree or not. Another is that even before AI began to make its presence felt, our society has been involved in efforts to restrict people's freedoms based on them avoiding activities and consumption deemed harmful to them. A pretty profound tale, especially coming from 1947. Then again, Prohibition was the law of the land from 1919 to 1933 and the "war on drugs" began almost immediately thereafter...
THE FIRES WITHIN by Arthur C. Clarke
This very short story reminds me of Hal Clement's Proof from back in 1942. In both the author puts forth the proposition that there may be other forms of intelligent life going on undetected for the only reason that its physical and chemical structure and location are so vastly different from our own that we're not looking for it. A scientist hits upon a device that uses sonar technology to examine to several miles underground to determine what the composition of inner Earth is like...and makes an astounding discovery. But some things...as the end reveals...are better left covered and hidden...
ZERO HOUR by Ray Bradbury
Little children all around, to the amusement of their parents and other grownups, have invented a new game they call "Invasion", and they claim that Drill, an alien from another dimension who has befriended them, is trapped here and needs to be freed. You can quickly tell where this story is going...I wanted to scream at the adults to stop acting like a collective bunch of dumbasses...
HOBBYIST by Eric Frank Russell
A stranded spaceman...along with his talking macaw partner, explores the world he thinks he'll almost certainly be spending the rest of his life on: little to no hope of rescue. He discovers numerous plant and animal life forms...but they are all singular in nature. And what about that golden column of light, filled with what looks like stars, that roams the area at night? This is a story whose implications dramatically expand from a simple tale of survival to speculation about the ultimate nature of our existence...
EXIT THE PROFESSOR by Lewis Padgett
This story reminded me a little of the old 1960s Beverly Hillbillies TV series where the "sophisticates" in the Big City continually underestimate the strengths and talents of a family from the backwoods. Exit the Professor is like Beverly Hillbillies on steroids...very, very funny...
THUNDER AND ROSES by Theodore Sturgeon
The anthology closes with this, perhaps the most somber of all the post-nuclear war apocalypse stories ever written...and that's saying something considering the inherently somber nature of the topic. There has been a nuclear exchange between us and the "other" side, but we didn't fire our bombs in response...it's the only thing that's kept Earth from being completely sterilized of life from radiation. A famous singer visits an military base to put on a last show and plead for life and not hate. Very touching...and once again, here's a story about nuclear war written when the United States still had a monopoly on the atomic bomb...
Next week I'll begin my look at excellence in science fiction short stories from the year 1948...
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