burton (07/08/82)
I need a story (and author) identified. A long while ago, I read a story (part of a collection by different authors), which had the following background: Mankind discovered that men could not withstand the psychological pressures of space travel. To this end, a special device was developed to be used by pilots, which shut off most of their sensory inputs. The process was called 'going under the wire'. These men were especially adapted to this condition, carrying scratchpads on their chest, with a pencil point in one of their fingers to write on the pad, since the 'wire' also shut off their hearing and speech abilities. I can't remember much else about the story, but this seems to be a pretty unique premise, so hopefully someone out there can identify it for me. I also seem to remember that the story was not complete; it was as if a small section of a novel, or longer story, had been taken out to be used in the anthology. Can anyone help identify the story, and confirm if it is a novel? You should probably try to mail the answer directly to me, since we have been having trouble lately with our links to the net. Doug Burton inuxc!burton (...mhtsa!inuxc ihnss!inuxc nwuxc!inuxc )
burton (07/09/82)
Thanks to everyone on the net who responded to my inquiry. The unanimous answer was "Scanners live in Vain" by Cordwainer Smith (C. M. Kornbluth). Does anyone know if it is part of a longer story or novel? Is the entire story in SF Hall of Fame Vol. 1? Doug Burton Bell Labs, Indianapolis inuxc!burton
jhc (07/09/82)
OK, OK. Just for the record, Cordwainer Smith is *NOT* a pseudonym of C. M. Kornbluth. The REAL Cordwainer Smith was: Paul Anthony Myron Linebarger (I kid you not). He was Sun Yat Sen's godson, a professor at Harvard, or Princeton, or somewhere. He was US Army Intelligence in charge of the Far East in WW II. For confirmation, see the introduction and biography in "The Worlds of Cordwainer Smith" (Ballantine/Del Rey). Jonathan Clark BTL Holmdel
laura (07/09/82)
Cordwainer Smith -- Scanners Live in Vain. a novelette, not part of a novel. Like all of Cordwainer Smith's work ***very recomended reading*** Laura Creighton decvax!utzoo!laura
@RUTGERS.ARPA:DUGGAN@UTAH-20.ARPA (02/16/85)
From: Jerry Duggan <duggan@UTAH-20.ARPA> Red, The story about the thief with two identities is _Mindkiller_ by Spider Robinson (of Callahan's fame). If you liked this one, I recommend _Telempath_, by the same author (but then again, I am into shoot 'em up Science Fiction). jpd -------
sean@ukma.UUCP (Sean Casey) (05/22/85)
I only have the vaguest recollection of this book, but I woulds really
like to reread it. It takes place in the future, I believe, after all
the cities have been blown up and are highly radioactive. It's about
this woman, an outcast, that has this peculiar property that entropy
seems to reverse around her. For example, she is walking along a
highway in the desrt sun, and behind her, the rusted metal of the
guardrail turns gleaming. She takes up (is born with?) this band of
people living in the woods. Later she takes up with some guy that
seems to have come control over entropy. In the climax, there is a
confrontation between them and some kind of authorities that lob an
entropy grenade toward the guy, who catches it, and somehow controls it
with his will.
Well, there ya go...any ideas?
--
- Sean Casey UUCP: {cbosgd,anlams,hasmed}!ukma!sean
- Department of Mathematics ARPA: ukma!sean@ANL-MCS.ARPA
- University of Kentuckyddern@bbncch (05/22/85)
From: Daniel Dern <ddern@BBNCCH.ARPA> Re David Eppstein's query (giving birth in the wimmin's universe) -- "Consider Her Ways", by John Wyndham -- that's my (unreferenced) vote. Daniel Dern