5,271,009
"5,271,009" is a science fiction/fantasy short story by American writer Alfred Bester. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, in 1954, it is also known as "The Starcomber".[1]
Plot summary
[edit]To repair the mind of insane artist Jeffrey Halsyon, supernatural being Solon Aquila causes Halsyon to live out various wish fulfillment scenarios—all of which are terribly flawed.
History
[edit]The story was commissioned to fit a pre-existing piece of cover art, wherein a man in a prison uniform (with the serial number 5271009) is shackled to an asteroid.[2]
Bester subsequently explained "5,271,009" as being the number of decisions a man must make in his life;[3] too, the number features in each scenario in some manner.
Reception
[edit]David Langford has described it as "one of [his] favourite shorts (by Bester)",[1] and Tim Sullivan called it "an extraordinary exploration of solipsism."[4]
Critic and editor Sherryl Vint has posited that the story might be read as "an analogy for [Bester's] relationship to sf",[3] while Fiona Kelleghan has described Aquila as "a sort of fallen angel".[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Author's Note, in Starcombing, by David Langford, originally published by Wildside Press, 2009
- ^ Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction, by David G. Hartwell; published January 24, 2017, by Macmillan Publishers
- ^ a b Alfred Bester (1913-87), by Sherryl Vint, in Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction (edited by Mark Bould, Andrew Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint; published September 10, 2009, by Routledge
- ^ SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, by Tim Sullivan, in the Washington Post; published November 30, 1997; retrieved October 18, 2018
- ^ Hell's My Destination: Imprisonment in the Works of Alfred Bester, by Fiona Kelleghan, in Science Fiction Studies, #64 = Volume 21, Part 3 = November 1994; archived at DePauw University
External links
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