One of my favorite passages from what many, rightly, call "the greatest science fiction book ever written:" Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination
'Life is so simple,' Foyle said. 'This decision is so simple, isn't it? Am I to respect Presteign's property rights? The welfare of the planets? Jisbella's ideals? Dagenham's realism? Robin's conscience? Press the button and watch the robot jump. But I'm not a robot. I'm a freak of the universe ... a thinking animal ... and I'm trying to see my way clear through this morass. Am I to turn PyrE over to the world and let it destroy itself? Am I to teach the world how to space-jaunte and let us spread our freak show from galaxy to galaxy through all the universe? What's the answer?'
The bartender robot hurled its mixing glass across the room with a resounding crash. In the amazed silence that followed, Dagenham grunted: 'Damn! My radiation disrupted your dolls again, Presteign.'
'The answer is yes,' the robot said, quite distinctly.
'What?' Foyle asked, taken aback.
'The answer to your question is yes.'
'Thank you, Foyle said.
'My pleasure, sir,' the robot responded. 'A man is a member of society first, and an individual second. You must go along with society, whether it chooses destruction or not.'
'Completely haywire,' Dagenham said impatiently. Switch if off, Presteign.'
'Wait,' Foyle commanded. He looked at the beaming grin engraved in the steel robot face. 'But society can be so stupid. So confused. You've witnessed this conference.'
'Yes, sir, but you must teach, not dictate. You must teach society.'
'To space-jaunte? Why? To reach out to the stars and galaxies? What for?' "
'Because you're alive, sir. You might as well ask: Why is life? don't ask about it. Live it.'
'Quite mad,' Dagenham muttered.
'But fascinating,' Y'ang-Yeovil murmured.
'There's got to be more to life than just living,' Foyle said to the robot.
'Then find it for yourself, sir. Don't ask the world to stop moving because you have doubts.'
'Why can't we all move forward together?'
'Because you're all so different. You're not lemmings. Some must lead, and hope that the rest will follow.'
'Who leads?'
'The men who must . . . driven men, compelled men.'
'Freak men.'
'You're all freaks, sir. But you always have been freaks. Life is a freak. That's its hope and glory.'
'Thank you very much.'
'My pleasure, sir.'
'You've saved the day.'
'Always a lovely day somewhere, sir,' the robot beamed. Then it fizzed, jangled, and collapsed. "
The first appearance of the novel in Galaxy, October 1956.
Current edition is here:
Fargin' awesome.
I loved every single thing Bester wrote, but I love "The Stars..." best of all. It simply rocked.
Glad to see you giving him the props he deserves.
Posted by: m00se at August 14, 2009 5:12 PMI agree: Stunningly good novel. Pyrotechnic, full of ideas, and unforgettable.
Another of my favorite passages:
"You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you...Take a war to make you spend. Take a jam to make you think. Take a challenge to make you great. Rest of the time you sit around lazy, you. Pigs, you! All right, God damn you! I challenge you, me. Die or live and be great. Blow yourselves to Christ gone or come and find me, Gully Foyle, and I make you men. I make you great. I give you the stars."
Posted by: pst314 at August 14, 2009 8:09 PMOh yes. that's a great passage in a novel chock full of them.
Posted by: Vanderleun at August 14, 2009 9:13 PMLoved that novel. My uncle subscribed to Galaxy and I read it in installments as it came out. I recall the cover of the issue with the first part and I remember reading during a Christmas visit the bit where Gully Foyle is with Olivia during the attack by the Outer Planets. Ah, that was a long time ago in a very different age.
Posted by: chuck at August 15, 2009 3:17 AMJust remembered: In the world of The Stars My Destination, Christianity is an outlawed religion.
Posted by: pst314 at August 17, 2009 10:27 AM"PyrE! It's danger! It's death! Make them tell you what it is!"
Posted by: Kevin at August 17, 2009 11:26 AM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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