Notes on Selected Stories from The Norton
Book of Science Fiction

Cordwainer Smith: "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard"

,

Theodore Sturgeon: "Tandy's Story"

,

David R. Bunch: "2064, or

Thereabouts"

,

Clifford D. Simak: "Over the River and Through the Woods"

,

James Blish: "How Beautiful with

Banners"

,

R. A. Lafferty: "Nine Hundred Grandmothers"

,

Sonya Dorman Hess: "When I Was Miss Dow"

,

Frederik

Pohl: "Day Million"

,

Samuel R. Delany: "High Weir"

,

Suzette Haden Elgin: "For the Sake of Grace"

,

Zenna

Henderson: "As Simple As That"

,

Robert Silverberg: "Good News from the Vatican"

,

James Tiptree, Jr.: "The

Women Men Don't See"

,

Vonda N. McIntyre: "The Mountains of Sunset: The Mountains of Dawn"

,

Joe Haldeman:

"The Private War of Private Jacob "

,

Ursula K. Le Guin: "The New Atlantis"

,

Joanna Russ: "A Few Things I Know

About Whileaway"

,

John Varley: "Lollipop and the Tar Baby"

,

Philip K. Dick: "Frozen Journey"

,

Phyllis Gotlieb:

"Tauf Aleph"

William Gibson: "The Gernsback Continuum"

,

Carol Emshwiller: "The Start of the End of the

World"

,

Octavia Butler: "Speech Sounds"

,

Kim Stanley Robinson: "The Lucky Strike"

,

Lewis Shiner: "The War at

Home"

,

Karen Joy Fowler: "The Lake Was Full of Artificial Things"

,

James Patrick Kelly: "Rat"

,

Eileen Gunn:

"Stable Strategies for Middle Management"

Margaret Atwood: "Homelanding"

Some of the following notes require looking up passages in the Bible. You can access one at

http://tuna.uchicago.edu/homes/BIBLES.html

.

Cordwainer Smith: "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" p. 49

This story is one of a series with a similar setting and linked characters, themost famous of which is "The Ballad of
Lost C'mell." What changeshave recently been introduced into this society? How are people reacting? Paul et
Virginie (1788) was an enormously popular romanticnovel by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre dealing with interracial
love. Why is theallusion to it here appropriate? What are homunculi? "Abba" is Hebrewfor "Father" whereas a dingo
is a sort of wild Australian dog-likecreature (See

http://coral.cs.jcu.edu.au/~marianne/img/dingoes.gif

for a look at

some dingoes.) What does the name "Abba-dingo" suggest to you? "Macht" is German for "might" or"power." What
are the different kinds and functions of freedom treated in this story? How has Paul changed at the end of the story?

Theodore Sturgeon: "Tandy's Story" p. 74

Sturgeon often deals with childhood in his stories. It is fairly common forsmall children to have imaginary
companions. Is the point of view of this storyadult or childish? What effect does that fact have on the story? What
qualitiesmake this a sort of ironic horror story?

David R. Bunch: "2064, or Thereabouts" p. 93

Bunch wrote a number of short sketches, mostly published in little literarymagazines rather than commercial SF
magazines (later collected in a volumetitled Moderan ). For that reason, hiswork has not become widely known, but
he brought a special intensity to thisseries, all set in the same post-holocaust world dominated by automated
warmachines. Who is the narrator? What would you say is the principal theme of thisstory? Is this a humorous
story? A horror story? Or something else?

Clifford D. Simak: "Over the River and Through the Woods" p. 125

This story is set in 1896. What makes it a science fiction story? What hascaused the sudden appearance of these
children? Do you know of any parallels inactual modern history? What doesn't Mrs. Forbes understand about the
future?The title is taken from the first line of a familiar song; what is its secondline?

James Blish: "How Beautiful with Banners" p. 132

This story features an encounter between a futuristic bit of technology the filmwrap and an alien creature which is
drawn to it, with the human caught in themiddle. In trying to escape the situation she gets trapped in, to what
degreeis she successful, to what degree a failure? "Basta, per carita!" isroughly the Italian for "Enough, for goodness
sake!" The myth ofNessus, the centaur, says that he took vengeance on Hercules for killing him (hehad kidnapped
Hercules' wife Deianeira), by advising his wife to soak a shirtin his blood and give it to Hercules, telling her that it

would cause him tolove her forever. It turned out instead to be fatally poisonous, killingHercules. In what way does
this story reflect this myth? "Nun denn,allein!" is German for "Now then, alone!" A "sabbat"is a witch's sabbath.The
myth of Psyche and Cupid says that during this youngwoman's affair with the love-god, she was forbidden to look
upon him, makinglove with him only in the dark. When she lit a lamp in the bedchamber, he lefther. In what way is
Ulla like that lamp?

R. A. Lafferty: "Nine Hundred Grandmothers" p. 142

There are many stories about the quest for immortality; most of them offeringthe sour-grapes consolation that
eternal life would be hellish, and deathdesirable. This one evades that simple-minded approach without offering
theconventional consolation of religious or scientific optimism. It can be seen asmore about communication than life
and death. What does this story have to sayabout the typical SF notion that we can learn the secrets of the universe
fromwise alien races?

Sonya Dorman Hess: "When I Was Miss Dow" p. 151

This story can be seen as a variation on one of those typical 50s alien-takeoverfilms like Invasion of the Body
Snatchers or IMarried a Monster from Outer Space (don't laugh, it's not all thatbad a movie). But the situation here
is more complex. In what ways does thenarrator's relationship with the Doctor reflect certain patterns of
humanrelationships?

Frederik Pohl: "Day Million" p. 166

Some SF writers like Isaac Asimov assume that "human nature" staysessentially the same. Pohl here makes an
assault on that assumption bydescribing a future humanity that is almost incredible. What are the mainfeatures of the
unusual narrative technique used here? What has not changed? What do you think Pohl's purpose was in writing this
story?"Callipygean" comes from a classical Greek word meaning "beautiful-hipped." "Meet cute" is an expression
used in filmcriticism to describe a charming but artificial way of having two charactersmeet who are destined to fall
in love. Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) composedseveral popular orchestral works. Thelonius Sphere Monk was a
brilliantlyoriginal jazz pianist. Tiglath-Pileser and Attila the Hun were ferocious conquerors.

Samuel R. Delany: "High Weir" p. 183

Delany

(be careful about spelling his name; it is often misspelled"Delaney," even in print) is the most distinguished

black SF author.In some ways this is a traditional puzzle story with a technical solution. It isnot obviously about
racism, but can you see any reflections of Delany'sAfrican-American heritage in it? Can you compare it to any story
in

Bradbury

's The Martian Chronicles?

Suzette Haden Elgin: "For the Sake of Grace" p. 211

What effect does it have on this story that it is set in such an extremelysexist future? Are the lessons conveyed by
this story applicable in any way toour own culture, which is much less sexist? What ancient culture
historicallyvalued people primarily on the basis of their knowledge of poetry?

Zenna Henderson: "As Simple As That" p. 231

Henderson was a life-long schoolteacher, and the narrators of many of herstories are teachers too. Many of them
concern The People, a supernormal alienrace which tries to blend in with humans in Appalachia. This story is not a
partof that series however. What effect does it have on our experience of theeffects of the Torn Time to view it
through the eyes of children? Do you findthis an optimistic or pessimistic story? Explain.

Robert Silverberg: "Good News from the Vatican" p. 242

Silverberg likes to play with the topic of religion, often in highly irreligiousways. This story would seem to have
been inspired by the "ecumenicalmovement," a drive to reunite various Christian churches. This storyillustrates well
a common genre in SF which might be called after a famousHeinlein title "If this goes on. . . ." A current trend
isextrapolated to absurd lengths for satirical purposes. That this is a satire isannounced early on in the names of the
Italian cardinals: Asciuga("towel") and Carciofi ("artichoke"), and made clear laterby the silly name of the new
pope. What has brought about the proposal to electa robot pope? The Osservatore Romano is the officialnewspaper
of the

Vatican,

and reflects official Church views. A "barmitzvah" is the ceremony of manhood through which

Jewish boys go. The

International Herald Tribune

is an internationalEnglish-language newspaper published jointly

by the New York Times and the Washington Post which is sold all over theworld. The Liebestod (love-death) scene
from

Richard Wagner's

opera Tristan und Isolde contains famously aching harmonies.

Hieronymous Bosch's

Temptation of Saint Anthony, based on the bizarre visions ofan early Christian hermit, contains many strange
creatures, including the frogreferred to here. There have been popes named Sixtus ("six") in fact,but it is especially
appropriate for a robot to have a purely numericaltitle.

James Tiptree, Jr.: "The Women Men Don't See" p. 255

James Tiptree, Jr. was the pseudonym of Alice Sheldon, who disguised her sex forseveral years while becoming one
of the most distinguished short- story writersin SF. Does it change how you read this story to know that it was
written by awoman? Characterize the narrator: what sort of person is he? What sort ofthoughts does he concentrate
on in regards to the women? Compare his attitudetoward the Mayas with Mrs. Parson's. What is his reaction to her
feminism? Whatdoes Mrs. Parson's last speech mean? Noli me tangere is aquotation from John 20:17, in which the
newly-resurrected Jesus tells MaryMagdalene "Touch me not." The phrase has often been sarcasticallyused of
women who are not interested in sex (at least not in sex with thespeaker). "Quién estás? A socorro!" is Spanish for
"Who are you? Help!" "Chingarse" is Spanish for "F*** you!"

Vonda N. McIntyre: "The Mountains of Sunset: The Mountains of Dawn" p. 287

This is an unusual story in that it contains no human beings. The early part ofthe story uses the concept of artificial
gravity induced through centrifugalforce created by rotating a space vehicle. You can experience this
phenomenonyourself by swinging a bucket full of water around your head on a rope, notingthat the centrifugal force
presses the water against the bottom of the bucketand prevents it from spilling. However, if one imagines a large
space vehicle inrotation, there would be no "gravity" at the hub and the highest"gravity" at the rim. Therefore in the
"higher," morecentral portions of the vehicle, flying would be considerably easier. What isthe nature of the
relationship depicted in this story? Why is it important thatthe young man participates in the old woman's death
ritual?

Joe Haldeman: "The Private War of Private Jacob " p. 300

Haldeman

is a Vietnam veteran, and many of his stories reflect his warexperiences. In what ways might this story be

read as a metaphor for the VietnamWar?

Ursula K. Le Guin: "The New Atlantis" p. 317

The title echoes the title of a utopian work by Francis Bacon. Why is it ironichere? What was the fate of the original
mythical Atlantis? What has happened tothe environment? What effects have this events had on social organization?
Whyare such drastic efforts being made to reduce the population? The passages insmall type portray poetically the
thoughts of the original Atlanteans, nowreclaiming the world after centuries of being drowned beneath the sea. How
dothey interact with the main narrative? Can you tell who has written them? (Hint:look for the manuscript to be
deposited safely on a mountain top at the end ofthe story.) Alfred Nobel hoped that his invention of dynamite would
terrify theworld into peace, and used some of his wealth to set up the Nobel Peace Prize.Many "ultimate weapons"
have been proposed since with the same goal."Sammy's Dot" is a phonetic spelling of the Russian term Samizdat
("for the drawer"), used to designateworks written illegally, outside the regular state publishing system during
theSoviet era. On p. 332 there are a number of historical allusions. "Mr.Watson, will you come here a minute," was
the first message delivered overthe experimental telephone of Alexander Graham Bell. Wilbur Wright was one ofthe
two brothers who built the first successful airplane. Alexander Flemingdiscovered penicillin in bread mold. The pre-
Mousterian era is when ourancestors discovered the use of fire. What do all these references have incommon?
"Brighter than a thousand suns" and "The physicists haveknown sin" are both famous quotations from Robert
Oppenheimer, leader ofthe project to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. What two verydifferent
technical approaches are being taken to dealing with the crisis inthis story?

Joanna Russ: "A Few Things I Know About Whileaway" p. 337

When Seattle author Russ' The Female Man, which incorporatesthis story, was published, it was fiercely attacked as
the product of a radicalfeminist lesbian separatist--all of which was true, but neglected the fact thatit was also
brilliantly written and a wonderfully satirical. Since an all-femalesociety is not probable in the near future, what
functions can this sort ofstory serve? Compare Whileaway as a utopia with Anarres. Why does JE say thatthe
women of Whileaway hack off their hair with clam shells? "Nichtwahr?" is German for "Right?" What messages
does thebear myth (deliberately different from " Goldilocks and the ThreeBears") convey? In some forms of Zen
Buddhism the master tries to shockthe novice into enlightenment by striking him abruptly. What criticisms
oftraditional romance/fairy tale values does section 13 make? Who are the gnatsthat block the way to Whileaway?

John Varley: "Lollipop and the Tar Baby" p. 357

Varley is well known for his interest in women and in challenging sexual taboos.Could this story pass for the
product of a woman? Is this a feminist story?Compare it with James Tiptree, Jr.'s story in its values, point of view,
andmain concerns.

Philip K. Dick: "Frozen Journey" p. 386

What kind of mind does Kemmings have? What is the end result of exploring hismemories nonstop for ten years?
Note how Dick has found here yet another way toexplore his favorite theme of interpenetrating realities. Dick was
closelyassociated for a time with psychedelic hippie subculture. This story contains anaffectionate tribute to the
brilliant comic art of Gilbert Shelton, one of themost important contributors to the classic underground comics of the
sixtiesand early seventies. His main characters were the "Fabulous Furry FreakBrothers," a sort of stoned Marx
Brothers. Fat Freddy was the leastintelligent and most lovable of the three. A collection of the Freak Brotherscomics
is in the underground and alternative comics collection in HollandLibrary's Manuscripts, Archives and Special
Collections room(PN6728.45.R5F74x).

Phyllis Gotlieb: "Tauf Aleph" p. 427

Many SF writers are Jews, but few of them are religious, or depict Jews in theirworks. Gotlieb's affectionate portrait
of the last living Jew is an exception.How does this story treat religion differently from the Silverberg
story?Compare it to A Canticle for Leibowitz. If tauf is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and "aleph" is the first,
what does the title of the story mean? The title may also involve apun on the name of the planet where Begelman
lives: Tau Ceti IV (the fourthplanet of the prominent star called "Tau Ceti"). "Sol" means"sun," so "Solthree" is the
third planet from the sun:Earth. The Talmud is a vast, many-volumed commentary on the Jewish scriptures.How
long does O/G5/842 study Judaism, and why is this significant? O/G discovers that illegal drugs are being smuggled
out in the guise of powdered drink mix."Pardes" means "orchard," but also "paradise." Itis often used to refer to the
Garden of Eden in the

Bible

. To some extent namingthis forlorn place "Pardes" was a cynical promotional gesture,

likethe naming of a frozen island "Greenland;" but what othersignificance might the name have in this story? The
Zohar is a Medieval mystical Jewish work, part of the

Kabbalah

."Shalom" is "peace," often used as a greeting in

Hebrew.The medieval legend of the golem tells how a brilliant rabbi created thismonster to take vengeance on the
Christians for the sufferings they had causedthe Jews. It ran amuck, however, and had to be destroyed by its creator,
likeFrankenstein' s monster. Compare the Golem in this story to the legendary one.Kaddish is the ritual prayer said
for the dead. Baal was a Middle Eastern god,according to the Bible, to whom were sometimes offered children as
ritualsacrifices. This practice is identified as among the worst of all sins in somepassages. "Clean" foods allowed to
Jews are kosher, "unclean," forbidden foods are tref. A tallith katan is a fringed prayer shawl. A convert can
becalled "ben Avraham" ("son of Abraham") or "batAvraham" ("daughter of Abraham") to indicate adoption as a
childof Abraham, the ultimate father of all Jews. Begelman uses the neuter"b'nei" instead. The referenceto the
victory over Og uses Hebrew spellings; non-Jewish Bibles spell"Moshe" as "Moses" and "Kana'an" as"Canaan." In
what way is Zohar like Moses? Look at the psalm that Ogrecites as Zohar is dying. In what ways are its images
appropriate to a story ofinterplanetary travel and of renewal? The Shema is thecentral statement of the Jewish faith.
It occurs at Deuteronomy 6:4-9 andbegins, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone." Mishnais
commentary on the Jewish law. In what respect do the Cnidori replicate theexperience of Earth's Jews at the end of
the story?

William Gibson: "The Gernsback Continuum" p. 457

Gibson originated

cyberpunk

in Neuromancer, but he cannot bepigeonholed in any one genre. However, this story

displays one fairly constantaspect of his style: a dense allusiveness which demands a good deal of
generalknowledge, particularly of popular culture. Hugo Gernsback was the founder ofthe first science fiction
magazines and in some ways the inventor of the modernconcept of SF. The annual award for the year's best writing
is called the"Hugo" in his honor. His main era of activity was the 20s and 30s,and this story is an affectionate look at
the "alternate future" described in the pages of and depicted on the covers of his magazines. A commonconcept in
SF is the notion of parallel worlds. For various reasons it is argued that an infinite number of variations on our
universe may exist side byside, so that every sort of world that could exist, does exist. None of thescientific
speculations about this theory involve being able to pass from oneparallel universe to another, but that is of course
the main point of interestin SF treatments of the theme. Gibson takes for granted that his audience isfamiliar with the
concept, and then begins to play with it. The version of theworld dominated by " American Streamlined Moderne"
will be moreentertaining if you are familiar with the style, which was especially prominentin the thirties and forties,
promoted as futuristic, but now looking hopelesslythough charmingly dated. If you' ve ever seen the old black and
white movieserials of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon you'll have some idea, but better sourcesare the two films
mentioned in the story: Fritz Lang's silent Metropolis and Things to Come, based on a book and introduced byH. G.
Wells. Ming the Merciless was, of course, the cruel ruler of the PlanetMongo and Flash Gordon's greatest enemy.
How have modern times prevented theyoung girl from Virginia from being identified as a witch? What does

thenarrator's last speech mean?

Carol Emshwiller: "The Start of the End of the World" p. 466

In the 50s there were many stories published that depicted sweet little oldladies, hopelessly naive and uninformed,
encountering invading aliens, andusually saving the Earth. This is a witty variation on that theme. "Womanof a
certain age" is the translation of a French euphemism for amiddle-aged woman. Compare this story with

War of the

Worlds

. How is this invasion different? Since this story makes fun of an oldwoman, is it anti-feminist; or can you

detect feminist themes in it?

Octavia Butler: "Speech Sounds" p. 513

After Samuel R. Delany, Octavia Butler is the other most distinguishedAfrican-American SF author. Like him, she
does not usually concentrate on racialissues; she is particularly interested in the healing of damaged societies. What
have been the main effects of the loss of language on society? What hope forthe future is presented at the end?

Kim Stanley Robinson: "The Lucky Strike" p. 538

The title is a pun alluding to the name of the most popular brand of cigarettesduring World War II. What is its literal
meaning in this story? This is analternate-history story, somewhat related to the parallel world story. Theauthor
takes a well-known period of history and imagines how things might havegone differently. This is a detailed, well-
researched variation on the eventssurrounding the

first use of the atomic bomb.

Nuclear scientist

Leo Szilard

,

thephysicist who had first conceived of the bomb and urged Roosevelt (throughEinstein) to build it proposed to
demonstrate the bomb to the Japa nese leadersat sea or on an uninhabited island to convince them to surrender. He
was joinedby many of the other scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project under him inChicago. Debate
continues on whether this would have worked. The actual names ofthe bombs used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki
were "Fat Man" and"Little Boy." What does January's dream suggest? What leads January tobelieve that there will
be more wars? How did January's act alter history? Whyis he so interested in the fact that one of the guns aimed at
him will beunloaded? The novel referred to toward the end of the story is a minor work byWilliam Faulkner: The
Wild Palms.

Lewis Shiner: "The War at Home" p. 577

A popular slogan among the more radical

Vietnam War

protestors was "Bringthe War Home." In what way is this

slogan ironically realized in thisstory? No scientific rationale is offered for this transformation, so the storyis more
strictly speaking fantasy than SF. A Huey is an Army combat helicopterof the kind that was used extensively in
Vietnam. Clare's costume is animitation of traditional Vietnamese peasant wear. "Fragging" was thedeliberate
assassination of commanding officers by their troops, usingfragmentation grenades. Does this story have a message?
What is it?

Karen Joy Fowler: "The Lake Was Full of Artificial Things" p. 580

How has the Vietnam War affected the people in this story? How does cabletelevision function differently in this
time than in ours? How is this aparticularly woman's experience of the war? What is resolved at the end of thestory?
What is left unresolved?

James Patrick Kelly: "Rat" p. 654

In this cyberpunk story the protagonist is literally a rat, though clearly notan ordinary one. What affect does it have
on the story to make this drug dealernot only figuratively but literally a rat? To "nova" is to becomesuddenly much
brighter, like an exploding star, called a nova because ancient astronomers considered them "new" stars when
theysuddenly appeared. The Checker Cab Company built taxis for many years. TheFrench on the first page means
"Don't pretend to study, my little one. Whatare you doing?" What is a Bahamian laundry loop? Why does the cabbie
dareto defy Rat? Walt Whitman's

Leaves of Grass

is an epiccelebration of American life. Why is its use significant

here? What rat-likeuse does he make of the profits from his drug dealings? Where has Rat hidden thedrugs, and
what happens to him at the end of the story?

Eileen Gunn: "Stable Strategies for Middle Management" p. 705

This story is a variation on the famous Franz Kafka story "

TheMetamorphosis

," in which a meek bank clerk named

Gregor Samsa istransformed overnight into a giant insect, usually presumed to be a cockroach.Samsa is rendered
unable to continue his ordinary occupation as a bank clerk ashe takes on more and more of the characteristics of an
insect, and deterioratesslowly to a wretched end. How does Gunn reverse this pattern? What are thetargets of her

satire? What insects is the protagonist transformed into duringthe course of the day? How does her character
change? What qualities make hergood executive material?

Margaret Atwood: "Homelanding" p. 794

Canadian writer Margaret Atwood sometimes uses SF language in her philosophicalsketches like this one. What
effect does it have on how we view ourselves to begranted the perspective of an outsider? What is her attitude
toward death?

Notes by

Paul Brians

, Department of English,Washington State University, Pullman 99164-5020. Copyright Paul

Brians 1995

Version of June 13, 1995