The Best of Cordwainer Smith by Cordwainer Smith
"The Best of Cordwainer Smith" is a collection of twelve short stories that delve into a richly constructed future history, spanning the Second Age of Space to the era of rights for "underpeople," beings derived from animals. Written between 1950 and 1964, these narratives explore complex themes of humanity, power, and identity through the lens of the Instrumentality, a ruling bureaucracy that seeks to maintain the essence of humanity amid evolving societal norms.
Key stories include "Scanners Live in Vain," which highlights the plight of individuals surgically altered to endure the suffering of space travel, and "The Lady Who Sailed the Soul," a tale of love and sacrifice in the face of adversity. "The Game of Rat and Dragon" portrays a unique partnership between human telepaths and their feline companions as they confront psychic threats in space. The collection also addresses deeper societal issues, such as the struggles of "underpeople" in "The Dead Lady of Clown Town," where a character advocates for humane treatment, leading to significant social recognition.
Through these narratives, Cordwainer Smith addresses themes of emotional depth, the quest for freedom, and the complexities of love and sacrifice, ultimately exploring what it means to be human in a rapidly changing universe. This anthology invites readers to reflect on the intricacies of human and non-human relationships and the moral dilemmas that arise in the quest for identity and justice.
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The Best of Cordwainer Smith
First published: 1975
Type of work: Stories
Type of plot: Science fiction—future history
Time of work: Various times between c.e. 6,000 and 16,000
Locale: Earth, other planets, and aboard spacecraft
The Plot
The twelve stories in this collection, written separately and published between 1950 and 1964, fit into a consistent future history that covers human development from the Second Age of Space to the era of rights for underpeople and the Rediscovery of Man. Many of the stories involve the Instrumentality, a ruling bureau-cracy that is not always admirable but ultimately manages “to keep man man.”
Set in the Second Age of Space, “Scanners Live in Vain” concerns the scanners, men surgically cut off from their senses in order to endure the pain of space travel. When scientist Adam Stone discovers how to travel in space without pain, the scanners fear they will lose their privileged position and so order his death. Scanner Martel breaks with his elite group to warn Stone, who survives and subsequently restores scanners to normal senses and emotions.
In “The Lady Who Sailed The Soul,” Helen America, the first woman to pilot interstellar space, has trouble with the gigantic solar sail of her ship. An apparition of the man she loves, Mr. Grey-no-more, assists her in righting the craft, and she is saved. In future history, theirs is one of the great love stories.
“The Game of Rat and Dragon,” set in the age of planoforming, is about the human telepaths, pinlighters, who protect interstellar flights from the psychic dragons of deep space. A pinlighter is saved from a dragon by the alertness of his telepathically linked partner, a cat. While recovering, he realizes that no woman can compare to his cat partner, Lady May.
In “The Burning of the Brain,” Magno Taliano, one of the Go-Captains who in a psychic trance guide planoforming ships through interstellar space, loses his way. To return to known space, pinlighters must read his brain for star locations. The ship is saved, but the captain’s mind is destroyed, to the ambiguous sorrow of his wife.
In “The Dead Lady of Clown Town,” D’joan, one of the underpeople derived from animals to perform drudgery, brings her followers out of hiding to plead for humane treatment. The Instrumentality instead brutally slaughters them, and Joan herself is tried, convicted, and burned. Her trial, however, gives underpeople a new level of recognition. A witness to the event, Lady Goroke, initiates the line of Jestocost, the Lords of the Instrumentality who will free the underpeople.
In “Under Old Earth,” Lord Sto Odin of the Instrumentality, concerned that an overprotected humanity is on a suicidal course, seeks out Sun-Boy deep under old Earth in order to neutralize the powerful congohelium that holds his followers in sway. By destroying Sun-Boy, he frees Santuna, who becomes famous as Lady Alice More, a leader in instituting the Rediscovery of Man, which returns uncertainty—and the possibility of happiness—to humankind.
“Alpha Ralpha Boulevard” begins the Rediscovery of Man. The nightmare of perfection is over, and a measure of worry, disease, and uncertainty are restored. In this new age, Paul and Virginia think they are in love. Virginia, uncertain of Paul, climbs with him the vast boulevard in the sky, Alpha Ralpha, to consult the prediction of the Abba-dingo for the truth of their feeling. Before they can walk down, they are caught in a storm. Virginia falls to her death, but C’mell the cat woman rescues Paul.
In “The Ballad of Lost C’mell,” Lord Jestocost of the Instrumentality, which is dedicated to helping the underpeople, contacts E’telekeli, their leader. They conspire successfully to better the lot of underpeople, with C’mell the cat woman serving as the telepathic medium. As an old man, dying but satisfied with his work, Jestocost learns that C’mell had loved him, more than anything, and that all of human history would know that love.
“A Planet Named Shayol” is set on a penal planet where inmates constantly grow new body parts that are harvested for medical use. The Instrumentality, learning of this and other abuses, closes Shayol, promising to restore inmates to happiness.