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Divided by Infinity
Novelette, from Tor Book's Starlight 2 collection.
We hope you enjoy this reprint, originally published in Starlight 2, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Tor Books, 1998.
In the year after Lorraine’s death I contemplated suicide six times. Contemplated it seriously, I mean: six times sat with the fat bottle of Clonazepam within reaching distance, six times failed to reach for it, betrayed by some instinct for life or disgusted by my own weakness.
Hugo Nomination for Best Novelette 1999.
We hope you enjoy this reprint, originally published in Starlight 2, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Tor Books, 1998.
In the year after Lorraine’s death I contemplated suicide six times. Contemplated it seriously, I mean: six times sat with the fat bottle of Clonazepam within reaching distance, six times failed to reach for it, betrayed by some instinct for life or disgusted by my own weakness.
Hugo Nomination for Best Novelette 1999.
30 pages, ebook
First published September 30, 1999
5 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Robert Charles Wilson
96 books1,682 followersI've been writing science fiction professionally since my first novel A Hidden Place was published in 1986. My books include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. My newest novel is The Affinities (April 2015).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 3, 2016
This sad and thoughtful story explores multiple universes, life choices, and how those choices affect our reality through the eyes of a 60-year-old man grieving the loss of his wife shortly after his retirement.
Since his wife’s death, he thought about committing suicide six times and regretted not succeeding. Starting with a visit to a used bookstore where his wife used to work, and the unusual books he brought home, he would learn later that no matter how many times you kill yourself, you can never die. Each death, however, alters his life in very strange ways.
I’ve read several of Robert Charles Wilson’s stories and love the fully-realized characters and their varied emotions and experiences brought to life.
Divided by Infinity can be read for free here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/08/di...
Since his wife’s death, he thought about committing suicide six times and regretted not succeeding. Starting with a visit to a used bookstore where his wife used to work, and the unusual books he brought home, he would learn later that no matter how many times you kill yourself, you can never die. Each death, however, alters his life in very strange ways.
I’ve read several of Robert Charles Wilson’s stories and love the fully-realized characters and their varied emotions and experiences brought to life.
Divided by Infinity can be read for free here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/08/di...
December 27, 2019
We live in the science fiction of our youth.
Great novelette by one of my favorite writers. It’s a mix of multiverses, conscience, love, sorrow and immortality, all sparked by a fake science fiction novel.
I’m sure it has a lot more behind it, some references of sci-fi golden age which I didn’t quite grasp, not being too familiar with the works and writers from that period. But even with my limited knowledge, I saw it as a tribute to the beginnings of sci-fi and the marvelous ideas it brought.
Lovely reading; you may find it on tor.com, here: https://www.tor.com/2010/08/05/divide...
Great novelette by one of my favorite writers. It’s a mix of multiverses, conscience, love, sorrow and immortality, all sparked by a fake science fiction novel.
I’m sure it has a lot more behind it, some references of sci-fi golden age which I didn’t quite grasp, not being too familiar with the works and writers from that period. But even with my limited knowledge, I saw it as a tribute to the beginnings of sci-fi and the marvelous ideas it brought.
Lovely reading; you may find it on tor.com, here: https://www.tor.com/2010/08/05/divide...
February 7, 2017
"Does it strike you, Mr. Keller, that we live in the science fiction of our youth?"
That quote is woth 4 stars by itself.
That quote is woth 4 stars by itself.
April 4, 2013
4 Stars
What a cool, thought provoking, deep, and a bit disturbing of a science fiction novella this is. I am pretty much have an infinite obsession with infinity. Robert Charles Wilson has written a story about love and life and torn it apart an infinite number of ways.
"Crossing College Street, freighted with groceries, I stepped into the path of a car, a yellow Hyundai racing a red light. The driver swerved around me, but it was a near thing. The wheel wells brushed my trouser legs. My heart stuttered a beat.. . . and I died, perhaps, a small infinity of times. Probabilities collapse. I become increasingly unlikely.
“Immersed in the strange,” Ziegler had said. But had I ever wanted that? Really wanted that?""
"Maybe Soziere was wrong. Maybe there’s a teleological escape clause, maybe all the frayed threads of time will be woven back together at the end of the world, assembled in the ultimate library, where all the books and all the dreams are preserved and ordered in their multiple infinities.
Or not."
This is a great fast read that can be read at http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/08/di....
Highly recommend.
What a cool, thought provoking, deep, and a bit disturbing of a science fiction novella this is. I am pretty much have an infinite obsession with infinity. Robert Charles Wilson has written a story about love and life and torn it apart an infinite number of ways.
"Crossing College Street, freighted with groceries, I stepped into the path of a car, a yellow Hyundai racing a red light. The driver swerved around me, but it was a near thing. The wheel wells brushed my trouser legs. My heart stuttered a beat.. . . and I died, perhaps, a small infinity of times. Probabilities collapse. I become increasingly unlikely.
“Immersed in the strange,” Ziegler had said. But had I ever wanted that? Really wanted that?""
"Maybe Soziere was wrong. Maybe there’s a teleological escape clause, maybe all the frayed threads of time will be woven back together at the end of the world, assembled in the ultimate library, where all the books and all the dreams are preserved and ordered in their multiple infinities.
Or not."
This is a great fast read that can be read at http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/08/di....
Highly recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2025
"I don't fear death. I dread the absence of it."
April 22, 2014
This is my kind of story and it goes way off the deep end. The idea that an infinite number of existences awaits us is both intriguing and depressing, and disturbing.
January 14, 2024
Truly creepy story of, well, "For a Foggy Night", to name a close relative. Existential despair by improbability. Not something I liked to read, but you have to admire, for some value of "admire," the hermeneutic density of this story. End of the world by sheer improbability. A tour de force, of sorts. Anyway, I'm calling it at 3 stars, and I'll reread it again some time. Maybe.
Direct story link: https://www.tor.com/2010/08/05/divide...
Direct story link: https://www.tor.com/2010/08/05/divide...
March 20, 2024
Lovedddd.
March 27, 2024
A really good thought provoking scifi short story!
September 21, 2018
Like another reviewer said, this story reminds me of, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream." It also reminds me of the movie about the child android in "AI: Artificial Intelligence." How horrible to be the last survivor of your planet! What a relief that you wouldn't have to be anymore!! The story has remained with me after 45 years. I managed to embarrass most of the family members with me after the end of the movie when I cried harder than I can remember ever crying. If this story haunts you, do NOT watch that movie!!
I guess I can put this story on the shelf next to the one mentioned above. I won't be forgetting either of them!
Well done, Mr Wilson!
I guess I can put this story on the shelf next to the one mentioned above. I won't be forgetting either of them!
Well done, Mr Wilson!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2022
Really excellent story that starts with an ordinary despairing SF fan and gradually evolves into an existential nightmare. The basic idea is wonderfully horrifying as its full implications become apparent. 5 stars.
From the Years best science fiction sixteen , edited by Gardner Dozois.
From the Years best science fiction sixteen , edited by Gardner Dozois.
April 24, 2013
An incredible, disturbing, and very thought-provoking story. I have to read more of Wilson.
July 10, 2018
I absolutely love the way Robert Charles Wilson writes, he is my favourite writer by some distance. Divided By Infinity is a short story which does everything it set out to achieve.
Within such a short space of time, Wilson is able to cover so much ground, bring to life such believable characters, and leave an impression on the reader. Divided By Infinity is thought provoking, engrossing, and is a very loose tribute to the genre and the writers which influenced the author.
Do yourself a favour, set aside half an hour, read this for free online. You won't be sorry.
Within such a short space of time, Wilson is able to cover so much ground, bring to life such believable characters, and leave an impression on the reader. Divided By Infinity is thought provoking, engrossing, and is a very loose tribute to the genre and the writers which influenced the author.
Do yourself a favour, set aside half an hour, read this for free online. You won't be sorry.
September 1, 2023
Un racconto che cerca di spiegare l'immortalità quantistica. Dubito di averlo capito pienamente, eppure mi ha fatto riflettere e ragionare su me stesso, il che non è poco.
Il finale, forse un po' anticlimatico, risulta in realtà inevitabile. In una reductio ad absurdum, prima o poi ci si vede fermare, e la battuta ironica del protagonista sembra essere quasi proverbiale.
Più storie brevi così.
Qualche appunto: il nome di Ziegler è l'anagramma di Soziere, e Niemand (forse in modo troppo spiattellato) significa "nessuno".
Letto in inglese.
Il finale, forse un po' anticlimatico, risulta in realtà inevitabile. In una reductio ad absurdum, prima o poi ci si vede fermare, e la battuta ironica del protagonista sembra essere quasi proverbiale.
Più storie brevi così.
Qualche appunto: il nome di Ziegler è l'anagramma di Soziere, e Niemand (forse in modo troppo spiattellato) significa "nessuno".
Letto in inglese.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2025
Awkward and clunky. This book made me feel incredibly stupid and in awe at the same time. I find this with short stories a lot, authors trying to reach for the stars with concepts and forget they only have so much space to develope an emotional and intellectual connection to the te reader. It was a bit touching but I needed much more.
Also the actual exploration of quantum suicide felt incredibly uncomfortable and somewhat ... encouraged? Hmm maybe I misunderstood it. See I'm not smart enough!!!
Also the actual exploration of quantum suicide felt incredibly uncomfortable and somewhat ... encouraged? Hmm maybe I misunderstood it. See I'm not smart enough!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2021
Consciousness, like matter, like energy, is preserved.
You are born, not an individual, but an infinity of individuals, in an infinity of identical worlds. “Consciousness,” your individual awareness, is shared by this infinity of beings.
An old man contemplates suicide after the death of his wife. This is a slow, thoughtful story, meant to savored, until it becomes disturbing in its implications.
You are born, not an individual, but an infinity of individuals, in an infinity of identical worlds. “Consciousness,” your individual awareness, is shared by this infinity of beings.
An old man contemplates suicide after the death of his wife. This is a slow, thoughtful story, meant to savored, until it becomes disturbing in its implications.
February 20, 2018
An interesting, but also - in a way - depressing short story exploring the idea of quantum immortality.
The entire short story is available to read, for free, online on tor.com.
The entire short story is available to read, for free, online on tor.com.
June 21, 2022
This story and another one whose name I cannot remember are very similar. In both a single person lives forever. A book informs him how it works. I've thought about this happening to me at times. It is an influential idea.
May 5, 2025
Very creative and brilliant! Really enjoyed reading it, but the ending kind of ruined it for me, hence 4 stars instead of 5.
Oh, also, how Ziegler was able to do what he did is still a mystery that I would love to understand...
Oh, also, how Ziegler was able to do what he did is still a mystery that I would love to understand...
July 13, 2018
dope.
this thing is great. everything is great. im great. you might be. i donno.
things are.
im doing. oi. just going through the motions here,
this novella is sick though. fantastic
this thing is great. everything is great. im great. you might be. i donno.
things are.
im doing. oi. just going through the motions here,
this novella is sick though. fantastic
July 19, 2018
I liked the basic premise, but the plot is full of logic holes AND not very interesting.
June 23, 2019
Absolutely amazing. One of my favorite short stories.
February 28, 2022
A delicious melancholy short story about the quantum multiverse.
You can read it for yourself here: https://www.tor.com/2010/08/05/divide...
You can read it for yourself here: https://www.tor.com/2010/08/05/divide...
May 15, 2025
“The good old stuff,” Ziegler gushed. “The pure quill. Does it strike you, Mr. Keller, that we live every day in the science fiction of our youth?”
Read
December 9, 2023Similar to The Midnight Library, Molly interacts with alternate versions of herself in parallel universes, she becomes overwhelmed by the choices she could have made and the lives she could have led. She is presented with a profound decision: whether to merge with one of her alternate selves and experience a different life.
December 28, 2014
One word: CRAP!
You keep reading and reading the mundane story in the hopes that it will lead to something suspenseful or unexpected,and yet nothing happens!I even yawned at the ending which some people thought was great. There was nothing philosophical or intellectual about the ending. Just a Bogyman moment.
***spoiler****
I was glad to see the pathetic, low life, suicidal protagonist being the alien meal. The next meal should be this writer,Robert Charles Wilson, on alien's Exotic Dinner Menu. Love the idea!
**From the short boring story**
"I find it difficult to write."
“In that case,” the leader says, “we would like to salvage you.”
“Salvage me?”
They consult in their own woody, windy language, punctuated by long silences or sounds I cannot hear.
“Preserve you,” they conclude. “Yourself. Your soul.”
And how would they do that?
“I would take you into my body,” the leader says.
“Will you accept me?” the leader asks, rearing up to show his needled mouth, his venom sacs oozing a pleasant narcotic.
“I’ve accepted worse,” Wilson(my modification) tells him.
You keep reading and reading the mundane story in the hopes that it will lead to something suspenseful or unexpected,and yet nothing happens!I even yawned at the ending which some people thought was great. There was nothing philosophical or intellectual about the ending. Just a Bogyman moment.
***spoiler****
I was glad to see the pathetic, low life, suicidal protagonist being the alien meal. The next meal should be this writer,Robert Charles Wilson, on alien's Exotic Dinner Menu. Love the idea!
**From the short boring story**
"I find it difficult to write."
“In that case,” the leader says, “we would like to salvage you.”
“Salvage me?”
They consult in their own woody, windy language, punctuated by long silences or sounds I cannot hear.
“Preserve you,” they conclude. “Yourself. Your soul.”
And how would they do that?
“I would take you into my body,” the leader says.
“Will you accept me?” the leader asks, rearing up to show his needled mouth, his venom sacs oozing a pleasant narcotic.
“I’ve accepted worse,” Wilson(my modification) tells him.
February 14, 2015
Another Tor.com Short story
This one is very sad, and a little hard to wrap your brain about. I've always had trouble dealing with the infinite universes theory, because it takes away free will. Any world is possible, even worlds where you would never decide an issue other then the way you do. That's confusing, but basically what I mean is that there are some actions and decisions that are so far against our nature that we really only can choose one way, or one of a limited number of choices at best. Saying that somewhere another you mad another choice is saying that ultimately the choices we make don't matter, and I have a big problem with that. I did enjoy this author's more detailed thought experiment about it though.
This one is very sad, and a little hard to wrap your brain about. I've always had trouble dealing with the infinite universes theory, because it takes away free will. Any world is possible, even worlds where you would never decide an issue other then the way you do. That's confusing, but basically what I mean is that there are some actions and decisions that are so far against our nature that we really only can choose one way, or one of a limited number of choices at best. Saying that somewhere another you mad another choice is saying that ultimately the choices we make don't matter, and I have a big problem with that. I did enjoy this author's more detailed thought experiment about it though.
January 25, 2016
Sometimes, you read something and like it a lot, but all your remember about it is that you liked it. That was my experience here- I remembered the novella as something enjoyable, but couldn't for the life of me recall anything about it except that it involved a bookstore. Reading it again today brought it all back- if you like thought experiments, you'll like this story.
March 20, 2015
Fascinating little sci-fi short story exploring the possibility of consciousness via the many-worlds interpretations of quantum theory.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews