Revenge

by Arthur Porges

REVENGE
By ARTHUR PORGES


.....Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned,
but the fury of a biochemist scorned is just as great
—and much more fiendish.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

was an American author of numerous short stories, most notably during the 1950s and 1960s, though he continued to write and publish stories until his death. He was a teacher of mathematics, brother of Irwin Porges; he began publishing sf with "Modeled in Clay" for Man to Man (August/September 1950), and subsequently published about 220 stories – a few as Peter Arthur, Abel Jacobi, Derek Page and Pat Rogers – without releasing any of them in book collections. Over half that output is mystery fiction and the balance fairly evenly divided between fantasy and sf. He was a strong and inventive writer, especially of fantasy; many of his ingenious mystery stories fall into the "impossible crime" category or are Sherlock Holmes parodies featuring Stately Homes. In the sf world, he is probably still best known for "The Fly" (September 1952 F&SF), not to be confused with George Langelaan's twice-filmed tale with the same title, and "The Ruum" (October 1953 F&SF) involving an implacable alien Robot programmed to collect specimens of certain Terran lifeforms, leading to a memorably long and gruelling chase of the protagonist. Most of Porges' best fiction appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and in Amazing Stories and Fantastic under the enlightened editorship of Cele Goldsmith. Porges was fascinated with puzzles resolved by invocation of basic scientific principles. This was the basis of his Ensign de Ruyter series, which began with "Urned Reprieve" (October 1964 Amazing); in "Wheeler Dealer" (March 1965 Amazing), for example, natives of a low-pressure world who devote most of their time to ritual prayer become a useful workforce when the protagonist adapts the Crookes radiometer principle to make their prayer-wheels turn unaided. The series was collected posthumously as Eight Problems in Space (coll of linked stories 2008) edited by Richard Simms.
Porges was content to write and sell stories and did not pursue book collection, so it has been left to others to compile volumes of his best material. Mike Ashley assembled a selection of his best supernatural fiction in The Mirror and Other Strange Reflections (coll 2002), but the majority of his collections have been compiled by Richard Simms, who maintains an Arthur Porges website [see links below]. These include a volume of previously unpublished early writings, The Calabash of Coral Island and Other Early Stories (coll 2008). The essential volume of Porges sf stories is The Ruum and Other Science Fiction Stories (coll 2010). A full list of other volumes is given below

Reviews

[Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I object on principle to being killed by evil men for a good deed, so maybe lynching by stupid ones is preferable."

Thus the Tone is set for the rest of the story.

It's basically a Non-Stop, Bitter, Bitchin', Biting Sarcastic Diatribe spewed forth by an Angry, Disgruntled and Unappreciated Biochemist who is not afraid to Trumpet the Fact that he has created the Ultimate Solution to the Problem of Opium Addiction across the World. One that no one else has ever thought of.

"......as to sensible solutions, such as legalizing the sale of heroin to break the world-wide criminal control on the distribution of drugs—that your vapid Puritan morality wouldn't permit. Millions of dollars for enforcement, and to punish the sick, but not one cent for prevention, and almost nothing to find out why people become addicts in the first place, and how to cure them.

It wasn't entirely your fault. You listened to the experts, usually career policemen who expect to cure any social evil with clubs and prisons.'

So our Angry Biochemist Created a Virus that has Destroyed every Opium Producing Poppy Plant in the World.

It's sheer Madness. And a lot of Fun to Read. And the Audacity of this Man's Petulant Diatribe is a constant case of LOL Funny.

But....also Scarey. Just think if all the World's "Problems" were solved by Extermination...........

But what is funnier though is that, at the end of the story, the "Revenge" the Angry Biochemist chooses to inflict upon the World, points a Bitter Finger at the Truth Behind the Hypocrisy of the which Laws a Government chooses to Enforce and which Laws it Chooses to Ignore.

What Is considered Illegal, what is considered Moral Coruption and what is considered a Narrcotic is ultimately just a Matter of Opinion, isn't it.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scifi short story

[Thom Swennes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Billions of dollars are spent annually to fight the War on Drugs. This is a fact and another fact is that this war can never be won. This truth finds its way into the newspapers on an almost daily basis. When a micro-biologist develops a method and devises a plan you would think he would be heralded a hero. You would think that he would be given the keys to the entire country and lavished with money and gifts as he would be a savior in the eyes of society. The long arm of government does what it does best, throws logic and welfare to the winds and sinks progress into an inescapable quagmire. In short, the obvious and easy doesn’t happen…… The reasons why are both elementary and typical (even if it isn’t logical). This is a story of what should have been but will never be. This book provides nourishment for the brain and a virtual feast of thought. This narrative is guaranteed to give you a high yield on a very small investment of time. That makes it a win/win situation as this review is almost as long as the story.