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Category Phoenix
Man, it would appear, can adapt to any form of society ... but not one in which the knowledge of extending life becomes a passport to death!
48 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2010
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 29, 2015
This short story takes place in a society where the people are divided into Categories: Office, Ruler, Research, Watchman, to name a few. All under the control of the Leader. A Leader who spouts truths such as 'Constructive science does not skulk behind locked doors' and 'Nature has not equipped one Category to judge the needs of another; only the Leader understands all'. People are expected to stick to their own categories and are sent to prison or even executed if they dare take part in any activity outside of those categories. Learning for its own sake is forbidden: if there is no practical purpose to your study, you are not allowed to indulge in it. Incredibly paranoid place here.
Our hero is Dr. Wong, a Research Category who has a secret that he can no longer live with. It involves Blue Martian Fever, lab mice, and a ten year-old experiment. What will Dr. Wong do to protect himself when push comes to shove?
I didn't like the attitude towards the two main female characters, who both happened to be Office Category, which was fairly low on the totem pole in this world. Both women had been Dr. Wong's secretaries at various times, but the indifference shown to them and their fate by the Research people, including Dr. Wong, was creepy. So was this bit, taken from a meeting in Dr. Wong's apartment where the women were attending a hush-hush meeting: "Please believe us. It's hard for you to understand that we are asking you to do something secret, but just try to remember that you are, after all, an Office Category and are not equipped by training or constitution to think out problems like this. We'll tell you what is the right thing to do. You just do as we tell you, and you'll be perfectly safe." PIFFLE!
This story came from the May 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, which does explain the snootiness of the men a bit, doesn't it. I had this on a list I made for a sci-fi challenge I've been working on (now and then) so at least I can check off another task, but I doubt if I will deliberately read any other works by this author.
Our hero is Dr. Wong, a Research Category who has a secret that he can no longer live with. It involves Blue Martian Fever, lab mice, and a ten year-old experiment. What will Dr. Wong do to protect himself when push comes to shove?
I didn't like the attitude towards the two main female characters, who both happened to be Office Category, which was fairly low on the totem pole in this world. Both women had been Dr. Wong's secretaries at various times, but the indifference shown to them and their fate by the Research people, including Dr. Wong, was creepy. So was this bit, taken from a meeting in Dr. Wong's apartment where the women were attending a hush-hush meeting: "Please believe us. It's hard for you to understand that we are asking you to do something secret, but just try to remember that you are, after all, an Office Category and are not equipped by training or constitution to think out problems like this. We'll tell you what is the right thing to do. You just do as we tell you, and you'll be perfectly safe." PIFFLE!
This story came from the May 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, which does explain the snootiness of the men a bit, doesn't it. I had this on a list I made for a sci-fi challenge I've been working on (now and then) so at least I can check off another task, but I doubt if I will deliberately read any other works by this author.
Displaying 1 of 1 review