The Exile of Time

Matter, Space, and Time

by Ray Cummings

When a girl who said she had been kidnapped from the year 1777 appeared in modern New York, she was either deluded or the victim of an incredible time-spanning plot. And when it turned out the strange man with a mechanical servant who had kidnapped her had been seen in other centuries, it became clear that a super-scientific plot was afoot that must reach far into the unknown cities of the future.
THE EXILE OF TIME is a novel of adventure and wonder such as only the hand of a classic master of science-fiction could have written.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Adventure

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Raymond King Cummings. His career resulted in some 750 novels and short stories, using also the pen names Ray King, Gabrielle Cummings, and Gabriel Wilson.

See Wikipedia

Reviews

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A desperate madness was on us all. The lives of thousands of people who might still be alive on Manhattan were at stake; and other millions would be menaced if the robots renewed their energy and spread the revolt into other cities.”


Ray Cummings is one of Science Fiction’s Founding Fathers, and though you may not be as familiar with his name as you should be, it doesn’t diminish his contributions to the genre. If you’ve ever heard the quote concerning time being that thing which prevents everything from happening at once, which is all too often attributed to Einstein and others, then you inadvertently know Ray Cummings. That quote is from The Girl in the Golden Atom, a pulp story which appeared for the first time — at least in part — in 1919! Time would be a recurring theme for Cummings in those burgeoning pulp days of Science Fiction. He wrote tons of stories, from weird menace and mystery to fantastic tales of time. Even the more prestigious Argosy published his stories.

This novel, The Exile of Time, despite first appearing in four parts in Astounding Stories Magazine in 1931, is a splendid example of his talent. And what a fun tale! George Rankin and his pal Larry are walking along in New York when they hear a scream, and discover a small and dainty, strange but beautiful girl behind a window in a house on Patton Place. Her name is Mary Atwood, and she’s screaming because she has suddenly found herself transported to the future from 1777!

Cummings set this tale in 1935, four years into the future, and it must have made the transition to other times easier for those reading it in 1931. Mary’s story of General Washington, a robot named Migul who told her he would return, and an evil cripple who tried it on with her and failed, seems utterly fantastic. Yet George and Larry, and Dr. Alten want to believe her. Research reveals that Tugh, the man Mary describes, in fact murdered a girl in 1932 who spurned his advances. Then he disappeared. George and Larry lay in wait for the robot named Migul, who is under the control of the evil Tugh, but the battle goes wrong, very wrong. Mary’s stories are all true!

A time cage is traveling through time so that Tugh can repair his damaged body, and wreak havoc on mankind. But the time cages are plural, as Princess Tina, from an American future yet to exist, and a man named Harl are chasing Migul, trying to prevent Tugh from changing everything. Our heroes get separated and Larry finds himself — at first — back in 1777. The cops think Dr. Alten is mad when he tells them his story of what he saw, but then the robots begin to emerge from Patton Place, and a battle ensues between these powerful robots from the future and a New York nearly helpless to stop the ensuing massacre.

Though this may sound a bit cheesy in describing it, it is only slightly pulpy during brief sections. In the hands of Cummings it is exciting and fun. Like Jack Williamson, Cummings included some theories and extrapolations that made it all seem grounded — at least for a pulp story. The characters and their reactions mirror our own, and we feel both the pull of romance and derring do as we ride along to 1777 on one front, are witness to the robot revolt of 1935 in the present (though 1935 was four years in the future when this was written), and witness the very far future of 2930 when all work is done by slave machines who have become almost human, and are on the cusp of revolt.

There is an explanation of time and time travel that refreshingly credits the Creator with creating time, and there are concepts here in Exile of Time which no doubt served as inspiration for those who came after pioneers of Science Fiction such as Ray Cummings and Jack Williamson. It certainly shows, that while an elevation beyond pulp was both inevitable, and a move forward for Science Fiction, something was lost as well; movement, excitement, and a magical sense of wonder.

The first section and the last of The Exile of Time are perhaps the best portions, but it’s all great fun, even quite thrilling in parts. Cummings creates a moral dilemma for the robot Migul, and manages to extract sympathy from the reader for Migul’s plight. The conclusion is very exciting, with a chase atop a dam, the rescue of Larry and Princess Tina, and then a final chase across time for George in order to save his Mary, and perhaps all mankind.

The story has wonderful movement, likable characters we root for, and even manages to elicit sympathy for robots like Migul. Wonderful fun for fans of early Science Fiction, this novel is sadly out of print. However, by downloading for FREE the April, May, June and July issues of Astounding Stories from Gutenberg, you can read it in its entirety, as it originally appeared in four parts! As a bonus, Jack Williamson’s Lake of Light is also in one of these issues, as is another good Williamson story. The Exile of Time is clean, old-fashioned fun, from those early days of wonder when anything and everything seemed possible.


“Is this perchance an explanation of why the pages of history are so thronged with tales of ghosts? There must, indeed, be many future ages down the corridors of Time where the genius of man will invent devices to fling him back into the past. And the impressions upon the past which he makes are called supernatural.”

“Who can say, up to 1935, how many Time-traveling humans have come briefly back? Is this, perchance, what we call the phenomena of the supernatural?”

Here is the Gutenberg link — https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It doesn't get any pulpier than this space opera by Ray Cummings (1887-1957). Actually, this story, which first appeared in the pulp magazines in 1931, is more of an adventure through time rather than space. Two young guys of Depression- era New York City encounter a time traveler, the exile of the title. He's a real baddie causing mayhem all along the timeline. Our New York hero-types hook up with good guys from the 30th Century to pursue the villain through time. Interesting to see views of the future such as the year 2000 and the far-distant year 2930, a time when no one is working and the world is on the brink of a robot revolt. That may come sooner than we think! Cummings was one of the masters of the space opera and fantasy genre, along with Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, and Edmond Hamilton. Great fun and a fast read of the 1964 ACE paperback edition, on a stormy late spring afternoon ( fortunately, the ceiling did not leak again, although I had the bucket in position. Where's a robot when you need one!).

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, what a fantastic romp this was! I read it in four parts, from different 1931 issues of Astounding Stories I found on Project Gutenberg. Ray Cummings put a little bit of everything into this tale: time travel, romance, an evil genius, nifty gadgets (I would like to have at least one peek through a Time-telespectroscope!), a completely horrifying scene of chaos in New York City, one chapter explaining the concept of time travel (the narrator invites you to skip this if you wish, but don't: it is worth the time). Oh, and humor! At least I thought it was funny for one of the robots to get upset by a taxi cab and attack it, even though that was right in the middle of the chaos in New York and I probably should not have been laughing. But I simply couldn't help myself.

The pace was fast, the action was plausible, and the ending was satisfying. Just what I like from my Astounding Stories, and what I hope to find more of the next time I read a Ray Cummings title. I will definitely be looking for more of his work!

[Warren Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deeply philosophical at times and ridiculously silly at others, this novel has some serious swings in quality. Ray Cummings clearly spent some time thinking about the premise, science, metaphysics, and themes of this book, but not enough time in the execution. Perhaps that was because it was first published as a four-part serial in "Astounding," running up against deadlines, limited space, and the need to "dumb it down" for the pulp fiction market. Whatever the reason, I think if Cummings had sat on this book a while and published it independently, this could have been his masterpiece.

The basic plot concerns the villainous Tugh, who is from some unknown point in the distant future and travels to various points in time for nefarious purposes. First, he has a serious narcissistic personality disorder due to his refusal to accept his physical deformities, and so he hopes to find a brilliant scientist who can give him a new body. Secondly, he lusts after a young woman from American revolutionary times, and though she repels him, he is determined to steal her away and win her admiration. This brings us to his third goal. He hopes to impress the girl by taking over all of greater New York in the 30th Century. American civilization has become exceedingly soft by this point, relying on AI automation for everything. Tugh takes New York hostage by instigating a revolt by the robots.

So what does this story get right? Lots! I loved the robots here, from their described designs to the deadly threat that they pose. Armed with freezing rays, a disintegrator that melts flesh in gruesome ways, and long blades that can cut a human body in two with one swipe, these are quite formidable foes. There are three basic models of robots featured here, but the main one seems to be described like a mixture of the Iron Giant and the original Terminator. However, these are not mindless killing machines, and I enjoyed reading about their internal struggles through the perspective of the main robotic character Migul.

When explaining time travel, Cummings takes time to for some fascinating speculation about the nature of time itself, and I can't help but wonder if he didn't take at least partial inspiration from Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason."

Not only do we have the time travel motif here, but also questions about what it means to be a person and a strong antislavery message. There is also some accurate description of the cyclical rise and fall of population and gentrification of the inner city. This story is really ahead of its time, pun intended, in its level of overall sophistication.

The problem comes in with how Cummings moves the action along. Tugh is such an unlikeable and reckless megalomaniac that the only way to have him get away with any of his plans is to have everyone around him be incompetent. The heroes of this story clearly don't trust him, yet fall right into his hands because they have less sense than children. Also, one of the protagonists is a "princess," because America has shifted back to a form of royalty, but she's pretty much left to her own devices, running around in her own time machine chasing down Tugh, playing Scooby Doo with no bodyguards or soldiers at her side. What's with these high political figures in these old science fiction stories putting themselves in grave danger when surely they must have an entourage of semi-competent minions to follow orders? Can you imagine Joe Biden being allowed to go by himself into dark tunnels to try to rescue some hostages? But that's pulp fiction for you.

Also, the robots are not impervious to weaponry, even conventional weapons of the 1930s. Yet they can't be defeated because every bomb or missile launched against them misses the target. What is this, TriStar's "Godzilla"? Also, Cummings makes a point of having one of the robots destroyed by spray from a hydrant, so everyone knows they are not waterproof (which is amazing considering these are products of technology centuries more advanced than what we have even now). So then why didn't the fire department just mow them down with a few hoses? If that had been too convenient of an solution, then he should not have included this weakness in his robotic creations.

The silly pulp fiction tropes and mistakes do add up and cost the overall rating a good two stars. With that being said, the novel is smarter than it has a right to be. It is also well-paced and exciting, while somehow managing to pack a lot of speculative science and sociopolitical commentary into a relatively brief adventure that packs a punch. I do recommend it to fans of classic science fiction for all its flaws.

[Marc Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun, short read. There are still some good ideas in it though, such as Tesla's broadcast power system in use.

[Van Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robots Gone Amok!!!

Although Ray Cummings' "The Exile of Time" was published as a pulp adventure in 1931, this yarn about Dr. Who time machines chasing each other through millennium from the American Revolution to 2093 is still as thoroughly and exhilarating read. Some quarters call Cummings one of the founding fathers of pulp sci-fi. Mind you, this cliff hanger, 19th century science fiction saga conjures up images of clunky mechanical robots lumbering about and blasting New York City architecture into some much rubble and killing small dogs and little children. Indeed, robots do run amok but water either fire a fire hose or Mother Nature's skies is their kryptonite. The villain is named Tough and he is thoroughly diabolical. He stole one of the two only time machines in the universe. Later, he displays no qualms about using this ray gun on anybody trying to thwart his evil machinations. The tubular weapon is accurate up to thousand yards. He kidnaps one of the heroines and the two innocent New York City guys, George Rankin and Larry Gregory rescue this hysterical dame who has been trapped in a building. Incidentally, this tale is told from the first person perspective of Rankin. Naturally, this mysterious lady cries in horror when George informs her it is 1935! As it turns out, Mary Atwood, who is the daughter of Major Charles Atwood, of General Washington's staff, has been transported from the America of the year 1777! She raves about murderous robots. Later, those robots descend onto Manhattan and devastate it. Cummings' descriptions of the robots butchering human would not make a PG friendly summer blockbuster. The prose shuns frills for thrills. The dialogue is short and snappy. Of course, the emphasis is on breakneck action with surprises galore. Feed this gripping but farfetched narrative into a AI technology and the movie it could conjure up would be hopelessly sensational.

[John Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite reads as a teen. It had such an impact on me as to cause me to seek out a copy years later for a re-read. The story line would make for an excellent adaptation to the screen, either large or small, especially given the recent fascination with artificial life-forms exemplified on Star Trek, TNG and Battlestar Galactica. I read it twice in the 70's and will read it again soon.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun easy read.i always love the outlook for the future from a early 1900's perspective

[Rui Alves de Sousa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, o cheiro a mofo da ficção cientifica datada com o seu charme retro. Apesar de ter algumas ideias interessantes e partes da narrativa bem conseguidas, "O Exílio do Tempo" está recheado de pérolas literárias absolutamente embebidas em azeite e parolice. E, ao contrário de muitos preconceituosos que andam por aí, não têm nada a ver com o facto de ser ficção "pulp" - há óptimos escritores nesse sortido, dentro e fora da sci-fi. É mesmo o autor, cuja experiência e popularidade na época não consegue dar hoje, a um leitor adulto, mais do que a impressão de que está a ler uma historieta para crianças tão empolgante como um lanche dos Cinco. É sempre interessante ver como os nossos antepassados viam o futuro (e alguns casos, se bem que situados tão no pensamento de outro tempo, continuam a ter ressonância na nossa actualidade), este livro não é mais do que uma simples curiosidade.

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is your average time travel damsel in distress, robots taking over the world story. A girl is kidnapped from 1777 and it brought to 1935 by a big robot. They meet up with some other guys and get involved with a lunatic who is trying to take over New York in the year 2930. It's not a bad story. It kept me entertained throughout the 157 pages. I liked hearing his ideas about what the future would look like, this being written in 1931. There's something very inviting about these old sci-fi stories. They may not be the world's best literature. But I love it.

[S.E. Martens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun pulp-era science fiction story, originally serialized in 1931. George and Larry are two men from 1930s New York who stumble upon a strange scene one night: a woman in an elaborate white dress and wig, banging on a basement window from the inside, begging to be let out. She's too confused and distressed to find the door and the men end up smashing the window to let her out. She claims to be the daughter of one of Washington's generals and that she was abducted from the year 1777 by what we come to learn is a robot piloting a time-travelling cage.

What follows is an adventure through time. Robots from the year 2930 come back to invade the New York city of the 1930s. George and Larry are both whisked away separately through the "time-worlds" - George with the lovely Mary Atwood from 1777 and the robot Miguel and Larry with the time-travelling Princess Tina from the future United States.

There is a sinister figure behind the robot's uprising named Tugh, who has established himself in all three time periods (1770s, 1930s, and 2930s) whom they must find a way to defeat.

This was an exciting read. The scenes of the robots invading New York were especially compelling. The robots use a type of freeze-ray and also carry swords to decapitate the frozen humans. Or somethings they just chuck them away with their super-robot strength!

There is a heavy emphasis on the villain's physical appearance and an unfortunate subtext of physical "ugliness" equating to immoral/evil attitudes. This was written in the 1930s though, so to be honest I was relieved there wasn't more problematic content in it. Nevertheless, I couldn't help thinking of Amanda Leduc's excellent Disfigured multiple times while reading Cummings' descriptions of Tugh.

There's also some period-typical sexism, but really only one line where the robot Miguel states that "...she is that style of human you call a girl - and that style of human cannot travel fast, nor fight." (p. 130) Considering that Mary and Tina get to be involved in a lot of the action in the story, it's really pretty good for the time period. They also end up proving Miguel wrong by the end with their contributions to the story's finale.

I really enjoyed this and would definitely be open to reading more of Cummings work. Very interesting that this was written in the 1930s!

[Sérgio Azevedo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Começou promissor mas não demorou a deixar muito a desejar. A trama é muito simples e mesmo assim há muito que não se percebe por não fazer sentido ou por falta de ligação com os acontecimentos.

Tendo em atenção que o livro é de 1930, já esperava que fosse simples mas há inconsistências e faltas de explicação que quase me fizeram descer para 2*.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated. Amusing, in a backwards kind of way.