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"There's a lot of space out there. Those stars may be as big as this ship," said Joe.
Imagine a group of human beings to whom the only world they know is a gigantic spaceship - so large and so ingeniously constructed that it has supported thousands of people for centuries. Yet they live subject to all the old emotions - victims of conflict and suspense arising from rebellions and killings in their midst.
Imagine a group of human beings to whom the only world they know is a gigantic spaceship - so large and so ingeniously constructed that it has supported thousands of people for centuries. Yet they live subject to all the old emotions - victims of conflict and suspense arising from rebellions and killings in their midst.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
About the author
Robert A. Heinlein
1,076 books10.7k followersRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 21, 2016
SF Grand master Robert A. (for Astounding) Heinlein first published his short work “Universe” in the May edition of Astounding Science Fiction in 1941. In 1963, this story and its sequel “Common Sense” were put together into the expanded novel Orphans of the Sky.
The idea of a generational ship may not have originated with Heinlein, but he makes early and good use of the template. Essentially, a ship has been constructed to travel from Earth to a distant planet. Travelling at less than light speed, the vehicle will arrive at its destination many hundreds of years from its origin, thus the original crew will be long dead when the later generation arrives. Sometime in the past a mutiny has occurred and the passengers remaining have devolved into a weird semi-theological system where the ship is considered the entire universe, a self contained and unilateral organism. Only the “mutants” have figured out the truth and want to educate the normal citizens of the vessel to what’s really out there.
I’m not suggesting that Heinlein, then a 34 year old pup, was up to making broad sociological and cultural observations on the pages of Astounding Science Fiction for a penny a word, but consider that he suggested that religion could be grounded in unreasonable myth and also that conformity might very well misdirect rational thought. A pulpy short story from a 70 plus year old rag, but some heady thoughts that would later evolve into some of the best SF thinking the genre has ever produced.
All good fun, but I must give a respectful shout out to Brian Aldiss’ great generational ship work Non-Stop, published in 1958.
The idea of a generational ship may not have originated with Heinlein, but he makes early and good use of the template. Essentially, a ship has been constructed to travel from Earth to a distant planet. Travelling at less than light speed, the vehicle will arrive at its destination many hundreds of years from its origin, thus the original crew will be long dead when the later generation arrives. Sometime in the past a mutiny has occurred and the passengers remaining have devolved into a weird semi-theological system where the ship is considered the entire universe, a self contained and unilateral organism. Only the “mutants” have figured out the truth and want to educate the normal citizens of the vessel to what’s really out there.
I’m not suggesting that Heinlein, then a 34 year old pup, was up to making broad sociological and cultural observations on the pages of Astounding Science Fiction for a penny a word, but consider that he suggested that religion could be grounded in unreasonable myth and also that conformity might very well misdirect rational thought. A pulpy short story from a 70 plus year old rag, but some heady thoughts that would later evolve into some of the best SF thinking the genre has ever produced.
All good fun, but I must give a respectful shout out to Brian Aldiss’ great generational ship work Non-Stop, published in 1958.
February 11, 2017
Book #24 out of #21 for Heinlein's Future Perfect series (yes, I know that looks wrong, but that the official way to write it.)
"Universe" (and it's sequel "Common Sense") were written and released in 1941. It is an amazing scathe of religion, as well as the first written story of Generation Ships (people living and reproducing on the ship, as the ship will take many lifetimes to reach it's destination).
The book itself reminded me of Louis Lowry's "The Giver", only better and written 50 years prior. The story is most commonly found in the "Orphans in the sky" novel. It is not found in "The Days of Future Past" which a lot of people were expecting to be a complete collection.
This is one of the last stories in the timeline.
"Universe" (and it's sequel "Common Sense") were written and released in 1941. It is an amazing scathe of religion, as well as the first written story of Generation Ships (people living and reproducing on the ship, as the ship will take many lifetimes to reach it's destination).
The book itself reminded me of Louis Lowry's "The Giver", only better and written 50 years prior. The story is most commonly found in the "Orphans in the sky" novel. It is not found in "The Days of Future Past" which a lot of people were expecting to be a complete collection.
This is one of the last stories in the timeline.
January 5, 2018
Un relato igual de difrutable (100% Heinlein: ágil pero inteligente, con variedad de géneros incluidos y personajes con garra, así como una atmósfera lograda e historia con mensaje de fondo en la cual te sumerges enseguida) y de posterior digestión crítica apreciable sin haber leído los anteriores en línea temporal dentro de su gran obra maestra "Historia del futuro". Sin embargo, su lectura, no será completa y totalmente apreciable sin ésos, ya que la dimensión y alcance se analiza y correlaciona (el tipo de comercio y sistema de fertilización como en “La luna es una cruel amante”, que guarda relación en línea temporal con “historias del futuro”, y nace en ésta, así cómo las diferentes atmósferas y gravedades como “ Granjero de las estrellas”, por ejemplo) habiéndolos leído todos.
La historia, leída por separado y por definición, es una nueva crítica de Heinlein hacia la falta de libertad, conocimiento total y confinación de toda raza, población y generación, mediante el siempre tirano sistema impuesto por personas mediante la dictadura de un sistema y su esclavitud, más o menos visible, sea su dimensión y calado variable siempre:
“La palabra esclavo no estaba en su vocabulario, pero la condición se hallaba presente en todas las cosas [..]. siempre hubo personas que daban órdenes y otras que las obedecían, y Hoyland no pudo imaginar otra condición ni organización social”.
Pongo un enlace de la verdadera reseña, que está en mi análisis exhaustivo de ésta gran obra. Aviso, éste lleva Spoilers:
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
La historia, leída por separado y por definición, es una nueva crítica de Heinlein hacia la falta de libertad, conocimiento total y confinación de toda raza, población y generación, mediante el siempre tirano sistema impuesto por personas mediante la dictadura de un sistema y su esclavitud, más o menos visible, sea su dimensión y calado variable siempre:
“La palabra esclavo no estaba en su vocabulario, pero la condición se hallaba presente en todas las cosas [..]. siempre hubo personas que daban órdenes y otras que las obedecían, y Hoyland no pudo imaginar otra condición ni organización social”.
Pongo un enlace de la verdadera reseña, que está en mi análisis exhaustivo de ésta gran obra. Aviso, éste lleva Spoilers:
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
October 4, 2017
"Вселената" и продължението "Здравият разум" практически са романът "Сираци на вселената". През 1941-а година са издадени отделно в списание Astounding Science Fiction (съответно в броевете за месец Май и Октомври). "Вселена" е издаден самостоятелно и през 1951 година, като през 1963 и след това са издавани почти винаги заедно, като "Сираци на вселената" (включително и на български език през 1996 г.).
Книжката е част от списанието "Фантастични истории", като е част от самото книжно тяло, и отпечатано по начин, позволяващ да се изреже и оформи като самостоятелна книжка. С не-лош превод на Сергей Христов.
Колкото до самото произведение - добро е, разбира се. Все пак обединено с продължението си в цялостен роман, е доста по-добро.
Книжката е част от списанието "Фантастични истории", като е част от самото книжно тяло, и отпечатано по начин, позволяващ да се изреже и оформи като самостоятелна книжка. С не-лош превод на Сергей Христов.
Колкото до самото произведение - добро е, разбира се. Все пак обединено с продължението си в цялостен роман, е доста по-добро.
September 8, 2014
How do we get our of the dark? one step at a time. We must be curious and tenacious. And if things do not go the way we plan? well, we keep trying until they do. A generation starship is lost. The peopel abroad forgot their mission and they try to survive, transforming the initial destination and crew to figures of myth. There are those who dream of more: one young savant is captured by Joe-Jim, a 2 headed mutant who figured out the reality of the starship and of the space outside.Together, they will try to convince the rest of the crew and resume their mission.
March 1, 2023
Very interesting concept and generally well thought out but I had a really hard time reading it from some reason. I barely pushed through and had to reread parts because I realized my mind has wondered off. No idea why.
January 27, 2024
Un excelente relato sobre naves generacionales (Probablemente el mejor, junto a La nave estelar de Aldiss) Es una historia amena y muy bien construida que refleja muchos de los temas habituales de Heinlein (Aunque no manifiesta el militarismo con el que normalmente se le asocia) y engancha tanto por sus giros como por lo ágil de la prosa.
December 29, 2023
I got turned onto this by Colbert on The Friendship Onion podcast and passively listened to the audiobook a couple years ago. This time, I read intently and paid attention. I like the whole premise and seeing the early versions of a generation ship before Titan AE or Wall-E, etc. Nowadays, you’d get much more action descriptions, which was lacking. A lot was waved over, but enjoyable nonetheless. There is so much world to build behind the scenes. I’m not sure I’ll get what I hope from the sequel, but I’m excited to be diving into Heinlein.
March 3, 2015
Universe is a novella that tells the story of the population of a massive generational ship, who have long since lost any true grasp of the true nature of the artificial world they live in. A young explorer and 'scientist' is captured by one of the mutants that lives close to the center of the ship, and discovers the true purpose of their enclosed world.
June 5, 2013
What a great early example of generation ships.
March 12, 2026
Listened to this as part of the The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 2-A: The Greatest Science Fiction Writers of America (1973).
A pretty enjoyable little read. An old friend of mine once described Heinlein as a freak. I'm not sure how far I'll go to agree with him, as this is only the second work of his that I've read (first was the short story "The Roads Must Roll"). However, some narration choices were, we might say, freaky.
I can't give too much of a review of this, because I ought to read the sequel novella (or just get a copy of Orphans of the Sky to have both together), since this one very much left the story unresolved.
I'm always interested in the portrayal of religion in science fiction, and I appreciated the way Heinlein chose to do it here. The ship (a generation ship moving towards the Alpha Centauri star system at a tiny fraction of the speed of light) has organically developed a religion where the ship is perceived to be the entirety of creation, the ship's first captain is their creator god, and "scientists" are their clergy and religious hierarchy. Now, the portrayal here is ultimately atheistic and critical of religion, especially as the story shifts towards a dichotomy of religion vs. reality and that ever-beaten dead horse of heresy trials being the greatest evil imaginable. ("It may be a great advance in knowledge to not believe in witches: there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there. You would not call a man humane for ceasing to set mousetraps if he did so because he believed there were no mice in the house." - C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity) Despite this, I think that Heinlein inserted some nice nuance into the subject. First, if this can be viewed as a satirical allegory for religious systems in our own world, Heinlein immediately gets credit for not lambasting faith as the opium of the masses. Second, he hints at the limits of not just the religious worldview that he created but also at modern secular worldviews: there's more to the ancient stories and holy books than we think, and there's more truth in them than secularists believe. Third, he makes the ships' equivalent of atheists/naturalists (or perhaps they more align with something like modernists or progressive Christians), the young generation of scientists, who believe there is only the ship and nothing more, to be less aligned with reality than the old devoutly-religious generation. And finally, even Hugh, after discovering the "truth", doesn't possess the fullness of it.
Of course, as a Catholic, I do not intend to defend all religions, or even the vague notion of religion in general, much less in a review of a classic science fiction story on Goodreads. These are just some thoughts I scribbled down. I enjoy the exercise of finding elements of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in even something as silly as a story involving a man with two heads.
A pretty enjoyable little read. An old friend of mine once described Heinlein as a freak. I'm not sure how far I'll go to agree with him, as this is only the second work of his that I've read (first was the short story "The Roads Must Roll"). However, some narration choices were, we might say, freaky.
I can't give too much of a review of this, because I ought to read the sequel novella (or just get a copy of Orphans of the Sky to have both together), since this one very much left the story unresolved.
I'm always interested in the portrayal of religion in science fiction, and I appreciated the way Heinlein chose to do it here. The ship (a generation ship moving towards the Alpha Centauri star system at a tiny fraction of the speed of light) has organically developed a religion where the ship is perceived to be the entirety of creation, the ship's first captain is their creator god, and "scientists" are their clergy and religious hierarchy. Now, the portrayal here is ultimately atheistic and critical of religion, especially as the story shifts towards a dichotomy of religion vs. reality and that ever-beaten dead horse of heresy trials being the greatest evil imaginable. ("It may be a great advance in knowledge to not believe in witches: there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there. You would not call a man humane for ceasing to set mousetraps if he did so because he believed there were no mice in the house." - C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity) Despite this, I think that Heinlein inserted some nice nuance into the subject. First, if this can be viewed as a satirical allegory for religious systems in our own world, Heinlein immediately gets credit for not lambasting faith as the opium of the masses. Second, he hints at the limits of not just the religious worldview that he created but also at modern secular worldviews: there's more to the ancient stories and holy books than we think, and there's more truth in them than secularists believe. Third, he makes the ships' equivalent of atheists/naturalists (or perhaps they more align with something like modernists or progressive Christians), the young generation of scientists, who believe there is only the ship and nothing more, to be less aligned with reality than the old devoutly-religious generation. And finally, even Hugh, after discovering the "truth", doesn't possess the fullness of it.
Of course, as a Catholic, I do not intend to defend all religions, or even the vague notion of religion in general, much less in a review of a classic science fiction story on Goodreads. These are just some thoughts I scribbled down. I enjoy the exercise of finding elements of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in even something as silly as a story involving a man with two heads.
April 25, 2024
Heinlein shows his early grasp of excitement and world-building here, in what is apparently the first generation-ship story. The wild thing is that the setup is fully realised, thoughtful, and intriguing - this does not read like the first crack at this type of story.
The pace slackens here and there, but the story shines early on during the setup phase, and then again later on as our protagonist becomes increasingly embroiled in the story. The third act is a huge letdown and a major cop-out, all running and fighting and no philosophy or grandeur. Evidently there is a sequel, fixed up with this one into a single novel; that feels sorely needed here.
Besides that, this is a great, pulpy read well ahead of its time.
The pace slackens here and there, but the story shines early on during the setup phase, and then again later on as our protagonist becomes increasingly embroiled in the story. The third act is a huge letdown and a major cop-out, all running and fighting and no philosophy or grandeur. Evidently there is a sequel, fixed up with this one into a single novel; that feels sorely needed here.
Besides that, this is a great, pulpy read well ahead of its time.
February 11, 2020
I enjoyed this although it was a little simplistic. The abrupt ending begs for a sequel, which came six months later (Common Sense) and was later collected into the novel Orphans of the Sky. Apparently this is the first story about a generation ship, where the crew has forgotten that they're on a ship in space. There's some fun to be had in how the terms the 'crew' adapt into everyday use, and how a religion evolves around the first captain, but really, this is more of a space opera with a heavy does of action/adventure thrown in at the end. Entertaining, but not the hard-science stuff I was expecting from early Heinlein.
July 30, 2021
Read as a novella in the excellent The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume II A. Not perfectly sure whether this is the original or an expanded version.
Presumably chosen there as a good early example of a trope that afterwards became ... very frequent.
I approve of the cover artist's deciding to depict some good looking men shirt-free, even though that makes it slightly harder to notice that Joe-Jim has two heads.
Presumably chosen there as a good early example of a trope that afterwards became ... very frequent.
I approve of the cover artist's deciding to depict some good looking men shirt-free, even though that makes it slightly harder to notice that Joe-Jim has two heads.
October 14, 2022
Was only partially paying attention to this one, as I found myself not entirely captivated with the plot line involving a multi-generational trip to Andromeda, mutants, and where the confines of the ship is considered the entire universe. The story seemed to suddenly end without much resolution, which was unsatisfying. Dialogue was generally well written but plot seemed meandering and uninteresting to me, which was surprising because Heinlein's best stories are among my favorites in all of Sci-Fi.
2.5 / 5 stars (rounded up to 3)
Note - this was read as part of Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A
2.5 / 5 stars (rounded up to 3)
Note - this was read as part of Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A
September 28, 2023
Universe
Robert A. Heinlein
Read in Sept 2023 in
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two
I think it is a real danger that a closed group may move backwards in technology and intellectual development and “lowering of the landing gear” may become a religious ceremony without real meaning. I believe the premise of the story: Heinlein still doesn’t make a good case of convincing me. It feels silly that they run around with knives. If the lost of civilization had been due to level of intelligence deteriorating due to radiation or inbreeding, I don’t think there would have been much hope.
Robert A. Heinlein
Read in Sept 2023 in
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two
I think it is a real danger that a closed group may move backwards in technology and intellectual development and “lowering of the landing gear” may become a religious ceremony without real meaning. I believe the premise of the story: Heinlein still doesn’t make a good case of convincing me. It feels silly that they run around with knives. If the lost of civilization had been due to level of intelligence deteriorating due to radiation or inbreeding, I don’t think there would have been much hope.
August 6, 2021
Uno de los cuentos favoritos de Asimov que lo influyó hasta en sus escritos de no ficción. Una nave autocontenida como si fuera un universo para quienes viven dentro de él y no tienen noción de un afuera. Los seres relegados de la sociedad, considerados degenerados, son los únicos que saben la verdad pero la comunicación entre ambas sociedades se reduce a esporádicas emboscadas y asesinatos. Un relato importante para la ciencia ficción clásica que por fin leí.
January 13, 2020
Good story about a very big generations-starship.
I love the structure of the story, as you start with the knowledge of a peasant then become something like a priest until finally revealing the whole truth.
I love the structure of the story, as you start with the knowledge of a peasant then become something like a priest until finally revealing the whole truth.
Read
March 25, 2021Universe, by Robert Heinlein
The stupidity of man to refuse to accept truth that shatters pre-existing dominant worldviews.
"There's a lot of space out there. Those stars may be as big as this ship," said Joe. (3 stars)
The stupidity of man to refuse to accept truth that shatters pre-existing dominant worldviews.
"There's a lot of space out there. Those stars may be as big as this ship," said Joe. (3 stars)
May 3, 2021
A classic generation ship story by a Grand Master of SF, Robert Heinlein. It has not aged too well in my view but certainly an important story which was ahead of its time. It was later expanded into a novel (which I have not read).
December 30, 2021
This is a short story, read in a collection. Classic Heinlein, meaning old fashioned, dated, yet charming and insightful. Well written, of course. Short and sweet. Clearly the basis for many future stories by many other writers.
November 19, 2022
this was so crazy omg. reading it was delicious. uncovering what was going on and the various ideologies, the societal organizational.. good stuff. i loved the parts where it describes the stars and the ache of beauty. an interesting and fun little story. incredibly misogynist tho !
July 26, 2025
Idea di fondo geniale, ma la narrazione asciutta e misogina lascia a desiderare che, se solo fosse stato scritto meglio, sarebbe stato un capolavoro immersivo. Affrettato e incompleto sul finale, i personaggi hanno pochissimo spessore ma ci si affeziona lo stesso.
April 28, 2018
Source story (I believe) for Star Trek episode, For I Have Touched The Sky... Kind of tedious, actually. But a novel idea in it's time.
October 8, 2018
A classic SciFi gem that I would encourage everyone to read at some point of their life.
September 23, 2021
It's West Side Story on a lost generation spaceship with mutants and Galilean connotations. . . . Early Heinlein tripe, but tripe can be tasty.
December 18, 2021
Nice story. Especially Especially teenagers. I haven't read it when I was one, so catching up on that "technical debpt".
August 29, 2024
"For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky."
January 4, 2025
Source: Colbert on The Friendship Onion podcast
Just a flavour of sci-fi I don’t generally connect with. Or maybe it’s the timing. Could be interested in the expanding novel.
Just a flavour of sci-fi I don’t generally connect with. Or maybe it’s the timing. Could be interested in the expanding novel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews