Dire times have led to a few dire-ish posts on my part. It’s not intentional. The world feels like it’s going to hell in a handbasket but it’s so obvious as to not need further discussion. For that matter, when was the last time things weren’t going to shit?
It’s probably more a reflection of bad weather for camping than any particular variety of Bidenverse inanity. Isn’t that silly? I didn’t have time to ignore the dumpster fire and write about all that’s wonderful; but that’s the goal. Sit by a campfire watching the moon rise and you won’t give a shit about the “news”.
Everything Elon releasing is something we already knew years ago. All the inflation is basic math. Mitch McConnell acting like a toad is… well when doesn’t he fuck his own party? Who is the last remaining fool that didn’t think COVID came from the lab in Wuhan? Discussing how often Fauchi was incorrect is like suddenly discovering the sun rises in the East. Why discuss what everyone sane already knew and the Kool-Aid drinkers will never accept?
Speaking of people I ignore, what’s up with Kayne West? Have I heard any of his songs? (If he’s some sort of amazing virtuoso I’m willing to be corrected.) As far as I can tell he’s a washed up rapper acting like a loon. What’s news about that? Aren’t they a dime a dozen?
Anyway, it’s time for something 70 years old which seems (in my pointy head) to mirror what happened (and didn’t) during the shitstorm of 2022. (It was only a year ago that president “won more votes than any other candidate in history” was going full Nuremberg.)
It’s an optimistic story called “And Then There Were None“. It was written by Eric Frank Russell in 1951. You can find it by this link or by clicking to in Astounding Science Fiction magazine (Vol. XLVII, No. 4). (Or you can get if by *.pdf.)
It’s free, under 40 pages, and you’ll enjoy reading it. Lets be serious here, it’s better use of your time than most of what’s on the internet. It’s a mellow happy science fiction story from back when science fiction was fun.
Give yourself a treat. Despite publishers who’ve made the last few decades of sci-fi mostly about woke lesbians bitching about recycling during a dystopic global-warming hellscape… I prefer sci-fi that’s fun.
Here are a few quotes to get the blood flowing:
“For one solitary guy it would be martyrdom, but for a whole world—” His voice drifted off, came back. “I’ve been taking this about as far as I can make it go and the results give me the leaping fantods.”
And…
“I was thinking,” Harrison explained.
“I approve of that,” put in His Excellency. He lugged a couple of huge tomes out of the wall-shelves, began to thumb rapidly through them. “Do plenty of thinking whenever you’ve the chance and it will become a habit. It will get easier and easier as time rolls on. In fact, a day may come when it can be done without pain.”
Yeah, that’s the stuff.
Hat tip to Dio’s Workshop and Liberty’s Torch.
I was never exactly strung out on Science Fiction, I would read anything except history. Poe,Sherlock, Steinbeck, whatever. When I went to visit my mom when I was 14 there wasn’t much around to read, except The God Machine. It left an impression. I enjoyed it a lot. If you haven’t read it, you might want to have a look. After over fifty years I have no problem remembering the title.
Who’s the author of that book?
I downloaded and read “And Then There Were None” last night. It was a very enjoyable read. The town really does understand freedom at its simplest.
Thank you for the link and recommendation.
Glad you liked it.
Thanks for the heads up. I used to be the sci fi nut. 1951, the year of my manufacture. I was adapted, never told about my blood folks, except that my dad was German and my mom was Portuguese. Was dear old dad an escaped Nazi? Might explain some of my inclinations and attitudes.
I’ll be reading “And Then There Were None”. Again, thanks for the heads up.
Tree Mike
You’ll like the story. Lighthearted from the old optimistic times instead of the current dour whining.
Excellent find, excellent read. Seems that co-operation is required for `I won`t` to work, then again maybe on the individual will – I believe Solzhenitsyn is `Freedom, I won’t’ embodied, despite what we see as harsh circumstances.
I didn’t have time to write about it but I see parallels to “President most votes in all history” vax mandate just one year ago. Did you notice that the whole forced vax thing was going global and then it collapsed like a house of cards (in America) when 10-15% of workers simply refused. That’s all it took. It didn’t require 100% growing a spine, just a small minority was enough.
If you enjoy this story, you’ll probably like the novel that Russell wrote that expanded on it – published in 1962, and called “The Great Explosion”, I’ve read it a couple of times over the decades, but never had a chance to actually own the book. Apparently, there’s a re-print that can be found in used condition, if you really want more. I remember that the whole novel is good reading, and builds nicely to the conclusion of this short story (plus a bit). Especially as it was written 60 years ago – the theme is current, even if the words are a bit quaint.
I’ll see if I can find a copy.
Here it is:
https://www.simpleliberty.org/bookshelf/the_great_explosion-00.htm
I have a copy in hardback format and re-read it every so often His jaundiced and piercing observation of human nature always brings a laugh. The Great Explosion gives the background to the invention of the sace ship engine (or drive, as he terms it) and Freedom, I Won’t is the last planet visted. You can download the complete book by clicking on the PDF link top left or read it section by section.
Enjoy!
Thank you for sharing this gem of reading! Prompted me to go hunting for my Douglas Adams works, so familar.
“leaping fantods”
Thank you for this. This is going into the vocabulary rotation.