Lord of the Afternoon
Page 23
It all begins when Casher and Celalta telepathically pick up on the hatred of the gallinaceous creatures and alert the Instrumentality. At no time is this ruthless repressive campaign waged against a non-aggressive people questioned morally. While we are told that the Lords acted cruelly towards the expeditionary representatives, no mention is made whatsoever of the fate reserved for their victims.
The epilogue is an anti-climax following the brutal unfolding of violence. Years after the invasion, the three expeditionary representatives, the defeated “natives” and their descendants appear living together in an idyllic portrayal of rural life, without the least bit of resentment for one another.
It is unclear whether this forced “happy ending” is an instance of literary clumsiness or intended to be ironic.
“Under Old Earth” also involves a kind of punitive expedition. While Sto Odin himself accepts Sun-boy’s arguments, the repression is necessary because the rebel is an instrument of forces antagonistic to the human race.
Is it possible to resolve the contradictions between this vein of cruelty and the ultimate mysticism of the story of Casher O’Neill?
Casher is miserable while secretly planning his revenge against Colonel Wedder. Only when he is able to forgive does he find peace, thereby freeing himself from hate and freeing his enemy from despotism.
Something similar occurs with Rod MacBan. As in Journey Toward the West, the Chinese “apprentice novel” and the story’s source of inspiration, Rod attains happiness only after losing everything he coveted and is left with barely a memory.
Desiring nothing more than postage stamp, Rod ends up becoming the ruler of the world. When he visits the Department Store of Heart’s Desire, an antiquarian with magical powers shows him all of the earth’s treasures. Among them are poetic antiques and his longed-for postage stamp. In a hallucination, he sees all the species of the Galaxy paraded before him, and Rod learns to love them in spite of their physical appearance.
In the end Rod passes through a symbolic door, on the lintel of which are written the words “Hate Hall”, and emerges free of his desires. He will only be happy, however, when, out of love for C’mell, he donates all of his riches to the cause of the underpeople.
This Christian denouement seems to mitigate the tensions integral to the life of Paul Linebarger, reconciling the antagonisms that drove him to the edge of insanity. And still, the contradictions linger in other stories.
I prefer to leave matters like this.
It will seem like a defeat to critics inclined toward reductionism, those who seek to make reality conform to the Procrustean bed of analytical categories and aspire toward offering up every fragment of evidence on the altar of theoretical discourse.
While this refusal might irritate some, it does not require succumbing to the irrational or discrediting the notion that human behavior is explainable. Its rationality, however, is not deterministic in the classical sense but more akin to the logic of chaos and complexity.
My intention in this essay has not been to mine the richness of Cordwainer Smith to the point of exhaustion. Indeed, some of his positions will continue to seem ambiguous and even incomprehensible.
Nor has my interest been to demystify –even if this is what is in fashion– but rather to understand. I have tried to avoid reductionism and abusive simplification. The result may appear to be more an identity-kit than a portrait. Be that as it may, it is what I have been able to patch together on the basis of the texts and scant biographical material.
Again, this essay does not claim to be anything more than a conjecture, a construction intended to mediate between a unique personality and us, trackers of prints. It may even prove to be unfounded if facts appear that cast new light on the subject.
Using a variety of tools, I have erected a fence of speculation around a life. Yet the personality itself transcends all theories: it is the movement that crosses all the points at which we see the personality come to rest. While we can unite these points of reference –to use Bergson’s metaphor– we will never attain the original curve. The closest we can get is a polygon with an ever-increasing number of sides. Analytic movement does not approach the curve asymptotically, and only in the infinite is it capable of reproducing it.
The intention of this theoretical rodeo was not to dominate the subject and show off his head as a trophy, concluding: “In short, he is nothing more than a neurotic, a reactionary, a Christian, a bad conscience…” To the contrary, encapsulating the magnificence of Cordwainer Smith in a formula was, for me, an increasingly arduous task, with new dimensions and ambiguities coming to light. In cases such as this, we show in order to understand. And to understand, it is necessary to make a number of claims. We must be willing to see and to listen.
1 Foyster-Burns (1973)
2 Foyster (1973)
3 Zelazny (1968)
4 Silverberg (1965)
5 “Le fabuleux voyage d’un atomiste, d’après les notes du Dr.Lindner, psychanalyste”, in Planète no. 9, Paris, March-April, 1963.
6 Brennan, J. H., Astral Doorways. Wellingborough, The Aquarian Press, 1971.
7 Larry McMurtry, Books: A Memoir, Simon & Schuster 2009.
8 Foyster-Burns (1973)
9 Frabetti, (1973)
10 Sartre, J. P., Being and Nothingness.
11 Sartre, J. P., interview in Afrique Action (1961), in Sartre por Sartre, ed. Jorge Alvarez, Buenos Aires, 1968, pg. 99.
12 Garaudy, Roger, Perspectivas del hombre, Barcelona, ed. Fontanella, 1970, chap. III, pg. 246.
13 Elms (1990)
14 Burns (1973)
15 Foyster-Burns (1973)
16 Burns (1973)
17 Norstrilia, chap. “Birds, Far Underground”
18 Burns (1973)
19 The Underpeople, chap.1 (not included in Norstrilia).
20 Jolif, Jean-Ives. Comprendre l’homme 1.Introduction à une anthropologie philosophique. Paris, Editions du Cerf, 1967, chap 6.
21 Psychological Warfare, chap. 1, pg. 13.
22 Lindner, op. cit. pg. 168.
23 Jolif, op. cit. pg. 168.
24 Cfr. Kojève. A., “Hegel’s Master-Slave Dialectic”.
25 Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit
26 Marcuse, H., Eros and Civilization
27 Norstrilia, chap. “Everybody Loves Money”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mike Bennett has compiled the complete and illustrated bibliography of the works of Linebarger/Smith. It can be consulted on the official webpage of the Cordwainer Smith Foundation, directed by Rosana (Johanna) Hart, the writer’s oldest daughter. http://www.cordwainer-smith.com
Another site of interest is www.ulmus.net, managed by Alan C. Elms.
Works Paul M. A. Linebarger:
Publication of works by his father, P. M. W. Linebarger:
The Gospel Of Sun Chung Shan, Paris, Brentano 1932
The Ocean Men, by “Paul Myron”, Washington, Mid-Nation 1937.
Mes Memoires Abrégés Sur les Revolutions de Sun Yat-Sen, Paris, Mid-Nation Editions, 1938.
The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1937. (Doctoral thesis. Cambridge University Press published reprints of it for more than thirty years).
Government in Republican China. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1938.
The China of Chiang Kai-shek: A Political Study, World Peace Foundation, 1941
A Syllabus Of Psychological Warfare, Washington, War Department General Staff, 1946
Psychological Warfare in ROTC Senior Manual. Harrisburg, Military Service Publishing Company, 1948.
Psychological Warfare. Combat Forces Press, 1948. Revised editions: 1954, 1955.
Repr
int: 1972. Translations: Chinese (1953); Japanese (1954); Vietnamese (1956); German (1960) and Russian (1962). Since 1949, three different translations into Spanish have been published, one of which is the Argentinian Guerra Psicológica. Buenos Aires, Ed. Círculo Militar. Biblioteca del Oficial vol. 399, 1951.
Far Eastern Governments and Politics: China and Japan (written in collaboration with Djang Chu and Ardath W. Burks.) Van Nostrand, 1952.
Comparative Politics of South-East Asia, Van Nostrand 1954, 1956, 1967.
Numerous articles and contributions to encyclopedias.
Under the pseudonym “Karloman Jungahr”:
“War N° 81Q” (story). The Adjutant, vol. IX, no.1, June, 1928.
Rewritten in The Rediscovery of Mankind, Framingham, Massachusetts, The NESFA Press 1993.
Under the pseudonym “Felix C. Forrest”:
Ria (novel). New York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce,1947.
Carola (novel). New York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948.
Under the pseudonym “Carmichael Smith”:
Atomsk: A Novel of Suspense (novel). New York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949.
Works of Cordwainer Smith
References refer to the original text of the Complete Works.
Stories
“War No. 81-Q”, The Adjutant, June 1928.
A new version of this text, rewritten in 1963 for the anthology You Will Never Be The Same, which was not included in that publication, appeared in The Rediscovery of Man, 1993.
“Himself in Anachron” (1946) Included in The Rediscovery of Man, 1993.
“Scanners Live in Vain”, Fantasy Book, no. 6 (1948)
“The Game of Rat and Dragon”, Galaxy, October 1955.
“The Queen of the Afternoon.” (1955) Completed by Genevieve Linebarger and published in Galaxy, April 1978.
“The Colonel Came Back From Nothing-at-All” (1955), published in The Instrumentality of Mankind, New York, Ballantine 1979.
“Mark XI” Saturn, May 1957.
“The burning of the brain”, If, October 1958.
“Western Science is So Wonderful!” If, December 1958.
“No, No, Not Rogov!” If, February 1959.
“The Nancy Routine”, Satellite, March 1959.
“When the People Fell” Galaxy, April 1959.
“Golden the Ship Was, Oh! Oh! Oh!”, Amazing, April 1959.
“The Fife of Bodidharma”, Fantastic, June 1959.
“Angerhelm.” In Star SF No. 6. Ed. F. Pohl, Ballantine Books, December 1959.
“The Lady Who Sailed The Soul” Galaxy, April 1960.
“Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons”, Galaxy, June 1961.
“Alpha Ralpha Boulevard” (id.), The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1961.
“A Planet Named Shayol”, Galaxy, October 1961.
“From Gustible’s Planet”, If, July 1962.
“The Ballad of Lost C’mell”, Galaxy, October 1962.
“Think Blue, Count Two”, Galaxy, February 1963.
“Drunkboat”, Amazing, October 1963.
“On the Gem Planet”, Galaxy, October 1963.
“The Good Friends”, Worlds of Tomorrow, October 1963.
“The Boy Who Bought Old Earth” (first version of The Planet Buyer) Galaxy, April 1964.
“The Crime and The Glory of Commander Suzdal”, Amazing, May 1964.
“The Store of Heart’s Desire” (first version of The Underpeople) If, May 1964.
“The Dead Lady of Clown Town”, Galaxy August 1964.
“On the Storm Planet”, Galaxy, February 1965.
“Three to a Given Star” Galaxy, October 1965.
“ On the Sand Planet”, Amazing, December 1965.
“Under Old Earth” Galaxy, February 1966.
“Down to a Sunless Sea”. Posthumous: published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1975) and included in the anthology Best SF of the Year, Ed. Terry Carr.
“The Colonel Came Back From Nothing-At-All”. Posthumous: published in The Instrumentality of Mankind. (1979)
Novels
The Planet Buyer, New York, Pyramid Books, 1964
The Underpeople. New York, Pyramid Books, 1968
Norstrilia, Ballantine Books, New York, 1975. Comprehensive version of the novel that had been divided in two parts, The Planet Buyer and The Underpeople.
Quest of the Three Worlds. New York, ACE Books, 1966. (Contains: “On the Gem Planet”, “On the Storm Planet”, “On the Sand Planet”, “Three to a Given Star”)
Complete works
The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) has compiled the definitive edition of the work of Cordwainer Smith in two volumes:
The Rediscovery of Man. The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith. Edited by James A. Mann. Introduction by John J. Pierce. Publisher’s note by James A. Mann. The New England Science Fiction Association, Framingham, Massachusetts, 1993.
Norstrilia
Prologue by James A. Mann. Introduction by Alan C. Elms. The New England Science Fiction Association, Framingham, Massachusetts, 1994.
Anthologies
You Will Never Be the Same, New York, Regency Books, 1963
Contains: “No, No, Not Rogov!”, “Mark Elf”, “Scanners Live in Vain”, “The Lady Who Sailed ‘The Soul’”, “The Game of Rat and Dragon”, “The Burning of the Brain”, “Golden the Ship Was Oh! Oh! Oh!”, “Alpha Ralpha Boulevard.”
Space Lords. New York, Pyramid Books 1965.
Contains: “Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons”, “The Dead Lady of Clown Town”, “Drunkboat”, “The Ballad of C’mell”, “A Planet Named Shayol”
Stardreamer. New York, Beagle Books, 1971
Contains: “Think Blue, Count Two”, “The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal”, “Under Old Earth”, “The Good Friends”, “Angerhelm”, “When the People Fell”, “The Fife Of Bodidharma”, “Western Science is So Wonderful!”
The Best of Cordwainer Smith (selection by J. J. Pierce). New York, Ballantine Books 1975.
Contains: “Scanners Live in Vain”, “The Game of Rat and Dragon”, “The Burning of the Brain”, “Golden the Ship Was Oh! Oh! Oh!”, “Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons”, “Alpha Ralpha Boulevard”, “A Planet Named Shayol”, “The Ballad of C’mell”, “The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal”, “The Dead Lady of Clown Town”, “Under Old Earth”
The Instrumentality of Mankind (anthology presented by Frederik Pohl) New York, Ballantine Books, 1979.
Contains: War nº 81Q, “Mark Elf”, “Alpha Ralpha Boulevard”, “Western Science is So Wonderful!”, “The Nancy Routine”, “Golden the Ship was Oh! Oh! Oh!”, “Angerhelm”, “From Gustible’s Planet”, “Think Blue, Count Two”, “Drunkboat”, “The Good Friends”, “Queen of the Afternoon”, “The Colonel Came Back From Nothing-at-All”
Studies
Publications:
Algol no. 20 (fanzine edited by Andrew Porter) New York, 1973. Contains:
Burns, Arthur, “Paul Linebarger”: (originally published in Australian SF Review).
Foyster, John, “Cordwainer Smith”
Foyster-Burns. “John Foyster talks with Arthur Burns “
Miesel, Sandra, “I am Joan & I love you”
Exploring Cordwainer Smith. (Pamphlet edited by Andrew Porter) Algol Press, New York 1975. Reproduces the content of Algol no. 20, including:
“Introduction”, by John Bangsund; “Chronology”, by Alice K. Turner; “Bibliography”, by J. J. Pierce; “Background”, portrait and reproduction of the personal greeting card of P. M. A. Linebarger in Chinese and English.
Special issue of Nueva Dimensión, May 1971, Barcelona no. 2
2. Contains:
Cheetham, Anthony, “El mundo de Cordwainer Smith”
Frabetti, Carlo, “La filosofía de Cordwainer Smith “
Wollheim, Donald A., “Cordwainer Smith, navegante de los mares cósmicos”
Burns, Arthur, “Paul Linebarger”
Lewis, Anthony, Concordance to Cordwainer Smith. New England SF Association, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1984, 1993.
Authors
Amis, Kingsley. Introductory note to “The Game of Rat and Dragon”. In The Mirror of Infinity. A critic’s Anthology of S. F. Ed. R. Silverberg. New York, Perennial Library; Harper & Row, 1973.
Burns, Arthur, “Paul Linebarger”, in Algol 20, 1973.
Capanna, Pablo:
“Algunas notas sobre La Dama muerta de Clown Town”, in Revista de Ciencia Ficción y Fantasía, Buenos Aires, Ed. Orión, no. 1 (1976).
“Descubrimiento de Cordwainer Smith”, in Criterio nº 1743, Buenos Aires, July 1976.
“Cordwainer Smith y las tres Edades Espaciales”, in El Péndulo no. 1, Buenos Aires, May 1981.
“La muerte del Señor Sto Odin”, in El Péndulo no. 4, Buenos Aires, October 1981.
“Cordwainer Smith: el hombre y el autor”, in Minotauro no. 4, Buenos Aires, November 1983.
“Preludio para una utopía fallida” in Minotauro nº 3, Buenos Aires, September 1983.
El Señor de la Tarde. Conjeturas en torno de Cordwainer Smith. Buenos Aires, Editorial Sudamericana, 1984.