|
|
| Cover art by Alan Peckolick |
| RULE GOLDEN Damon Knight |
Rating: 5.0 High |
||||
| New York: Doubleday, July 1967 | ISBN 0-345-? | 74pp | HC | $1.70 | |
The Golden Rule, the concept that you should treat others as you wish to be treated, has been around for a long time. In the form expressed here — "Do as you would be done by — it has obvious flaws. As a trivial example, it is no courtesy to serve a meal of spare ribs and beef chili to vegetarians.
But in the more concrete sense that the story revolves around — intentionally inflicting harm to others brings instant payback — it would have definite value.
The practical problem, of course, it how to bring that about. The story posits that all species have an inbuilt empathic response that can be triggered by a chemical specific to each species. An alien, Aza-Kra, has come to Earth on a mission to identify this chemical for humans and then distribute it so that the response, long in abeyance for the majority of humans, is reactivated. He suffers an accident and is captured by the US military and confined at a base near Chilicothe, Kansas. But for that unfortunate mishap, he presumably would have accomplished his mission without discovery. As it is, he must do without his ship and most of his equipment.
He enlists the help of a reporter who has picked up on a series of odd events, all centering on the area of Chilicothe, Kansas, and by threatening to publish gets admission to the base there. He meets Aza-Kra and together they escape from the base. Now their task is to spread the chemical worldwide while evading capture and skirting passport regulations — and finding ways to feed Aza-Kra well enough to keep him functional. These tasks prove quite challenging, not least because of the interpersonal conflicts that develop between them. It is, after all, very reasonable from a human perspective to conclude that Aza-Kra, despite his claims, is really softening Earth up for conquest.
Damon Knight (1922-2002) is the author of 17 science-fiction novels and many shorter works, as well as literary criticism. He founded the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and cofounded the National Fantasy Fan Federation, the Milford Writer's Workshop, and the Clarion Writers Workshop. This 1954 novella is well written and I judge it one of Damon Khight's best.
To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.