Friday, 30 December 2022

What Samsey Sees And Says

"Un-Man."

"'What I can't understand,' said a fifth man - Donner recognized him as Colonel Samsey of the American Guard - 'is why, if the U.N. Secret Services does have a corps of - uh - supermen, it should bother to disguise them to look all alike. So that we'll think we're dealing with an immortal?' He chuckled grimly. 'Surely they don't expect us to be rattled by that!'" (11, p. 26)

Yet, later, when Naysmith lifts his mask in front of Samsey:

"'Who am I, Samsey?' he asked quietly.
"A sob rattled in the throat. 'Donner - but you're dead. We killed you in Chicago. You died, you're dead.'" (VIII, p. 61)

Samsey is rattled. Maybe the fact that he has been injected with a truth drug that damps:

"...those higher brain centers..." (p. 62)

- affects his response?

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Another possibility is that "Un-Man" is one of Anderson's earlier stories. And some of those stories were not as expertly handled as they were to become by 1958-59. Meaning we have to expect some rough edges in some of these early works.

Happy New Year! Sean