Wednesday 6 March 2024

Condemned

Anderson, "High Treason" IN Harry Harrison (Ed.), Four For The Future (London, 1974), pp. 45-59.

(There is also a 4 For The Future edited by Geoff Conklin and including "Enough Rope," a Wing Alak story by Poul Anderson.)

The first person narrator has been condemned to death and has dismissed the chaplain because he wants to:

"...claim the dignity of remaining myself." (p. 45)

By remaining himself, he means not conforming to society and I agree with him. It also makes sense to work towards understanding and transcending "myself" - but only if you are the sort of person to whom that makes sense. I cannot say what I would do if I were condemned to death. I might discuss philosophy with the chaplain, then invite him to pray silently while I meditated. Thus, both our beliefs would be expressed. It is a truism that everyone has to face death in his own way. Any kind of judgmentalism  - about whether the condemned did or did not pray etc - would be an abomination. Apparently that is what might happen in this story. His children might be told that:

"...he was a dirty atheist..." (ibid.)

God forbid.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Dang, I don't have "High Treason" in any of the works of Anderson that I've collected. Maybe I should include it in my "Uncollected Works of Anderson" article, listing it as one of those stories seldom or never republished.

I would be interested in how and why this officer was convicted of treason.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

He disobeyed an order to bombard a planet. You will find that this story has been discussed previously on the blog.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Thanks! We really need a COMPLETE COLLECTED WORKS OF POUL ANDERSON.

Ad astra! Sean