"The Key."
By Isaac Asimov (1920-92; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; the SFE HERE; the IMDb HERE; complete bibliography HERE; and Asimov Online HERE).
Wendell Urth No. 4 (ISFDb HERE).
First appearance: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1966.
Reprints (numerous) page (ISFDb HERE).
Reprints covers (ISFDb HERE).
Novelette (original: 27 pages; reprint: 30 pages).
Online at Archive.org (HERE) and (HERE). (The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction Special also includes a 4-page article by L. Sprague de Camp and a 5-page bibliography up to 1974).
"This instrument is a key, as you see, but not just a key to a bit more knowledge. It is a key to the final solution of men’s problems."
SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY (SFF) absolutely bulges with stories of encounters by ordinary folks with extraordinary artifacts left behind by some advanced civilization (e.g., Tolkien's Ring of Power, the TMA-1 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and so on almost ad infinitum).
Today's story centers on just such a device but also has the added attraction of one of Ellery Queen's (the author) favorite plot devices, the dying clue. Since its solution seems to lie in the vast expanses of outer space, it's obvious, isn't it, that the only person equipped to unravel it must be a reclusive agoraphobe with bad eyesight . . .
Principal characters:
~ Karl Jennings ("knew he was going to die"), James Strauss ("what Strauss wanted was something far more; something Jennings would fight to prevent"), H. Seton Davenport ("considering something as a wish-fulfillment idea is one thing, but planning it as a practical scheme of action to be Hitlerized through is something else"), M. T. Ashley ("Have you considered what’s been happening to the Earth in the last two centuries?"), Ferrant ("He's not the only one in the Bureau under suspicion"), Gorbansky ("swears the Device did not turn up anywhere"), and Wendell Urth ("That oddball, What’s-his-name — Wendell Urth").
Typos: "started [stared] for a moment"; "astonomers".
References:
- "The particles dropped with the slowness characteristic of the Moon":
Are we the only one who noticed how fast the people below the Moon's surface moved in Kubrick's 2001?
- "The Earth was low on the eastern horizon almost full in phase, bright and blue-streaked":
- "Lately there had been the slow rise of a distant rumble which wanted not only a population drop but a selected drop — the survival of the fittest, with the self-declared fit choosing the criteria of fitness"; "I want the Earth to be inherited by the elite, which means by men like ourselves." See Wikipedia (HERE), (HERE), and (HERE), and TV Tropes (HERE) and (HERE).
- "an area glowing with the tiny phosphorescence of Lunar bacteria":
It's almost certain that bacteria have been found on the Moon, but exactly how they got there is still an unsettled matter. (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "A telepathic amplifier":
"It's worth noting that for the above reasons telepathy is one of the most potentially pervertable powers, since it's basically an invasion of privacy of the worst kind. The telepath is the sighted man in the kingdom of the blind, and, provided he's discreet, he can know everyone down to their most intimate detail and can use them accordingly." (See TV Tropes HERE.) The world's richest man (at the moment) is taking a different approach. (See Wikipedia HERE.)
- "the western rim of Mare Imbrium":
"In 1971, the crewed Apollo 15 mission landed in the southeastern region of Mare Imbrium, between Hadley Rille and the Apennine Mountains. Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin spent three days on the surface of the Moon, including 18½ hours outside the spacecraft on lunar extra-vehicular activity." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "Euclid's fifth postulate?":
"If a line segment intersects two straight lines forming two interior angles on the same side that are less than two right angles, then the two lines, if extended indefinitely, meet on that side on which the angles sum to less than two right angles." (Wikipedia HERE and HERE.)
- "Newton’s second law of motion":
"The change of motion of an object is proportional to the force impressed; and is made in the direction of the straight line in which the force is impressed." (Wikipedia HERE and HERE.)
- "the crater Tycho is the most conspicuous feature on the Moon’s surface." (Wikipedia HERE and HERE.)
- "named for an American astronomer, W. C. Bond." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "The crater Alphonsus." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "Tsiolkovsky, for instance." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "the Sinus Medii—the Middle Bay—over which the Earth is perpetually at Zenith":
"Sinus Medii (Latin, sinus mediī, 'Middle Bay') is a small lunar mare. It takes its name from its location at the intersection of the Moon's equator and prime meridian; as seen from the Earth, this feature is located in the central part of the Moon's near side, and it is the point closest to the Earth. From this spot, the Earth would always appear directly overhead, although the planet's position would vary slightly due to libration." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- Other craters: "Lomonosov" (HERE), "Jules Verne" (HERE), "Joliot-Curie" (HERE), "Atlas" (HERE), "the Straight Wall" (HERE), "Fabricius" (HERE), "Archimedes" (HERE), and "Clavius" (HERE).
- "A rebus that couldn’t mean more clearly 'Go to Urth'":
"A rebus is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "a Galactic lens in soft three-dimensionality." (Wikipedia HERE.)
Resources:
- A few of ONTOS's previous encounters with science fictional treatments of telepathy include, but are not limited to, these: Daniel F. Galouye's "Kangaroo Court" (HERE), George Chailey's "Death of a Telepath" (HERE), Anne McCaffrey's "Apple" (HERE), and Charles D. Cunningham, Jr.'s "The Man Who Flew" (HERE).
- Our extraterrologist has characteristics very much like another ratiocinator that we've met with many times here, and that's no coincidence. See what we mean by consulting Jack D. Wages's "Isaac Asimov’s Debt to Edgar Allan Poe" (HERE and scroll down) at the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore:
"It is, however, in a collection of short stories, Asimov’s Mysteries, that his debt to Poe is most obvious. In 'The Singing Bell' the mental gymnastics of Asimov’s version of C. Auguste Dupin, the ironically named extraterrologist Dr. Wendell Urth [Like Poe, Asimov is sensitive to names, often using them humorously — the agent from TBI (Terrestrial Bureau of Investigation) who repeatedly requests Urth’s aid is H. Seton Davenport.], are convincing testimony to the eccentric amateur detective’s origin. In addition to his ability to perform astounding feats of analysis, Urth’s love of music and books, his cloistered existence — invariably he is enclosed in his cocoon-like habitat — and his chiding of obtuse policemen are only a few traits that remind one of Poe’s chevalier."
- Isaac Asimov and Wendell Urth are no strangers to ONTOS; see (HERE) and (HERE). We don't think it's necessary to read the stories in any particular order, but you might want to start with "The Singing Bell," since it introduces the character.
The bottom line:
Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.
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