I read this story cover to cover in one day. It did have a nice long reign as #1, but I have to agree that Ender’s game is better. But a 50 year run ain’t bad. Especially given that it was written in 1940s.

That last line “Print that! They’ll be nobody to read it!” is haunting and fantastic.

Thanks for posting it.

– Emerson

Great story!

Many people have commented on logical flaws in the story. For me, I found that in the beginning, I found many things about the story hard to swallow. However, as it unfolded, I found myself, like the reporter, being convinced of my own naivety, and swept away by the feeling that great minds understood far more than I did.

While I can still come up with things that don’t quite fit, (so, this entire race never lived in rooms without windows?) I can mostly chalk it up to the true alienness of the world in the story.

This story has returned to my thinking again and again. It left me with a new sense of wonder for the night sky — something that I had no small amount of wonder for previously. Thank you for sharing.

I’ve often wondered if this story was in a way about WWII. Watching events unfold must have been horrifying, especially to one who’s family was jewish. A world gone mad indeed.

How interesting to hear it today (4/23) and then read the obituary in the NYT of E. Dorrit Hoffleit ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/23/nyregion/23hoffleit.html?ref=obituaries ). Ms. Hoffleit was well known in the field (according to the obit) for cataloging the “bright stars”, i.e. the roughly 11,700 stars that can be seen with the naked eye. She died at age 100 and was professionally active until last year.

Happy 100 EP, can’t wait to see what you have planned for 1000!

That said, I’m not a big fan of this story. I remember a much shorter story that Mr Asimov did about exactly why the Abrahamic religions have texts that insist the universe was created in six days, which I haven’t been able to find for years. I don’t have a problem with the basic idea behind a number of Mr Asimov’s stories, like this one, but when he tries to justify it, my suspension of disbelief crumbles, just because all the suns in the sky disappear and it’s a rare event, that shouldn’t be the cause for planetary hysteria and, by trying to explain away why it is, Mr Asimov draws attention to how silly the idea is. Do people on this world have panic attacks every time they blink? What if they go blind, or need surgery to correct a defect of the cornea?

That said, are there a number of different versions of the short version of this story, because I don’t remember all of the details Steve read from the last time I read the story, though that was many years ago. And even if I didn’t enjoy the story I did enjoy Steve’s narration.

Yes, that’s me. Before EP that little quote was my one claim to fame. >8->

Seems like 100 Episodes reading stories does this to people — good luck on the next 100, Steve. I’ll be listening to them.

I look forward to the story you will read for issue 200, plus everyone in between.

Congrats on reaching the century mark. That’s a big milestone.

You have another subscriber!

Congrats on the #100th episode!

I personally don’t have too many problems with the suppposed flaws of logic. It seems that people are applying our standards of what is normal progress and behaviour to another planet and another race.

Actually, I agreed with that sentiment completely…until I realized that the story does not take place on Earth. The characters are aliens, I believe.

I say that because, at one point in the story, do they not hypothesize about the terrifying possibility of living on a planet with a single sun, where the world would be half-coated in darkness every half-day?

I agree with most of the comments about flawed logic (or rather pragmatics, in some cases) though, and would like to add, that if being scared of the dark/closed off places is something people are born with, how can children up till the age of 6 be immune? I might have missed something though.

Basically, I agree with Ventzi Zhechev about looking at individual trees in forests, but… Well, Asimov seems to like logic himself, so I expect it from him.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter though. It’s a great story, a fantastic reading: Steve, you really do voices well, and with feeling!

All in all: I loved it.

Excellent job. Although I, too, have found that Asimov’s stories tend to be plots with mechanical characters (perhaps that’s why “I, Robot” worked so well? , I thought you fleshed out a lot of the heart of the story in your narration.

You are as inspiring as always.

And as a reply to a few of the comments here:
Of course, there are flows in some parts of the story; of course you can prove the author wrong on many many points‚Ķ But my say is this: while looking for imperfections in the individual trees, you’re totally missing the forest!

Also, Asimov was one of the first SF authors I ever read and if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have been attracted to SF. And I read most of his work as a child and a teenager. A child, of course, will never care for the imperfections in the story that some of the commenters are noting. So we should probably be a bit children in this way and accept those imperfections just as part of the world in which the story lives. And then we should be a bit adults and think about the story that’s being told.

Thanks Steve!

Even if it did, actually, on this “reread,” remind me about all that never did work for me about golden age SF–a world in which men do all the work of the world, women are mostly needed only as breeders, scientists don’t feel emotions when they truly focus on their work, and idea trumps character every time.

We’ve come a long way since then, and I can’t say I’m sorry.

Congratulations on 100 episodes. You’ve been doing good stuff. And we’ve all been having fun listening to it.

Please sir, give me more.

Wes
Topeka, KS

It is undisputedly a classic.

I have this same reaction to most, if not all, of Dr. Asimov’s work. The same goes for Robert Silverberg—and both are SFWA grand masters. What the hell do I know?

I can add Peers Anthony to the list as well. The general rule I’ve noticed over the years is: the more prolific an author is, the less likely I am to like their work.

Steve, you put a lot of passion in to your reading. It was a fine performance, even if I don’t care for the material. You obviously care a great deal about the story and Escape Pod. I wish you had an army of clones. I’ve been waiting for an audio magazine like this all my life.

900 and counting to EP 1 000
Only 17.3 years to go!

Onward!

Rob Munro
Durham, NC

Thanks for bring it to us, and all the other wonderful stories, week after week. Happy 100th!

Or something like that, anyway. Thanks so much for releasing so much high-quality fiction.