The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
"The Stars My Destination" is a science fiction novel set in the twenty-fifth century amidst a conflict between the Inner Planets and the Outer System. The story follows Gulliver "Gully" Foyle, an everyman who becomes a survivor after being stranded in space for 170 days following the wreck of his spaceship, the Nomad. Foyle's journey is driven by a desire for revenge against the crew of the Vorga, which passed him by without rescue. As he navigates a world of advanced teleportation, Foyle undergoes significant transformation, marked by a tattoo symbolizing his struggle and identity.
Throughout the narrative, Foyle is pursued by various powerful figures, each with their own interests in the unfolding drama. His evolution from a vengeful survivor to a charismatic performer, known as Fourmyle of Ceres, showcases his quest for self-discovery and control over his primal instincts. The plot intertwines themes of power, justice, and human potential, culminating in a dramatic confrontation where Foyle confronts the truth about himself and those who have wronged him. Ultimately, his journey suggests a broader commentary on societal structures and the responsibility of the elite to empower the masses.
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The Stars My Destination
First published: 1957 (U.S.; revision of Tiger! Tiger!, United Kingdom, 1956)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—superbeing
Time of work: The twenty-fifth century
Locale: Earth and various locations in space
The Plot
The backdrop of The Stars My Destination is a war between the Inner Planets (I.P.) and the Outer System (O.S.) in the twenty-fifth century. Humans have learned how to teleport themselves, or “jaunt.” In this age of robber barons and conspicuous consumption, mechanic’s mate Gulliver “Gully” Foyle, the “stereotype common man,” as Alfred Bester’s narrator calls him, is left adrift in space. He is the only survivor of the wreck of the Nomad. Unknown to Foyle, the Nomad carried a fortune in bullion and twenty pounds of PyrE, an explosive substance similar to antimatter. After 170 days, Foyle is spotted by the spaceship Vorga, which then passes him. Enraged, Foyle saves himself by learning to pilot the Nomad. The “vengeful history of Gully Foyle” begins as he crashes into the Scientific People’s asteroid. While he is unconscious, the Scientific People, recognizing his nature, tattoo a Maori tiger mask and the name NOMAD (a male symbol standing in for the “O”) on his face.
Foyle appears on Earth, where he uses one-way telepath Robin Wednesbury (she can send but not receive) to help him find out about the Vorga. Foyle is now sought by four parties: Presteign of Presteign, a robber baron, Regis Sheffield, a lawyer and spy for the O.S., Saul Dagenham, a brilliant troubleshooter, and Peter Y’ang-Yeovil, the chief of police.
Foyle is captured by Dagenham but does not break down under interrogation. He is kept in an underground jaunt-proof prison. There, through an acoustical freak, he makes contact with the intelligent Jisbella McQueen, who educates him. When Dagenham visits, Foyle beats him and escapes with McQueen. McQueen has the identifying tiger tattoo bleached off Foyle’s face, but it remains below the skin, a phantom that blooms whenever Foyle loses his temper (which is often). Foyle and McQueen salvage the Nomad’s cargo, but Dagenham captures McQueen as Foyle gets away with the money.
Having learned yoga to control his animal self, Foyle resurfaces as a charming and amazing clown, named Fourmyle of Ceres. His Four-mile Circus acts as a cover for Foyle’s continuing investigation of the Vorga. Foyle has his nervous system rewired so that when he switches on a power pack, he becomes a superman.
The Vorga has been running concentration camp refugees out of the O.S. Its captain has been collecting transportation money and then throwing the refugees out the airlock. The “burning man,” a weird specter, now appears to Foyle: It is himself. During bombing of Earth by the O.S., Olivia Presteign, blind except in the infrared, sees the tiger tattoo on Foyle’s face. Presteign, Sheffield, Yeovil, and Dagenham simultaneously discover Foyle’s identity. For his part, Foyle learns that Olivia Presteign, whom he loves, is the crazed murderer who commands the Vorga.
The other characters all converge on Foyle at his circus in the burning ruins of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Dagenham ignites the PyrE there, in the hope of keeping it away from the O.S. Foyle jaunts in space and time to escape the fire, appearing to his past self as the burning man. Once out of the fire, Foyle confronts each character with the truth she or he least wishes to hear. He then snatches the PyrE and distributes it across the world, stating that elites must teach the common people to handle power. Foyle then space jaunts to the Nomad, his womb, and falls into a prophet’s sleep.