The Science Fiction of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
"The Science Fiction of Mark Twain" explores the lesser-known speculative works of the iconic American author, showcasing his imaginative range within the science fiction genre. The collection is organized into three thematic categories: "Whimsical Wonders," "Instantaneous Communication," and "Doubtful Speculations." In "Whimsical Wonders," Twain engages with absurdities such as the discovery of a petrified man and a humorous take on a comet offering luxurious travel through the solar system. The utopian vision presented in "The Curious Republic of Gondour" reflects on societal values like character and intellect impacting voting rights.
The "Instantaneous Communication" section delves into themes of telecommunication and time travel, as exemplified by long-distance romance and the protagonist's struggles in "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." The final category, "Doubtful Speculations," features unfinished works that contemplate future societies and existential questions, including a narrative from a microbe's perspective. Overall, Twain's science fiction not only entertains but also invites readers to reflect on contemporary issues through a futuristic lens, revealing his capacity for social satire and philosophical inquiry.
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The Science Fiction of Mark Twain
First published: 1984
Type of work: Collected works
Type of plot: Science fiction—cultural exploration
Time of work: Various
Locale: Real and imaginary worlds
The Plot
The fifteen selections in this collection, edited by David Ketterer, are grouped under three headings. “Whimsical Wonders” includes two sketches that Mark Twain wrote during his early years in the West. “Petrified Man” (written as a hoax in 1862) describes a stone human figure discovered in western Nevada. After a local judge holds an inquest, the jury rules that the deceased died from protracted exposure. “Earthquake Almanac” (1865) predicts the end of the world, advising readers on how to prepare for this event.
Responding to public anxiety about a new comet, “A Curious Pleasure Excursion” (1874) announces that Mark Twain and P. T. Barnum have leased the celestial traveler. With a million staterooms and numerous amenities, the comet offers unparalleled comfort to anyone wishing to book passage for a voyage through the solar system that will last until 1991.
“The Curious Republic of Gondour” (1875) describes a utopian country in which suffrage is universal. Because citizens receive extra votes if they have good character, a strong intellect, or property, nearly all have abandoned gambling and speculating. Only the most distinguished citizens—including many women—are elected to office.
A deceased sea captain narrates “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven” (1909). The captain finds heaven to be unimaginably vast, containing beings from so many worlds that it is hard to find anyone who has even heard of Earth. Stormfield’s observations overturn almost every Christian preconception that he brings with him.
“The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton” (1878) begins the selections grouped under “Instantaneous Communication.” In this short story, a young man in Maine and a young woman in San Francisco, California, meet and fall in love over long-distance telephone. Chapters extracted from the beginning and end of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) concern communication over time. In the first, a nineteenth century New Englander wakes in sixth century England; the final chapters recount the collapse of the modern civilization that he painstakingly builds during the intervening years. After an apocalyptic war against England’s massed chivalry, he is trapped in a cave by the bodies of thousands of enemy dead. Merlin the magician puts him to sleep, leaving him to reawaken in his own time.
The essays “Mental Telegraphy” (1891) and “Mental Telegraphy Again” (1895) argue that human beings can send each other mental messages over long distances. “My Platonic Sweetheart” (written in 1898) explores the idea of one’s having a dream self that acts independently.
In “From the London Times’ of 1904” (1898), an American army officer is convicted of murdering the inventor of the telelectroscope (a device similar to television). Shortly before the man is to be executed, his supposed victim appears—alive and well—on a telelectroscope broadcast from China. The officer is pardoned and freed, but under a new constitutional amendment the Supreme Court again sentences him to die, ruling that it would be absurd to pardon a man for a crime that he could not have committed.
The “Doubtful Speculations” section includes three extracts from unfinished novels as well as a sketch. In “The Great Dark” (written in 1898), a man finds that he and his family are passengers on an infinitesimally small ship. It sails forever on a drop of water, which moments before he was studying under a microscope.
Set a thousand years in the future, “The Secret History of Eddypus, the World-Empire” describes a world ruled by the Christian Science church, with popes who are always named “Mary Baker G. Eddy.” The third portion of an unfinished novel, “3,000 Years Among the Microbes,” is narrated by a cholera microbe. Once a human being, it is now a member of a teeming microbic civilization that flourishes inside the body of a dissipated drunk.
The sketch “Sold to Satan” (written in 1904) hints at the possibility of thermonuclear holocaust. The narrator offers to sell his soul to Satan in return for the secret of the radium and polonium power that the latter controls.
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