A Momentary Taste of Being
Encyclopedia
"A Momentary Taste of Being" is a science fiction novella written by Alice Bradley Sheldon, published under the pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr. in the 1975 anthology, The New Atlantis and Other Novellas of Science Fiction (also featuring stories by Gene Wolfe
and Ursula K. Le Guin
). The title is taken from Edward Fitzgerald's
translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
, quatrain XL:
for this endeavor. The ship's crew—composed of more than 60 men and women from varying countries, each specializing in (often overlapping) scientific fields, chosen also on social and sexual bases—has discovered a planet potentially capable of supporting human life. A team consisting primarily of the ship's Chinese population had been sent to investigate the promising world, and Lory Kaye, Aaron's younger sister, a biologist, is the only crew member to return from that mission. Upon her return, Lieutenant Tighe, a member of the ship's EVA crew came into contact with samples brought back by Lory and was subsequently incapacitated.
As the story begins, several crew members are in quarantine, including Aaron, Lory and Tighe, as a trial is underway to determine the nature of Tighe's malady, the truth of what happened on the planet and why Lory is the only returning member. Lory insists that the planet is a paradise, and that the Chinese decided to start a colony rather than return to the ship. Given that someone would need to return to spread the discovery and decision, it was logical that she, as a non-Chinese, be the one to do so. She also claims that the sample she brought back is completely harmless and that Tighe's condition must be the result of a previous impairment; it is later revealed to the reader that Tighe had been involved in an accident three years before, during which an oxygen tank had nearly beheaded him, leaving a lasting dent at his parietal arch, validating her assessment.
Though relentlessly interrogated by safety officer Francis Xavier Foy, Aaron trusts his sister's account, seeing nothing physically indicating dishonesty neither by observation nor in the monitoring instruments. Yellaston, the ship's commander, attempts to maintain civility within Foy's inquiry, reprimanding him when the questions become too abrasive or repetitive, and allowing Lory the time she needs to respond. Ironically, it is when Lory finally gives an answer which seems to placate Foy that Aaron becomes suspicious of her story: throughout their lives, Lory has shown indignation whenever the vulgarities of human existence were concerned. Wherever she encountered violence, jealousy, dishonesty, etc., she would decry these incidents and those perpetrating the acts as inhuman. Yet, she lets slip that there had been a quarrel amongst the Chinese, and that in deference to their culture, she had agreed to delete the record so as not to dishonor their lapse of solidarity. Convinced that this explains every question, Foy agrees that Lory can be released, and that the alien specimen, reportedly a fungus of some sort, can be safely examined.
Despite his uncertainty, Aaron's release from quarantine distracts him with the quotidian as well as the unusual. During the period of Tighe's sedation and quarantine, multiple crew members have reported to seeing him wandering the ship, somewhat transparent, but recognizable. While investigating these sightings, and dealing with his own increasing nightmares, as well as reawakened sexual feelings toward his sister (with whom he had been sexually involved during their teens), he also must contend with the growing disharmony among the crew, the promise of a new land reviving old xenophobic and nationalist tendencies. Discovering that he is in competition with Coby (who always seems in the know), a fellow medical professional, for the crew's trust, and Bustamente, the imposingly large, black chief of communications, for his girlfriend (Bustamente having placed her third in his list of potential mates once the crew disembarks), Aaron's anxiety grows.
To his relief, Aaron learns that Yellaston, also, is not totally convinced by Lory's story, and that the commander wishes to take every precaution when examining the alien specimen, as well as to wait before sending the green light back to Earth. However, during the examination, a strange attraction draws the more and more crew members to the luminescent alien sample, until only Aaron and Lory are left. It is at this point that Lory tells Aaron that she returned with the specimen after seeing that contact with it reduced the Chinese crew members into perfect humans -— beings devoid of the basest urges and instincts which drive the species to self destruction. Selflessly resisting its overwhelming pull, she returned with it so that she and her brother might share their union with the pure light. In actuality, however, contact with the specimen leaves each exposed crew member markedly changed, in a seeming state of emotional detachment and confusion. Having succeeded in her mission to expose the rest of the crew, Lory, too, finally gives in to the fatal attraction to the alien; Aaron is also irresistibly drawn but before he can reach the creature in the lander, another crew member leaves with the vessel. Aaron is left the only one not altered, unable to satisfy his urge to go to the light.
The changed humans retain something of their old selves, as occurred with Tighe, and it is through the ramblings of Coby that Aaron determines what
the alien specimen must actually have been, and what
that makes human beings. The story ends with an increasingly intoxicated Aaron Kaye recording his musings on the appearance and disappearance of ghostly apparitions of the other crew members (explaining the Tighe sightings), the dwindling crew population, the repercussions of his theory and his desperation regarding both his choice to resist the lure and the ultimate insignificance of the entire human race.
(first published 1978) and Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
(first published 1990), both of which are collections of Tiptree's short fiction.
Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
and Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
). The title is taken from Edward Fitzgerald's
Edward Fitzgerald
Edward Fitzgerald may refer to:* Lord Edward FitzGerald , Irish revolutionary*Edward Fitzgerald , Irish* Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster * Edward Fitzgerald...
translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám , a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer...
, quatrain XL:
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- A Moment's Halt -- a momentary taste
- Of Being from the Well amid the Waste --
- And Lo! the phantom Caravan has reach'd
- The Nothing it set out from -- Oh, make haste!
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Plot Summary
Taking place in a world where the excessive human population (confirmed to be at least 20 billion, and speculated to be at or approaching 30 billion) necessitates an interstellar search for a habitable planet, the story centers on the experiences of Dr. Aaron Kaye, resident psychiatrist of Centaur, the second relativistic starship sent by the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for this endeavor. The ship's crew—composed of more than 60 men and women from varying countries, each specializing in (often overlapping) scientific fields, chosen also on social and sexual bases—has discovered a planet potentially capable of supporting human life. A team consisting primarily of the ship's Chinese population had been sent to investigate the promising world, and Lory Kaye, Aaron's younger sister, a biologist, is the only crew member to return from that mission. Upon her return, Lieutenant Tighe, a member of the ship's EVA crew came into contact with samples brought back by Lory and was subsequently incapacitated.
As the story begins, several crew members are in quarantine, including Aaron, Lory and Tighe, as a trial is underway to determine the nature of Tighe's malady, the truth of what happened on the planet and why Lory is the only returning member. Lory insists that the planet is a paradise, and that the Chinese decided to start a colony rather than return to the ship. Given that someone would need to return to spread the discovery and decision, it was logical that she, as a non-Chinese, be the one to do so. She also claims that the sample she brought back is completely harmless and that Tighe's condition must be the result of a previous impairment; it is later revealed to the reader that Tighe had been involved in an accident three years before, during which an oxygen tank had nearly beheaded him, leaving a lasting dent at his parietal arch, validating her assessment.
Though relentlessly interrogated by safety officer Francis Xavier Foy, Aaron trusts his sister's account, seeing nothing physically indicating dishonesty neither by observation nor in the monitoring instruments. Yellaston, the ship's commander, attempts to maintain civility within Foy's inquiry, reprimanding him when the questions become too abrasive or repetitive, and allowing Lory the time she needs to respond. Ironically, it is when Lory finally gives an answer which seems to placate Foy that Aaron becomes suspicious of her story: throughout their lives, Lory has shown indignation whenever the vulgarities of human existence were concerned. Wherever she encountered violence, jealousy, dishonesty, etc., she would decry these incidents and those perpetrating the acts as inhuman. Yet, she lets slip that there had been a quarrel amongst the Chinese, and that in deference to their culture, she had agreed to delete the record so as not to dishonor their lapse of solidarity. Convinced that this explains every question, Foy agrees that Lory can be released, and that the alien specimen, reportedly a fungus of some sort, can be safely examined.
Despite his uncertainty, Aaron's release from quarantine distracts him with the quotidian as well as the unusual. During the period of Tighe's sedation and quarantine, multiple crew members have reported to seeing him wandering the ship, somewhat transparent, but recognizable. While investigating these sightings, and dealing with his own increasing nightmares, as well as reawakened sexual feelings toward his sister (with whom he had been sexually involved during their teens), he also must contend with the growing disharmony among the crew, the promise of a new land reviving old xenophobic and nationalist tendencies. Discovering that he is in competition with Coby (who always seems in the know), a fellow medical professional, for the crew's trust, and Bustamente, the imposingly large, black chief of communications, for his girlfriend (Bustamente having placed her third in his list of potential mates once the crew disembarks), Aaron's anxiety grows.
To his relief, Aaron learns that Yellaston, also, is not totally convinced by Lory's story, and that the commander wishes to take every precaution when examining the alien specimen, as well as to wait before sending the green light back to Earth. However, during the examination, a strange attraction draws the more and more crew members to the luminescent alien sample, until only Aaron and Lory are left. It is at this point that Lory tells Aaron that she returned with the specimen after seeing that contact with it reduced the Chinese crew members into perfect humans -— beings devoid of the basest urges and instincts which drive the species to self destruction. Selflessly resisting its overwhelming pull, she returned with it so that she and her brother might share their union with the pure light. In actuality, however, contact with the specimen leaves each exposed crew member markedly changed, in a seeming state of emotional detachment and confusion. Having succeeded in her mission to expose the rest of the crew, Lory, too, finally gives in to the fatal attraction to the alien; Aaron is also irresistibly drawn but before he can reach the creature in the lander, another crew member leaves with the vessel. Aaron is left the only one not altered, unable to satisfy his urge to go to the light.
The changed humans retain something of their old selves, as occurred with Tighe, and it is through the ramblings of Coby that Aaron determines what
Ovum
An ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization...
the alien specimen must actually have been, and what
Sperm
The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...
that makes human beings. The story ends with an increasingly intoxicated Aaron Kaye recording his musings on the appearance and disappearance of ghostly apparitions of the other crew members (explaining the Tighe sightings), the dwindling crew population, the repercussions of his theory and his desperation regarding both his choice to resist the lure and the ultimate insignificance of the entire human race.
Themes shared with other works by James Tiptree, Jr.
Like other stories by Tiptree, A Momentary Taste of Being deals with the dichotomy of sex, its life and death dynamic, and the inability to resist what we are. It also portrays traditionally taboo sexual proclivities without judgment.Later Publications
In addition to its inclusion in the various printings of The New Atlantis and Other Novellas of Science Fiction, the story also appeared in Star Songs of an Old PrimateStar Songs of an Old Primate
Star Songs of an Old Primate is the third short story collection by Alice Sheldon . It was published by Del Rey Books in 1978. It was the first of Tiptree's works published after the revelation that Tiptree was a female, rather than male, writer.-Contents:* Introduction by Ursula K...
(first published 1978) and Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever is a collection of Science fiction and fantasy stories by author James Tiptree, Jr.. It was released in 1990 by Arkham House...
(first published 1990), both of which are collections of Tiptree's short fiction.