Andrew Jackson Libby
Encyclopedia
Andrew Jackson "Slipstick
" Libby is a fictional character
featured in the so-called "Future History
" series of science fiction
novel
s by Robert A. Heinlein
. He is an enormously talented and intuitive mathematician, but received little formal education. His talent was first appreciated in the short story Misfit
, where he helps guide an asteroid into the correct orbit after the guidance computer has failed.
In Methuselah's Children
, it is revealed that later, Libby joins the military, and discovers he is part of the Howard Families
, an experiment designed to breed humans with very long lifespans. When the Howards are forced to flee Earth by persecution from the short-lived rest of humanity, Libby provides a way of escape by fitting a "light-pressure" drive to the New Frontiers, the starship they have stolen. When the New Frontiers is later hijacked by alien technology and moved at speeds faster than light, Libby figures out how to reproduce the effect.
When the Howards return home, Libby and Lazarus Long
go into business together exploring and colonizing new planets. (Long will later comment that the two of them are single-handedly responsible for the deterioration of Earth, as the galactic diaspora they created caused all the best brains to leave the planet.)
Some time between the events of Methuselah's Children and Time Enough for Love
, Libby dies. Long places Libby's body in orbit around the last planet they pioneer, intending to return and take it back to Earth for disposal in the Ozark Mountains, where Libby grew up. When Long returns for the body, however, it is not there. This information is revealed by Long in conversations during the first half of Time Enough for Love.
Between the first and second half of the book, Long experiments with time-travel, and one of his first test runs was to retrieve the coffin from a point in the past, thus explaining its disappearance. However, rather than dispose of the body, Long and his family decide to resurrect Libby, extracting his memory and personality and injecting it into a host body. However, during the resurrection process, they discover that Libby's chromosomes are both male and female
, and they give him the choice of what gender he wished to be. He chooses female, and becomes "Elizabeth Andrew Jackson Libby Long.", or Libby for short.
Libby appears again in The Number of the Beast
.
was written by Spider Robinson
based on an outline created by Heinlein and found after his death. The novel includes many aspects of Heinlein's Future History series, although the events of the novel diverge from Heinlein's canon. At the end of the novel, Andrew Jackson Conrad appears. While the book does not state this to be Libby, Conrad actually married into the Conrad family and changed his name, and this character invents a faster than light drive. (Other Future History characters, such as Nehemiah Scudder, D. D. Harriman
, and Leslie LeCroix are referenced in the book.)
Slide rule
The slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a...
" Libby is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
featured in the so-called "Future History
Future History
The Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr. in the February 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction...
" series of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. He is an enormously talented and intuitive mathematician, but received little formal education. His talent was first appreciated in the short story Misfit
Misfit (short story)
Misfit is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It was first published in the November 1939 issue of Astounding Science Fiction...
, where he helps guide an asteroid into the correct orbit after the guidance computer has failed.
In Methuselah's Children
Methuselah's Children
Methuselah's Children is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in the July, August, and September 1941 issues. It was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958....
, it is revealed that later, Libby joins the military, and discovers he is part of the Howard Families
Howard Families
The Howard Families are a fictional group created by the author Robert A. Heinlein.According to Heinlein, the Howard Foundation was started in the 19th century by Ira Howard, a millionaire dying of old age in his forties, for the purpose of extending human lifespans...
, an experiment designed to breed humans with very long lifespans. When the Howards are forced to flee Earth by persecution from the short-lived rest of humanity, Libby provides a way of escape by fitting a "light-pressure" drive to the New Frontiers, the starship they have stolen. When the New Frontiers is later hijacked by alien technology and moved at speeds faster than light, Libby figures out how to reproduce the effect.
When the Howards return home, Libby and Lazarus Long
Lazarus Long
Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. Born in 1912 in the third generation of a selective breeding experiment run by the Ira Howard Foundation, Lazarus becomes unusually long-lived, living well over two thousand years with the...
go into business together exploring and colonizing new planets. (Long will later comment that the two of them are single-handedly responsible for the deterioration of Earth, as the galactic diaspora they created caused all the best brains to leave the planet.)
Some time between the events of Methuselah's Children and Time Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.-Plot:...
, Libby dies. Long places Libby's body in orbit around the last planet they pioneer, intending to return and take it back to Earth for disposal in the Ozark Mountains, where Libby grew up. When Long returns for the body, however, it is not there. This information is revealed by Long in conversations during the first half of Time Enough for Love.
Between the first and second half of the book, Long experiments with time-travel, and one of his first test runs was to retrieve the coffin from a point in the past, thus explaining its disappearance. However, rather than dispose of the body, Long and his family decide to resurrect Libby, extracting his memory and personality and injecting it into a host body. However, during the resurrection process, they discover that Libby's chromosomes are both male and female
Klinefelter's syndrome
Klinefelter syndrome, 46/47, XXY, or XXY syndrome is a condition in which human males have an extra X chromosome. While females have an XX chromosomal makeup, and males an XY, affected individuals have at least two X chromosomes and at least one Y chromosome...
, and they give him the choice of what gender he wished to be. He chooses female, and becomes "Elizabeth Andrew Jackson Libby Long.", or Libby for short.
Libby appears again in The Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast (novel)
The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. The first edition featured a cover and interior illustrations by Richard M. Powers...
.
Variable Star
The novel Variable StarVariable Star
Variable Star is a 2006 novel written by Spider Robinson based on the surviving seven pages of an eight-page 1955 novel outline by the late Robert A. Heinlein. The book is set in a divergent offshoot of Heinlein's Future History and contains many references to works by Heinlein and other authors...
was written by Spider Robinson
Spider Robinson
Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author.- Biography :Born in the Bronx, New York City, Robinson attended Catholic high school, spending his junior year in a seminary, followed by two years in a Catholic college, and five years at the State...
based on an outline created by Heinlein and found after his death. The novel includes many aspects of Heinlein's Future History series, although the events of the novel diverge from Heinlein's canon. At the end of the novel, Andrew Jackson Conrad appears. While the book does not state this to be Libby, Conrad actually married into the Conrad family and changed his name, and this character invents a faster than light drive. (Other Future History characters, such as Nehemiah Scudder, D. D. Harriman
D. D. Harriman
Delos David Harriman, known as "D.D. Harriman," is a character in the fiction of noted science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. He is an entrepreneurial businessman who masterminded the first landing on the Moon as a private business venture...
, and Leslie LeCroix are referenced in the book.)