Assignment in Eternity
Encyclopedia
Assignment in Eternity, is a collection of four mixed science fiction and fantasy novellas by Robert A. Heinlein
, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press in 1953, with some of the stories somewhat revised from their original magazine publications, as follows:
Heinlein dedicated the book "To Sprague and Catherine": L. Sprague de Camp
(his friend and noted science fiction author) and his wife Catherine Crook de Camp
. Assignment in Eternity was almost immediately picked up for mass market paperback publication by New American Library's Signet line and is currently (as of 2007) offered by Baen Books in trade paper format, with a republication of Heinlein's Future History
chart, even though none of the stories falls into the Future History as detailed in The Past Through Tomorrow
and Time Enough for Love
.
The four stories are loosely related as speculation on what—that we aren't already aware of—makes one a human. "Jerry Is a Man" makes the most straightforward examination of the theme, a court making a legal ruling on the human rights of genetically engineered intelligent creatures. "Gulf," a story connected by its story materials to Kuttner's Baldy stories and Wilmar Shiras' In Hiding, suggests that superior individuals already living among us might become a new step in hominid evolution; "Lost Legacy" suggests that every person has unused paranormal abilities that can be awakened by esoteric training comparable to that used by the supermen of "Gulf." "Elsewhen" suggests that the human mind is not bound to our here-and-now "slum of space-time" but can go voyaging into alternative timetracks of possibility. Although written in 1939, using materials popularized by John William Dunne
, the story has gained new currency in the wake of the Wheeler
-Everett
"Many Worlds
" hypothesis.
The story materials of all four novellas were revisited by Heinlein in later, more expansive novels. A number of figures of Lost Legacy, for example, are carried into Stranger in a Strange Land
(1961), a book which ultimately could be said to have the same theme as the 1939 novella. Situations and individuals from both Gulf and Jerry Was a Man are examined in Friday (1982). And the multiverse concept first explored in Elsewhen gets very full treatment in Heinlein's last, World as Myth novels, particularly The Number of the Beast
(1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
(1985) and To Sail Beyond the Sunset
(1987). (Arguably the books written between these, Friday
(1982) and Job: A Comedy of Justice
(1984) also belong with the World as Myth in terms of their thematic material, though Heinlein died before making the connecting material, if any, explicit).
and McComas
were unenthusiastic about the collection, saying it contained "two lightweight and entertaining novelets and two pretty weak short novels." P. Schuyler Miller
similarly found the stories "not up to the best in the "Future History" series or the author's recent teen-age books." New York Times reviewer Villiers Gerson reported the collection evidenced Heinlein's status as "one of the ablest craftsmen writing science fiction."
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...
, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press in 1953, with some of the stories somewhat revised from their original magazine publications, as follows:
- GulfGulf (Heinlein)Gulf is a novella by Robert A. Heinlein, originally published as a serial in the November and December 1949 issues of Astounding Science Fiction. It concerns a secret society of geniuses who act to protect humanity...
(written and published in 1949 in Astounding Science Fiction, October–November 1949). - Lost LegacyLost LegacyLost Legacy is a novella by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was collected in the book Assignment in Eternity ....
(written in 1939 but first published in 1941 in Super Science StoriesSuper Science StoriesSuper Science Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 and 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their "Fictioneers" imprint, which they used for magazines paying writers less than one cent per word...
, November 1941 as Lost Legion by Lyle Monroe) - ElsewhenElsewhenElsewhen is a novella by Robert A. Heinlein, concerning time travel and parallel universes. It is collected in the 1953 book Assignment in Eternity but was first published in 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction....
, (written in 1939 and first published in 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction September 1941 as Elsewhere by Caleb Saunders) - Jerry Was a ManJerry Was a ManJerry Was a Man is a short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It is about an attempt by a genetically modified chimpanzee to achieve human rights...
(written in 1946 and published in 1947 in Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947 as Jerry Is a Man)
Heinlein dedicated the book "To Sprague and Catherine": L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
(his friend and noted science fiction author) and his wife Catherine Crook de Camp
Catherine Crook de Camp
Catherine Crook de Camp, was an American science fiction and fantasy author and editor. Most of whose work was done in collaboration with her husband L. Sprague de Camp, to whom she was married for sixty years. Her solo work was largely non-fiction.-Life:Catherine Crook was born Catherine Adelaide...
. Assignment in Eternity was almost immediately picked up for mass market paperback publication by New American Library's Signet line and is currently (as of 2007) offered by Baen Books in trade paper format, with a republication of Heinlein's 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...
chart, even though none of the stories falls into the Future History as detailed in The Past Through Tomorrow
The Past Through Tomorrow
The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of Robert A. Heinlein's Future History stories.Most of the stories are part of a larger storyline of a rapidly collapsing American sanity, followed by a theocratic dictatorship...
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:...
.
The four stories are loosely related as speculation on what—that we aren't already aware of—makes one a human. "Jerry Is a Man" makes the most straightforward examination of the theme, a court making a legal ruling on the human rights of genetically engineered intelligent creatures. "Gulf," a story connected by its story materials to Kuttner's Baldy stories and Wilmar Shiras' In Hiding, suggests that superior individuals already living among us might become a new step in hominid evolution; "Lost Legacy" suggests that every person has unused paranormal abilities that can be awakened by esoteric training comparable to that used by the supermen of "Gulf." "Elsewhen" suggests that the human mind is not bound to our here-and-now "slum of space-time" but can go voyaging into alternative timetracks of possibility. Although written in 1939, using materials popularized by John William Dunne
John William Dunne
John William Dunne FRAeS was an Anglo-Irish aeronautical engineer and author. In the field of parapsychology, he achieved a preeminence through his theories on dreams and authoring books preoccupied with the question of the nature of time...
, the story has gained new currency in the wake of the Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist who was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in explaining the basic principles behind nuclear fission...
-Everett
Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett III was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, which he termed his "relative state" formulation....
"Many Worlds
Many-worlds interpretation
The many-worlds interpretation is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts the objective reality of the universal wavefunction, but denies the actuality of wavefunction collapse. Many-worlds implies that all possible alternative histories and futures are real, each representing an...
" hypothesis.
The story materials of all four novellas were revisited by Heinlein in later, more expansive novels. A number of figures of Lost Legacy, for example, are carried into Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and...
(1961), a book which ultimately could be said to have the same theme as the 1939 novella. Situations and individuals from both Gulf and Jerry Was a Man are examined in Friday (1982). And the multiverse concept first explored in Elsewhen gets very full treatment in Heinlein's last, World as Myth novels, particularly 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...
(1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1985. Like many of his later novels, it features Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw as supporting characters.-Plot summary:...
(1985) and To Sail Beyond the Sunset
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
To Sail Beyond the Sunset is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1987. It was the last novel published before he died in 1988....
(1987). (Arguably the books written between these, Friday
Friday (novel)
Friday is a 1982 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the story of a female "artificial person," the titular character, genetically engineered to be stronger, faster, smarter, and generally better than normal humans...
(1982) and Job: A Comedy of Justice
Job: A Comedy of Justice
Job: A Comedy of Justice is a novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1984. The title is a reference to the biblical Book of Job and James Branch Cabell's book Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice...
(1984) also belong with the World as Myth in terms of their thematic material, though Heinlein died before making the connecting material, if any, explicit).
Reception
BoucherAnthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
and McComas
J. Francis McComas
Jesse Francis McComas was an American science fiction editor. McComas wrote several stories on his own in the 1950s using both his own name and the pseudonym Webb Marlowe....
were unenthusiastic about the collection, saying it contained "two lightweight and entertaining novelets and two pretty weak short novels." P. Schuyler Miller
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
similarly found the stories "not up to the best in the "Future History" series or the author's recent teen-age books." New York Times reviewer Villiers Gerson reported the collection evidenced Heinlein's status as "one of the ablest craftsmen writing science fiction."