Misfit (short story)
Encyclopedia
Misfit is a science fiction
short story
by Robert A. Heinlein
. It was first published in the November 1939 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. One of the earliest of his Future History
stories, it was later included in the collections Revolt in 2100
and The Past Through Tomorrow
.
(here nicknamed Pinky, for his red hair, but later nicknamed Slipstick
), a boy from Earth with extraordinary mathematical ability but meager education. Finding few opportunities on Earth, he joins the Cosmic Construction Corps, a future military-led version of the Civilian Conservation Corps
employing out-of-work youth to colonize the Solar System. With a group of other inexperienced young men he is assigned to a ship travelling to the asteroid belt
where their task is to move an asteroid into near-Earth orbit. Pinky comes to the Captain's attention during the process of blasting holes in the asteroid for rocket engines when he realizes that a mistake has been made in calculating the size of the charge, preventing a catastrophic blast. He is assigned to the ship's astrogation computer. During the trip back to Earth the computer malfunctions and Libby takes over, performing all the complex calculations in his head. The asteroid is settled successfully into its final orbit.
"Slipstick" Libby became one of Heinlein's recurring characters, and would later appear in several works associated with Lazarus Long
, among them Methuselah's Children
and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
.
In the short story, Heinlein also coined the term space marine
.
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...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
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...
. It was first published in the November 1939 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. One of the earliest of his 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...
stories, it was later included in the collections Revolt in 2100
Revolt in 2100
Revolt in 2100 is a 1953 collection by Robert A. Heinlein and is part of his Future History series.The contents are as follows:* Foreword by Henry Kuttner, "The Innocent Eye"...
and 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...
.
Plot summary
The story concerns Andrew Jackson LibbyAndrew Jackson Libby
Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby is a fictional character featured in the so-called "Future History" series of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. He is an enormously talented and intuitive mathematician, but received little formal education...
(here nicknamed Pinky, for his red hair, but later nicknamed Slipstick
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...
), a boy from Earth with extraordinary mathematical ability but meager education. Finding few opportunities on Earth, he joins the Cosmic Construction Corps, a future military-led version of the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
employing out-of-work youth to colonize the Solar System. With a group of other inexperienced young men he is assigned to a ship travelling to the asteroid belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
where their task is to move an asteroid into near-Earth orbit. Pinky comes to the Captain's attention during the process of blasting holes in the asteroid for rocket engines when he realizes that a mistake has been made in calculating the size of the charge, preventing a catastrophic blast. He is assigned to the ship's astrogation computer. During the trip back to Earth the computer malfunctions and Libby takes over, performing all the complex calculations in his head. The asteroid is settled successfully into its final orbit.
"Slipstick" Libby became one of Heinlein's recurring characters, and would later appear in several works associated with 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...
, among them 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....
and 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:...
.
In the short story, Heinlein also coined the term space marine
Space marine
The space marine, an archetype of science fiction, is a soldier that operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill amphibious roles: ship defence, landing parties, and general high-mobility deployments...
.