Sucker Bait
Encyclopedia
Sucker Bait is a science fiction
novella
by Isaac Asimov
. It was first serialized in the February and March 1954 issues of Astounding Science Fiction, and reprinted in the 1955 collection The Martian Way and Other Stories
. It has also been adapted as an episode of the BBC
anthology television series Out of the Unknown
.
with a story proposal: a scientist would create a world, and then he, Poul Anderson
and Virginia Kidd
(Anderson states that the third writer was Kidd's then-husband, James Blish
) would write novella
s set in that world. The three novellas would then be published as a book, together with an essay by the scientist who created the scenario. This formula, which Pratt called a Twayne Triplet, had already resulted in the 1952 book The Petrified Planet.
The scenario created was that of a binary star
system in the Messier 13
globular cluster
with an Earthlike planet called Troas
(or more informally, Junior) located at one of the system's Lagrangian point
s. An earlier expedition to Troas had suffered some mysterious disaster, and a second expedition was being mounted to determine if the planet was suitable for colonization, and to find out what happened to the first expedition.
Asimov finished his story, and Anderson finished a story called "Question and Answer
", but Kidd (or Blish) never completed the third story, and the proposed book never saw print. Asimov, anticipating just such an eventuality, confirmed that he held first serial rights on the story, and sold "Sucker Bait" to Astounding (where it appeared a few months before "Question and Answer").
Over a century earlier, an attempt to colonize Junior had failed; after nearly two years on the planet, all 1,337 colonists had died for reasons unknown. The Triple G.'s scientists and Annuncio have to find out what killed them. For the first two weeks after landing, everyone remains aboard while the scientists take readings. After Rodriguez, the expedition's microbiologist
, declares the local life forms noninfectious
, a handful of scientists, plus Annuncio, travel to the original colony site.
Relations between the scientists and Annuncio deteriorate rapidly. Mnemonics are loners by nature, and their training makes them even more so. The scientists, on the other hand, as specialists, tend to be contemptuous of a professional generalist like Annuncio. When Annuncio asks Rodriguez to explain how he came to a conclusion, the microbiologist regards the request as an affront to his professional reputation, and refuses to answer. The other scientists manage to offend Annuncio in various ways.
When Annuncio finally realizes that the abnormally high concentration of beryllium
in Junior's crust
was what killed the colonists, and that they all have to leave immediately, he does not trust the scientists to deal with it. He returns to the ship and persuades the crew to mutiny
and take the ship off the planet. The captain is barely able to convince the crew to stop at the colony site to pick up the scientists. When Annuncio is put on trial for fomenting the mutiny, he explains his actions, is acquitted, and the ship returns to Earth
to seek treatment.
praised the novella, commending its balance of science and fiction "worthy of that Golden Age in which Asimov began his career."
and Profession
, the theme of Sucker Bait is the peril of scientific overspecialization. Only Annuncio, the professional generalist, can make the connections between seemingly unrelated facts that solves the mystery of the original colonists' deaths and saves the crew and passengers of the Triple G. from sharing their fate. Asimov would soon begin to practice what he preached, making himself into a professional generalist by writing popular science books on a number of different fields, as well as The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science
, a general overview of science as a whole.
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...
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. It was first serialized in the February and March 1954 issues of Astounding Science Fiction, and reprinted in the 1955 collection The Martian Way and Other Stories
The Martian Way and Other Stories
The Martian Way and Other Stories is a 1955 collection of four science fiction novellas previously published by Isaac Asimov in 1952 and 1954. Although single-author story collections generally sell poorly, The Martian Way and Other Stories did well enough that Doubleday science fiction editor...
. It has also been adapted as an episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
anthology television series Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was an independent dramatisation of a separate science fiction short story...
.
Troas
Asimov was approached in 1953 by Twayne Press editor Fletcher PrattFletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
with a story proposal: a scientist would create a world, and then he, Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
and Virginia Kidd
Virginia Kidd
Virginia Kidd was an American literary agent, writer and editor, particularly influential in science fiction and related fields. She represented some of science fiction's most important authors, including Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey, and Gene Wolfe...
(Anderson states that the third writer was Kidd's then-husband, James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
) would write novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s set in that world. The three novellas would then be published as a book, together with an essay by the scientist who created the scenario. This formula, which Pratt called a Twayne Triplet, had already resulted in the 1952 book The Petrified Planet.
The scenario created was that of a binary star
Binary star
A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
system in the Messier 13
Messier 13
Messier 13 or M13 is a globular cluster of about 300,000 stars in the constellation of Hercules....
globular cluster
Globular cluster
A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes and relatively high stellar densities toward their centers. The name of this category of star cluster is...
with an Earthlike planet called Troas
Troas (planet)
Troas is a fictional planet that serves as the setting for the science fiction novellas "Sucker Bait" by Isaac Asimov and "Question and Answer" by Poul Anderson as part of a proposed Twaine Triplet. It may have been created by Dr. John D...
(or more informally, Junior) located at one of the system's Lagrangian point
Lagrangian point
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects...
s. An earlier expedition to Troas had suffered some mysterious disaster, and a second expedition was being mounted to determine if the planet was suitable for colonization, and to find out what happened to the first expedition.
Asimov finished his story, and Anderson finished a story called "Question and Answer
Question and Answer
Question and Answer is a science fiction novel by Poul Anderson that originally appeared in the June and July 1954 issues of Astounding Science Fiction...
", but Kidd (or Blish) never completed the third story, and the proposed book never saw print. Asimov, anticipating just such an eventuality, confirmed that he held first serial rights on the story, and sold "Sucker Bait" to Astounding (where it appeared a few months before "Question and Answer").
Plot summary
The story concerns the starship George G. Grundy, or Triple G., which has been chartered by the Confederacy of Worlds to investigate Junior. The only nonscientist among the Triple G.'s passengers is 20-year-old Mark Annuncio of the Mnemonic Service, who has been trained from the age of five to memorize and correlate vast amounts of information.Over a century earlier, an attempt to colonize Junior had failed; after nearly two years on the planet, all 1,337 colonists had died for reasons unknown. The Triple G.'s scientists and Annuncio have to find out what killed them. For the first two weeks after landing, everyone remains aboard while the scientists take readings. After Rodriguez, the expedition's microbiologist
Microbiologist
A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...
, declares the local life forms noninfectious
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
, a handful of scientists, plus Annuncio, travel to the original colony site.
Relations between the scientists and Annuncio deteriorate rapidly. Mnemonics are loners by nature, and their training makes them even more so. The scientists, on the other hand, as specialists, tend to be contemptuous of a professional generalist like Annuncio. When Annuncio asks Rodriguez to explain how he came to a conclusion, the microbiologist regards the request as an affront to his professional reputation, and refuses to answer. The other scientists manage to offend Annuncio in various ways.
When Annuncio finally realizes that the abnormally high concentration of beryllium
Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...
in Junior's crust
Crust (geology)
In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...
was what killed the colonists, and that they all have to leave immediately, he does not trust the scientists to deal with it. He returns to the ship and persuades the crew to mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
and take the ship off the planet. The captain is barely able to convince the crew to stop at the colony site to pick up the scientists. When Annuncio is put on trial for fomenting the mutiny, he explains his actions, is acquitted, and the ship returns to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
to seek treatment.
Reception
Anthony 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...
praised the novella, commending its balance of science and fiction "worthy of that Golden Age in which Asimov began his career."
Themes
Like other stories by Asimov such as The Dead PastThe Dead Past
"The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later collected in Earth Is Room Enough and The Best of Isaac Asimov , and adapted into an episode of the science-fiction television series Out of the...
and Profession
Profession (short story)
Profession is a novella by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the July 1957 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and was the lead story in the 1959 collection Nine Tomorrows.-Plot summary:...
, the theme of Sucker Bait is the peril of scientific overspecialization. Only Annuncio, the professional generalist, can make the connections between seemingly unrelated facts that solves the mystery of the original colonists' deaths and saves the crew and passengers of the Triple G. from sharing their fate. Asimov would soon begin to practice what he preached, making himself into a professional generalist by writing popular science books on a number of different fields, as well as The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science
The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science
The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science is a general guide to the sciences written by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in 1960 by Basic Books in two volumes, Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences, though some subsequent editions were published as single volumes...
, a general overview of science as a whole.
Story notes
- Although Junior's two primaries are named Lagrange I and II in the story, the proper astronomical nomenclature would be Lagrange A and B.
- "Sucker Bait" mentions several fictional planets, including some from other stories: Troas (Junior), Coralemon, AuroraAurora (planet)Aurora is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It was the first world settled by the Spacers, originally named 'New Earth'; it was located 3.7 parsecs from Earth.-Origins & development:...
, Sarmatia, Coma Minor, Hesperus, Pretoria, Altmark and Lepta. - Some "80,000 worlds" are mentioned as having been colonized by that point in time, and it is perhaps an interesting coincidence that the SpacerSpacer (Asimov)In Isaac Asimov's Foundation/Empire/Robot series, the Spacers were the first humans to emigrate to space. About a millennium thereafter, they severed political ties with Earth, and embraced low population growth and extreme longevity as a means for a high standard of living, in combination with...
world of AuroraAurora (planet)Aurora is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It was the first world settled by the Spacers, originally named 'New Earth'; it was located 3.7 parsecs from Earth.-Origins & development:...
— completely unconnected to the Foundation universe at the time Asimov wrote the story — is mentioned. This points to Sucker Bait taking place during a period in which Aurora itself was still populated and known to the galaxy at large, and some as-yet-unrevealed time prior to the Mycogenian relocation to TrantorTrantorTrantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov...
. - The story was confirmed by Asimov in 1955 to have been set in his FoundationFoundation (novel)Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951...
universe, although some slight inconsistencies exist with the political status and physical condition of Earth by the timeframe of the tale — no mention is made of Earth's ever-increasing radioactivity (though this was retconned to be a very, very gradual process, and not the result of an atomic war circa the 10th millennium10th millenniumThe tenth millennium is a period of time that will begin on January 1, 9001, and will end on December 31, 10000.-Astronomical events:All these dates are in a uniform time scale such as Terrestrial Time. When converted to our ordinary solar time or Universal Time, which is decidedly non-uniform, via...
), and Earth still appears to be the center of the human race in general. This, however, was an early variant of the timeline, inconsistent with the Robot stories. - This is the longest of Isaac Asimov's novellas.
- Mark Annuncio's memory/mental abilities and behavior is similar to that displayed by some people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, particularly Asperger Syndrome.
- At one point, a scientist states that a computer cannot do what the Mnemonic Service does, since even if there is a computer that knows all the required data, no one will know to ask the right question. A similar theme is present in Jokester, which features one of the few people in the world (so called Grand Masters) who are capable of finding the right questions to ask the all-knowing MultivacMultivacMultivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer in many stories by Isaac Asimov. According to his autobiography In Memory Yet Green, Asimov coined the name in imitation of UNIVAC, an early mainframe computer...
. - The cover for the issue of ASTOUNDING wherein this appeared is notable for a chemistry-based wordplay. That cover shows a group of people gathered before an emigration-promotion poster reading "Be on Troas." Though this is apparently an invitation to emigrate, it is also a give-away of the story's solution: "Be" is the chemical symbol for beryllium.