Telek
Encyclopedia
"Telek" is a science fiction
novella
about telekinesis
by American author Jack Vance
. It was first published in the January 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
The story opens with an attack on a Telek by an enraged worker, followed by the murder of the Telek. A witness, named Shorn, who is a member of a subversive society, arranges for the body to be disposed of. The murderer is caught and killed, presumably by the Teleks. The remainder of the story follows Shorn as he infiltrates Telek society and persuades a Telek to give him telekinetic powers. In the final scene, Shorn brings 265 normal humans disguised as Teleks to the first annual Telek convention, where he tricks the assembled Teleks into giving the humans telekinetic powers.
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...
about telekinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
by American author Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
. It was first published in the January 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
Plot summary
In the near future, humanity is divided into two groups: normal humans and Teleks. Teleks have the ability to move objects using only the power of their minds. The telekinetic ability is said to be partly hereditary and partly learned. The story takes place sixty years after the Teleks first appeared; most of the four thousand Teleks are second-generation, having acquired the ability shortly after birth. The Teleks live apart from normal humans in Glarietta Pavilion, a floating city. They collect precious metals from the moon and other planets which they use to purchase menial labor and other services from ordinary human beings.The story opens with an attack on a Telek by an enraged worker, followed by the murder of the Telek. A witness, named Shorn, who is a member of a subversive society, arranges for the body to be disposed of. The murderer is caught and killed, presumably by the Teleks. The remainder of the story follows Shorn as he infiltrates Telek society and persuades a Telek to give him telekinetic powers. In the final scene, Shorn brings 265 normal humans disguised as Teleks to the first annual Telek convention, where he tricks the assembled Teleks into giving the humans telekinetic powers.