Un-Man
Encyclopedia
Un-Man is a science fiction
novella
by Poul Anderson
that was first published in the January 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was included in the 1962 collection Un-Man and Other Novellas, and the 1981 collection The Psychotechnic League. As a component of the Psychotechnic League future history
, "Un-Man" takes place in the year 2004, between "Marius" and "The Sensitive Man".
"Un-Man" was nominated for a retro-Hugo for best novella of 1953 at the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention.
Inspectorate, an international police force that neutralizes threats to world peace. He is also a member of the Rostomily Brotherhood, a secret order within the Inspectorate made up of men cloned
from Stefan Rostomily, a member of the French resistance during World War III.
Naysmith is ordered to carry on the assignment of Martin Donner, another member of the Brotherhood who was killed while investigating an anti-UN conspiracy. Atypically for a Brother, Donner had a wife and child, and Naysmith's first task is to impersonate Donner long enough to persuade his family to go into hiding with him. Naysmith leaves Donner's wife and son in an isolated cabin in the Canadian Rockies
. He then kidnaps and drugs a member of the conspiracy, learning that he has been assigned to assassinate Barney Rosenberg, a Martian colonist who is returning to Earth to retire. Naysmith teams up with a Finnish
Brother named Juho Lampi to rescue Rosenberg, and learns that he was a close friend of the original Rostomily.
After leaving Rosenberg with the Donners, Naysmith and his partner arrange to be captured by the conspiracy. They are brought to the secret sea base of Arnold Besser, UN Minister of International Finance and the leader of the conspiracy. They find themselves joined by two more captive Brothers, along with Besser himself. Before Besser can begin torturing Naysmith and the others, the secret base is attacked by UN police, and Besser's bodyguard (actually another Brother, surgically altered to look like Besser's bodyguard) kills Besser and frees the others. Following the raid, the information found in Besser's secret base allows the UN to roll up the conspiracy. Donner's wife tracks down Naysmith and asks him to marry her.
, the world of "Un-Man" still bears the scars of the conflict, both physical and psychic. Even cities like Chicago
that escaped destruction are being abandoned as the people of the United States huddle together in vast arcologies
such as Frisco Unit and Denver Unit, as well as undersea settlements such as Pacific Colony off the California coast, and offworld settlements on the Moon
, Venus
, and Mars
. In contrast to this physical proximity, though, the postwar survivors and their children keep their distance from each other; masks are commonplace, and privacy is jealously guarded.
The United Nations, reconstituted in Rio de Janeiro
after the destruction of New York City
in the war, is slowly being transformed into a federal world government
. The nations of the world are kept under surveillance, and under armed guard, by UN-controlled bases on the Moon. The UN routinely intervenes to head off wars; sometimes openly through the use of armed force, and less openly through assassination to prevent resurgent nationalism.
Nationalism, including American nationalism, is depicted as the great enemy of mankind in "Un-Man". The leadership of a nationalist American political party is a hotbed of psychotic individuals, while the agents of the UN are dedicated to the preservation of sanity. The nationalists of various countries are mentioned as involved in a kind of alliance of convenience, aimed at getting rid of the restrictions imposed by the UN (whereupon they would be free to fight each other)
The time when the story was written, making the fictional "Americanist Party" into such utter villains, was the peak time of the demagogic "Witch Hunt" carried out by Senator Joseph McCarthy
and the House Un-American Activities Committee
. "Un-Man" might indeed be considered a parody on "Un-American". (By his own later testimony, Anderson was "a flaming liberal" when he wrote this story).
In "The Sensitive Man
" Anderson repeated many of the themes of the present story, but in a more subtle and nuanced way and with his more usual kind of villain - i.e. one who is not completely black, who is given some sympathetic traits, but who is nevertheless shown as acting wrongly and needing to be opposed and defeated.
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 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...
that was first published in the January 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was included in the 1962 collection Un-Man and Other Novellas, and the 1981 collection The Psychotechnic League. As a component of the Psychotechnic League future history
Future history
A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors in the subgenre of speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction...
, "Un-Man" takes place in the year 2004, between "Marius" and "The Sensitive Man".
"Un-Man" was nominated for a retro-Hugo for best novella of 1953 at the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention.
Plot summary
Robert Naysmith is a member of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Inspectorate, an international police force that neutralizes threats to world peace. He is also a member of the Rostomily Brotherhood, a secret order within the Inspectorate made up of men cloned
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
from Stefan Rostomily, a member of the French resistance during World War III.
Naysmith is ordered to carry on the assignment of Martin Donner, another member of the Brotherhood who was killed while investigating an anti-UN conspiracy. Atypically for a Brother, Donner had a wife and child, and Naysmith's first task is to impersonate Donner long enough to persuade his family to go into hiding with him. Naysmith leaves Donner's wife and son in an isolated cabin in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
. He then kidnaps and drugs a member of the conspiracy, learning that he has been assigned to assassinate Barney Rosenberg, a Martian colonist who is returning to Earth to retire. Naysmith teams up with a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Brother named Juho Lampi to rescue Rosenberg, and learns that he was a close friend of the original Rostomily.
After leaving Rosenberg with the Donners, Naysmith and his partner arrange to be captured by the conspiracy. They are brought to the secret sea base of Arnold Besser, UN Minister of International Finance and the leader of the conspiracy. They find themselves joined by two more captive Brothers, along with Besser himself. Before Besser can begin torturing Naysmith and the others, the secret base is attacked by UN police, and Besser's bodyguard (actually another Brother, surgically altered to look like Besser's bodyguard) kills Besser and frees the others. Following the raid, the information found in Besser's secret base allows the UN to roll up the conspiracy. Donner's wife tracks down Naysmith and asks him to marry her.
The World of "Un-Man"
Even though it has been 45 years since the initial nuclear exchanges of World War IIIWorld War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
, the world of "Un-Man" still bears the scars of the conflict, both physical and psychic. Even cities like Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
that escaped destruction are being abandoned as the people of the United States huddle together in vast arcologies
Arcology
Arcology, a portmanteau of the words "architecture" and "ecology", is a set of architectural design principles aimed toward the design of enormous habitats of extremely high human population density. These largely hypothetical structures would contain a variety of residential, commercial, and...
such as Frisco Unit and Denver Unit, as well as undersea settlements such as Pacific Colony off the California coast, and offworld settlements on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, and Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. In contrast to this physical proximity, though, the postwar survivors and their children keep their distance from each other; masks are commonplace, and privacy is jealously guarded.
The United Nations, reconstituted in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
after the destruction of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the war, is slowly being transformed into a federal world government
World government
World government is the notion of a single common political authority for all of humanity. Its modern conception is rooted in European history, particularly in the philosophy of ancient Greece, in the political formation of the Roman Empire, and in the subsequent struggle between secular authority,...
. The nations of the world are kept under surveillance, and under armed guard, by UN-controlled bases on the Moon. The UN routinely intervenes to head off wars; sometimes openly through the use of armed force, and less openly through assassination to prevent resurgent nationalism.
Nationalism, including American nationalism, is depicted as the great enemy of mankind in "Un-Man". The leadership of a nationalist American political party is a hotbed of psychotic individuals, while the agents of the UN are dedicated to the preservation of sanity. The nationalists of various countries are mentioned as involved in a kind of alliance of convenience, aimed at getting rid of the restrictions imposed by the UN (whereupon they would be free to fight each other)
Background at the time of writing
The story is unique among Anderson's writings, where usually the protagonist's opponents are given the honour of their own convictions and the reader is given at least glimpse of their point of view and motivations. Conversely, in the present story the villains are entirely evil psychotics, with not a single redeeming feature, and the reader is made to share the protagonists' complete and visceral loathing and hatred of them.The time when the story was written, making the fictional "Americanist Party" into such utter villains, was the peak time of the demagogic "Witch Hunt" carried out by Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
and the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
. "Un-Man" might indeed be considered a parody on "Un-American". (By his own later testimony, Anderson was "a flaming liberal" when he wrote this story).
In "The Sensitive Man
The Sensitive Man
The Sensitive Man is a science fiction novella by Poul Anderson that was first published in the November 1953 issue of Fantastic Universe and reprinted in the 1981 collection The Psychotechnic League...
" Anderson repeated many of the themes of the present story, but in a more subtle and nuanced way and with his more usual kind of villain - i.e. one who is not completely black, who is given some sympathetic traits, but who is nevertheless shown as acting wrongly and needing to be opposed and defeated.