5,271,009

"5,271,009" is a science fiction / fantasy short story by Alfred Bester. First published in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, in 1954, it is also known as "The Starcomber".[1]

Synopsis

To repair the mind of insane artist Jeffrey Halsyon, supernatural being Solon Aquila causes Halsyon to live out various wish fulfillment scenarios — all of which are terribly flawed.

History

The story was commissioned to fit a pre-existing piece of cover art, wherein a man in a prison uniform (with the serial number 5271009) is shackled to an asteroid.[2]

"5,271,009" was inspired by this Fred Kirberger painting of a prisoner on an asteroid. Note the serial number "5271009" on the prisoner's chest.

Bester subsequently explained "5,271,009" as being the number of decisions a man must make in his life;[3] as well, the number features in each scenario in some way.

Reception

David Langford has described it as "one of [his] favourite shorts (by Bester)".[1]

Critic and editor Sherryl Vint has posited that the story might be read as "an analogy for [Bester's] relationship to sf",[3] while Fiona Kelleghan has described Aquila as "a sort of fallen angel".[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Author's Note, in Starcombing, by David Langford, originally published by Wildside Press, 2009
  2. ↑ Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction, by David G. Hartwell; published January 24, 2017, by Macmillan Publishers
  3. 1 2 Alfred Bester (1913-87), by Sherryl Vint, in Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction (edited by Mark Bould, Andrew Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint; published September 10, 2009, by Routledge
  4. ↑ Hell's My Destination: Imprisonment in the Works of Alfred Bester, by Fiona Kelleghan, in Science Fiction Studies, #64 = Volume 21, Part 3 = November 1994; archived at DePauw University
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