DISPATCHES FROM THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS: WAY-OUT WITH A.E. VAN VOGT

As the world gets more dangerous every day, I wonder about whatmakes stories dangerous? Ideas can certainly be dangerous. Without some kind ofdisturbance to the status quo, you don’t have a story. I guess it depends onhow way-out it is . . .

THE TIME OF THE SKIN by A.E. Van Vogt

Alfred Elton Van Vogt is unknown to younger generations of sci-ficonsumers, though his status as a SFWA Grandmaster has kept some of his worksin print and on library shelves. I met him a few times and heard him speak atscience fiction conventions back in the Seventies. Some background about him isin order.

He was shy and socially awkward like a lot of science fictionpeople. Definitely not “hip,” but called himself a “way-out writer.” He was a big influence onPhilip K. Dick. George Clayton Johnson called him the greatest science fictionwriter because of the originality of his ideas. He was one of the writers whocreated the “hard science” subgenre in the Golden Age of John W. Campbell’s AstoundingStories. I once heard him give a talk about bad LSD trips of young friendsof his and his theories about where they came from.

Though Alien is considered to be inspired by his story“Black Destroyer” part of his novel Voyage of the Space Beagle--20th Century Fox paid him a $50,000 out-of-court settlement--themedia hasn’t discovered him, yet. (Emily reminded me that another Space Beagle story "Discord in Scarlet" also inspired Alien and was part of the lawsuit.)

Using a technique developed for churning out pulp fiction, hewrote in 800 word blocks, and would free-associate to decide what would happennext, and how the story would end. He also used an “industrial timer” to wakehimself up during his dream cycle to access his subconscious and incorporate itinto his writing. This nice, clean-cut, old-fashioned, rational man backedhimself into surrealism.

His stories get quite “way-out.”

Which brings us to “The Time of the Skin.” Harlan told him to“Write whatever you want.” It takes place in a spaceport, that’s very much likean airport (which have always been futuristic, and still are, and always willbe). These are places where worlds come together, which is a dangeroussituation. There are aliens, of course. The security men (no women, Van Vogthas some peculiar ideas about the differences between the sexes) have to dealwith their vampiric existence and their predatory relationship with humans andcan’t tell the aliens from their victims. Sounds like a set-up for asci-fi/horror thriller, but we see things from the aliens’ point of view, and ittakes some odd turns. The heroes are not triumphant, but the ending isn’t oneof those where the monsters win or are shown to be available for a sequel. Akind of symbiosis is revealed. A spaceport is shown to be like an organ throughwhich we and others flow, and mix.

I was a little disappointed at first. But I found myself thinkingabout it. Which is probably what Van Vogt intended.

There are parallels with the current concerns about immigration,but it was written decades ago . . .

Once again, the encounter with the other has transformativeeffects.  

I’m seeing some recurring themes.

 

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