Desertion

by Clifford D. Simak

Two volunteers who have had their bodies turned into “Lopers” so that they can survey the surface of Jupiter disappear. The administrator can’t in good conscience send another volunteer to look for them, so he transforms himself and his faithful dog into Lopers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, School, Classics, Read For School, Audiobook

Audio Cassette

First published November 1, 1944

About the author

"He was honored by fans with three Hugo awards and by colleagues with one Nebula award and was named the third Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in 1977." (Wikipedia)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I read this one before, years ago. It's by far my favorite Simak short that I've read so far.
On Jupiter, an experimental program is in place to transpose men into the bodies of Jovian native fauna in order to allow people to go out into the hostile environment. The procedure seems to work perfectly - but something is going wrong. So far, the first four test subjects have gone out into the wilds of Jupiter - and have not returned.
The head of the program may have no moral option but to change tack.

[FernandoG · Rating 4 out of 5]

El hombre desea colonizar Júpiter y para ello hace Cambios, Adaptaciones (nos habla de la Pantropía, alteraciones a la Anatomía del Ser Humano); pero también nos habla de como el hombre, no utiliza toda su capacidad cerebral y de razonamiento. Y como no sabemos en ocasiones el comunicarnos y entendernos con los demás. 3.8/5.0

[phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

simak said yes animals can talk to us and yes humans are actually the dumbest species on the planet, thank you for listening. and to that i say, thank you for writing! this is the exact vein of science fiction (old tv show about space travel vibes) that makes me say i enjoy the genre at all.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She was the top-notch conversion unit operator in the Solar System and she didn't like the way he was doing things."

Extraordinarily for a 1940's story, Miss Stanley is quite a bit of a badass. She brings the humanity to this story too, which is a little less unexpected, but she doesn't do so by yelping about in hysterics like many other female characters of the time. We meet her protesting the wasteful methods used to perfect a way for humans to establish ourselves on Jupiter!

"No matter how many men may die, you’ll go up a notch or two." - is Mr. Fowler's very unsavoury response. And then it seems like business will persist as usual until a little introspection causes a very sudden twist in the narrative. The ending is not so surprising as the way it is reached. Very creative.

[Shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

From 1944, a year for questioning what being human was. This is the kind of story that makes me love science fiction. Short, a little old fashioned in style, but - it makes me feel like my skull is a little bit stretchier than it was before I read it.

The introduction in the Vandermeers’ Big Book of Science Fiction says this story was incorporated into Simak’s novel City that came out in 1952.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 1944 story about human settlement of the planets which is of its period in postulating a 'patriotic' (though to a species, our own, not a nation) willingness to sacrifice oneself for the sake of the future - albeit that we have the absurdity of sacrificing fit young males who are the future.

It is interesting though because of its subversion of that ideal. The science fiction element (other than the Jovian location) lies in the physical transmutation through biological science of humanity into life forms capable of living in hostile environments.

This is, of course, nonsense but it does not really matter because, as a plot device, it gets you to the nub of the matter - that there might be a state of being to be discovered that is so superior to being human that one might as well 'desert' humanity altogether.

Although the quasi-military-scientific bits are fairly standard fare, Simak rises to the occasion with some excellent writing about the higher state which five other humans have clearly preferred before the previously dutiful administrator decides to go AWOL - and we get a talking dog to boot!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man and his dog finally find happiness!

[Fi Morin · Rating 4 out of 5]

How id love to have my dog talk to me

[Sty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Προσοχή περιέχει spoiler: 


Το μέγεθος δεν είναι το παν... προφανώς μετράει και η τεχνική. Αυτο σκέφτηκε ο Clifford Simak και άρχισε να γράφει...


Αρχικά ο τίτλος Desertion αποδεικνύεται εντέλει μια μεγάλη ειρωνεία. Αυτό που μια στατωκεντρική δομή/κοινωνία βλέπει ως λιποταξία στην πραγματικότητα αποτελεί την απελευθέρωση από ένα κίβδηλο καθήκον και ένα άσκοπο σύστημα. 


Είναι ευρέως αποδεκτό πως η ζωή μας συνδέεται άμεσα με την τεχνολογία οδεύοντας με πυξίδα την τεχνολογική εξέλιξη. Και ενώ η ΕΦ την εποχή του Simak επικεντρώνεται κατά κύριο λόγο σε θέματα όπως είναι τα διαστρικά ταξίδια, οι διαγαλαξιακές μάχες και η κυριαρχία του σύμπαντος και του χωροχρόνου, αυτός αντί να απαντήσει στο ερώτημα "τι μπορούμε να κάνουμε με την επιστήμη" θέτει φιλοσοφικά ερωτήματα όπως:

1. "Πρέπει να το κάνουμε;"

2. "Αν το κάνουμε, θα ικανοποιηθούμε/θα μας αρέσει αυτό που θα βρούμε"


Επίσης παρατηρείται μια υπαρξιακή αμφιβολία. Είναι ο άνθρωπος όντως η κορωνίδα της εξέλιξης ή αποτελεί μονάχα ένα στάδιο αυτής; Βλέπουμε την προσπάθεια της ανθρωπότητας να κατανοήσει (και να κοπιάρει) μια εξωγήινη μορφή χωρίς ομως να εχει κατανοήσει τον ίδιο της τον ευατο. 




Πραγματικά ένα διαμάντι που θα πρεπει να διδάσκεται στα σχολεία.

[Khishore · Rating 2 out of 5]

fun, short read. The ending is interesting, but I kind of feel like it failed to make a point? There are lots of themes here of otherness and what that means, the inherent mystery of the Lopers and the horror of something unspeakable happening to you if you turn you if you turn into one. The first half of the story was quite unsettling because of this.

Maybe this is missing the point, but I still would have wanted more of a point to be made about Fowler. he was clearly very guilty about his choice and life, and given a new life. But he just takes it? I don't know, I felt a snapshot of that guilt and never felt it appropriately resolved. This may be a symptom of it being a short story.

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story. The older I get, and the creakier I get, the more envious I am of those guys being rejuvenated in new bodies and being sent out to explore Jupiter.

I also enjoy the descriptive passages of being in Jupiter's atmosphere more now that I am older and I am taking the time to read them. When I was younger I hurried over them to get to the talking dog part.

This story is part of a collection of loosely connected stories that make up the book "City". I've read it a couple of times and it's a pretty good read.

If you like talking dogs there are more to be found in that book. That's all I'll say about that because I don't want to spoil the book's ending.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

To explore the planet of Jupiter, men are physically converted into one of the more intelligent native species, the Lopers. The last five men sent out by Kent Fowler, the head of the survey project, haven't returned. The exploration must continue, but Fowler can't face sending another man out to what appears to be certain death, so he decides to go in their place, accompanied by his elderly dog.

This was a beautiful story. I wish it had been longer. 4 out of 5.

[Phil Giunta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A science team assigned to explore the “surface” of Jupiter uses a converter to transform humans into “lopers,” creatures that can withstand the planet’s fierce storms and crushing pressure. The team’s leader, Fowler, has already sent four men out who never returned. They are presumed dead. After a fifth volunteer vanishes, Fowler decides that he and his dog, Towser, will be the next to undergo conversion and venture out into the unknown.

[Anna Hepworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this because it was nominated for a retro Hugo award, so I was reading quite a few works from the same year in a short period of time.

This is one of my favourite short stories, and rereading it I was pleased to discover that the strength of the first reading has held together. I love the Jovian setting, and the way that the story explores the social framing of disability.

[Vivek Saxena · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Desertion" is a brilliant story that, besides captivating the mind, perfectly dispels the commonly held belief -- or myth, I'd argue -- that extraterrestrial life must be like us, i.e., carbon-based. No, it must not. The story also slaps down the ethnocentric belief that human life is the most advanced. I mean, it could be, but given the age of the universe, that seems unlikely.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it to be quite an engaging short but found the links between happenings and revelations a little patchy. It was all a bit vague, like a dream, though fed you just enough detail to keep you reading. And I’m glad I did, it’s just I now need to go back and read it a second time to see if my impressions were well founded.

[Tata]

One of the masterpieces of the Great Clifford Simak, another great piece of his work; short, yet enormous by its essence, meaning and depth story which will never lose its meaning or importance for real admirers and connoisseurs of the science fiction genre.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Science Fiction just isn't my favorite genre, but I have a Sci Fi class so I have to read a ton of it.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story from 1944. Still hold up well, and has been reprinted many, many times:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
4.5 stars, by memory.

[CAITLIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, wrote a paper on it. Very good science fiction short story.

[Sarite 🌿 · Rating 3 out of 5]

DOGS IN SPACE

[kat]

read for my pulp fiction class

[CrowCaller · Rating 5 out of 5]

hell yeah. fantastic writing, great story, top transhumanism, from 1944. You can very much see the war influence and message.

[Conner Newbold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat corny but did a good job keeping me in the story.

[Christian Nieves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and comprehensive story which perfectly encapsulates the universal themes of science fiction. A phenomenal short story written with shining simplicity.

[Gopal Sahebrav]

https://1024terabox.com/s/1b8Source: YouTube https://share.google/pykxJyf9w41NAlII...
_bbVnSbTWBoMo7f7WjIA

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool short story about a human and dog transforming into another lifeform on Jupiter and finding our that the human perspective on life is very limiting in a multitude of ways, and deciding to abandon their past life, full of hope about the future.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

read for school

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Desertion” – Clifford D. Simak (1944)
This story is about pantropy, the human modification of ourselves for space exploration, rather than environmental modification. The title only made sense at the end of the story. It's about the elitism of human beings assuming that as the superior race anything or anyone who did not 'return' was a 'deserter'. The story challenges our biased perspective of 'lesser creatures' in that they may possibly be more existential and clearer of purpose than we are.

Opening line: “Four men, two by two, had gone into the howling maelstrom that was Jupiter and had not returned. They had walked into the keening gale – or rather, they had loped, bellies low against the ground, wet sides gleaming in the rain.
For they did not go in the shape of men.”

“For men in the domes of Jupiter did know fear – fear and humility. It was hard for man to reconcile his puny self with the mighty forces of the monstrous planet.”

“... fleeing shadows over a red and purple sward.”

{* sward = the upper layer of soil, especially when covered with grass.}
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