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24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2011
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About the author
Charles L. Fontenay
148 books4 followersCharles Louis Fontenay was an American journalist and science fiction writer.
He wrote science fiction novels and short stories. His non-fiction includes the biography of prominent New Deal era politician Estes Kefauver.
Mr. Fontenay served as editor of the Nashville Tennessean, among other newspapers, worked with the Associated Press and Gannett News Service. He retired to St. Petersburg, Florida where he continued to write science fiction until shortly before his death.
He wrote science fiction novels and short stories. His non-fiction includes the biography of prominent New Deal era politician Estes Kefauver.
Mr. Fontenay served as editor of the Nashville Tennessean, among other newspapers, worked with the Associated Press and Gannett News Service. He retired to St. Petersburg, Florida where he continued to write science fiction until shortly before his death.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 24, 2020
I will say this with an air of self-awareness. This story most likely does not deserve the four star rating that I gave it, however, I enjoyed the short story so much that I could easily see it being adapted to a short television skit or popular YouTube video. It is a well-contained story in its own right but it's a 4/5 stars only when compared to other short stories. This is more like a 3 star rating if I was to be honest with myself as to the quality of its writing.
The theme surrounding this short story is about surrendering your independence for the sake of being provided for. A spaceship crashes on an alien planet completely uninhabited. The only survivors are four women and a robot with the entire male crew having been killed on impact. The women are trapped on the planet and have no way to contact any of the outside worlds. The robot takes the role of the provider and begins doing everything the women tell them. As time goes on, the women's requests become increasingly ridiculous. They have the robot make food, then alcohol, then a mansion, then change the weather itself. They live a life of luxury alone. They then ask the robot to make a man but ends up being a completely brain dead male and is then buried by the women. Suddenly a spaceship crashes with a single male survivor, the women do everything they can to make sure the man survives. In their fit of desperation the women agree to all share the man "four ways" amongst them. The robot, having been at the center of providing everything for the women, doesn't allow them to come to an agreement on their own and takes the mantle of responsibility regardless of their wishes. The robot then cuts the man into four pieces, killing him.
Of course, this story line makes it obvious that the theme isn't really explored all too deeply. The twist in the end is satisfying and the interesting narrative really feels like classic science fiction. There really isn't much more I can say about this story. I would like to see a variation of something similar to this explored more deeply with perhaps a more direct conflict between a father-figure provider (the robot) and the desired character (the man).
The theme surrounding this short story is about surrendering your independence for the sake of being provided for. A spaceship crashes on an alien planet completely uninhabited. The only survivors are four women and a robot with the entire male crew having been killed on impact. The women are trapped on the planet and have no way to contact any of the outside worlds. The robot takes the role of the provider and begins doing everything the women tell them. As time goes on, the women's requests become increasingly ridiculous. They have the robot make food, then alcohol, then a mansion, then change the weather itself. They live a life of luxury alone. They then ask the robot to make a man but ends up being a completely brain dead male and is then buried by the women. Suddenly a spaceship crashes with a single male survivor, the women do everything they can to make sure the man survives. In their fit of desperation the women agree to all share the man "four ways" amongst them. The robot, having been at the center of providing everything for the women, doesn't allow them to come to an agreement on their own and takes the mantle of responsibility regardless of their wishes. The robot then cuts the man into four pieces, killing him.
Of course, this story line makes it obvious that the theme isn't really explored all too deeply. The twist in the end is satisfying and the interesting narrative really feels like classic science fiction. There really isn't much more I can say about this story. I would like to see a variation of something similar to this explored more deeply with perhaps a more direct conflict between a father-figure provider (the robot) and the desired character (the man).
May 3, 2022
Cute entertaining listening 🎶🔰
Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Charles Louis Fontenay about four women and a 🎸 robot stranded on a planet and what happens when a man 🚹 crashes on the planet. I highly recommend this very quick read for a fun laugh. Enjoy the adventure of novels and books 👍. 🏡🔰👒😆 2022
Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Charles Louis Fontenay about four women and a 🎸 robot stranded on a planet and what happens when a man 🚹 crashes on the planet. I highly recommend this very quick read for a fun laugh. Enjoy the adventure of novels and books 👍. 🏡🔰👒😆 2022
December 31, 2024
A.I. in action.
June 5, 2025
nice science fiction story
August 22, 2025
🖍️ “Herbert was truly a gentleman robot. The ladies' slightest wish was his command....”
This short story grabbed my attention with those opening lines, and I was in for the long haul.
From that point, I learned that Herbert was their “man.” Certainly, he could do it all – make a wicked martini and the glass that held it. He handcrafted the silver tray that held the drinks. He decorated the house in which he and the women lived. But Herbert could not really give any of the women what they needed, and that was the emotional and physical needs that women need from real men, and that which only men can provide to women.
I laughed, I sighed, I smiled, and yes, I gasped at the dénouement. This is a gem of a short story from the Golden Age of Science Fiction!
📙Published in Worlds of IF Worlds of Science Fiction, June 1958 - Clarke's SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH.
જ⁀➴🟢The e-book version can be found at Project Gutenberg.
🟣 Kindle.
🚀˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚💫🪐💫˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚🚀
This short story grabbed my attention with those opening lines, and I was in for the long haul.
The four women lolled comfortably in the living room of their spacious house, as luxurious as anything any of them would have known on distant Earth.
From that point, I learned that Herbert was their “man.” Certainly, he could do it all – make a wicked martini and the glass that held it. He handcrafted the silver tray that held the drinks. He decorated the house in which he and the women lived. But Herbert could not really give any of the women what they needed, and that was the emotional and physical needs that women need from real men, and that which only men can provide to women.
I laughed, I sighed, I smiled, and yes, I gasped at the dénouement. This is a gem of a short story from the Golden Age of Science Fiction!
📙Published in Worlds of IF Worlds of Science Fiction, June 1958 - Clarke's SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH.
જ⁀➴🟢The e-book version can be found at Project Gutenberg.
🟣 Kindle.
🚀˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚💫🪐💫˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚🚀
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews