Ego Machine

by Henry Kuttner, C L Moore

When a slightly mad robot drunk on AC, wants you to join an experiment in optimum ecology—don't do it! After all, who wants to argue like Disraeli or live like Ivan the Terrible?

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

60 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Henry Kuttner was, alone and in collaboration with his wife, the great science fiction and fantasy writer C.L. Moore, one of the four or five most important writers of the 1940s, the writer whose work went furthest in its sociological and psychological insight to making science fiction a human as well as technological literature. He was an important influence upon every contemporary and every science fiction writer who succeeded him. In the early 1940s and under many pseudonyms, Kuttner and Moore published very widely through the range of the science fiction and fantasy pulp markets.

Their fantasy novels, all of them for the lower grade markets like Future, Thrilling Wonder, and Planet Stories, are forgotten now; their science fiction novels, Fury and Mutant, are however well regarded. There is no question but that Kuttner's talent lay primarily in the shorter form; Mutant is an amalgamation of five novelettes and Fury, his only true science fiction novel, is considered as secondary material. There are, however, 40 or 50 shorter works which are among the most significant achievements in the field and they remain consistently in print. The critic James Blish, quoting a passage from Mutant about the telepathic perception of the little blank, silvery minds of goldfish, noted that writing of this quality was not only rare in science fiction but rare throughout literature: "The Kuttners learned a few thing writing for the pulp magazines, however, that one doesn't learn reading Henry James."

In the early 1950s, Kuttner and Moore, both citing weariness with writing, even creative exhaustion, turned away from science fiction; both obtained undergraduate degrees in psychology from the University of Southern California and Henry Kuttner, enrolled in an MA program, planned to be a clinical psychologist. A few science fiction short stories and novelettes appeared (Humpty Dumpty finished the Baldy series in 1953). Those stories -- Home There Is No Returning, Home Is the Hunter, Two-Handed Engine, and Rite of Passage -- were at the highest level of Kuttner's work. He also published three mystery novels with Harper & Row (of which only the first is certainly his; the other two, apparently, were farmed out by Kuttner to other writers when he found himself incapable of finishing them).

Henry Kuttner died suddenly in his sleep, probably from a stroke, in February 1958; Catherine Moore remarried a physician and survived him by almost three decades but she never published again. She remained in touch with the science fiction community, however, and was Guest of Honor at the World Convention in Denver in 198l. She died of complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 1987.

His pseudonyms include:

Edward J. Bellin
Paul Edmonds
Noel Gardner
Will Garth
James Hall
Keith Hammond
Hudson Hastings
Peter Horn
Kelvin Kent
Robert O. Kenyon
C. H. Liddell
Hugh Maepenn
Scott Morgan
Lawrence O'Donnell
Lewis Padgett
Woodrow Wilson Smith
Charles Stoddard

Reviews

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 1 out of 5]

A humorous story about a serious writer trying to extricate himself from the clutches of a Hollywood studio which wants him to write "B" screenplays; he accomplishes his goal with the help of a visiting alien robot (but only after he learns how to get the robot "high" on jolts of electricity).

I wasn't particularly impressed by anything in this story. I also didn't think it was humorous either. To be honest I don't understand what so many find brilliant about it.

[Thom Swennes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is both a delightful and immensely humorous science fiction spoof with a twist. When a robot and a movie screen writer begin to overindulge in libation sparks are sure to fly. Lacking a suitable personality, the writer tries two on for both size and effect. The two forenamed personalities are that of the two-time British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) and the one time Tsar of All the Russia’s Ivan Vasilyvich, better known as Ivan the Terrible (1530-1585). Ivan even outdid Henry VIII in having eight wives (maybe adding additional food for his reported insecurities and depressions) which, in turn caused him to be over reactionary and not such a nice guy. This is a short story well worth the time and effort and is bound to add color, insight and lasting pleasure to the reader. Henry Kuttner (with or without his wife, C.L. Moore) is considered one of the four greatest sci-fi writers of the 40’s. If one reads this novella, it is easy to believe and will soon be scouring the market for other prints and reprints of his other works. I highly recommend this short yarn to science fiction lovers and anyone looking for amusement.

[M- S__ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very sloppy. Occasionally funny. Like most public domain scifi, there's something very arbitrary and not well thought out about it.



How about a story about a talking robot imprinting personalities on people temporarily for research?

Ok...What kind of personalities?

You know. Famous historical figures.

Who do you have in mind? Napoleon? Alexander the great? Jesus?

Nah. The big guns. Benjamin Disraeli!

I guess that could work...?

Oh and also we'll have a screenwriter trying to get out of a contract with an evil company.

Wut.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a splendid bit of quick fun. I can't say much without giving away the whole short story but we meet a classy robot on a research assignment and hijinks ensue.

Actually I don't usually have a lot of fun with stories about song and dance but this one doesn't get bogged down in rehearsal town, the profession is used as a setting for the main character to try out some personality changes and I definitely had fun with it.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as a free download from LibriVox.org.

[Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhhh not that good

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Když už jsem s Kuttnerem začal, tak proč ho nevyhrábnout z knihovny celého? Ona má obvykle taky jedna kniha tak dvě stě stran, čili to není závazek na několik let. A není to ani otročina v dole, i když musím přiznat, že jak je to těsně poválečné zboží, už se nad tím silně vznáší aróma minulosti a člověk to musí akceptovat. Je to něco, jako když se díváte na filmy pro pamětníky. Taky vás občas zaskočí, že to pořád ještě funguje, že vás film dokáže překvapit dobrým nápadem... o dobrých dialozích ani nemluvím.

Můj třetí oprášený sborník přináší (mimo jiného) hned zpočátku vítězství kapitalismu nad dokonalou společností. V povídce The Iron Standard přistávají pozemšťané na planetě, kde funguje až skoro socialistický systém, ovšem i se vší byrokracií, co k tomu patří. A dostane hrdiny do situace, kdy buď provedou revoluci, nebo umřou hlady. Jasně, je to naivní, ale člověka vždycky baví, když se jednotlivec snaží nějak přemočit systém. Absalom je pak na vážnější téma věčného boje rodičů s dětmi a jak jedna generace zastiňuje druhou, aby ji nakonec čekal ten samý osud. Shadow on the Screen je zase ukázkový filmový horor. Žádná z rekvizit vás sice nešokuje, ale kdo by neměl rád šílené režiséry? A když jsem u šílených režisérů, tak musím zmínit asi nejzábavnější povídku sborníku, The Ego Machine. Což je vysloveně Wodehousovsky-Macourkovský příběh, ve kterém se ušlápnutý scenárista seznámí se zmateným robotem z budoucnosti, který mu implantuje jinou osobnost. A pak další. A další. A zkuste vést obchodní jednání, když jste paranoidní ruský car, nebo lovec mamutů.
Je to crazy, je to lehce napsané a v pohodě bych si to dokázal představit jako klasickou situační komedii. A hlavně, je to ideální způsob, jak uzavřít sborník.

[Jim Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good example of Kuttner's work and it feels like he did this alone without any input from Moore. I try to put myself into the context of when the story was written (1952) but that didn't help me as much as usual with the language and attitudes. I found the personalities, both actual and assumed through future technology, to be much too simplistic and exaggerated. And I didn't think it was all that humorous either which was apparently one of the aims of the story. As a team I think that Kuttner and Moore wrote a lot of very good SF and fantasy even though Moore was often not listed as a co-author. The use of a robot in this story reminds me of Kuttner's "Gallegher" stories which Moore claimed were written by Kuttner alone even though they were published under the Padgett name. This also seems to reinforce my feeling that although I like the writing of the Kuttner/Moore team, I'm not that fond of Kuttner's individual work.

[Marceline · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Definitely weird, somewhat enjoyable, a bit confusing. I'm going to assume it was in Weird Tales Magazine or something similar back in the day because it fits the bill.

You might be wondering if why I somewhat enjoyed it, why give it 2.5 stars? My reasoning is simple .. it was just okay. There were some funny moments but nothing that put it over the top for me to get it into that 3 star or higher spectrum.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ego Machine by Henry Kuttner is a humorous science fiction tale that explores the problems of a writer who gets the ability to change personalities for up to 12 hours. A robot from the future provides the capability, but the changes have not always the intended results. A humorous tale that reflects Henry Kuttner's pulp fiction style. Aptly narrated on Librovox.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining fantasy listening 🔰😡

A will written fantasy thriller adventure short story by Henry Kuttner about a robot, a writer, and an actress. Their relationships as the robot changes. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to novels 🔰😡 2022 😮

[Joseph Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, great story

This book read like a story from the Twilight zone. Very enjoyable indeed. The ending wasn't expected, the beginning had you wondering what was going on. I actually thought that the robot was from the studio, enough spoilers, read and enjoy.

[Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more bizarre science fiction I have read but an interesting read. I haven't quite figured out yet what it all means but thought provoking nonetheless.

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Kuttner - hilarious science fiction.

[Kakha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surreal story of a great genius, a work of a classic of science fiction literature. I love this book about robots and about an interesting philosophy of life with them.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sharp satire about creativity, with a SF slant.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Τι θα γινόταν αν ένας επισκέπτης από το μέλλον, με ροπή προς τη μέθη των βολτ μπορούσε να αποτυπώσει το βέλτιστο πρότυπο στις συνάψεις σας με βάση το χαρακτήρα σας; και τι θα γινόταν αν μεθώντας τον με αλεπάλληλα κεράσματα από την πρίζα του καθιστικού σας, το πείθατε να σας εντυπώσει διαφορετικά πρότυπα, πιο κοντά σε αυτό που (αν μη τι άλλο νομίζετε ότι) ταιριάζει στις συνθήκες που ζείτε εκείνη την περίοδο;
Μια θεότρελη κωμωδία χαρακτήρων (3 σε 1, θα καταλάβετε διαβάζοντας), που προκαλεί γέλιο αλλά έχει γόνιμο έδαφος ανάπτυξης προβληματισμών.

[Zac Stojcevski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sporadically engaging tale of intoxicated robot changing write’s persona. Not quite long enough for Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde (nowhere near as good either) and rambled for a short story. Ending became engaging - partly through the writing and partly through relief.

[Zvonimir · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story, would work better as a comic.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. I think this would make a great theatre production. Although the gender roles are too 1950s.

[Suzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

silly but quite funny in places.