TY - ABST T1 - "Or Little Ducks Each Day" Y1 - 1975 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) ED - Roger [Paul] Elwood (1943-2007) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

Odd dystopia in which some people are able to foretell individual futures except that there are areas of the city where the future can be changed.

JF - Dystopian Visions PB - Prentice-Hall CY - Englewood Cliffs, NJ U5 -

PSt

ER - TY - ABST T1 - "The World as Will and Wallpaper" Y1 - 1973 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) ED - Roger [Paul] Elwood (1943-2007) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

Dystopian satire referring to William Morris (1834-96), whose name is used for the protagonist. A city encompasses the world, which is built above land and oceans. The one area of trees in the city is considered huge in that it covers two blocks. The story follows a man who wants to explore the world and his trip reveals that most people are illiterate, communicate poorly, and have very limited lives, but that there is an elite who created the city to keep the majority of the people content and controlled.

JF - Future City PB - Trident CY - New York SN - 9781473213449 978-1250778536 N1 -

Book rpt. (New York: Pocket Books, 1974), 28-43; story rpt. in The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3. Ed. Terry Carr (New York: Ballantine Books, 1974), 27-43; and in The Best of R. A. Lafferty. Ed. Jonathan Strahan (London: Gollancz, 2019), 356-74, with an Introduction by Samuel R[ay] Delany (353-55). Rpt. New York: Tor, 2021.

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DLC, Merril, MoU-St, PSt

ER - TY - ABST T1 - "Ishmael into the Barrens" Y1 - 1971 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

Dystopia, the "Gentle World," in which Hippies, rather misrepresented, are in control and legally require disorder.

JF - Four Futures; Four Original Novellas of Science Fiction PB - Hawthorn Books CY - New York N1 -

Rpt. in his The Man with the Speckled Eyes. The Collected Short Fiction Volume Four (Lakewood, CA: Centipede Press, 2017), 305-53.

U5 -

MoCoS

ER - TY - ABST T1 - “Interurban Queen” Y1 - 1970 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) ED - Damon [Francis] Knight (1922-2002) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

Eutopia created when railroads were chosen over cars and highways.

JF - Orbit 8: An Anthology of Science Fiction Stories PB - G. P. Putnam's Sons CY - New York VL - 8 SN - 9781473213449 978-1250778536 N1 -

Rpt. in Looking Ahead: The Vision of Science Fiction. Ed. Dick Allen and Lori Allen (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975), 87-95, with an editor’s note on 87 and “Questions” on 95; in Car Sinister. Ed. Robert Silverberg, Martin Harry Greenberg, and Joseph Olander (New York: Avon Books, 1979), 134-44; and in The Best of R. A. Lafferty. Ed. Jonathan Strahan (London: Gollancz, 2019), 56-68, with an Introduction by Terry [Ballantine] Bisson (54-55). Rpt. New York: Tor, 2021

U5 -

PSt

ER - TY - ABST T1 - Past Master Y1 - 1968 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

A future utopia, Astrolabe, the Golden Planet, finds many of its citizens abandoning the good life they have to live in a slum. To find the cause, the leaders bring Thomas More to find the cause and the cure. The causes are boredom and the lack of religion; the cure is the introduction of Christianity.

PB - Ace Books CY - New York N1 -

Rpt. New York: Garland, 1975; and in American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1868-1969. Ed. Gary K. Wolfe (New York: The Library of America, 2010), 1-181 with a “Note on the Text” (730-31) and “Notes” (734-40).  U. K. ed. London: Rapp & Whiting, 1968

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DLC, PSt

ER - TY - ABST T1 - "Polity and Custom of the Camiroi" Y1 - 1967 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

Eutopia that is essentially anarchist based on exceptional people with many skills. Anyone can make a law, and anyone can repeal it, but some laws become sacrosanct due to their survival. President chosen by lot for one week. Everyone must participate in running the society. Severe punishment for causing problems. See also 1966 Lafferty.

JF - Galaxy Science Fiction VL - 25.5 N1 -

Rpt. in Dark Stars. Ed. Robert Silverberg (New York: Ballantine Books, 1969), 37-50; in Election Day 2084; A Science Fiction Anthology on the Politics of the Future. Ed. Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1984), 233-43; and in his The Man with the Speckled Eyes. The Collected Short Fiction Volume Four (Lakewood, CA: Centipede Press, 2017), 51-66.

U5 -

Merril

ER - TY - ABST T1 - "The Primary Education of the Camiroi" Y1 - 1966 A1 - R[aphael] A[loysius] Lafferty (1914-2002) KW - Male author KW - US author AB -

Eutopia in which everyone is expected to be an expert in everything from a very young age. The details of the educational system are given. See also 1967 Lafferty.

JF - Galaxy Science Fiction VL - 29.2 SN - 9781473213449 978-1250778536 N1 -

Rpt. in SF 12. Ed. Judith Merril (New York: Dell, 1968), 161-74; in his The Man with the Speckled Eyes. The Collected Short Fiction Volume Four (Lakewood, CA: Centipede Press, 2017), 35-50; and in The Best of R. A. Lafferty. Ed. Jonathan Strahan (London: Gollancz, 2019), 213-29, with an Introduction by Samuel R[ay] Delany (210-12). Rpt. New York: Tor, 2021.

U5 -

PSt

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