Before the internet, before AI, there were the logics and Joe.
From a short story written in 1946.
13 replies on “A Logic Named Joe”
One of the earliest stories I ever read.
It’s a good one, i think his Med Ship stories are my favorites by him though.
Outside of Have Space Suit Will Travel, Podkayne of Mars, Starship Troopers, Farmer in the Sky, Farnham’s Freehold, Red Planet, The Door Into Summer, The Puppet Masters, Sixth Column, Rocket Ship Galileo, Tunnel in the Sky, Orphans of the Sky, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I have to say that my favorite Heinlein stories are all the ones he wrote after I Will Fear No Evil.
I don’t remember if I ever read I Will Fear No Evil and I gave up on him after The Number of the Beast.
I Will Fear No Evil was about Lazarus Long and his 3,000-year lifetime. The Number of the Beast was intentionally a confused chaotic mess, because the point of it was that reality is fluid.
Interestingly, the Heinlein estate is going to publish a rewrite of it, with roughly the same first 1/3rd but a completely different last 2/3rds based on his notes. Like most writers, he’d mapped out several ways it could go. It’s rare we get to see the other thoughts. That’s coming out this year and is titled “666” (wonder why).
The only other such I can remember is Arthur C. Clark with The City and the Stars versus Against The Fall Of Night, which used the same characters and environment, but had totally different tales to tell. This was either an interesting experiment, or an author who needed cash.
I read them as a young teenager, and I remember being confused, as in, “Didn’t I just read this last year? But it’s different, somehow…”
It was the first time I realized that “Alvin” was a real name, and not just what you called some talking squirrel.
I did not know they were rewriting The Number of the Beast! That’s exciting news! (heart emoji placeholder).
Love Heinlein’s future history series. And, of course, one of his books was the inspiration for my username. 🙂
And a good book it was. All I have to do is look up a little to see it on a bookshelf.
For some reason, I suspected that’s where you got the username. If there’s any real connection, you must be quite the fierce hellion! I hope you never had to go through what said character did in the first chapters of the thing.
Friday is a strong character, which is why she’s one of my faves.
Am I a hellion like her? Only in my Walter Mitty-esque moments. 😉
Fun! I wanted to slap the dilly out of that kid myself.
Found the Heinlein show that was advertised at the end. WOOT!
If you like “Golden Age” Sci-Fi, there are TONS of old stories read on YouTube. These are the stories that took me to never before imagined times and places, over 50 years ago.
I particularly like X Minus 1 and Dimension X because they’re radio plays.
If you want a time travel (not the usual way though) one look for Time and Time Again. It’s pretty close to the original Piper story, they changed the ending IIRC to one that’s not as good though.
13 replies on “A Logic Named Joe”
One of the earliest stories I ever read.
It’s a good one, i think his Med Ship stories are my favorites by him though.
Outside of Have Space Suit Will Travel, Podkayne of Mars, Starship Troopers, Farmer in the Sky, Farnham’s Freehold, Red Planet, The Door Into Summer, The Puppet Masters, Sixth Column, Rocket Ship Galileo, Tunnel in the Sky, Orphans of the Sky, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I have to say that my favorite Heinlein stories are all the ones he wrote after I Will Fear No Evil.
I don’t remember if I ever read I Will Fear No Evil and I gave up on him after The Number of the Beast.
I Will Fear No Evil was about Lazarus Long and his 3,000-year lifetime. The Number of the Beast was intentionally a confused chaotic mess, because the point of it was that reality is fluid.
Interestingly, the Heinlein estate is going to publish a rewrite of it, with roughly the same first 1/3rd but a completely different last 2/3rds based on his notes. Like most writers, he’d mapped out several ways it could go. It’s rare we get to see the other thoughts. That’s coming out this year and is titled “666” (wonder why).
The only other such I can remember is Arthur C. Clark with The City and the Stars versus Against The Fall Of Night, which used the same characters and environment, but had totally different tales to tell. This was either an interesting experiment, or an author who needed cash.
I read them as a young teenager, and I remember being confused, as in, “Didn’t I just read this last year? But it’s different, somehow…”
It was the first time I realized that “Alvin” was a real name, and not just what you called some talking squirrel.
I did not know they were rewriting The Number of the Beast! That’s exciting news! (heart emoji placeholder).
Love Heinlein’s future history series. And, of course, one of his books was the inspiration for my username. 🙂
And a good book it was. All I have to do is look up a little to see it on a bookshelf.
For some reason, I suspected that’s where you got the username. If there’s any real connection, you must be quite the fierce hellion! I hope you never had to go through what said character did in the first chapters of the thing.
Friday is a strong character, which is why she’s one of my faves.
Am I a hellion like her? Only in my Walter Mitty-esque moments. 😉
Fun! I wanted to slap the dilly out of that kid myself.
Found the Heinlein show that was advertised at the end. WOOT!
If you like “Golden Age” Sci-Fi, there are TONS of old stories read on YouTube. These are the stories that took me to never before imagined times and places, over 50 years ago.
I particularly like X Minus 1 and Dimension X because they’re radio plays.
If you want a time travel (not the usual way though) one look for Time and Time Again. It’s pretty close to the original Piper story, they changed the ending IIRC to one that’s not as good though.
Listening to it now!