Введение
Сборник новелл Роберта Хайнлайна 1953 года «Задание в вечности» – это сборник из четырех научно-фантастических и фантастических новелл американского писателя Роберта А. Хайнлайна, впервые опубликованный в твердом переплете издательством Fantasy Press в 1953 году. Некоторые из новелл были незначительно переработаны по сравнению с их первоначальной публикацией в журналах. В сборник вошли:
Assignment in Eternity, is a collection of four science fiction and science fantasy novellas by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press in 1953. The stories, some of which were revised somewhat from their original magazine publication, were:
"Gulf" (written and published in 1949 in Astounding Science Fiction, October–November 1949). "Elsewhen", (written in 1939 and first published in 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction of September 1941 as "Elsewhere" by Caleb Saunders)
"Lost Legacy" (written in 1939 but first published in 1941 in Super Science Stories, November 1941 as "Lost Legion" by Lyle Monroe)
"Jerry Was a Man" (written in 1946 and published in 1947 in Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947 as "Jerry Is a Man")
Heinlein dedicated the book "To Sprague and Catherine": L. Sprague de Camp (his friend and science fiction author) and his wife Catherine Crook de Camp. Assignment in Eternity was almost immediately picked up for mass market paperback publication by New American Library's Signet line and is currently (as of 2007) offered by Baen Books in trade paper format, with a republication of Heinlein's Future History chart, even though none of the stories falls into the Future History. The four stories are loosely related as speculation on what—that we are not already aware of—makes one a human. "Jerry Is a Man" makes the most straightforward examination of the theme, a court making a legal ruling on the human rights of genetically engineered intelligent creatures. "Gulf", a story connected by its story materials to Kuttner's Baldy stories and Wilmar Shiras' In Hiding, suggests that superior individuals already living among us might become a new step in hominid evolution; "Lost Legacy" suggests that every person has unused paranormal abilities that can be awakened by esoteric training comparable to that used by the supermen of "Gulf". "Elsewhen" suggests that the human mind is not bound to our here and now "slum of space time" but can go voyaging into alternative timetracks of possibility. Although written in 1939, using materials popularized by J. W. Dunne, the story has gained new currency in the wake of the Wheeler Everett "Many Worlds" hypothesis. The story materials of all four novellas were revisited by Heinlein in later, more expansive novels. A number of figures of "Lost Legacy", for example, are carried into Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), a book which ultimately could be said to have the same theme as the 1939 novella. Situations and individuals from both "Gulf" and "Jerry Was a Man" are examined in Friday (1982). And the "multiverse" concept first explored in "Elsewhen" gets very full treatment in Heinlein's last novels, particularly The Number of the Beast (1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) and To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987).
«Залив» (написана и опубликована в 1949 году в журнале Astounding Science Fiction, октябрь-ноябрь 1949). «Elsewhen» (написана в 1939 году и впервые опубликована в 1941 году в журнале Astounding Science Fiction в сентябре 1941 года под названием «Elsewhere» от имени Калеба Сондерса).
«Утерянное наследие» (написана в 1939 году, но впервые опубликована в 1941 году в журнале Super Science Stories, ноябрь 1941 года под названием «Lost Legion» от имени Лайла Монро).
«Джерри был человеком» (написана в 1946 году и опубликована в 1947 году в журнале Thrilling Wonder Stories, октябрь 1947 года под названием «Jerry Is a Man»).
Assignment in Eternity, is a collection of four science fiction and science fantasy novellas by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press in 1953. The stories, some of which were revised somewhat from their original magazine publication, were:
"Gulf" (written and published in 1949 in Astounding Science Fiction, October–November 1949). "Elsewhen", (written in 1939 and first published in 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction of September 1941 as "Elsewhere" by Caleb Saunders)
"Lost Legacy" (written in 1939 but first published in 1941 in Super Science Stories, November 1941 as "Lost Legion" by Lyle Monroe)
"Jerry Was a Man" (written in 1946 and published in 1947 in Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947 as "Jerry Is a Man")
Heinlein dedicated the book "To Sprague and Catherine": L. Sprague de Camp (his friend and science fiction author) and his wife Catherine Crook de Camp. Assignment in Eternity was almost immediately picked up for mass market paperback publication by New American Library's Signet line and is currently (as of 2007) offered by Baen Books in trade paper format, with a republication of Heinlein's Future History chart, even though none of the stories falls into the Future History. The four stories are loosely related as speculation on what—that we are not already aware of—makes one a human. "Jerry Is a Man" makes the most straightforward examination of the theme, a court making a legal ruling on the human rights of genetically engineered intelligent creatures. "Gulf", a story connected by its story materials to Kuttner's Baldy stories and Wilmar Shiras' In Hiding, suggests that superior individuals already living among us might become a new step in hominid evolution; "Lost Legacy" suggests that every person has unused paranormal abilities that can be awakened by esoteric training comparable to that used by the supermen of "Gulf". "Elsewhen" suggests that the human mind is not bound to our here and now "slum of space time" but can go voyaging into alternative timetracks of possibility. Although written in 1939, using materials popularized by J. W. Dunne, the story has gained new currency in the wake of the Wheeler Everett "Many Worlds" hypothesis. The story materials of all four novellas were revisited by Heinlein in later, more expansive novels. A number of figures of "Lost Legacy", for example, are carried into Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), a book which ultimately could be said to have the same theme as the 1939 novella. Situations and individuals from both "Gulf" and "Jerry Was a Man" are examined in Friday (1982). And the "multiverse" concept first explored in "Elsewhen" gets very full treatment in Heinlein's last novels, particularly The Number of the Beast (1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) and To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987).
Хайнлайн посвятил книгу «Спрагу и Кэтрин»: Л. Спрагу де Кампу (его другу и писателю-фантасту) и его жене Кэтрин Крук де Камп. «Задание в вечности» почти сразу же было переиздано в массовом формате издательством New American Library в серии Signet и в настоящее время (по состоянию на 2007 год) предлагается издательством Baen Books в формате мягкой обложки с переизданием схемы «История будущего» Хайнлайна, хотя ни одна из новелл не относится к этой «Истории будущего». Четыре новеллы слабо связаны между собой как размышления о том, что – помимо общеизвестного – делает человека человеком. «Джерри был человеком» наиболее прямо исследует эту тему, представляя собой судебное разбирательство о правах генетически модифицированных разумных существ. «Залив», связанный своими сюжетными элементами с историями Каттнера о Болди и «В укрытии» Уилмара Шираса, предполагает, что превосходящие особи, уже живущие среди нас, могут стать следующим шагом в эволюции гоминидов; «Утерянное наследие» предполагает, что каждый человек обладает неиспользованными паранормальными способностями, которые можно пробудить с помощью эзотерического обучения, подобного тому, что используют сверхлюди из «Залива». «Elsewhen» предполагает, что человеческий разум не ограничен нашим «грязным уголком пространства-времени», а может путешествовать по альтернативным временным линиям возможностей. Написанная в 1939 году с использованием идей, популяризированных Дж. В. Данном, эта новелла приобрела новую актуальность после появления гипотезы «Множества миров» Уилера-Эверетта. Сюжетные элементы всех четырех новелл были переосмыслены Хайнлайном в более поздних, масштабных романах. Например, ряд персонажей из «Утерянного наследия» появляются в романе «Чужак в чужой стране» (1961), который, по сути, затрагивает ту же тему, что и новелла 1939 года. Ситуации и персонажи из «Залива» и «Джерри был человеком» исследуются в романе «Пятница» (1982). А концепция «мультивселенной», впервые представленная в «Elsewhen», получает полное развитие в последних романах Хайнлайна, в частности, «Число зверя» (1980), «Кот, который ходит сквозь стены» (1985) и «Плыть за закатом» (1987).
Assignment in Eternity, is a collection of four science fiction and science fantasy novellas by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press in 1953. The stories, some of which were revised somewhat from their original magazine publication, were:
"Gulf" (written and published in 1949 in Astounding Science Fiction, October–November 1949). "Elsewhen", (written in 1939 and first published in 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction of September 1941 as "Elsewhere" by Caleb Saunders)
"Lost Legacy" (written in 1939 but first published in 1941 in Super Science Stories, November 1941 as "Lost Legion" by Lyle Monroe)
"Jerry Was a Man" (written in 1946 and published in 1947 in Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947 as "Jerry Is a Man")
Heinlein dedicated the book "To Sprague and Catherine": L. Sprague de Camp (his friend and science fiction author) and his wife Catherine Crook de Camp. Assignment in Eternity was almost immediately picked up for mass market paperback publication by New American Library's Signet line and is currently (as of 2007) offered by Baen Books in trade paper format, with a republication of Heinlein's Future History chart, even though none of the stories falls into the Future History. The four stories are loosely related as speculation on what—that we are not already aware of—makes one a human. "Jerry Is a Man" makes the most straightforward examination of the theme, a court making a legal ruling on the human rights of genetically engineered intelligent creatures. "Gulf", a story connected by its story materials to Kuttner's Baldy stories and Wilmar Shiras' In Hiding, suggests that superior individuals already living among us might become a new step in hominid evolution; "Lost Legacy" suggests that every person has unused paranormal abilities that can be awakened by esoteric training comparable to that used by the supermen of "Gulf". "Elsewhen" suggests that the human mind is not bound to our here and now "slum of space time" but can go voyaging into alternative timetracks of possibility. Although written in 1939, using materials popularized by J. W. Dunne, the story has gained new currency in the wake of the Wheeler Everett "Many Worlds" hypothesis. The story materials of all four novellas were revisited by Heinlein in later, more expansive novels. A number of figures of "Lost Legacy", for example, are carried into Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), a book which ultimately could be said to have the same theme as the 1939 novella. Situations and individuals from both "Gulf" and "Jerry Was a Man" are examined in Friday (1982). And the "multiverse" concept first explored in "Elsewhen" gets very full treatment in Heinlein's last novels, particularly The Number of the Beast (1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) and To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987).
Прием
Буше и Маккомас отнеслись к сборнику без энтузиазма, назвав его содержащим "два легких и занимательных повелла и два довольно слабых коротких романа". П. Шейлер Миллер также отметил, что рассказы "не дотягивают до лучших произведений серии "История будущего" или недавних книг автора для юношества". Рецензент "Нью-Йорк Таймс" Вильерс Герсон сообщил, что сборник демонстрирует статус Хайнлайна как "одного из наиболее талантливых мастеров научной фантастики".