"Adeste Fideles" or "A Martian Christmas" by Frederik Pohl

First appeared in Ellen Datlow's Omni. Up for a Locus. Reprinted by Datlow and David Hartwell. The title is Latin for “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

 

Summary:

 Henry Steegman is a construction engineer--that is, he drove tractors that bore holes through the deep rock of Mars. He and the Mars colonists have accidentally imbibed water contaminated with radioactive products so that they are all dying off. Meanwhile, it's Christmas and the inhabitants are celebrating. Steegman drives off on his tractor to make a number of discoveries.

 

Discussion with Spoilers and analysis:

 The first discovery is what appears to be a department store. Of course, everyone back on Earth is excited about Mars again. After people try to take credit and keep Henry from exploring his discovery for himself, presumably due to the advanced state of his illness, he goes on a second expedition, this time presumably finding the Martians himself where no one else can take credit.

The story defies any wisdom about writing I've heard. First, the character's goal is submerged (not fully conscious) and, if anything, is more ours than his. Second, the plot doesn't follow anything that plotters would say is a good plot--following no real established patterns that I can see. I can't see any literary writers finding it a knockout--and the majority of SF readers probably wouldn't either. It is a kind of literary SF, thought-provoking in a subtle manner. The thought provoked (or theme) is actually far outside whatever goals or conclusion the character himself may have come up with.

But it satisfies, in a few ways that stories have--one of the best of that collection. If I had to throw it against most SF stories, it would be at least in the top 10%. We need a definition of story the encompasses this kind of work.

There is, what may be, a flaw here in the main plot. Why a department store? Maybe because humanity at least used to flock to department stores during Christmas? Or is it because these aliens are just pets of another species? This is a minor blemish and doesn't much distract from the work as a whole.

My own idea about how the story satisfies: 1) mystery. Pohl has mined this territory in the Heechee series. 2) We are affronted on the character's behalf since he doesn't seem to care himself, but clearly Pohl knew we'd feel that way and had a road named after him.

Now the theme--the third way the story satisfies--is weird in that it is not so much connected to the character or our feelings about the character. This theme comes from the title--at least this is my reading. It's the opening story in the collection and the final vignette "The Huddling" (discussed here in a week, more or less) seem to confirm this (the two most important spots in any fiction): We now have a new savior whose ways are superior to ours. We need to learn their ways.

That may be, to wrestle with Pohl's theme, but if one savior failed to convert the masses toward his superior ways, why should we suspect these aliens to be any better at improving humanity?

"Sad Screenwriter Sam" vs. "Sad Solarian Screenwriter Sam" by Frederik Pohl

First appeared in Edward L. Ferman's F&SF.

Summary:

Sam is a screenwriter. After the discovery of the Martians, he wants to capitalize on this and make a new movie, which is essentially Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars. He has to get past his agent's and director's reluctance to sell it.

Discussion with Spoilers:

All is for naught. The aliens look nothing like those of the real Martians once the photos come out--more like seals. They can't even be made sexy.

Like Pohl's tribute to Doc Smith in "The High Test" or to Jack Williamson in "The Mayor of Mare Tranq," here is a tribute here to Burroughs--the popular appeal, its power. But also it bears a critique to the aliens in Burroughs' Mars, their realistic possibilities (perceived, of course, since we have no aliens to compare to).

Side-bar: This story may prove interesting to compare and contrast against Geoff Ryman's "The Film-makers of Mars" (audio link).

What's interesting about the story's appearance in the novel, The Day the Martians Came, is that the story is streamlined just to this bit of narrative, which is interesting but not necessarily profound. What it loses in profundity, it gains in a smoother narrative that works better in this novel atmosphere.

This spurred me to speculate that this may have been Pohl's original core of the story--a narrative he found compelling, but missing the necessary piece to elevate it from the ordinary. Here it is one example among several of the impact of species of creatures that impacts without ever having set foot on planet Earth, as yet. A rather intriguing prospect in that light.

While we don't other possibilities that Pohl may have tried, we do have the original publication, which has our protagonist, Sam, being studied by aliens who will use his character to decide whether humans are worth saving or destroying. Once our alien protagonist knows Sam and his fellow Earth inhabitants are doomed, he wants a different Earthling to examine, but he cannot. Earth is doomed. 

But the interesting bit is that the death ray won't arrive for 64,000 years. (If that information that was beamed to them also took 64,000 years, then that would mean Earth has 128,000 years to prepare after Sam's departure. So a story that began, announcing humanity's doom actually ends in the possibility of hope. This is fascinating, but it does bog the narrative down.

One suspects that this core of the story was looking for another part to give it significance. The original is in some sense the more powerful, but also perhaps a swamp of narrative.

While the great-aliens (who seem to be in the same galaxy but maybe on the opposite side) part of the story seems not to be wholly lost. It survives in a few conspiratorial mentions. See the comments on the story "Saucery" for more on this.

5 Stories: The Confluence of "Best of Frederick Pohl"s

Here are the five stories that Lester del Rey and James Frenkel agreed were among Pohl's best.  Of course, del Rey did not have the advantage of knowing Frenkel's choicees and Frenkel did. So del Rey may have influenced Frenkel to one degree or another, but it's hard to say. Frenkel seemed to have wise things to say about some of these, so it seems not necessarily a compulsion or influence but a selection.  

What's interesting is finding great works of SF that other editors missed.

• Let the Ants Try • (1949) • 

This is a solid story if problematic. Still interesting. I suspect that Pohl's saying this was his first good story may have influenced the editors' choice.

• The Day the Icicle Works Closed • (1960) •  

Creative pyromania. Perhaps a little messy, coloring outside the lines. But perhaps charming because of this. Influenced a minor pop/synth/alternative band who had a handful of international hits. One would want to reread out of sheer pleasure of its inventive spree.

• Speed Trap • (1967) • 

• The Day the Martians Came • (1967) • 

While I can see why some editors and award-voters might have passed on these, the above two works are truly great works of SF that require careful reading. Not to be missed, just because others may not have been paying attention.  

• Day Million • (1966) •

Pohl's most lauded work. Perhaps overrated (a perspective dependent on aesthetics over politics). Thought-provoking, yes, but passable fiction. Because it is much loved by some, it may be need to be included in any Pohl retrospective. I will give a few more empathetic reads and offer a third assessment at later date. (link to the tougher assessment of "Day Million")

"Speed Trap" by Frederik Pohl

First appeared in Playboy. Reprinted by the editors of Playboy. Jack Dann, and Gardner Dozois.

 

Summary:

Dr. Grew is headed to a conference to speak, but ends up in a conversation with two other bright minds about Grew's theory that people could become several times more productive if they could get rid of the obstacles that arise when people become more productive--things like conferences themselves. 

Studying this material overnight, Larry Resnick dies, having fallen from the balcony.

Discussion and Analysis with Spoilers:

Presumably this idea was spawned by Fred Hoyle, astronomer and SF writer, who presumably said the universe conspires against human productivity. 

Pohl makes the conspiracy literal, as opposed to figurative or jocular version that Hoyle proposes.   

What makes the story compelling is its ambiguity. We are probably meant to think that it is the universe conspiring against us. But it is also possible (even more probable) that we ourselves are responsible. But a third, sinister possibility exists that the person who hired Grew is the person who murdered Larry Resnick and is trapping Dr. Grew in a position that keeps him from accomplishing much in the field. And they would also be the recipients of other researchers in the field. These other possibilities make it a more fascinating story.

The name Grew suggests not only growth (perhaps former growth) but also a shiver/shudder due to fear or cold. 

Lazlo brings to mind Victor Lazlo of Casablanca, who is both a friend and an enemy. Ramos suggests branches.

"The Day After the Day the Martians Came" or "The Day the Martians Came" by Frederik Pohl

First appeared in Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions. Reprinted by Rich Jones, Richard L. Roe. Both Lester del Rey and James Frenkel thought this one of Pohl's best.

Summary:

A deceptively simple tale of a hotel manager, Mandala, and Ernest, the bell captain on the day after the aliens came as people joke about the arrival of the new aliens found on Mars.

 

Discussion:

Ernest, an African American, is grateful for the jokes about the aliens so that he's no longer the target.

While not speculatively inventive, the story may be one of Pohl's better velocity exercises as the length supports the story told here.

While this works as a short story, it may come as some surprise that it spawned a story-suite/fix-up, The Day the Martians Came. The second title seems to be what the story goes by after the first appearance. But the first may be the better selection. It suggests the after effects of a big event. The ripples of such an event. This latter choice emphasizes the theme here, so it's a bit of surprise that the story takes on the lesser secondary title. Perhaps it has something to do with capturing the "novel" or story collection, but I suspect that readers would still connect this tale as the cornerstone of the larger work.

"The Meeting" by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth

First appeared in Edward L. Ferman's F&SF. It won a Hugo and was up for the Locus. Reprinted by Lester del Rey, Terry Carr, Isaac Asimov, Fred D. Miller, Jr. and Nicholas D. Smith. Selected by James Frenkel as one Pohl's best. 

 

Summary:

Harry Vladek attends meetings about "Exception Children" to seek advice from professionals about what to do to help his child. He and his wife are faced with a difficult decision about what to do with their child who lacked normal developmental progress.

 

Discussion and Analysis with Minor Spoilers:

Most readers will need to read this two or more times. Part of this is that the story doesn't reveal what's at stake until the end. The other part is that it is carefully written.

James Frenkel writes that this story:

"is a a thoughtful, challenging story about a modern dilemma with no easy answers."

Context:

About a century ago, relatives in our own family had a couple of children with learning disabilities. They traveled across the country to various "experts" who claimed they could help their kids. Without success. They hired private tutors who struggled in a manner that made the parents let the tutor go.

This would be some of the difficulties parents were facing a century ago and, to some degree, when this story was written.

In 1964, Congress passed Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which included Head Start program. In 1975, Congress passed the IDEA or the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Moreover, Roe v. Wade is making its way to the Supreme Court. The year this story won the Hugo, Roe V. Wade became an important if controversial ruling that lasted five decades.

Within these barriers, this story exists, and for my money, it's a powerful glimpse into the challenges parents might have had in this extrapolation. Who knows? It might still lie ahead.

This has uncanny parallels to Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, but the narrator here doesn't direct us toward feeling a certain way toward the decision, facing our protagonists (although the decision and perspective here is firmly in the parents' point of view). Of course, the lack of compelling the reader toward any perspective neither necessarily makes it a better story nor does it necessitate that the readers have no perspectives of their own. Moreover, a reader does not have to side with an author, but there is power in this story for not taking a side. Perhaps it helps to step into the protagonists' shoes.

Some extrapolation may be required, but the story has relevance for today. Even if it hadn't, place within context, it should remain a powerful tale worth reading.

"Creation Myths of the Recently Extinct" by Frederik Pohl

 First appeared in Stanley Schmidt's Analog in the Probability Zero section. James Frenkel considered it one of Pohl's best.

 

Summary:

Aliens see a planet they want to get rid of all life. How do they manage to do it.

Discussion:

Where the story goes is predictable. More for the completist reader of Frederik Pohl.

The title is fantastic but strange. Whose myth is it? The aliens'? The humans'? 

If humans, it's not a creation myth but a destruction one, but how would they write it? If aliens, it's not really a creation of the species. A creation of one particular planet, true, but that's not what we generally consider a creation myth--the start of everything, usually. There's also a problem of this not feeling anything like a myth.

Perhaps even our idea of a myth will change, but that seems hard to believe if the original myths remain.