The Essential Ellison Part 126

" And many of you wonder why so many of those literary parents think positively of the concept that birth control might be made retroactive."

That was the end of it, or at least it should have been. But reality continues to challenge our best fantasies for the t.i.tle of Most Unbelievable.

In the weeks that followed the speech, as I said, I received a lot of mail about the presentation. All of it was of this sort, represented by an extract from a letter by a young man named Anthony Pryor, then living in Portland: --.

Your speech at the banquet moved me greatly. I knew that some insane fans occasionally did unpleasant things to authors; but this...unthinkable!...And so, to show you that your anger, and the words with which you expressed that anger, did not fall on deaf ears, I want you to know that I, as well as many friends to whom I have spoken, will endeavor- if we are aware of it and have the means of dealing with it- to prevent such things as you discussed in your speech from happening. We may never get the chance. The psychotics will continue to insult, injure and anger authors despite our feeble efforts to stop them, but if we can prevent such things from happening just once, it will have been worthwhile.

Which would lead one to believe that, yes, if one makes a case as strong as this, and delivers it with pa.s.sion and conviction, that it will touch the soul of even the basest listener. Right. And pigs' ll fly.

Here is a verbatim extract from the Westercon 37 daily update circulated at that event. It is dated Monday, July 2nd. It was distributed throughout the convention the morning after my presentation.

RUMOR CONTROL: At roughly 4:15 AM several fire alarms were activated in the hotel and some floors were evacuated temporarily. To the best of our knowledge, this is what happened: A smoke detector was pulled out of the ceiling in the hallway on the 12th floor. This caused an alarm to go off.

Afire alarm was pulled on floor 10.

Activation of the fire alarms caused certain safety mechanisms to automatically engage in the hotel. Fire doors closed. An emergency ventilation system switched on.

One blower stuck. Salon F began to fill with smoke from a smoldering fanbelt on the stuck blower.

Although there was smoke, apparently there was no fire.

We don' t know who broke the smoke detector or who pulled the alarm.

All parties were closed down. We appreciate everyone' s calmness and cooperation.

UPDATE 7:30 AM: At a meeting with Marriott management the significance of false alarms was stressed. The possibility of injury or death is great in any emergency evacuation.

BECAUSE OF LAST NIGHT' S FALSE ALARM, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ALLOW ANY ROOM PARTIES TONIGHT. IF WE CAN LOCATE THE INDIVIDUAL(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ALARM, WE MAY (REPEAT: MAY) BE ABLE TO RE-NEGOTIATE THIS WITH THE HOTEL.

If we can' t have room parties, we will have a large party in Salon E. This will mean HOTEL LIQUOR ONLY in this s.p.a.ce.

Hospitality Suite will be open in the Presidential Suite until 6 PM, non- alcohol. At 6 PM Hospitality will move to Ballroom level to accommodate the general dance and party Monday evening. This is in conformance with the " NO PARTIES" agreement we negotiated with the hotel.

The Convention Committee sincerely regrets this major inconvenience. These pranks are a danger to everyone.

And in her letter received by me the week after the convention, Mildred Downey Broxon went on to say, " Scuttleb.u.t.t has it that you were feeling as if the idiot who set off the fire alarm might have been influenced by your speech. I tend to doubt that. Such a person probably didn' t even listen to your speech and, if he heard it, failed to understand what you were saying. It is highly likely that one of these subhumans was to blame.

" However, the incident following so closely on your speech may have caused those few who thought the matter exaggerated to take notice. Nothing like being rousted out at 4 AM, after all, to make one think. Long and bitterly."

And so, nature imitates nature, sans the art.

There could have been more, much more, to this essay. I have at hand a long series of lamentations by Joe Straczynski on the new venue for fan abuse...Computer Bulletin Board Systems; and a late reply from Jean M. Auel detailing a demand for money " anywhere from $20 to $8000" by a fan; and a ghastly incident that happened to Joe L. Hensley...

But you get the idea.

And those of you in the sane, courteous ninety-five per cent...well, perhaps this concentrated jolt of nastiness will alert you to the other five per cent who roam and foam among us. The alleged Paul Osborns of the world. Those who come slouching to the party given by the n.o.ble dreamers with that little paper cup hidden behind their back.

Warm vomit. Xenogenesis. Have a nice day.

Afterword.

by Harlan Ellison For a brief time I was here; and for a brief time I mattered.

ABOUT THE EDITORS.

TERRY DOWLING is one of Australia' s most respected and internationally acclaimed writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and is a critic with outstanding credentials. He is author of Rynosseros, Blue Tyson and Twilight Beach (the Tom Rynosseros saga), Wormwood, The Man Who Lost Red, An Intimate Knowledge of the Night and Antique Futures: The Best of Terry Dowling, Black Water Days, and editor (with Van Ikin) of Mortal Fire: Best Australian SF, and senior editor of The Essential Ellison.

An MA Honors graduate from the University of Sydney, he currently teaches at a large Sydney college and reviews science fiction for both The Australian and The Bulletin. His fiction has won him nine Ditmar Awards, two Readercon Awards and three Aurealis Awards. Locus regards his work as placing him " among the masters of the field" and considers him to be " the most noted prose stylist in Australian speculative fiction."

RICHARD DELAP was a well-known critic, reviewer, essayist and, for many years, editor and publisher of Delap' s Fantasy & Science Fiction Review. He edited Peter Balm' s 1978 book on Mayan mythology, THE FLIGHT OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT and, between 1981 and 1986, spent considerable time rewriting film scripts while living in Hollywood. Richard Delap was co-author (with Walt Lee) of the horror novel SHAPES, and was working on another novel, DARKER THAN BLOOD, at the time of his tragic and untimely death in 1987. His was the initial work on THE ESSENTIAL ELLISON. Ill health prevented his completion of the book. Mr. Dowling a.s.sumed the project late in 1983. Richard Delap, terminally ill in a Los Angeles hospital, lived long enough to hold this book in its first hardcover publication. It remains a testament to his talent and hard work.

GIL LAMONT has excelled in virtually every aspect of publishing for more than twenty years. Published author, editor, critic and bibliophile, he is best known to those in the book industry as quite simply the finest, most punctilious copyeditor and proofreader in the business. (At last count he had read the book you hold 23 times. Every last word of it.) For a time he was Fiction Editor of one of the brief reemergences of Weird Tales; he was, in large part, responsible for the pre-publication work on MEDEA: HARLAN' S WORLD, AN EDGE IN MY VOICE, and HARLAN ELLISON' S WATCHING. He swears he has never read Fish Police comics.

(Copyright Continued) " Prolegomenon; Millennial Musing" by Harlan Ellison; copyright 2001 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" Introduction: 'Sublime Rebel' " and " Lagniappe" by Terry Dowling; copyright 1987 and 2001 by Terry Dowling.

" The Sword of Parmagon" and " The Gloconda" originally appeared in The Cleveland News, 1949; renewed 1977 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Wilder One" and " The Saga of Machine Gun Joe" originally appeared in The Ohio State University Sundial 1955; renewed 1983 by Harlan Ellison.

" Introduction to 'Glowworm' " originally appeared in Unearth magazine; copyright 1976 by Harlan Ellison.

" Glowworm" originally appeared in Infinity Science Fiction magazine; copyright 1955 by Royal Publications, Inc. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 18 September 1959. Renewed, copyright 1983 by Harlan Ellison.

" Life Hutch" originally appeared in If magazine; copyright 1956 by Quinn Publishing Company, Inc. Renewed, copyright 1984 by Harlan Ellison.

" S.R.O." (under the Author' s pseudonym " Ellis Hart" ) originally appeared in Amazing Stories magazine; copyright 1957 by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Renewed, copyright 1985 by Harlan Ellison.

" Lonelyache" and " Punky & the Yale Men" originally appeared in Knight magazine; copyright 1964 and 1966 respectively by Sirkay Publishing Company. Copyrights rea.s.signed to Author 16 April 1968. Renewed, copyright 1992 and 1994 by Harlan Ellison.

" A Prayer for No One' s Enemy" originally appeared in Cad magazine; copyright 1966 by Cad Publishing Company. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 16 April 1968. Renewed, copyright 1994 by Harlan Ellison.

" Pulling Hard Time" originally appeared in Harlan Ellison' s Dream Corridor #3; copyright 1995 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" In Lonely Lands" originally appeared in Fantastic Universe magazine; copyright 1958 by King-Size Publications, Inc. Renewed, copyright 1986 by Harlan Ellison. Revised version copyright 1984 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Time of the Eye" originally appeared in The Saint Mystery Magazine; copyright 1959 by King-Size Publications, Inc. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 24 September 1984. Renewed, copyright 1987 by Harlan Ellison.

" Grail" originally appeared in The Twilight Zone magazine; copyright 1981 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" originally appeared in IF: Worlds of Science Fiction for March 1967; copyright 1967 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 3 December 1968. Renewed, copyright 1995 by Harlan Ellison.

Computer printouts for " I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Jeff Levin; copyright 1987 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" Corpse," " The Deathbird" and " Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Lat.i.tude 38 54' N, Longitude 77 00' 13" W" originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; copyright 1972, 1973 and 1974 respectively by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 2000 and 2001 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" originally appeared in BAD MOON RISING [edited by Thomas M. Disch]; copyright 1973 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed copyright 2001 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Voice in the Garden" originally appeared in Lighthouse [edited by Terry Carr]; copyright 1967 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1995 by Harlan Ellison.

" Erotophobia" originally appeared in Penthouse magazine; copyright 1971 by Penthouse International Ltd. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 20 August 1984. Renewed copyright 1999 by Harlan Ellison.

" Mom" originally appeared in Silver Foxes magazine; copyright 1976 by Harlan Ellison.

" Ecowareness" originally appeared in SideShow magazine; copyright 1974 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Outpost Undiscovered by Tourists" originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; copyright 1981 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" Dept. of 'What Was the Question?' Dept." and " Flintlock" appear here for the first time; copyright 1987 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

Portions of " Dept. of 'Trivial Pursuit' Dept." originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; copyright 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986 by Mercury Press, Inc. Copyright 1987 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation. Renewed, copyright 2000 and 2001 by Harlan Ellison.

" Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish" originally appeared in Shayol magazine; copyright 1982 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" The Very Last Day of a Good Woman" (under the t.i.tle " The Last Day" ) originally appeared in Rogue magazine; copyright 1958 by Greenleaf Publishing Company. Renewed, copyright 1986 by Harlan Ellison.

" Valerie" and " My Father" originally appeared as installments of The Harlan Ellison Hornbook,a column of personal comment in the Los Angeles Free Press; copyright 1972 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 2000 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Other Eye of Polyphemus" originally appeared in Cosmos magazine; copyright 1977 by Harlan Ellison.

" All the Birds Come Home to Roost" originally appeared in Playboy magazine; copyright 1978 by Playboy.

" The Tombs" originally appeared (in somewhat longer form) in MEMOS FROM PURGATORY; copyright 1961 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1989 by Harlan Ellison. This version copyright 1987 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" Our Little Miss" originally appeared as an installment of The Gla.s.s Teat, a column of opinion on television, in the Los Angeles Free Press; copyright 1970 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1998 by Harlan Ellison.

" A Love Song to Jerry Falwell" in embryonic form and under a.s.sorted t.i.tles is copyright 1969, 1975 by Harlan Ellison. Copyright 1983 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation. Revised and expanded version copyright 1984 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation. Renewed, copyright 1997 by Harlan Ellison.

" Telltale Tics and Tremors" originally appeared in Harlan Ellison: Writing, a column on writing in Unearth magazine; copyright 1977 by Harlan Ellison. Revised, copyright 1998 by Harlan Ellison.

" True Love: Groping for the Holy Grail" (under the t.i.tle " How I Survived the Great Videotape Matchmaker" ) and " Face-Down in Gloria Swanson' s Swimming Pool" originally appeared in Los Angeles magazine; copyright 1978 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Function of Dream Sleep" originally appeared in Midnight Graffiti; copyright 1988 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" The Sky Is Burning" originally appeared in IF: Worlds of Science Fiction for August 1958; copyright 1958 by Quinn Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 25 March 1975. Renewed, copyright 1986 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World" originally appeared in DANGEROUS VISIONS [edited by Harlan Ellison]; copyright 1967 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1995 by Harlan Ellison.

" Along the Scenic Route" (under the t.i.tle " Dogfight on 101" ) originally appeared simultaneously in Adam magazine and Amazing Stories magazine; copyright 1969 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1997 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Song the Zombie Sang" (written in collaboration with Robert Silverberg) originally appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine; copyright 1970 by Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg. Renewed, copyright 1998 by Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg.

" Knox" originally appeared in Crawdaddy magazine; copyright 1974 by Harlan Ellison.

" With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole" originally appeared in Omni; copyright 1984 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" From Alabamy, with Hate" (under the t.i.tle " March to Montgomery" ) originally appeared in Knight magazine; copyright 1965 by Sirkay Publishing Company. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 23 March 1970. Renewed, copyright 1993 by Harlan Ellison.

" My Mother" originally appeared as an installment of The Harlan Ellison Hornbook, a column of personal comment, in the St. Louis Literary Supplement; copyright 1976 by the Saint Louis Literary Supplement, Inc. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 14 July 1977. Copyright 1977 by Harlan Ellison.

" Tired Old Man" originally appeared in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine; copyright 1975 by Harlan Ellison.

" Gopher in the Gilly" originally appeared in STALKING THE NIGHTMARE; copyright 1982 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" Strange Wine" originally appeared in Amazing magazine; copyright 1976 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" originally appeared in LOVE AIN' T NOTHING BUT s.e.x MISSPELLED; copyright 1968 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1996 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Man on the Mushroom" originally appeared in ELLISON WONDERLAND; copyright 1974 by Harlan Ellison.

" Somehow, I Don' t Think We' re in Kansas, Toto" originally appeared in shorter form in Genesis magazine; copyright 1974 by Harlan Ellison. Revised version copyright 1982 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.

" Soldier" (under the t.i.tle " Soldier from Tomorrow" ) originally appeared in Fantastic Universe magazine; copyright 1957 by King-Size Publications, Inc. Renewed, copyright 1985 by Harlan Ellison.

" The Night of Delicate Terrors" originally appeared in The Paper: A Chicago Weekly; copyright 1961 by The Paper, Inc. Renewed, copyright 1989 by Harlan Ellison.

" Shattered Like a Gla.s.s Goblin" originally appeared in ORBIT 4 [edited by Damon Knight]; copyright 1968 by Damon Knight. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 19 September 1969. Renewed, copyright 1996 by Harlan Ellison.

" At the Mouse Circus" originally appeared in NEW DIMENSIONS I [edited by Robert Silverberg]; copyright 1971 Harlan Ellison. Renewed, copyright 1999 by Harlan Ellison.

" Free With This Box!" originally appeared in The Saint Detective Magazine; copyright 1958 by King-Size Publications, Inc. Renewed, copyright 1986 by Harlan Ellison.

" Final Shtick" and " Daniel White for the Greater Good" originally appeared in Rogue magazine; copyright 1960 and 1961 respectively by Greenleaf Publishing Company. Copyrights rea.s.signed to Author 18 May 1965. Renewed, copyright 1988 and 1989 by Harlan Ellison.

" One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty" originally appeared in ORBIT 8 [edited by Damon Knight]; copyright 1970 by Damon Knight. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 5 August 1971. Renewed, copyright 1998 by Harlan Ellison.

" Jeffty Is Five" and " Alive and Well and on a Friendless Voyage" originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; copyright 1977 by Harlan Ellison.

" Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine" originally appeared in Knight magazine; copyright 1964 by Sirkay Publishing Company. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 16 April 1968. Renewed, copyright 1992 by Harlan Ellison.

" 'Repent Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" originally appeared in Galaxy Magazine; copyright 1965 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation. Copyright rea.s.signed to Author 1966. Renewed, copyright 1993 by Harlan Ellison.