Happy Ending (short story): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1948 short story by Henry Kuttner}} |
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"'''Happy Ending'''" is a 1948 [[science fiction]] [[short story]] by American writer [[Henry Kuttner]]. Originally published in ''[[Thrilling Wonder Stories]]'', it has since been published in various anthologies and a collection of Kuttner's short stories. |
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Though frequently anthologised, the story did not appear in a collection under the writer's own name until 2010, when it was included in ''Detour to Otherness'', which contains 24 stories written by Kuttner himself or in collaboration with his wife, [[C.L. Moore|Catherine Moore]]. |
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==Plot summary== |
==Plot summary== |
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The narrative proceeds [[Reverse chronology|out-of-sequence]]. As the story begins, a man named James Kelvin presses a button and returns to a lab with a moustached scientist who informs him that he is now a millionaire. Now that the button had completed its task, it no longer works. Kelvin lives happily ever after. The end. |
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{{copy edit|section|for=lack of coherency|date=September 2014}} |
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The story |
The story then switches to an earlier point. A man walks into a fortune telling booth where he meets a robot from the future. The robot greets him as James Kelvin and says that while unable to give Kelvin a horoscope, it can supply him with a method to attain health, wealth and fame. Kelvin receives a gadget with a button on it. Every time he presses the button, he will temporarily enter the mind of someone in the future and can read that person's thoughts and gain his abilities. But the robot warns him, "there is a danger, named Tharn". Afterwards, the name Tharn keeps recurring to him. |
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After pushing the button, the robot tells him, "there is a danger, Tharn". Afterwards all Kelvin can think about is Tharn, the name keeps running through his head and taking over his thoughts. Later that night, Tharn appeared to him. To escape him, Kelvin pressed the button and landed in a stream. Unable to swim he frantically pressed the button again, which gave him the ability to breathe under water. To escape the stream, he pressed the button yet again and landed in New Orleans completely drunk. |
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To escape this situation, he pressed the button again and transported into a lab. There he met a bald man with a red mustache. He began a scientific conversation with him on proteins and amino acids. He came up with a brilliant idea to cure Coryza, which would make him millions of dollars. All of a sudden, Tharn showed up forcing Kelvin to press the button once again. He lands in a cornfield in Seattle. He decided to think of a way to kill Tharn the next time he pressed the button. Moments later Tharn showed up and, while Kelvin pressed the button, he died. |
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Later that night, Tharn appears to him. To escape, Kelvin presses the button and lands in a stream. Unable to swim, he frantically presses the button again, which gives him the ability to breathe under water. To escape the stream, he presses the button yet again and lands in New Orleans in a drunken state. He presses the button again and is transported into a lab. There he meets a bald man with a red mustache. He begins a scientific conversation with him on proteins and amino acids, with ideas stolen from the mind of the future scientist, Quarra Vee. He offers a brilliant suggestion to cure [[rhinitis]] that could make him millions of dollars. Tharn appears again, forcing Kelvin to press the button. He lands in a cornfield in Seattle and then decides that he must kill Tharn. Moments later, Tharn appears and, when Kelvin presses the button, he gains the ability for a lethal mental attack. Tharn is destroyed. |
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Kelvin pressed the button and ended up in the lab with the bald scientist who informed him that he was now a millionaire. Now that the button had completed its task, it no longer worked. The end of the story tells us the beginning of the story. Which is that the scientist Quarra Vee and his robot Tharn are preparing themselves to go into the past to find their runaway robot. Quarra Vee is transported into Chicago where he walks into a fortune telling booth. The robot there tells him he is James Kelvin. |
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Finally, the story switches to an even earlier point. The scientist Quarra Vee, and his android companion, Tharn, are preparing to go into the past to recapture a dangerous runaway robot. Quarra Vee is transported into Chicago and walks into a fortune telling booth. As he enters, a rope knocks aside the glasses which are supposed to protect him from attempts to tamper with his memory. The robot erases his true personality, and tells him he is James Kelvin. The robot smiles. |
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== Release == |
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"Happy Ending" was first published in the August 1948 issue of ''[[Thrilling Wonder Stories]]''. It was subsequently published as part of various anthologies such as ''Beyond Tomorrow'' and ''[[The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Knight|first=Damon|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/862217|title=Beyond tomorrow: ten science fiction adventures|date=1965|publisher=Harper & Row|location=New York|language=English|oclc=862217}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Nicoll|first=James Davis|date=2020-11-12|title=Science Fiction's Very First "Year's Best" Anthology|url=https://www.tor.com/2020/11/12/science-fictions-very-first-years-best-anthology/|access-date=2021-02-25|website=Tor.com|language=en-US}}</ref> It did not appear in a collection under the writer's own name until 2010, when it was included in ''Detour to Otherness'', with 23 other stories written by Kuttner himself or in collaboration with his wife, [[C.L. Moore|Catherine Moore]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kuttner|first=Henry|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/680295205|title=Detour to otherness|date=2010|publisher=Haffner Press|others=C. L. Moore|isbn=978-1-893887-18-3|edition=|location=Royal Oak, Mich.|oclc=680295205}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/henry-kuttner/short-fiction|Display Name=A collection of Henry Kuttner's short fiction in the public domain|noitalics=true}} |
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* {{isfdb title|id=69891 |
* {{isfdb title|id=69891}} |
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* {{isfdb title|id=1106244|title=Detour to Otherness}} |
* {{isfdb title|id=1106244|title=Detour to Otherness}} |
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{{Lewis Padgett}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Ending (Story)}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Ending (Story)}} |
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[[Category:Science fiction short stories]] |
[[Category:Science fiction short stories]] |
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[[Category:Works originally published in Wonder Stories]] |
[[Category:Works originally published in Wonder Stories]] |
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{{Sf-story-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 10:04, 12 September 2024
"Happy Ending" is a 1948 science fiction short story by American writer Henry Kuttner. Originally published in Thrilling Wonder Stories, it has since been published in various anthologies and a collection of Kuttner's short stories.
Plot summary
[edit]The narrative proceeds out-of-sequence. As the story begins, a man named James Kelvin presses a button and returns to a lab with a moustached scientist who informs him that he is now a millionaire. Now that the button had completed its task, it no longer works. Kelvin lives happily ever after. The end.
The story then switches to an earlier point. A man walks into a fortune telling booth where he meets a robot from the future. The robot greets him as James Kelvin and says that while unable to give Kelvin a horoscope, it can supply him with a method to attain health, wealth and fame. Kelvin receives a gadget with a button on it. Every time he presses the button, he will temporarily enter the mind of someone in the future and can read that person's thoughts and gain his abilities. But the robot warns him, "there is a danger, named Tharn". Afterwards, the name Tharn keeps recurring to him.
Later that night, Tharn appears to him. To escape, Kelvin presses the button and lands in a stream. Unable to swim, he frantically presses the button again, which gives him the ability to breathe under water. To escape the stream, he presses the button yet again and lands in New Orleans in a drunken state. He presses the button again and is transported into a lab. There he meets a bald man with a red mustache. He begins a scientific conversation with him on proteins and amino acids, with ideas stolen from the mind of the future scientist, Quarra Vee. He offers a brilliant suggestion to cure rhinitis that could make him millions of dollars. Tharn appears again, forcing Kelvin to press the button. He lands in a cornfield in Seattle and then decides that he must kill Tharn. Moments later, Tharn appears and, when Kelvin presses the button, he gains the ability for a lethal mental attack. Tharn is destroyed.
Finally, the story switches to an even earlier point. The scientist Quarra Vee, and his android companion, Tharn, are preparing to go into the past to recapture a dangerous runaway robot. Quarra Vee is transported into Chicago and walks into a fortune telling booth. As he enters, a rope knocks aside the glasses which are supposed to protect him from attempts to tamper with his memory. The robot erases his true personality, and tells him he is James Kelvin. The robot smiles.
Release
[edit]"Happy Ending" was first published in the August 1948 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. It was subsequently published as part of various anthologies such as Beyond Tomorrow and The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949.[1][2] It did not appear in a collection under the writer's own name until 2010, when it was included in Detour to Otherness, with 23 other stories written by Kuttner himself or in collaboration with his wife, Catherine Moore.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Knight, Damon (1965). Beyond tomorrow: ten science fiction adventures. New York: Harper & Row. OCLC 862217.
- ^ Nicoll, James Davis (2020-11-12). "Science Fiction's Very First "Year's Best" Anthology". Tor.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
- ^ Kuttner, Henry (2010). Detour to otherness. C. L. Moore. Royal Oak, Mich.: Haffner Press. ISBN 978-1-893887-18-3. OCLC 680295205.
External links
[edit]- A collection of Henry Kuttner's short fiction in the public domain at Standard Ebooks
- Happy Ending title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Detour to Otherness title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database