Saturday, November 6, 2010
When We Went To See the End of the World, by Robert Silverberg
I'll take an audio recording when text isn't available, and that is how I listened to Robert Silverberg's When We Went To See the End of the World. It's very much a period piece. A set of middle-class swingers is engaging in some one-upmanship about having been on an excursion to the end of the world. Turns out it was different for each of them. It takes awhile to see their situation. SPOILER ALERT--they are being duped. As they are partying, news reports come in about various environmental catastrophes. It seems that they are being taken to the sites of these events, and each is being told that this is how the world ends. They are all right. Plenty of relevance for today, and subtly told. Good stuff from a grand master.
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I think your analysis is wrong, I don't see how underground weapons testing can cause an ice age. Nor how the 'burning' of St Louis could cause Everest to sink below the surface of the sea. Not to mention the different views of the sub/moon in each 'future'.
ReplyDeleteThere is some misdirection involved, the company running the service is attempting to cover its tracks. But Silverberg intends us to see through it.
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