Segregationist (short story)

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"Segregationist" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story was written in April 1967 and was first published in December in Abbottempo, a magazine produced by Abbott Laboratories, then later included in the collections Nightfall and Other Stories (1969), The Complete Robot (1982) and Robot Visions (1990).

Plot summary[]

The surgeon will meet with the patient. The med-eng says he wants metal. The patient wheels in with a nurse. The surgeon dismisses her. The med-eng and nurse leave. The surgeon addresses him as senator and admits some preliminaries must be taken. The patient asks if they're dangerous. The surgeon notes they take time for them to be less dangerous. He wants things to run smoothly. The patient agrees. The surgeon asks which cyber-heart he wants. The patient accuses him of offering plastic. The patient affirms his metal choice. The patient asks if it is his decision. The surgeon concedes if procedures were of equal value. The patient asks if plastic is superior. The surgeon explains how it isn't plastic but fibrous. A protein-like fibre made to mimic a natural heart. The patient admits his natural heart is worn out. The patient wants better. The surgeon says it has the potential to last centuries. The patient asks if metal is stronger. The surgeon concedes, but it is not vital. The patient says he would fix broken ribs with metal. The surgeon notes a metal cyber-heart hasn't broken down mechanically, but it could electronically. Every cyber-heart has a pacemaker. In the metal version, electronics keep it in rhythm. The battery sometimes goes awry. The patient admits his ignorance. The surgeon says it happens very rarely. The patient asks if it is the same with plastic. The surgeon responds that it works better. The patient asks if he has worked long with the plastic kind. The surgeon admits not. The patient asks if he is concerned he would be turned into a robot/Metallo. Metallos were granted citizenship. The surgeon reminds him he is human. The patient wants what's best. The surgeon tells him he would sign permissions. The patient leaves. The med-eng returns. The surgeon tells him he still wants metal. The med-eng thinks they're better. The surgeon insists they're trendy. He thinks men want to become Metallos. The med-eng insists the surgeon does not work with Metallos. His last two patients wanted fibrous materials. The second asked for a blood system which was beyond him. The med-eng thinks the difference between the two will become blurred but it could be the best of both. The surgeon opines it will be the worst of both. The med-eng calls him segregationist. The surgeon dismisses it. He prepares by heating his metal hands.

Reception[]

In 1969, Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact's P. Schuyler Miller called it "a beautifully tricky little short-short."[1] In 1970, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction's Joanna Russ reviewed Best SF: 1968 "[i]t leans toward the obvious and toward stories which have one good, clear, conventional idea" counting "Segregationist" among them.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ P. Schuyler Miller (September 1969). "The Reference Library". Analog Science Fiction and Fact. New York, NY: Condé Nast. p. 162. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  2. ^ Joanna Russ (January 1970). "Books". The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Concord, New Hampshire: Mercury Press, Inc. p. 42. Retrieved 2021-09-10.

External links[]


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