A Vision of Judgment
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| "A Vision of Judgement" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by H. G. Wells | |
| Genre(s) | Satire |
| Publication | |
| Published in | The Butterfly, "A humorous and artistic magazine"[1] |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Media type | Short story |
| Publication date | September 1899 |
Written in the late 19th century by H. G. Wells and first published in The Butterfly (September 1899),[2] and collected in The Obliterated Man and Other Stories (December 1925),[3] "A Vision of Judgment" is a short story in 9 sections. It portrays a Last Judgment in which God and the archangel Gabriel laugh at sinners and saints alike, embarrassing them until they flee "up the sleeve of God." After every human soul has taken shelter there, all of humanity, "enlightened" and "in new clean bodies," is given a second chance. God shakes them—or rather us—"out of his sleeve upon the planet he had given us to live upon, the planet that whirled about green Sirius for a sun," saying "now that you understand me and each other a little better. . . . try again."[4]
"A Vision of Judgment" has been reprinted in The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells,[3] A Dream of Armageddon: The Complete Supernatural Tales.,[3] and various other collections and anthologies. Some of the publications were under the title "A Vision of Judgement."