Chains of the Sea
1973 science fiction anthology
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Chains of the Sea is a 1973 anthology of three science-fiction edited and with an introduction by Robert Silverberg.[1] It is best known for its title story, authored by Gardner Dozois.
| |
| Authors | Robert Silverberg (editor and introduction), George Alec Effinger, Gardner Dozois |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | T. Nelson |
Publication date | 1973 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 221 |
| ISBN | 978-0840763143 |
Contents
"And Us Too, I Guess" by George Alec Effinger
The black mollies owned by the story's protagonist all die suddenly, indicating an enfolding ecological catastrophe, affecting such unnoticed species usually unnoticed by humans but indicating a (to quote the story) "*quiet* catastrophe" occuring, until awareness dawns. It is society that by this point waited much too long to fix it.[2][3][4][5]
The story is a cautionary tale, pointing out that people tend to ignore problems until it is too late. It was re published in 1976 in Effinger’s collection Irrational Numbers.[6][7]
"Chains of the Sea" by Gardner Dozois
Alien vraft land in Delaware, Ohio, Colorado, and Venezuela. An attack on an alien ship yields no results, and governments fail to cove -up news of the landings. AI succeeds in communicating with the Aliens, though it does not share this fact with the humans. The aliens, who exhibit little interest in humans, reveal to the AI that Earth is ruled not by humans nor AI, but rather by unknown species of non-human intelligences. Meanwhile, a boy named Tommy has the unique ability to see otherwise-invisible inhabitants of Earth. He visits a forest where he seess entities called Jeblings and communicates with beings called Thants. The Thants inform him of the alien's landing. As a result, Tommy is diagnosed as hyperactive and placed on medication.[8]
Response
The novella was nominated for the [[Hugo Award for Best Novella|Hugo] and the [[Nebula Award for Best Novella]|Nebula Awards]] in the category Best Novella.[9][10] It is mentioned in the Acknowledgements section of Michael Swanwick's Nebula-Award-winning novel [[Stations of the Tide]\.[11] "Chains of the Sea" was noted in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction for describing an alien invasion where the aliens "are more or less indifferent to the existence of humans".[12]
"The Shrine of Sebastian" by Gordon Eklund
When Julian's sister dies, she names him her successor as the new pope. BBefore he can begin his duties, he must first make the perilous journey to the Shrine of Sebastian, where his sister requested to be buried. Julian is unsure about this, as Sebastian was a blasphemer and is worshipped by the robots. None the less Julian takes up the challenge and begins the journey accompanied by only his sister’s body and a robot named Andrew.[13][14]
Recent interest
The title story experienced an explosion of renewed interest among the UFO disclosure cmmunity in 2020 when ex-DoD official and UFO whistleblower Lue Elizando [15] cited the book as the best work of fiction about the UFO phenomena in a reddit AMA.[16]
The novella was optioned for a film adaptation[17] and reprinted for the first time by Animus Press.[18]