Farewell to the Master

"Farewell to the Master"
Short story by Harry Bates
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction
Publication
Published in	Astounding Science Fiction
Publication type	Magazine
Publication date	October 1940 (1940-10)

"Farewell to the Master" is a science fiction short story by American writer Harry Bates. It was first published in the October 1940 issue of Astounding Science Fiction on page 58.[1][2][3][4] It provided the basis of the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still[5] and its 2008 remake.[6] In 1973, the story was adapted by Marvel Comics for its Worlds Unknown series.[7] According to Gizmodo, the 1973 adaptation was more faithful to the original story than was the 1951 film.[8]

Plot summary

The story is told from the viewpoint of Cliff Sutherland, a freelance picture reporter, who is present when a mysterious "curving ovoid" ship suddenly appears on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Two days later, "visitors from the Unknown" emerge: a "god-like" person in human form and an 8-foot (2.44 m) tall robot made of green metal. The former only manages to state "I am Klaatu and this is Gnut" before he is shot and killed by a lunatic. Klaatu is buried nearby. In the days that follow, Gnut remains motionless, while laboratories and a museum are built around it and the ship. Both prove impervious to the investigations of scientists.

Sutherland discovers that the robot enters the ship each night when no one is watching, emerging to resume its position for the day. Gnut is aware of the reporter, but ignores him. After several odd encounters, Sutherland informs the world what he has learned. Gnut is encased in "glasstex", finally forcing the robot's hand. It breaks out, unaffected by all attempts to destroy it, picks up Sutherland and travels to the mausoleum containing Klaatu's corpse. It opens the tomb and takes a recording of Klaatu's voice stored there. It then returns and goes inside the ship.

Sutherland daringly boards the ship before the entrance closes and learns that the robot is working on a way to create a copy of Klaatu from an audio recording of his greeting. However, the new Klaatu is flawed, because the recording is imperfect, and he dies soon after speaking with the reporter. Sutherland then suggests retrieving the original recording device to study it and discover how to compensate for its imperfections. Gnut eagerly adopts this idea. Sutherland arranges for the equipment to be brought to it. As the robot prepares to depart, Sutherland impresses upon it the need to tell its master, the Klaatu yet to come, that his death was a terrible accident. Gnut replies, "You misunderstand, I am the master."

Anthologies

"Farewell to the Master" appears in the following science fiction anthologies:

• Adventures in Time and Space (1946), edited by Raymond J. Healy and J. Francis McComas.[9]
• Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 2 (1940) (1979), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg.[10]
• They Came From Outer Space: 12 Classic Science Fiction Tales That Became Major Motion Pictures (1981), edited by Jim Wynorski.[11]
• Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories About Robots and Computers (1984), edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Patricia S. Warrick.[12] (Reprinted as War with the Robots in 1992.[13])
• Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction # 9: Robots (1989), edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh.[14]
• Reel Future (1994), edited by Forrest J. Ackerman and Jean Stine.[15]

References

1. "Publication: Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1940". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
2. Mousoutzanis, Aris; Hubble, Nick (2013). The Science Fiction Handbook. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781472538963.^[full citation needed]
3. Asimov, Isaac & Greenberg, Martin H. (1979). Isaac Asimov presents The Golden Years of Science Fiction. Random House Value. ISBN 0517401479.^[full citation needed]
4. "Title: Farewell to the Master". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
5. "The Day the Earth Stood Still", Wikipedia, 2023-05-25, retrieved 2023-05-26
6. "The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)", Wikipedia, 2023-04-17, retrieved 2023-05-26
7. "Worlds Unknown", Wikipedia, 2022-06-26, retrieved 2023-05-26
8. "The Day the Earth Stood Still Remake You Never Saw". Gizmodo. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
9. "Adventures in Time and Space". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
10. "Isaac Asimov Presents the Golden Years of Science Fiction: 36 Stories and Novellas". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
11. "They Came from Outer Space: 12 Classic Science Fiction Tales That Became Major Motion Pictures". www.goodreads.com/book. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
12. "Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories About Robots and Computers". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
13. "War With the Robots". Goodreads. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
14. "Robots - Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction #9". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
15. "Reel Future". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.

Further reading

• Harry Bates (author), Bob Gaye (introduction) & Tom Weiner (narrator) (2008). Farewell to the Master. Ashland, Ore.: Blackstone Audio. Event occurs at 0:00-3:33. This work provides, via Bob Gaye's introduction, a primer on the author, and to this work in the context of his editing and story-writing career. (Note, the spelling of the name of the introducing writer requires verification.)
• Edwards, Malcolm; Nicholls, Peter; Ashley, Mike (January 6, 2017). "Astounding Science-Fiction". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
• Edwards, Malcolm (May 24, 2023). "Harry Bates". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved May 24, 2023.

External links

• Farewell to the Master title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Bates, Harry (October 1940). "Farewell to the Master (full text)". Astounding Science Fiction. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2007-08-11.