The exiles
The exiles ( English title The Exiles ) is a science fiction - short stories with fantasy -elements of Ray Bradbury , in which he the subject of censorship of his later novel Fahrenheit 451 anticipates. The story first appeared in Canadian Maclean’s magazine in 1949 and in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction under the title The Mad Wizards of Mars , and later in The Illustrated Man and other short story collections. His short story Ascher II from 1950, which also takes place on Mars , is thematically similar .
content
The year 2120. The first terrestrial spaceship flies to Mars. Even before departure, the crew had nightmares of werewolves , vampires and other fantastic figures, from which they can know nothing, as the fantastic literature exactly 100 years ago of censorship fell victim to the last copies of the indexed species so far in literary museum were . However, due to his nightmares , the commander of the spaceship instinctively realized that the authors of the forbidden books are still living on Mars. He himself is the ultimate symbol of progress and modernity:
... He smelled of menthol and iodine , and his hands with manicured and polished nails smelled of green soap. His teeth were freshly brushed, and his ears and cheeks were red from scrubbing. His uniform was as bright as fresh salt, and his boots shone like black mirrors. Even his breath was clear and fresh and pure. His close-cropped, frizzy hair smelled sharp of alcohol. Not the slightest stain could be seen on him. It was like a new instrument, ground and straightened, still warm from the mold ...
The Exiles , p. 86.
As a precaution, the commander took the last 200 museum specimens on board so that he could destroy them if necessary. With disgust he shows astronaut Smith the works:
… “Tales of Mystery and Imagination” by Edgar Allan Poe , “ Dracula ” by Bram Stoker , Frankenstein by Mary Shelley , “ The Turn of the Screw ” by Henry James , “ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ” by Washington Irving , “Rappacini´ s Daughter ”by Nathaniel Hawthorne ,“ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ”by Ambrose Bierce , Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ,“ The Willows ”by Algernon Blackwood ,“ The Wizard of Oz ”by Frank L. Baum ,“ The Weird Shadow Over Innsmouth ”by HP Lovecraft and books by Walter de la Mare , Wakefield, Harvey, Wells , Asquith and Huxley ...
The Exiles , p. 88
While crew members on board the spaceship die for unknown reasons, on Mars Poe and Bierce, who are aware of the arrival of the spaceship, discuss further defensive measures against the terrestrial invasion. The deaths on board the spaceship can be traced back to the three William Shakespeare witches who are busy stirring their cauldron. Shakespeare himself raised his own army with Oberon , Hamlet's father and Puck . In contrast to the emotional Poe, Bierce sees their situation extremely soberly and has no illusions about their common fate. While Poe still believes there is another future on Saturn , Uranus , Neptune or Pluto , Bierce asks him amused: "And where to then?"
When the completely desperate Blackwood appears, the three of them seek out Charles Dickens , who however vehemently refuses to support them against the "good people" in the spaceship. He was only accidentally banished to Mars anyway and, by the way, with the Christmas story, he only wrote a really scary story. He therefore refuses to give them even Mr. Marley, although he meets all the criteria for a fantastic figure.
In their search for further assistance, Poe, Bierce and Blackwood meet Santa Claus ; a poor, shabby figure with a disheveled beard and a faded elevator who became a victim of psychiatrists , sociologists , educators and "antiseptic parents". But Bierce doesn't like Poe and Blackwood's romantic memories of Christmas , he just makes fun of the sellers of “Christmas stuff” who would have preferred to start their business in September. Immediately afterwards, Bierce dissolves into dust. His last book on earth was destroyed.
Poe and Blackwood watch the spaceship land. While Blackwood wants to move further into space, Poe is ready to fight. But all attacks by the mythical creatures on the ship are in vain. When the earthly occupation enters Mars, there is complete calm. The commanding officer orders the burning of the last surviving books The Willows , The Outsider , Behold , The Dreamer , Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , The Land of Oz , Pelliucidar , The Land That Time Forgot , A Midsummer Night's Dream and other works of Arthur Machen , Poe, Cabell, Dunsany , Blackwood and Lewis Carroll. Not without pride does the commandant look at his work of destruction:
... The old world is behind us. A new beginning. What would be more parable than that here we are all the more committed to science and progress ...
The Exiles , p. 96.
When astronaut Smith thinks he has seen a green city by the sea and believes that this could have been the emerald city of Oz, about which he once read a story, he is seriously warned by the commander. He is ordered to report for psychoanalysis the next morning .
Trivia
Although the story has a certain place in Bradbury's work as the forerunner of Fahrenheit 451 , it was never made into a film, not even in the anthology Bradbury's Chamber of Horrors . The reasons are unknown.
literature
- Ray Bradbury: The Exiles , in: The Illustrated Man. Utopische Erzählungen , 4th edition, Munich (Heyne book no. 3057) 1972, pp. 85–99.