Rainer Fuhrmann

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Rainer Fuhrmann (* 11. September 1940 in Berlin , † 3. November 1990 ) was a German science fiction - writers .

life and work

Fuhrmann learned the profession of lathe operator , worked as a mechanic, obtained his master's certificate as a master mechanic, broke off a degree in mechanical engineering to have more time to write, and worked as a scientific and technical employee and designer before he became a freelance writer in 1980. For many years of his professional life he worked in orthopedic technology, and the experience he gained in the healthcare sector can be seen in some of his works.

Rainer Fuhrmann was considered one of the most outstanding science fiction authors in the GDR . Among other things, he discussed genetic manipulation in humans in 1977 in the novel Homo sapiens 10 −2 : The experiment of a conscientious scientist leads to a group of people being miniaturized until they reach the limits of physics (another one appeared almost at the same time in 1976, purely by chance Book with a very similar topic, Expedition Mikro by Alexander Kröger ).

The spaceship from the Stone Age is an example of the influence of pre-astronautics in the GDR-SF, as it had already been published by Günther Krupkat , Wolf Weitbrecht and Carlos Rasch , and represents an early work by Fuhrmann that was several years late.

In the planetary adventure Planet of the Sirens , earthly spacemen get to the edge of their resilience in the face of an alien civilization, whose fundamentals and functions they cannot understand, and reveal human weaknesses that they had not yet admitted to themselves.

The novel The Investigation takes a detective to the Saturn moon Titan , where he has to solve a criminal case. However, the implications and hidden backgrounds of the apparently quickly cleared up accident shake the detective's convictions to their very foundations and make him doubt his own person and the society that formed him. The book is both a crime thriller and SF, evolutionary novel and dystopia .

Medusa , in turn, deals with biotechnology . Here, in the wake of an experiment, a thinking being with supernatural powers develops from human tissue. How people deal with this intelligent homunculus is at the center of the novel and in turn leads to the question of how far science can go in the urge for knowledge.

Kairos was published six years after the author's death and in a way represents a settlement with the late GDR. Two visitors from Earth (Herman Jennis and his friend Medley) arrive at a human colony after years of interstellar flight (photon drive, time dilation!) the planet Cairos. This has had no contact with the earth for a long time. Jennis is asked to find out the reason for the loss of contact and, if necessary, to notify Earth if help is needed. Jennis and Medley quickly discover that something is wrong here. Many things no longer work or are in a desolate state; the organization of the state corresponds to the "actually existing" socialism, but the colony is ruled by a small clique who are doing well, while the common people are getting worse and worse. In addition, the morality of the colonists does not seem to be far off, the population is constantly showered with porn, and they themselves are frequently assigned different "companions". After a short time they feel like breeding bulls, and so they are very close to the truth. Because the colony's biggest problem is that fewer and fewer children are being born, so it is sliding towards extinction. An expedition to an abandoned city brings the riddle to light and exposes the uninhibited selfishness and unscrupulousness of the ruling clique. Jennis flees into the political underground and informs the earth. In this novel, Fuhrmann holds up a mirror to the late GDR in which he reflects the political conditions of the time in a fictional situation. But even without knowledge of the real political conditions, the novel is a parable on pretense and truth, on the self-interest and sense of responsibility of the characters involved.

bibliography

Novels
  • Homo sapiens 10 −2 . The New Berlin, Berlin 1977.
  • The spaceship from the Stone Age. New Life Publishing House, Berlin 1978 ( Kompass-Bücherei Volume 241).
  • Planet of the Sirens. The New Berlin, Berlin 1981.
  • The investigation. Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1984. (Western edition: Heyne Verlag, Munich 1991.)
  • Medusa. The New Berlin 1985. (Western edition: Heyne Verlag, Munich 1992.)
  • Test series 17. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 1988.
  • Kairos . Heyne Verlag, Munich 1996.
Utopian crime stories
  • By toggle switch . Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1981 (= blue light , issue 209).
  • Cardiac arrest . Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1981 (= blue light, issue 212).
  • Twenty-four hours twice . Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1982 (= blue light, issue 217).
  • Kantharidin . Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1985 (= blue light, issue 245).
Short stories
  • The Experiment (1976)
  • Golem (1983)
  • Lunar City or The Sense of Order (1990)
  • The Sacrifice (1991)
  • Change of staff (1992)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Carter, Rainer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 11, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH 3rd November 1990
Place of death Berlin