Sunday, October 30, 2011

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" - Harlan Ellison (1967)


"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a postapocalyptic science fiction short story by Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the March 1967 issue of IF: Worlds of Science Fiction. It won a Hugo Award in 1968. The name was also used for a short story collection of Ellison's work, featuring this story. One of the ten most reprinted stories in the English language, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" was reprinted by the Library of America, collected in volume two (Terror and the Uncanny, from the 1940s to Now) of American Fantastic Tales (2009).


 Here is a link to the text of "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" - http://www.surfturk.com/endoftheworld/ihavenomouth.html


Limp, the body of Gorrister hung from the pink palette; unsupported—hanging high above us in the computer chamber; and it did not shiver in the chill, oily breeze that blew eternally through the main cavern. The body hung head down, attached to the underside of the palette by the sole of its right foot. It had been drained of blood through a precise incision made from ear to ear under the lantern jaw. There was no blood on the reflective surface of the metal floor.
When Gorrister joined our group ...