I, uh… when I met the Professor a few years ago, I confessed to hoping that the inevitable filmed/animated version of Girl Genius Comic cast me as the Castle.
So there might be a resemblance in one or two aspects.
Oops!
Hopefully everyone gets back without changing the time stream…..too much. But one never knows until it’s too late.
Find/read the short story “A Sound of Thunder” (Ray Bradbury, 1952). Credited as the origin of the term “butterfly effect”.
Bester is nearly forgotten today, but he almost single-handedly reinvented written SF in the 1950s.
“The Stars My Destination” aka “Tiger! Tiger” (1956) is the uber-example of proto-Cyberpunk. Not to mention being a strong influence on 1960s spy movies.
“The Demolished Man” (1953) set the rules for almost all portrayals of ESP and telepathy in SF down to the present. It’s not a coincidence that Walter Koenig’s nasty-assed “Psicop” on Babylon 5 was named “Bester”.
Harlan Ellison sued Carolco over the parallels between “The Terminator” (1984) and his story “Soldier” (done on TV in the original “Outer Limits” TV series in 1964). It probably owes more the Alfred Bester’s “Fondly Fahrenheit” (F & SF Aug 1954) than it does to Quarlo Klobregny.
Bester took written SF out of the “space opera” era and into the “Speculative Fiction” era. All in one decade.
Without Bester, odds are the Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “I will Fear No Evil” could probably never have been published.
RAH was ready and willing to write that sort of thing. But Bester convinced the publishers that the SciFans wanted to read it.
Yep, John Adams was right. July 2nd was the day that should have been celebrated. That was the day, we crossed the line where there was no turning back.
June 28, 2026 at 9:17 am
Brodder
By Kirtle and Bustle!
Is Benjamin Franklin gonna hit on the girls?
Handheld lightning might impress the horny old coot.
Maybe. Can’t blame him for trying, but most likely not. A review of his memoirs reveals his preference for the more “mature” woman, one aged to the point where there was no longer any danger of an unintended spawn.
Hey Chris, thanks for the call. I convinced my bank you were an OK guy and my transaction went through this time. I’m looking forward to checking out my merch. Thank the kittehs for me.
21 Comments
Oh, this is going to be fun!
Why do I hear that in the Voice of Castle Heterodyne?
https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080324
I, uh… when I met the Professor a few years ago, I confessed to hoping that the inevitable filmed/animated version of Girl Genius Comic cast me as the Castle.
So there might be a resemblance in one or two aspects.
Ooopsie daisy.
Oops!
Hopefully everyone gets back without changing the time stream…..too much. But one never knows until it’s too late.
Find/read the short story “A Sound of Thunder” (Ray Bradbury, 1952). Credited as the origin of the term “butterfly effect”.
Don’t forget “The Men Who Murdered Mohammed” (F&SF Oct 1958) by Alfred Bester.
https://lecturia.org/en/short-stories/alfred-bester-the-men-who-murdered-mohammed/25010/
Bester is nearly forgotten today, but he almost single-handedly reinvented written SF in the 1950s.
“The Stars My Destination” aka “Tiger! Tiger” (1956) is the uber-example of proto-Cyberpunk. Not to mention being a strong influence on 1960s spy movies.
“The Demolished Man” (1953) set the rules for almost all portrayals of ESP and telepathy in SF down to the present. It’s not a coincidence that Walter Koenig’s nasty-assed “Psicop” on Babylon 5 was named “Bester”.
Harlan Ellison sued Carolco over the parallels between “The Terminator” (1984) and his story “Soldier” (done on TV in the original “Outer Limits” TV series in 1964). It probably owes more the Alfred Bester’s “Fondly Fahrenheit” (F & SF Aug 1954) than it does to Quarlo Klobregny.
Bester took written SF out of the “space opera” era and into the “Speculative Fiction” era. All in one decade.
Without Bester, odds are the Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “I will Fear No Evil” could probably never have been published.
RAH was ready and willing to write that sort of thing. But Bester convinced the publishers that the SciFans wanted to read it.
clear ether
eon
(THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE)
“A Sound of Thunder”
Then Heinlein went him one better with his story about the one-man time-traveling family with no origin: “All You Zombies.”
Oops.
Hah! I read that one about a million years ago!
Front row seat for the first Independence Day?
Gonna party like it’s the SECOND of July!
Zar Belk!
Yep, John Adams was right. July 2nd was the day that should have been celebrated. That was the day, we crossed the line where there was no turning back.
By Kirtle and Bustle!
Is Benjamin Franklin gonna hit on the girls?
Handheld lightning might impress the horny old coot.
Maybe. Can’t blame him for trying, but most likely not. A review of his memoirs reveals his preference for the more “mature” woman, one aged to the point where there was no longer any danger of an unintended spawn.
Ruh-roh…
I just assume that if nobody’s come from the future to stop me then I’m doing the right things 🙂
Or, at least, nothing catastrophic.
Oops!
Hey Chris, thanks for the call. I convinced my bank you were an OK guy and my transaction went through this time. I’m looking forward to checking out my merch. Thank the kittehs for me.
The kittehs will be pleased! heh.