From: rhinoceros (rhinoceros@freemail.gr)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 09:14:52 MST
This is an old story followed by a question.
The story came to my mind recently but I could remember neither the author nor where I had read it. After some excavation in my bookcases, I found it on a shelf stuffed with double rows of books. I ripped this short presentation from the net since it was better than what I could have written myself.
http://www.users.nac.net/bobsabella/HallofFame.htm
<begin quote>
That Hell-bound Train, by Robert Bloch. This was the first, and for many years the only, fantasy to win a Hugo Award. It was a traditional deal-with-the-devil story, about a poor roustabout who devises a deal seemingly impossible to lose: in return for his soul, the devil gives him a watch with the ability to stop time at any moment for all eternity.
As expected, the roustabout is too clever for his own good. He keeps stalling seeking a moment of perfect happiness worth maintaining for all eternity. A good job and relative comfort? Not yet. A wife and cute young children? Maybe, but just a bit longer. And so it goes, until he finds himself divorced, unhappy, broke again, aging, dying. All too soon there is no reason to stop time because he is so unhappy that who wants that moment to last forever?
And then the devil returns, ready to take his side of the bargain...
<end quote>
There are several interesting side-issues in the story, such as how the train has been integrated into folk culture as the vehicle of devil. But the really challenging question is this:
Would you be able to cut the deal, and how? Would you be able to identify the happiest (or a happy enough) moment of your life and get yourself to stop the watch?
The difficulty is that, when you are in a winning situation, like a compulsive gambler, you want to go for more. Of course, when you are in a losing situation, you don't want to stay there.
What would you do? At which moment of your life would you stop the watch? Or is it impossible for a human (or for you) to win this bet?
---- This message was posted by rhinoceros to the Virus 2004 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=61;action=display;threadid=30100> --- To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Mar 29 2004 - 09:15:42 MST