The March 2008 Analog includes a short-short by John G. Hemry called "The Bookseller of Bastet" that spoke to both my librarianly and theological interests. It's the story of a bookseller on a future colony world who struggles against both political censorship and cultural-technological obsolescence. For a story of under 4 pages there's an awful lot going on, and much of it involves an unpopular religious sect that is accused of violence and in turn becomes victim to greater violence. At the heart of the story, though, is a sense of melancholy about the wisdom that is lost in the mad rush to the future, as the bookseller explains:
"Too many say they don't need these books... I tell them everything they want to know, someone else has thought or dreamed of, and it's all here for them to see. Would it kill them to learn of such thoughts? But, no, they claim to honor the past but don't care to learn from it because they say the future will be different."Hemry symbolizes this lost knowledge in specific religious terms; the lessons that the bookseller's society needs to learn involve faith and tolerance. This is a story about religion and violence, but it doesn't fall into some of the pitfalls that surround that topic—Hemry fits a lot of nuance into those four pages.
There's other great stuff in this issue, too, including a nice time travel tale from Howard Hendrix and the second installment in Joe Haldeman's Marsbound. Have you considered subscribing? 'Cause you should.
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