Gentlemen, Be Seated!
Encyclopedia
"Gentlemen, Be Seated!" is a science fiction
short story
by Robert A. Heinlein
. It was first published in the May 1948 issue of Argosy
magazine. It was later included in two of Heinlein's collections, The Green Hills of Earth
(1951), and The Past Through Tomorrow
(1967).
The phrase "Gentlemen, Be Seated!" is the opening line of the interlocutor
in a traditional minstrel show
. It was also, at the time the story was written and while Heinlein attended, the opening line for all classes at the military and naval academies (as well as classes for officers at the various service schools) in the United States.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. It was first published in the May 1948 issue of Argosy
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
magazine. It was later included in two of Heinlein's collections, The Green Hills of Earth
The Green Hills of Earth (short story collection)
The Green Hills of Earth is a collection of science fiction short stories by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1951, although it includes short stories published as early as 1941. The stories are part of Heinlein's Future History. The title story is the tale of an old space mariner reflecting upon...
(1951), and The Past Through Tomorrow
The Past Through Tomorrow
The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of Robert A. Heinlein's Future History stories.Most of the stories are part of a larger storyline of a rapidly collapsing American sanity, followed by a theocratic dictatorship...
(1967).
Plot summary
The story tells of a visit to a tunnel on the surface of the moon which goes awry when a pressure seal fails, trapping three men (a supervisor, a reporter, and a tunnel worker). The title of the story derives from the way they plug an air leak while awaiting rescue: by sitting on it.The phrase "Gentlemen, Be Seated!" is the opening line of the interlocutor
Interlocutor (music)
An interlocutor is the master of ceremonies of a minstrel show. A blackface character, like the other performers, the interlocutor nonetheless had a somewhat aristocratic demeanor, a "codfish aristocrat"....
in a traditional minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
. It was also, at the time the story was written and while Heinlein attended, the opening line for all classes at the military and naval academies (as well as classes for officers at the various service schools) in the United States.