I Will Fear No Evil
Encyclopedia
I Will Fear No Evil is a science fiction
novel
by Robert A. Heinlein
, originally serialised in Galaxy
(July, August/September, October/November, December 1970) and published in hardcover in 1970. The title is taken from Psalm 23
:4.
Smith advertises an offer of a million dollars for the donation of a body from a brain-dead patient. Coincidentally, his beautiful young female secretary, Eunice Branca, is murdered, so her body is used, since Smith never thought to place any restriction on the sex of the donor. He is rechristened Joan Eunice Smith.
For reasons never made clear, Eunice's personality continues to co-inhabit the body. (Whether Eunice's personality is real or a figment of Johann's imagination is addressed but never fully resolved in the novel.) Joan and Eunice agree never to reveal her continued existence, fearing that they would be judged insane and locked up. The two of them speculate that it may have something to do with the supposed ability of animals to remember things using RNA
rather than the nervous system. (At the time the book was published, biologist J.V. McConnell had done a series of experiments in which he taught a behavior to flatworm
s, ground them up, and fed them to other flatworms, which supposedly exhibited the same behavior. McConnell's experiments were later discredited, but they were used in science fiction by several authors, including Heinlein, Larry Niven
, Joe Haldeman
and Dean Koontz
.) However, Joan and Eunice decide that this possible explanation is irrelevant, and near the end of the book, a third personality, that of Joan's new husband, joins them by means that can only be explained via delusion, religion or mysticism, not science.
, but there is little connection to the Future History
series.
Heinlein suffered from life-threatening peritonitis
while working on this novel, and it is generally believed that his wife Virginia handled much of the editing. Detractors of this novel sometimes invoke Heinlein's overall ill health as a reason for its perceived poor quality. Much of the book is devoted to a description of Joan's exploration of emotional and sexual love from the point of view of her new gender. A typical episode in this long series of escapades involves Joan having an experience that is new to her from the female point of view, with internal dialog between Joan and Eunice to the effect that there is nothing new under the sun, and all of this was going on a hundred years ago when Johann was young and male. These dialogs form the bulk of the book, and it is often hard to believe that they could happen during the gaps in the exterior scene being described. The book deals with many of Heinlein's favorite themes, such as radical individualism
, immortality
, free love
, and the relationship between sexual and emotional love.
As in his story "All You Zombies—", we have a male undergoing a sex change
and then impregnating herself. It is also interesting to compare this book with the original version of Podkayne of Mars
. Like Podkayne, I Will Fear No Evil ends by moralizing about the fundamental purpose of human life, which is to take care of children, and in both novels the moral has no clear relationship to the main events of the story. (Given that I Will Fear No Evil is almost entirely about sex, and its moral, as finally stated, is the importance of procreation, it is remarkable that procreative sex is entirely absent; Joan becomes pregnant by artificial insemination.) Both Podkayne of Mars and I Will Fear No Evil have female-point-of-view characters who are portrayed as ideal, almost saintlike types, and both end with the death of the protagonist (using Heinlein's original ending of Podkayne).
The book contains some demonstrations of Heinlein's frequent success as a prognosticator. For example, Eunice operates a device called a "stenodesk" that works quite a bit like a modern personal computer or workstation. (Heinlein's 1957 novel The Door into Summer
similarly envisaged the development of CAD systems, and his 1982 novel Friday
portrayed something very like the modern Internet, and perhaps most specifically the modern websites Wikipedia
and YouTube
.) The novel is also notable in that it contains one of SF's first sympathetic fictional portrayals of a same-sex couple.
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...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
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...
, originally serialised in Galaxy
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
(July, August/September, October/November, December 1970) and published in hardcover in 1970. The title is taken from Psalm 23
Psalm 23
In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music....
:4.
Plot summary
The story takes place about 2015 AD, against a background of an overpopulated Earth, whose dysfunctional society is clearly an attempt to extrapolate into the future the rapid social changes taking place in the U.S. during the 1960s. Ancient billionaire Johann Sebastian Bach Smith is dying, and wants to have his brain transplanted into a new body.Smith advertises an offer of a million dollars for the donation of a body from a brain-dead patient. Coincidentally, his beautiful young female secretary, Eunice Branca, is murdered, so her body is used, since Smith never thought to place any restriction on the sex of the donor. He is rechristened Joan Eunice Smith.
For reasons never made clear, Eunice's personality continues to co-inhabit the body. (Whether Eunice's personality is real or a figment of Johann's imagination is addressed but never fully resolved in the novel.) Joan and Eunice agree never to reveal her continued existence, fearing that they would be judged insane and locked up. The two of them speculate that it may have something to do with the supposed ability of animals to remember things using RNA
RNA
Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....
rather than the nervous system. (At the time the book was published, biologist J.V. McConnell had done a series of experiments in which he taught a behavior to flatworm
Flatworm
The flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
s, ground them up, and fed them to other flatworms, which supposedly exhibited the same behavior. McConnell's experiments were later discredited, but they were used in science fiction by several authors, including Heinlein, Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
, Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
and Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz
Dean Ray Koontz is a prolific American author best known for his novels which could be described broadly as suspense thrillers. He also frequently incorporates elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and satire. A number of his books have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with...
.) However, Joan and Eunice decide that this possible explanation is irrelevant, and near the end of the book, a third personality, that of Joan's new husband, joins them by means that can only be explained via delusion, religion or mysticism, not science.
Writing
The events of the novel are mentioned in one line of Time Enough for LoveTime Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.-Plot:...
, but there is little connection to the Future History
Future History
The Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr. in the February 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction...
series.
Heinlein suffered from life-threatening peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
while working on this novel, and it is generally believed that his wife Virginia handled much of the editing. Detractors of this novel sometimes invoke Heinlein's overall ill health as a reason for its perceived poor quality. Much of the book is devoted to a description of Joan's exploration of emotional and sexual love from the point of view of her new gender. A typical episode in this long series of escapades involves Joan having an experience that is new to her from the female point of view, with internal dialog between Joan and Eunice to the effect that there is nothing new under the sun, and all of this was going on a hundred years ago when Johann was young and male. These dialogs form the bulk of the book, and it is often hard to believe that they could happen during the gaps in the exterior scene being described. The book deals with many of Heinlein's favorite themes, such as radical individualism
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
, immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
, free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
, and the relationship between sexual and emotional love.
As in his story "All You Zombies—", we have a male undergoing a sex change
Sex change
Sex change is a term often used for gender reassignment therapy, that is, all medical procedures transgendered people can have, or specifically to sexual reassignment surgery, which usually refers to genitalia surgery only...
and then impregnating herself. It is also interesting to compare this book with the original version of Podkayne of Mars
Podkayne of Mars
Podkayne of Mars is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialised in Worlds of If , and published in hardcover in 1963...
. Like Podkayne, I Will Fear No Evil ends by moralizing about the fundamental purpose of human life, which is to take care of children, and in both novels the moral has no clear relationship to the main events of the story. (Given that I Will Fear No Evil is almost entirely about sex, and its moral, as finally stated, is the importance of procreation, it is remarkable that procreative sex is entirely absent; Joan becomes pregnant by artificial insemination.) Both Podkayne of Mars and I Will Fear No Evil have female-point-of-view characters who are portrayed as ideal, almost saintlike types, and both end with the death of the protagonist (using Heinlein's original ending of Podkayne).
The book contains some demonstrations of Heinlein's frequent success as a prognosticator. For example, Eunice operates a device called a "stenodesk" that works quite a bit like a modern personal computer or workstation. (Heinlein's 1957 novel The Door into Summer
The Door into Summer
The Door into Summer is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published in hardcover in 1957. It is a fast-paced hard science fiction novel, with a key fantastic element, and romantic elements...
similarly envisaged the development of CAD systems, and his 1982 novel Friday
Friday (novel)
Friday is a 1982 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the story of a female "artificial person," the titular character, genetically engineered to be stronger, faster, smarter, and generally better than normal humans...
portrayed something very like the modern Internet, and perhaps most specifically the modern websites Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.) The novel is also notable in that it contains one of SF's first sympathetic fictional portrayals of a same-sex couple.
Editions
- January 1970, Putnam, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-10460-7
- Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-06820-X
- Penguin Putnam, paperback, ISBN 0-425-02321-4
- 1971, Berkley, paperback, first printing edition, ISBN 0-425-02085-1
- January 1975, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-02806-2
- November 1975, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-03099-7
- October 1976, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-03425-9
- September 15, 1980, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-04386-X
- January 1982, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-05613-9
- December 15, 1982, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-06171-X
- February 1983, MacMillan, 401 pages, ISBN 0-8398-2449-1
- May 1984, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-07508-7
- July 1985, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-08680-1
- July 1986, Berkley, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09554-1
- September 1, 1990, Ace, paperback reissue edition, 512 pages, ISBN 0-441-35917-5