Living Space
Encyclopedia
"Living Space" is a science fiction
short story
by Isaac Asimov
. It was first published in the May 1956 issue of Science Fiction
and reprinted in the 1957 collection Earth Is Room Enough
. It concerns itself with a possible consequence of the existence of parallel universes, specifically the ones where life on Earth
never developed.
Clarence finds he has a problem. There are noises and rumbling disturbing the silence of his domain. Naturally, he does what people usually do, and complains to the authorities. At the Housing Bureau are two co-workers; Bill Ching, who believes fervently in the parallel Earths as the solution, and Alec Mishnoff, who worries about something he only hints at to others. Both agree to visit Clarence's Earth to check out the mysterious sounds. With a seismograph they determine that the rumbles are due to some kind of surface activity, not deep earthquakes. To get a location, someone will have to leave the force field and set up a second seismograph.
Mishnoff, with his own agenda, sets out in a protective suit into the carbon dioxide
atmosphere. It does not take him long to find the source of the sounds. When he does, he is accosted by a stranger who talks to him in a dead language - German
.
After a confusing conversation, Mishnoff realizes that the man is from a parallel Earth where Nazi Germany
conquered the entire planet. They are blasting and digging for a new settlement on the Rimbros' Earth. Back on his own Earth, Mishnoff explains to Ching and his boss, Berg, that there must be an infinite number of societies who are also using dead Earths for living space. By sheer chance, some will occupy Earths that Mishnoff's society are using. There are probably many Earths with multiple occupants, but in most cases the settlements were too far apart to affect one another — until now.
After Ching leaves, Berg asks Mishnoff about his own theory, the one he refuses to share. Mishnoff, it turns out, is concerned about the probability that life in some universe will arise somewhere other than Earth, and will find its way to his Earth through the portal on one of the dead Earths. The odds are low, of course, but there are now hundreds of billions of dead Earths occupied by a single house. Just then Ching rushes in with another customer complaint - someone is worried about the red creatures with tentacles who are peering into his glasshouse.
", a key concept of Nazi ideology used to justify conquest and expansion of the "Aryan Race" at the expanse of "Inferior Races". In the context of the story, there is a far more innocuous way, unlimited "Living Space" available with no need to fight or conquer anybody, and is utilized not only by the people of Rimbro's timeline, but also by those of the Nazi-victorious timeline. And though mass horrors must have been perpetrated in the aftermath of the Nazi victory, for the people of that timeline - in whose calender this year is thousands of years "After Hitler" - these are events of the distant past and the ones encountered in the story seem quite civilized. Once finding that the Earth on which Rimbro lives is already claimed, they accept this prior claim and go away (why fight when there is a literally infinite number of other worlds just as good?).
Also for Rimbro's people, Hitler and Nazism are a piece of quite ancient history. ("Hitler was a sort of tribal chief in ancient times. He led the German tribe in one of the wars of the twentieth century, just about the time the Atomic Age started and true history began.") The horrors of Nazi Germany seem to be forgotten - except, perhaps, by professional historians (which none to the characters are).
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 Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. It was first published in the May 1956 issue of Science Fiction
Science Fiction (magazine)
Science Fiction is a Polish speculative fiction monthly magazine. It was established in 2001 under the name Science Fiction by Robert J. Szmidt, who was also the first editor...
and reprinted in the 1957 collection Earth Is Room Enough
Earth Is Room Enough
Earth Is Room Enough is a collection of fifteen short science fiction and fantasy stories and two pieces of comic verse published by Isaac Asimov in 1957. In his autobiography In Joy Still Felt, Asimov wrote, "I was still thinking of the remarks of reviewers such as George O. Smith . . ....
. It concerns itself with a possible consequence of the existence of parallel universes, specifically the ones where life on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
never developed.
Plot summary
Clarence Rimbro owns the entire planet Earth. This is no great accomplishment as, thousands of years in our future, anyone can do it. There are an infinite number of possible Earths, each existing in its own parallel universe. If the chance of life arising on any one of them is about 50%, then half the time a random choice of a parallel universe will lead to a dead Earth. Since there are a trillion people living in this time, it would be almost impossible for them to live on one Earth, so each family sets up its house and garden, protected by a force field and running on solar power, on a dead Earth. Clarence enjoys total independence for his family, and an entire planet's worth of living space. As there are still an infinite number of dead Earths, they can never be filled up, and nobody is worried about the population becoming two trillion in fifty years or so.Clarence finds he has a problem. There are noises and rumbling disturbing the silence of his domain. Naturally, he does what people usually do, and complains to the authorities. At the Housing Bureau are two co-workers; Bill Ching, who believes fervently in the parallel Earths as the solution, and Alec Mishnoff, who worries about something he only hints at to others. Both agree to visit Clarence's Earth to check out the mysterious sounds. With a seismograph they determine that the rumbles are due to some kind of surface activity, not deep earthquakes. To get a location, someone will have to leave the force field and set up a second seismograph.
Mishnoff, with his own agenda, sets out in a protective suit into the carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
atmosphere. It does not take him long to find the source of the sounds. When he does, he is accosted by a stranger who talks to him in a dead language - German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
After a confusing conversation, Mishnoff realizes that the man is from a parallel Earth where Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
conquered the entire planet. They are blasting and digging for a new settlement on the Rimbros' Earth. Back on his own Earth, Mishnoff explains to Ching and his boss, Berg, that there must be an infinite number of societies who are also using dead Earths for living space. By sheer chance, some will occupy Earths that Mishnoff's society are using. There are probably many Earths with multiple occupants, but in most cases the settlements were too far apart to affect one another — until now.
After Ching leaves, Berg asks Mishnoff about his own theory, the one he refuses to share. Mishnoff, it turns out, is concerned about the probability that life in some universe will arise somewhere other than Earth, and will find its way to his Earth through the portal on one of the dead Earths. The odds are low, of course, but there are now hundreds of billions of dead Earths occupied by a single house. Just then Ching rushes in with another customer complaint - someone is worried about the red creatures with tentacles who are peering into his glasshouse.
Themes
The story's name, "Living Space" is a direct translation of the German "LebensraumLebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
", a key concept of Nazi ideology used to justify conquest and expansion of the "Aryan Race" at the expanse of "Inferior Races". In the context of the story, there is a far more innocuous way, unlimited "Living Space" available with no need to fight or conquer anybody, and is utilized not only by the people of Rimbro's timeline, but also by those of the Nazi-victorious timeline. And though mass horrors must have been perpetrated in the aftermath of the Nazi victory, for the people of that timeline - in whose calender this year is thousands of years "After Hitler" - these are events of the distant past and the ones encountered in the story seem quite civilized. Once finding that the Earth on which Rimbro lives is already claimed, they accept this prior claim and go away (why fight when there is a literally infinite number of other worlds just as good?).
Also for Rimbro's people, Hitler and Nazism are a piece of quite ancient history. ("Hitler was a sort of tribal chief in ancient times. He led the German tribe in one of the wars of the twentieth century, just about the time the Atomic Age started and true history began.") The horrors of Nazi Germany seem to be forgotten - except, perhaps, by professional historians (which none to the characters are).