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Salvage (short story)
Encyclopedia
"Salvage" is a short story by Orson Scott Card
. It appears in his short story collection The Folk of the Fringe
. Card originally published this story in the February 1986 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction
magazine. It was also reprinted in the anthology Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
.
America, Deaver Teague makes a living salvaging
things left behind from before the war. Although he makes more money than a lot of people, he knows that he won't be able to do this job forever. When he hears a couple of truck drivers talking about some gold hidden in a Mormon temple
in the now flooded Salt Lake City
he decides to go and look for it. Deaver can't do this by himself so he goes to two of his friends, who are not very religious Mormon
s, and asks them for help. Reluctantly they agree. His friend Lehi gets some diving equipment and his friend Rain agrees to take him out to the temple in her boat. On the way Deaver tells them about how he was orphaned even though he doesn't like to talk about it because he believes that friends don't keep secrets from each other. When they arrive at the temple Deaver dives down into the building and comes up with some pieces of metal which he believes to be the hidden gold. When he gets to the surface he finds out that they are prayers that people have scratched into flattened tin cans and thrown into the temple windows. When he discovers that his friends knew that people were coming out here and doing this he feels betrayed because they didn't tell him and decides to move away.
" by Orson Scott Card, Deaver Teague was found by a group of traveling Mormons after his parents were killed. Since the boy had no parents the group decided to take him along with them to Utah. At the time he was unable to talk and they didn’t know his name so he was named after two of the men in the group; Jamie Teague and Brother Deaver. The story "Pageant Wagon
" by Card is also about Deaver Teague. It takes place when he is in his late twenties and is the story of how he meets up with and joins a group of traveling actors.
/Mormon
influence is present in this story.
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. It appears in his short story collection The Folk of the Fringe
The Folk of the Fringe
The Folk of the Fringe is a collection of post-apocalyptic stories by American writer Orson Scott Card. These stories are set sometime in the near future, when World War III has left America in ruins. The stories are about how a few groups of Mormons struggle to survive...
. Card originally published this story in the February 1986 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction
Asimov's Science Fiction
Asimov's Science Fiction is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy and perpetuates the name of author and biochemist Isaac Asimov...
magazine. It was also reprinted in the anthology Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse is an anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction published by Night Shade Books in January 2008, edited by John Joseph Adams.The anthology includes 22 stories, plus an introduction by the editor...
.
Plot summary
In a post-apocalypticApocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
America, Deaver Teague makes a living salvaging
Salvage
Salvage means 'rescue' and as such may refer to:* Marine salvage, the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo and sometimes the crew from peril* Salvage tug, a type of tugboat used to rescue or salvage ships which are in distress or in danger of sinking...
things left behind from before the war. Although he makes more money than a lot of people, he knows that he won't be able to do this job forever. When he hears a couple of truck drivers talking about some gold hidden in a Mormon temple
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
in the now flooded Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
he decides to go and look for it. Deaver can't do this by himself so he goes to two of his friends, who are not very religious Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s, and asks them for help. Reluctantly they agree. His friend Lehi gets some diving equipment and his friend Rain agrees to take him out to the temple in her boat. On the way Deaver tells them about how he was orphaned even though he doesn't like to talk about it because he believes that friends don't keep secrets from each other. When they arrive at the temple Deaver dives down into the building and comes up with some pieces of metal which he believes to be the hidden gold. When he gets to the surface he finds out that they are prayers that people have scratched into flattened tin cans and thrown into the temple windows. When he discovers that his friends knew that people were coming out here and doing this he feels betrayed because they didn't tell him and decides to move away.
Connection to the other stories
In the story "WestWest (short story)
"West" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection The Folk of the Fringe. Card originally published a shorter version of this story in the short story collection Free Lancers: Alien Stars IV .-Plot summary:...
" by Orson Scott Card, Deaver Teague was found by a group of traveling Mormons after his parents were killed. Since the boy had no parents the group decided to take him along with them to Utah. At the time he was unable to talk and they didn’t know his name so he was named after two of the men in the group; Jamie Teague and Brother Deaver. The story "Pageant Wagon
Pageant Wagon (short story)
"Pageant Wagon" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It’s first and only appearance is in his short story collection The Folk of the Fringe .-Plot summary:...
" by Card is also about Deaver Teague. It takes place when he is in his late twenties and is the story of how he meets up with and joins a group of traveling actors.
Influences
As with many of Card's other literature, a ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
/Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
influence is present in this story.
Characters
- Deaver Teague
- mechanic - unnamed
- Lehi McKay - Deaver's friend
- Lorraine "Rain" Wilson - Deaver's friend
- staring woman - unnamed
- families that live with Rain - unnamed
See also
- List of works by Orson Scott Card
- Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
- LDS fictionLDS fictionLDS fiction is an American niche market of fiction novels featuring themes related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...