"Second Chance" is a short story by Orson Scott Card

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 collections Capitol

Capitol (collection)

Capitol was Orson Scott Card's second published book. This collection of eleven short stories set in the Worthing series is no longer in print...

and The Worthing Saga

The Worthing Saga

The Worthing Saga is a science fiction book by American writer Orson Scott Card, set in the Worthing series. It is made up of the novel The Worthing Chronicle and nine related stories...

. Card first published it in the anthology Destinies (January–February 1979).

Plot summary

When Batta Heddis was a child her father lost his legs in an accident. Because her mother was not responsible enough to take care of the family Batta ended up taking care of everyone. While attending college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 she met a man named Abner Doon. They became very close and spent a lot of time together. After Batta graduated from college they went their separate ways. A year later Abner came to her house and asked her to go out with him. She refused because her family needed her. When Batta’s brother and sister had grown up and moved out Abner returned and asked her to marry him. While they discussed it and the possibility of them both going under the fictional drug Somec he had her memories taped. However, just as Abner was about to give her the Somec and put her into suspended animation

Suspended animation

Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...

 for a few years she changed her mind and went back to take care of her parents. By the time her parents died Batta was almost insane

Insanity

Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...

 from the hardship of taking care of them. When Abner showed up and offered to wipe her memories with Somec and play the recording he’d made of her mind years earlier she jumped at the chance. However, when she woke up Batta couldn’t escape the feeling that she had abandoned her parents and asked to have her old memories back.

Connection to the Worthing Saga

This story uses several plot elements also used in The Worthing Saga

The Worthing Saga

The Worthing Saga is a science fiction book by American writer Orson Scott Card, set in the Worthing series. It is made up of the novel The Worthing Chronicle and nine related stories...

, such as the sleeping drug Somec and the taping of memories. It takes place on the planet Capitol years after the events in the story "Skipping Stones

Skipping Stones

"Skipping Stones" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It first appeared in his short story collection Capitol and then later in The Worthing Saga.-Plot summary:...

". The story of Abner Doon’s failed relationship with Batta Heddis also appears in a much shorter form as a part of chapter 5 in Card's novel The Worthing Chronicle

The Worthing Chronicle

The Worthing Chronicle is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card set in the Worthing series. This book by itself is out of print having been published along with nine short stories in the collection The Worthing Saga .-Plot summary:...

.

External links

• The official Orson Scott Card website