Surface Tension (short story)
Encyclopedia
"Surface Tension" is a science fiction
short story
by James Blish
originally published in 1952. As collected in Blish's The Seedling Stars
, it was revised to incorporate material from his earlier story "Sunken Universe", published in Super Science Stories
in 1942.
Surface Tension was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
. It was adapted by George Lefferts as a radio drama
for X Minus One
in 1956. In this adaptation, the humanoids are part of an experiment running on a doomed Earth.
Anthony Boucher
, commenting on the collected version of the story, noted that although Blish might seem "to pass the most remote bounds of scientific extrapolation, . . . the details are worked out in magnificently convincing manner."
Hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
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 James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
originally published in 1952. As collected in Blish's The Seedling Stars
The Seedling Stars
The Seedling Stars is a 1957 collection of science fiction short stories by James Blish. It was first published by Gnome Press in 1957 in an edition of 5,000 copies...
, it was revised to incorporate material from his earlier story "Sunken Universe", published in Super Science Stories
Super Science Stories
Super Science Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 and 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their "Fictioneers" imprint, which they used for magazines paying writers less than one cent per word...
in 1942.
Plot summary
Humans crash on a distant planet which is earthlike but completely water-covered; their ship is too damaged to take off, nor do they have sufficient supplies to survive for long. The humans create a race of microscopic aquatic humanoids to carry on their legacy before they themselves die. The majority of the story concerns these creatures and their intelligence, curiosity, and evolving technology. In particular, the aquatic humanoids develop a "space ship", or rather "air ship", which enables them to pierce the previously impenetrable surface of the water and travel through what is, to them, hostile space—open air—to other worlds in other bodies of water.Surface Tension was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964 is a 1970 anthology of science fiction short stories, edited by Robert Silverberg. It is generally considered one of the best, if not the best, of the many science fiction anthologies...
. It was adapted by George Lefferts as a radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
for X Minus One
X Minus One
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.-Overview:...
in 1956. In this adaptation, the humanoids are part of an experiment running on a doomed Earth.
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
, commenting on the collected version of the story, noted that although Blish might seem "to pass the most remote bounds of scientific extrapolation, . . . the details are worked out in magnificently convincing manner."