The Discarded
Encyclopedia
"The Discarded" is a short story
by Harlan Ellison
.
A television adaptation, directed by Jonathan Frakes
, aired on August 25, 2007 as an episode of Masters of Science Fiction
.
A spaceship
orbiting Earth contains people who are infected with an illness from Earth which causes disfiguring mutation
s. An ambassador from Earth travels to the ship and reveals that the illness has spread on Earth. A cure would require the blood of the outcasts aboard the ship. He also promises the outcasts that afterward they will be able to return to Earth.
An argument ensues. The leader of the outcasts, who opposes all dealing with the Earth people who cast them out, is accidentally killed in a scuffle. His successor is the main proponent of returning to Earth.
After having extracted the required blood samples and returned to Earth, the ambassador docks back on the ship of the infected. The infected are filled with hope and glee, while a 3-way marriage ceremony occurs between 2 male and 1 female infected. As the ambassador enters the main room where the infected wait with their luggage, his face is that of disapproval, as many more newly infected people enter the ship from behind him. The leader of the infected ship cries out in disappointment, realizing his error in trusting the ambassador, something the previous leader warned the infected, before being struck dead by this leader.
The scene then proceeds to the main living quarters, just as the story began, with the sound of banging, and blood splatters on the window. The leader is committing suicide
by repeated self injury to the head, just as an unidentified infected member did at the beginning. His body is then disposed of by command of the new leader. The moral depicted shows that no good can come without trust and unity, something that the very first leader preached, by instructing his fellow infected to refuse to help the "Earthlings", because of how they exiled them in the first place.
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 Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
.
A television adaptation, directed by Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
, aired on August 25, 2007 as an episode of Masters of Science Fiction
Masters of Science Fiction
Masters of Science Fiction is an American television anthology series by the same creators as Masters of Horror. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007 at 10PM for a run of four episodes...
.
Plot summary
This summary is based on the television adaptation.A spaceship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
orbiting Earth contains people who are infected with an illness from Earth which causes disfiguring mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
s. An ambassador from Earth travels to the ship and reveals that the illness has spread on Earth. A cure would require the blood of the outcasts aboard the ship. He also promises the outcasts that afterward they will be able to return to Earth.
An argument ensues. The leader of the outcasts, who opposes all dealing with the Earth people who cast them out, is accidentally killed in a scuffle. His successor is the main proponent of returning to Earth.
After having extracted the required blood samples and returned to Earth, the ambassador docks back on the ship of the infected. The infected are filled with hope and glee, while a 3-way marriage ceremony occurs between 2 male and 1 female infected. As the ambassador enters the main room where the infected wait with their luggage, his face is that of disapproval, as many more newly infected people enter the ship from behind him. The leader of the infected ship cries out in disappointment, realizing his error in trusting the ambassador, something the previous leader warned the infected, before being struck dead by this leader.
The scene then proceeds to the main living quarters, just as the story began, with the sound of banging, and blood splatters on the window. The leader is committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by repeated self injury to the head, just as an unidentified infected member did at the beginning. His body is then disposed of by command of the new leader. The moral depicted shows that no good can come without trust and unity, something that the very first leader preached, by instructing his fellow infected to refuse to help the "Earthlings", because of how they exiled them in the first place.