Time Pussy
Encyclopedia
Time Pussy is an early science fiction
short story
by American writer Isaac Asimov
. It was the third of three stories Asimov wrote for John W. Campbell
for a new category of science fiction tall tale
s in Astounding Science Fiction called "Probability Zero". Campbell rejected the first two stories, Big Game and First Law
, since they were not what he was looking for, but he accepted Time Pussy, albeit unenthusiastically. Campbell also wanted to run the story under a pseudonym, since he wanted to encourage new writers to write "Probability Zero" stories. Asimov agreed, and chose the name George E. Dale at random. The story appeared pseudonymously in the April 1942 issue of Astounding and was reprinted under Asimov's name in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov
.
prospector back during the "Rush of '37". Old Mac tells the narrator about some cat-like animals he knew on Pallas
that existed in four dimensions: in addition to the usual spatial dimensions, the Pallan cats "stretched somewheres into middle o' next week" (and were thus living precursors of Asimov's fictional chemical compound thiotimoline
). The "time pussies" would howl twenty-four hours before seeing a burglar, and digest their meals three hours before eating them. Old Mac tells how some scientists back on Earth were willing to pay a million dollars for the preserved remains of a time pussy, but the animals would decay too quickly after death to be useful. The miners finally came up with the idea of soaking a time pussy in water just before it died, then quickly freezing the water. However, the attempt to preserve the last time pussy failed, because the water froze so quickly it was still warm.
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 American writer 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 the third of three stories Asimov wrote for John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
for a new category of science fiction tall tale
Tall tale
A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories such as, "that fish was so big, why I tell ya', it nearly sank the boat when I pulled it in!" Other tall tales are completely...
s in Astounding Science Fiction called "Probability Zero". Campbell rejected the first two stories, Big Game and First Law
First Law
"First Law" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, first published in the October 1956 issue of Fantastic Universe magazine and later collected in The Rest of the Robots and The Complete Robot...
, since they were not what he was looking for, but he accepted Time Pussy, albeit unenthusiastically. Campbell also wanted to run the story under a pseudonym, since he wanted to encourage new writers to write "Probability Zero" stories. Asimov agreed, and chose the name George E. Dale at random. The story appeared pseudonymously in the April 1942 issue of Astounding and was reprinted under Asimov's name in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov
The Early Asimov
The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying is a 1972 collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov. Each story is accompanied by commentary by the author, who gives details about his life and his literary achievements in the period in which he wrote the story.-Contents:* "The Callistan Menace" *...
.
Plot summary
The unnamed narrator of Time Pussy relates a story he heard as a boy from Old Mac, who had been an asteroidAsteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
prospector back during the "Rush of '37". Old Mac tells the narrator about some cat-like animals he knew on Pallas
2 Pallas
Pallas, formally designated 2 Pallas, is the second asteroid to have been discovered , and one of the largest. It is estimated to constitute 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt, and its diameter of 530–565 km is comparable to, or slightly larger than, that of 4 Vesta. It is however 20%...
that existed in four dimensions: in addition to the usual spatial dimensions, the Pallan cats "stretched somewheres into middle o' next week" (and were thus living precursors of Asimov's fictional chemical compound thiotimoline
Thiotimoline
Thiotimoline is a fictitious chemical compound conceived by science fiction author Isaac Asimov and first described in a spoof scientific paper titled "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline" in 1948...
). The "time pussies" would howl twenty-four hours before seeing a burglar, and digest their meals three hours before eating them. Old Mac tells how some scientists back on Earth were willing to pay a million dollars for the preserved remains of a time pussy, but the animals would decay too quickly after death to be useful. The miners finally came up with the idea of soaking a time pussy in water just before it died, then quickly freezing the water. However, the attempt to preserve the last time pussy failed, because the water froze so quickly it was still warm.