Sector General
Sector General Articles Books Short Stories Bio-Bibliography Contact Us

 

Tableau

 new worlds 71
best of british 2

 
'Tableau' (10,000 words.) 

The War Memorial in the planetary capital of Orligia was unique, but it very definitely was not a nice object.
'Tableau' proves beyond any possible doubt that James White was a muscular pacifist concerning militarism and those moral imbeciles who fight to the last drop of everybody else's blood.  From Gary Louie's 'Sector General Timeline' (see The White Papers):  "After a bad first contact, Earth and Orligia are at war for three years./Earth-human MacEwan and orligian Grawlya-Ki are stopped [in tableau vivant form]./After 236 years, Grawlya-Ki and MacEwan are brought out of stasis."  Retroblurb:  "Makes All Quiet on the Western Front look like a vicarage tea party!"

Synopsis by graham Andrews

 
First Publication:
  •  NEW WORLDS 71, May 1958
Publication History:
  • FICTION, Special SF issue No 3, June 1961, as Cenotaph
  • THE BEST OF NEW WORLDS, Ed Michael Moorcock, Compact, November 1965
  • THE BEST OF BRITISH SF 2, Ed Mike Ashley, Futura, Autumn 1977
  • Russian State Publishing as Memopnar (Memoriam),Mahopana, Moscow, 1991
  • BBC reading, Radio Ulster Plunge into Space extract,10/5/8
  • CBC Canadian radio reading extract,19/5/86
  • The Aliens Among Us (see under Books)

 

Back to Short Stories Main

Next: The Ideal Captain


The James White Award