Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine (issue may not have been brand-new). Boy lives in a city on Earth (there're no space exploration mentioned) under a dome -- every city is under a dome, and so is every farm, because the atmosphere is poisonous, having been made so by Man. City life is perfect -- houses, schools, shops, parks, and it rains gently every night. Shipments of food and goods between domes are done by sealed trains, which leave and enter through airlocks (always at night). Boy is curious and cynical. Wants to check things out himself, but he can't. Until! He manages to get out through an airlock, along with a train. He "knows" that he will be alone for the few minutes he'll be able to survive -- but he needs to know. And he does pass out. Then he comes to, lying in thick vegetation, and looking into the face of bearded man. The man tells him that the atmosphere has, over time, cleaned itself up, but the leaders don't care; they have control and plan to keep it (or that was the gist, anyway). Lots of people have managed to get out, the last few years, and they have set up their own communities and keep an eye on the cities, etc., to collect and welcome new people. The story ends with man and boy heading for the nearest community.
I haven't read this in over 50 years, and I'd love to know the title and author -- and where I read it!
> Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine (issue may > not have been brand-new). Boy lives in a city on Earth (there're no > space exploration mentioned) under a dome -- every city is under a > dome, and so is every farm, because the atmosphere is poisonous, > having been made so by Man. City life is perfect -- houses, schools, > shops, parks, and it rains gently every night. Shipments of food and > goods between domes are done by sealed trains, which leave and enter > through airlocks (always at night). Boy is curious and cynical. > Wants to check things out himself, but he can't. Until! He manages > to get out through an airlock, along with a train. He "knows" that he > will be alone for the few minutes he'll be able to survive -- but he > needs to know. And he does pass out. Then he comes to, lying in > thick vegetation, and looking into the face of bearded man. The man > tells him that the atmosphere has, over time, cleaned itself up, but > the leaders don't care; they have control and plan to keep it (or that > was the gist, anyway). Lots of people have managed to get out, the > last few years, and they have set up their own communities and keep an > eye on the cities, etc., to collect and welcome new people. The story > ends with man and boy heading for the nearest community.
Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end of the movie).
-- Konrad Gaertner - - - - - - - - - - - - email: kgaert...@tx.rr.com http://kgbooklog.livejournal.com/ "I don't mind hidden depths but I insist that there be a surface." -- James Nicoll
> > Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine (issue may > > not have been brand-new). Boy lives in a city on Earth (there're no > > space exploration mentioned) under a dome -- every city is under a > > dome, and so is every farm, because the atmosphere is poisonous, > > having been made so by Man. City life is perfect -- houses, schools, > > shops, parks, and it rains gently every night. Shipments of food and > > goods between domes are done by sealed trains, which leave and enter > > through airlocks (always at night). Boy is curious and cynical. > > Wants to check things out himself, but he can't. Until! He manages > > to get out through an airlock, along with a train. He "knows" that he > > will be alone for the few minutes he'll be able to survive -- but he > > needs to know. And he does pass out. Then he comes to, lying in > > thick vegetation, and looking into the face of bearded man. The man > > tells him that the atmosphere has, over time, cleaned itself up, but > > the leaders don't care; they have control and plan to keep it (or that > > was the gist, anyway). Lots of people have managed to get out, the > > last few years, and they have set up their own communities and keep an > > eye on the cities, etc., to collect and welcome new people. The story > > ends with man and boy heading for the nearest community.
> Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end of > the movie).
It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence at all to the book in fact...
> On Oct 31, 1:54 pm, Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote: > > Cece wrote:
> > > Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine (issue may > > > not have been brand-new). Boy lives in a city on Earth (there're no > > > space exploration mentioned) under a dome -- every city is under a > > > dome, and so is every farm, because the atmosphere is poisonous, > > > having been made so by Man. City life is perfect -- houses, schools, > > > shops, parks, and it rains gently every night. Shipments of food and > > > goods between domes are done by sealed trains, which leave and enter > > > through airlocks (always at night). Boy is curious and cynical. > > > Wants to check things out himself, but he can't. Until! He manages > > > to get out through an airlock, along with a train. He "knows" that he > > > will be alone for the few minutes he'll be able to survive -- but he > > > needs to know. And he does pass out. Then he comes to, lying in > > > thick vegetation, and looking into the face of bearded man. The man > > > tells him that the atmosphere has, over time, cleaned itself up, but > > > the leaders don't care; they have control and plan to keep it (or that > > > was the gist, anyway). Lots of people have managed to get out, the > > > last few years, and they have set up their own communities and keep an > > > eye on the cities, etc., to collect and welcome new people. The story > > > ends with man and boy heading for the nearest community.
> > Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end of > > the movie).
> It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence at all > to the book in fact...
Novelization of the movie then? I'm fairly certain the movie ended the the hero escaping the dome and finding overgrown ruins and a bearded guy.
-- Konrad Gaertner - - - - - - - - - - - - email: kgaert...@tx.rr.com http://kgbooklog.livejournal.com/ "I don't mind hidden depths but I insist that there be a surface." -- James Nicoll
On Nov 1, 12:28 am, Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote:
> Shawn Wilson wrote:
> > On Oct 31, 1:54 pm, Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote: > > > Cece wrote:
> > > > Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine ... > > > Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end of > > > the movie).
> > It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence at all > > to the book in fact...
Cece wrote: > Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine (issue may > not have been brand-new). Boy lives in a city on Earth (there're no > space exploration mentioned) under a dome -- every city is under a > dome, and so is every farm, because the atmosphere is poisonous, > having been made so by Man. City life is perfect -- houses, schools, > shops, parks, and it rains gently every night. Shipments of food and > goods between domes are done by sealed trains, which leave and enter > through airlocks (always at night). Boy is curious and cynical. > Wants to check things out himself, but he can't. Until! He manages > to get out through an airlock, along with a train. He "knows" that he > will be alone for the few minutes he'll be able to survive -- but he > needs to know. And he does pass out. Then he comes to, lying in > thick vegetation, and looking into the face of bearded man. The man > tells him that the atmosphere has, over time, cleaned itself up, but > the leaders don't care; they have control and plan to keep it (or that > was the gist, anyway). Lots of people have managed to get out, the > last few years, and they have set up their own communities and keep an > eye on the cities, etc., to collect and welcome new people. The story > ends with man and boy heading for the nearest community.
> I haven't read this in over 50 years, and I'd love to know the title > and author -- and where I read it!
It sounds somewhat like H.M. Hoover's _This Time of Darkness_, but there is enough off that I think it's just an overlap in the "domed city" trope. Plus I don't think it's old enough.
But in case it's the poster than is conflating stories, here's some data on that story to see if it jogs any memories:
Two main characters: a girl named Amy (iirc) and a boy named Axel. Boy gets added to girl's class. Girl lives in a domed city, where there is a "level 100" where you can actually see outside. The rest of the levels are pretty dystopic, with dark crowded hallways, bad food (deep-fried vegetable peels are considered a treat), limited resources, etc. Boy claims to be from outside (claims to have fallen into a train car that brought food to the city, iirc), so they start off to try and get to level 100 so that they can find out where the boy came from.
It turns out at the end of everything that "level 100" is actually a domed city, which is keeping the other levels (not domed, but actually underground) ignorant so that they have a source of cheap labor in order to run the city. And that there are actually farms out in the country, that the boy and girl escape to, which have been dutifully growing the food and sending it off for years. They travel to the farm town with a "crazy" old man, and fight off some feral humans on the way, which may be what the OP remembers.
The book ends with Amy settling in with Axel's family, and the realization that now everyone knows about everyone else, and thus that possibly things might change for the better all around. But that part was very fuzzy.
> Read in about 1957, in a large-format children's magazine (issue may > not have been brand-new). Boy lives in a city on Earth (there're no > space exploration mentioned) under a dome -- every city is under a > dome, and so is every farm, because the atmosphere is poisonous, > having been made so by Man. City life is perfect -- houses, schools, > shops, parks, and it rains gently every night. Shipments of food and > goods between domes are done by sealed trains, which leave and enter > through airlocks (always at night). Boy is curious and cynical. > Wants to check things out himself, but he can't. Until! He manages > to get out through an airlock, along with a train. He "knows" that he > will be alone for the few minutes he'll be able to survive -- but he > needs to know. And he does pass out. Then he comes to, lying in > thick vegetation, and looking into the face of bearded man. The man > tells him that the atmosphere has, over time, cleaned itself up, but > the leaders don't care; they have control and plan to keep it (or that > was the gist, anyway). Lots of people have managed to get out, the > last few years, and they have set up their own communities and keep an > eye on the cities, etc., to collect and welcome new people. The story > ends with man and boy heading for the nearest community.
> I haven't read this in over 50 years, and I'd love to know the title > and author -- and where I read it!
Some of this reminds me of one of Asimov's Lije Bailey (future detective living in a domed Earth city) novels, but I'm not sure which one. Caves of Steel? Naked Sun? Or something related?
On Oct 31, 3:28 pm, Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote:
> > It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence at all > > to the book in fact...
> Novelization of the movie then?
No distinct novelization of the movie other than the book.
> I'm fairly certain the movie ended > the the hero escaping the dome and finding overgrown ruins and a > bearded guy.
That happened, but it wasn't the end. In the end of the movie they return to the city and destroy the computer and everyone dies because they don't have the skills to live without it. (well, the last part doesn't happen, but it should...)
> On Nov 1, 9:27 am, wdst...@panix.com (William December Starr) wrote: > > In article <d872592c-8e15-451b-bf1b-bfa66397f...@g23g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>, > > Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> said:
> > > Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote: > > >> Shawn Wilson wrote: > > >>> Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote:
> > >>>> Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end > > >>>> of the movie).
> > >>> It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence > > >>> at all to the book in fact...
> > >> Novelization of the movie then?
> > > That he read in 1957?
> > Also, I don't believe that there ever _was_ a novelization of the > > movie.
> In article <3f8defc9-09ee-4c71-9483-b456dc038c63 > @w19g2000yqk.googlegroups.com>, cryptoguy (treifam...@gmail.com) > says...
> > On Nov 1, 9:27 am, wdst...@panix.com (William December Starr) wrote: > > > In article <d872592c-8e15-451b-bf1b-bfa66397f...@g23g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>, > > > Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> said:
> > > > Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote: > > > >> Shawn Wilson wrote: > > > >>> Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote:
> > > >>>> Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end > > > >>>> of the movie).
> > > >>> It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence > > > >>> at all to the book in fact...
> > > >> Novelization of the movie then?
> > > > That he read in 1957?
> > > Also, I don't believe that there ever _was_ a novelization of the > > > movie.
Thanks, everybody -- but none of your suggestions match.
It is most certainly not Logan's Run; the date and length do not match, and when I read Logan's Run (probably about 1970), it did not remind me of the story.
It is definitely not Lije Bailey; I read those no more than five years later and they are nothing at all like this story.
It is not the H.M. Hoover story; ISFDB says that was published in 1980. And it's a novel.
The story I read was a shorter work, either short story or novelette. I don't think there were any girls in it. I don't think the POV character's name was ever given.
> On Nov 2, 9:47 am, Juho Julkunen <giaot...@hotmail.com> wrote: >> In article <3f8defc9-09ee-4c71-9483-b456dc038c63 >> @w19g2000yqk.googlegroups.com>, cryptoguy (treifam...@gmail.com) >> says...
>>> On Nov 1, 9:27 am, wdst...@panix.com (William December Starr) wrote: >>>> In article <d872592c-8e15-451b-bf1b-bfa66397f...@g23g2000yqh.googlegr > oups.com>, >>>> Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> said:
>>>>> Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote: >>>>>> Shawn Wilson wrote: >>>>>>> Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>> Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end >>>>>>>> of the movie).
>>>>>>> It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence >>>>>>> at all to the book in fact...
>>>>>> Novelization of the movie then?
>>>>> That he read in 1957?
>>>> Also, I don't believe that there ever _was_ a novelization of the >>>> movie.
>> On Nov 2, 9:47 am, Juho Julkunen <giaot...@hotmail.com> wrote: >>> In article <3f8defc9-09ee-4c71-9483-b456dc038c63 >>> @w19g2000yqk.googlegroups.com>, cryptoguy (treifam...@gmail.com) >>> says...
>>>> On Nov 1, 9:27 am, wdst...@panix.com (William December Starr) wrote: >>>>> In article <d872592c-8e15-451b-bf1b-bfa66397f...@g23g2000yqh.googlegr >> oups.com>, >>>>> Michael Grosberg <grosberg.mich...@gmail.com> said:
>>>>>> Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote: >>>>>>> Shawn Wilson wrote: >>>>>>>> Konrad Gaertner <kgaert...@tx.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Sounds like Nolan's _Logan's Run_ (at least, it matches the end >>>>>>>>> of the movie).
>>>>>>>> It isn't the book- no domed cities in the book. No resemblence >>>>>>>> at all to the book in fact...
>>>>>>> Novelization of the movie then?
>>>>>> That he read in 1957?
>>>>> Also, I don't believe that there ever _was_ a novelization of the >>>>> movie.
>>>> Title: Logan's Run >>>> Authors: William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson >>>> Year: 1967
>>> That's not a novelization of the movie.
>> No, it's not. But we were looking for a source for Cece's YASID. >> Logan's run was proposed. My post demonstrates that that's 10 years >> too late.
>Plus, as was already noted: "It isn't the book- no domed cities in the >book. No resemblence at all to the book in fact..."
Actually there was a domed city in the novel, but it was underwater and in a very bad state of repair.
Jerry Brown -- A cat may look at a king (but probably won't bother)
Cece <ceceliaarmstr...@yahoo.com> wrote: > The story I read was a shorter work, either short story or > novelette. I don't think there were any girls in it. I don't > think the POV character's name was ever given.
I'm reminded of a story called "The J Line" where a youngster finds a bit of countryside and (obviously) prefers it to the ghetto s/he lives in, but I can't remember the author nor details of the story.
Joyce.
-- "The spear in the Other's heart is in your own: you are he." - Surak
<pen...@ukgateway.invalid> wrote: >Cece <ceceliaarmstr...@yahoo.com> wrote: >> The story I read was a shorter work, either short story or >> novelette. I don't think there were any girls in it. I don't >> think the POV character's name was ever given.
>I'm reminded of a story called "The J Line" where a youngster finds >a bit of countryside and (obviously) prefers it to the ghetto s/he >lives in, but I can't remember the author nor details of the story.
Zenna Henderson. I thought of it, too. The narrator is un-named, but has a named brother, somethiing like Chris. I think the narrator is a girl. There's a scene where she's at school with her friends and there's interest in guys. She spills her milkshake-equivalent and causes a problem with one of the hot guys.
Narrator is upset and angry and wants out. Gets into the J-line car and just pounds the controls. When the thing stops she steps out and is outside. Meets someone else, there, but goes back in. Tells brother, who thinks he can figure out where she went and how to get back there. They all want to go.
Things I remember besides the spilling of the drink, are the mother longing to stand in running water and feel the sand moving under her feet. The narrator trying to put a leaf back on a tree, thinking she broke it.
It's collected in _Holding Wonder_
We now have a collection of People stories, is it possible to do a complete non-People Henderson collection? My _Holding Wonder_ and _The Anything Box_ are disintegrating.
> On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:45:59 +0100, Joyce Haslam
> <pen...@ukgateway.invalid> wrote: > >Cece <ceceliaarmstr...@yahoo.com> wrote: > >> The story I read was a shorter work, either short story or > >> novelette. I don't think there were any girls in it. I don't > >> think the POV character's name was ever given.
> >I'm reminded of a story called "The J Line" where a youngster finds > >a bit of countryside and (obviously) prefers it to the ghetto s/he > >lives in, but I can't remember the author nor details of the story.
> Zenna Henderson. I thought of it, too. The narrator is un-named, but > has a named brother, somethiing like Chris. I think the narrator is a > girl. There's a scene where she's at school with her friends and > there's interest in guys. She spills her milkshake-equivalent and > causes a problem with one of the hot guys.
> Narrator is upset and angry and wants out. Gets into the J-line car > and just pounds the controls. When the thing stops she steps out and > is outside. Meets someone else, there, but goes back in. Tells > brother, who thinks he can figure out where she went and how to get > back there. They all want to go.
> Things I remember besides the spilling of the drink, are the mother > longing to stand in running water and feel the sand moving under her > feet. The narrator trying to put a leaf back on a tree, thinking she > broke it.
> It's collected in _Holding Wonder_
> We now have a collection of People stories, is it possible to do a > complete non-People Henderson collection? My _Holding Wonder_ and > _The Anything Box_ are disintegrating.
That's not the story from 50 years ago. I've read _Holding Wonder_ (only about 30 years ago), but I don't remember that story -- well, I don't remember its title! The only title in ISFDB's list of the stories in that book that sounds at all familiar is the Aunt Sophronia one. And maybe You Know What, Teacher?
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