Calories (story)
"Calories" | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ten Story Fantasy | |||
Media type | Print (Magazine) | ||
Publication date | Spring 1951 | ||
Chronology | |||
Series | Viagens Interplanetarias | ||
|
"Calories" is a
Plot summary
Set in the Antarctic region of the planet Krishna, "Calories" focuses on a long pursuit of two Earthmen, Cuthwin ("Dinky") Singer and Earl Okagamut, by a numerous and well-equipped cohort of fanatical soldiers from the Krishnan theocracy of Nichnyamadze. In contrast to their pursuers, Singer and Okagamut are possessed of a minimum of equipment and supplies. The chase tests the endurance of both fugitives and hunters, with the latter slowly but surely overtaking the former.
In the end, however, the Krishnans halt and give up the chase, as Okagamut, who is of Inuit heritage, has calculated they must. Having determined the caloric requirements of the trip he knew that he and his companion, subsisting on dried meat, could complete the journey, while the soldiers, whose religion requires a vegetarian diet, could not. Worn out by the pursuit, they have no option but to return to more temperate climes or perish. The life-and-death clash the story was apparently building up to is precluded by Okagamut's display of cleverness.
Setting
The planet Krishna is de Camp's premier creation in the
As dated in the 1959 version of de Camp's essay "The Krishna Stories", the action of "Calories" takes place in the year 2122 A.D., falling between the first part of "
Relationship to other works
This early Viagens story on the planet Krishna is something of a curiosity, being one of de Camp's set-piece gimmick yarns, a specialty of his at the beginning of his career but atypical of the
Notes
- ^ Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. pp. 92–93, 165.
- ^ "Gateway on Krishna" title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Note: the error in the title is as per the source.
- ^ "Calories" title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- ^ De Camp, L. Sprague. "The Krishna Stories Archived 2020-07-28 at the Wayback Machine" (Essay, in New Frontiers, v. 1, no. 1, Dec. 1959, page 3.)
- ^ De Camp, L. Sprague. "The Krishna Stories Archived 2020-07-28 at the Wayback Machine" (Essay, in New Frontiers, v. 1, no. 1, Dec. 1959, page 6)
External links
- "Calories" title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- "Getaway on Krishna" at the Internet Archive