Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death
"Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" | |
---|---|
James Tiptree, Jr. | |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Science fiction short story |
Publication | |
Published in | The Alien Condition |
Publication type | Anthology |
Publisher | Ballantine Books |
Media type | |
Publication date | April 1973 |
"Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" is a short story by
Plot
The story is told in the first person by Moggadeet, a self-aware male of a species which appears to be the apex predator of its environment. This possibly anthropoid species is apparently cold-blooded, with has various features that come into play in battle, whilst nurturing the young (for females), and sex. Unusually Moggadeet's mother and an older male have supplemented his instincts by making him aware of the Plan, i.e., the normal life-cycle of his species. The element of this Plan he most resists is the cannibalism of other members of his own species.
Moggadeet narrates his life from the moment he meets his mate in the spring of his second year, including his memories of his first year. After a while he remembers what his mate said at various points, expressing fears and concerns. By the end it becomes clear that Moggadeet is telling this story to his mate while she is eating him; he assumes she agrees with his recollections.
Collections
"Love is the Plan the Plan is Death" has appeared in the following collections:[2]
- The Alien Condition edited by Stephen Goldin (1973)
- Nebula Award Stories 9 edited by Kate Wilhelm (1974)
- James Tiptree Jr(1975)
- The Future I edited by Joseph D. Olander, Martin H. Greenberg, and Isaac Asimov (1981)
- Great Science Fiction: Stories by the World's Great Scientists edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh (1985)
- James Tiptree Jr(1985)
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IV edited by Terry Carr (1986)
- The Best of the Nebulas edited by Ben Bova (1989)
- James Tiptree Jr(1990)
Reception
"Love is the Plan the Plan Is Death" won the 1974
Kirkus Reviews called it "highly lauded."[3] The Washington Post considered that the "image (of) an intelligent species whose biological imperatives compel females to devour their mates (...) is dramatized with the directness of an arrow striking a bullseye".[4]
References
- Notes
- ^ Von Ruf, Al. "Publication Listing 'The Alien Condition'". Internet Speculative Fiction Data Base. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ^ "Bibliography: Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death". ISFDB. Retrieved June 11, 2013
- ^ The Slow Unveiling of James Tiptree Jr., by Andrew Liptak; published November 6, 2014; retrieved August 18, 2016
- ^ Love Is the Plan, the Plan Is Death, by Gregory Feeley; published August 19, 1990; retrieved August 18, 2016
- Bibliography
- ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
External links
- Text of the story at Lightspeed
- Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Tiptree, James Jr. (2001). "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death". replay.web.archive.org. Sci-Fi Channel. Archived from the originalon 5 December 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2011 – via Internet Archive.