Synopsis
“A story of a man whose life was waste, but a waste upon which rested the future of a Universe, as he endlessly conducted his Night Vigil.”
History
First publication: Peon, May 1955
Review
This was a short science fiction story published in a fanzine, but it feels much like Ellison’s other science fiction stories. Here you have the Ellison voice and the themes of lonliness, alienation and futility, hovering on the verge of madness. This is an excellent little study of a man imprisoned in a duty where he had to save the world, but could never be part of the world and would die before he knew if he was successful. At the end you really don’t know if it was real or the product of his madness. Highly recommended.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
Alone Against Tomorrow, hardcover, Macmillan / SFBC, 1971-06-00
