An Introduction to Katherine MacLean

The Fittest & Other Stories by Katherine MacLean A 3 Play Book, 2024     Introduction     The critic and author, Damon Knight wrote, “As a science fiction writer she [Katherine MacLean] has few peers; her work is not only technically brilliant but has a rare human warmth and richness.” An apt insight since Katherine MacLean’s speculative fiction had the grounding of hard science fiction—technically and scientifically accurate depictions of physics, mathematics, and engineering—mingled with the so-called “soft” sciences of culture and sociology. She specialized in exploring how the one impacted the other in near future worlds. As she explained in her essay, “The Expanding Mind”: “I write about the near future because I want an excuse to read science and economics and try to find out what is going to happen next. I don’t want to be in the surprised rocking chair set, trembling before an alien world.” MacLean excelled at this near future speculation. One example of her futuristic insight came in the story, “Syndrome Johnny” (Galaxy, July 1951, as by Charles Dye) where she predicted the potential use of DNA, which was still an emerging scientific idea at the time, as a tool to genetically improve humans. Her speculative writings, future technologies and all, were wrapped in a literate, unblemished style rare for the genre in the middle years of the Twentieth Century as the opening passage from “The Fittest” (Worlds Beyond, Jan. 1951) shows:   “Among the effects of Terry Shay was found a faded snapshot. It is a scene of desolation, a wasteland of sand and rock made vague by blowing dust, and to one side huddle some dim figures. “They might be Eskimos with their hoods pulled close, or they might be small brown bears. “It is the only record left of the great event, the event which came into the hands of Terry Shay. “Like all great events it started with trivial things.” MacLean’s work has been a regular in anthologies over the decades. Isaac Asimov selected “Defense Mechanism” (Astounding, Oct. 1949), “Pictures Don’t Lie” (Galaxy, Aug. 1951), “The Snowball Effect” (Galaxy, Sep. 1952), and “Unhuman Sacrifice” (Astounding Science Fiction, Nov. 1958) for inclusion in his The Great SF Stories series of anthologies. Her 1971 novella, “The Missing Man,” (Analog, Mar. 1971) won a Nebula Award and was later expanded into a novel of the same name. In a phrase, Katherine MacLean was a highly respected writer of science fiction with an interest in how humanity would cope with the future. Katherine MacLean was born on January 22, 1925 in Montclair, New Jersey, to Gordon—a chemical engineer—and Ruth MacLean (née Crawford). She received a B.A. in economics, and an M.S. in psychology. She worked various jobs, including as an English professor, a biochemist, an EKG technician, as an attendant in a vitamin store. She was married three times, and had one son. She died September 1, 2019.     The four tales included in The Fittest & Other Stories are a sampling of MacLean’s best work. “The Fittest” is a marvelous telling of first contact, moral dilemmas, and the violent nature of humanity. “Where or When?” is a love story that will ring true for anyone that has ever loved. “Carnivore” is a disturbing view of humanity’s sectarian and violent nature without, unfortunately, much redemption. “Contagion”—which is one of MacLean’s most popular tales—is about colonization, fear, and loss of self. Cover designed by Karadraws.com

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