영어로 읽는 고전 _ 제롬 빅스비의 신 플린크
제롬 빅스비의 "신-플린크"는 1960년대 초에 쓰인 공상과학 단편소설입니다. 이야기는 화성의 위성 중 하나인 포보스에서 전개되며, 그르그와 이를이라는 두 생명체가 신처럼 보이는 존재의 도착을 기다리고 있습니다. 이 작품은 신앙, 기대, 그리고 지구 너머 삶의 가혹한 현실이라는 주제를 탐구하며, 외계 생명체들이 신으로 숭배받는 세계를 보여줍니다.
이야기에서 그들 종족의 대표인 그르그와 이를은 우주의 사자가 도착하기를 기대하며, 자신들의 존재와 목적에 관한 심오한 계시를 받을 것으로 예상합니다. 하지만 신과 같은 존재가 추락하고 결국 "플린크"라고 알려진 거대한 생명체에 의해 죽임을 당하면서 그들의 흥분은 환멸로 바뀝니다. 이야기가 전개되면서 더 많은 신들이 도착하지만, 그들 역시 첫 번째 신과 같은 운명을 맞게 되어 한때 신성하다고 여겨졌던 존재들의 취약성을 드러냅니다. 이야기는 포보스 거주자들의 믿음에 변화가 일어나면서 마무리되는데, 그들은 자신들의 신들이 무적이 아니라는 것을 깨달으면서 종교적 관점에 중대한 변화를 겪게 됩니다.
Classics Read in English _ The God-Plllnk by Jerome Bixby
Jerome Bixby's "The God-Plllnk" is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative takes place on Phobos, one of Mars' moons, where two beings named Grg and Yrl await the arrival of a seemingly divine entity. The story explores themes of faith, expectation, and the harsh realities of existence beyond Earth, presenting a world where extraterrestrial beings are worshipped as deities.
In the story, Grg and Yrl, representatives of their species, anticipate the arrival of a cosmic messenger, expecting to receive profound revelations about their existence and purpose. However, their excitement transforms into disillusionment when the god-like being crashes and is ultimately killed by a massive creature known as a "plllnk." As the narrative progresses, additional gods arrive, but they too suffer the same fate as the first, revealing the vulnerability of what was once considered divine. The story concludes with a transformation in the beliefs of Phobos' inhabitants, as they come to realize that their deities are not invulnerable, leading to significant shifts in their religious perspectives.
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In the shadows of a crater-wall on Phobos, moon of Mars, Grg and Yrl waited to greet the God.
If the God continued its present rate of approach, it would land within moments.
Grg and Yrl had journeyed all night, with their eyes on that distant glinting speck in the sky. Over cold-crusted sand dunes and jagged crater walls they had flowed, crept, bounded, oozed, toward the spot where the God must land if its course held true.
Grg was a Fsgh, which is the equivalent of High Priest, Yrl was a Ffssgghh, or Much Higher Priest. The best wishes of their people had gone with them on their tremendous mission.
Now, at the place, they trembled in every tentacle as they peered upward. The rust-red orb of Mars rode the black horizon.
Mars was, as Grg and Yrl had learned from their Elders and now taught their Youngers, the stern Seeing-All Eye of It Who Was the Universe.
