영어로 읽는 고전 _ 로버트 셰클리의 죽음의 소원
로버트 셰클리의 "죽음의 소원"은 20세기 중반, 구체적으로는 1956년에 출간된 과학소설 단편입니다. 이야기는 우주 화물선 "퀸 디어드리"호와 그들의 우주선이 태양계 밖으로 돌진하면서 승무원들이 직면하는 위험한 상황을 중심으로 전개됩니다. 서사는 기계적 고장 앞에서의 인간의 나약함과 우주에서의 고립이 가져오는 심리적 부담이라는 주제들을 탐구합니다. 이야기는 소머스 선장, 왓킨스 기관사, 그리고 라지치크 항해사가 우주선의 치명적 오작동에 맞서는 과정을 따라가는데, 이 오작동으로 인해 그들은 광활한 우주 속으로 통제할 수 없이 가속되고 있습니다. 승무원들 사이의 긴장이 고조되면서, 그들은 선내의 첨단 파렌센 컴퓨터를 이용해 해결책을 고안하려 시도합니다. 하지만 컴퓨터가 그들이 별들을 지켜보며 수천 년을 생존할 수 있게 해주는 장수 혈청을 제공했을 때, 그들은 자신들이 갇혔다는 끔찍한 현실을 깨닫고 고뇌합니다. 줄거리는 주체성에 대한 인간의 욕망, 절망과의 투쟁, 그리고 기계의 "죽음의 소원"이 가져오는 불안한 함의들을 파고들며, 궁극적으로 등장인물들로 하여금 그들 상황의 절망적 현실과 마주하도록 강요합니다.
Classics Read in English _ Death Wish by Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley’s "Death Wish" is a science fiction short story from the mid-20th century, specifically published in 1956. The tale centers on the space freighter "Queen Dierdre" and the dangerous situation faced by its crew as their spacecraft hurtles beyond the Solar System. The narrative explores themes of human frailty in the face of mechanical failure and the psychological burdens brought by isolation in space. The story follows Captain Somers, engineer Mr. Watkins, and navigator Mr. Rajcik as they confront a critical malfunction in their spacecraft, which leaves them accelerating uncontrollably into the vastness of space. As tensions escalate among the crew members, they attempt to devise a solution using the advanced Fahrensen Computer aboard their ship. However, when the computer offers a longevity serum that would allow them to survive for thousands of years while watching the stars, they grapple with the horrifying realization of their entrapment. The plot delves into humanity's desire for agency, the struggle against despair, and the unsettling implications of a machine's "death wish," ultimately forcing the characters to confront the desperate reality of their situation.
Among the contents
The space freighter Queen Dierdre was a great, squat, pockmarked vessel of the Earth-Mars run and she never gave anyone a bit of trouble. That should have been sufficient warning to Mr. Watkins, her engineer. Watkins was fond of saying that there are two kinds of equipment?the kind that fails bit by bit, and the kind that fails all at once.
Watkins was short and red-faced, magnificently mustached, and always a little out of breath. With a cigar in his hand, over a glass of beer, he talked most cynically about his ship, in the immemorial fashion of engineers. But in reality, Watkins was foolishly infatuated with Dierdre, idealized her, humanized her, and couldn't conceive of anything serious ever happening.
On this particular run, Dierdre soared away from Terra at the proper speed; Mr. Watkins signaled that fuel was being consumed at the proper rate; and Captain Somers cut the engines at the proper moment indicated by Mr. Rajcik, the navigator.
