Life-Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Life-Line" is a short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein. Published in 1939, it was Heinlein's first published short story.

The protagonist, Professor Pinero, builds a machine that will predict how long a person will live. It does this by sending a signal along the world line of a person and detecting the echo from the far end. Professor Pinero's invention has a powerful impact on the life insurance industry, as well as on his own life.

Pinero is mentioned in passing in the novels Time Enough for Love and Methuselah's Children when the practically immortal Lazarus Long mentions having been examined and being sent away because the machine is "broken".

Heinlein was motivated to write the story by a contest in Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine promising $50 US to the winner, but ended up submitting it to a rival magazine, Astounding, and was paid $70 (approximately $1085 in 2008 dollars). It made a later appearance in The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein, a collection of short stories published in 1966, in Expanded Universe in 1980, and in a Baen edition of "The Man Who Sold The Moon", ISBN 0-671-65623-6, 1987.

In Grumbles from the Grave, on receiving the check for the story Heinlein is reported to have said, "How long has this racket been going on?" The amount was the equivalent of about $500 in 1984, or approximately one month's rent on a nice apartment.

Modern relevance

One particular paragraph from Life-Line is often quoted in reference to (and criticism of) modern intellectual property rights:^[1]^[2]

There has grown in the minds of certain groups in this country the idea that just because a man or corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with guaranteeing such a profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary to public interest. This strange doctrine is supported by neither statute or common law. Neither corporations or individuals have the right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped, or turned back.

References

↑ Lisa McHugh Cesarini, Paul Cesarini (2008). "From Jefferson to Metallica to your Campus: Copyright Issues in Student Peer-to-Peer File Sharing". Journal of Technology Studies 34 (1). ISSN 1541-9258. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
↑ McClure, Ian (2007). "Be Careful What You Wish For: Copyright's Campaign for Property Rights and an Eminent Consequence of Intellectual Monopoly". Chapman Law Review 10 (3). Retrieved 2012-05-04.

v t e Robert A. Heinlein's Future History

Collections	The Past Through Tomorrow The Man Who Sold the Moon The Green Hills of Earth Orphans of the Sky Revolt in 2100 The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein Expanded Universe

Short stories	"Life-Line" "Let There Be Light" "The Roads Must Roll" "Blowups Happen" "The Man Who Sold the Moon" "Delilah and the Space Rigger" "Space Jockey" "Requiem" "The Long Watch" "Gentlemen, Be Seated!" "The Black Pits of Luna" "It's Great to Be Back!" "—We Also Walk Dogs" "Searchlight" "Ordeal in Space" "The Green Hills of Earth" "Logic of Empire" "The Menace from Earth" "If This Goes On—" "Coventry" "Misfit" "Universe" "Common Sense"

Novels	Methuselah's Children Time Enough for Love To Sail Beyond the Sunset The Moon is a Harsh Mistress The Number of the Beast

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.