The Man with a Thousand Names

First edition
Cover artist Vincent Di Fate

The Man with a Thousand Names is a short novel written by A. E. van Vogt. It was published in August 1974 by DAW Books, and in December 1975 by Sidgwick and Jackson.

Plot summary

The main character is Steven Masters. A spoiled 23-year-old who happens to be the only son of the world's richest man. At a party he (while drunk) states that he wishes to go on a proposed space flight to a distant life bearing planet called Mittend. Mittend is 30 light years from Earth and is the closest life bearing planet. When he is told that he doesn't qualify, he gets indignant and sets upon a campaign to join in the expedition. Using his father's money he is able to get passage. Six weeks later he arrives on the planet. It turns out to be very similar to Earth, with a breathable atmosphere.

Upon landing he wanders off from the main group and meets the natives. The natives turn out to be naked and primitive but have a powerful group mind named "Mother". The natives, upon seeing Steven, chase after him and when they catch him and touch him, his mind gets traded into the body of a 38-year-old bar waiter back on earth. The bar waiter's mind gets transferred to Steven's body on the other planet.

It turns out that the bar waiter used to work for Steven as a butler. He blamed him for a crime he didn't commit and got him fired. Immediately after the transfer, he goes into psychological shock and the bar is forced to call an ambulance. They sedate him and he has to spend a few days in the hospital. His story (of being mind swapped) gets out and combined with the fact the expedition has gone missing, he becomes a sensation. While in the hospital, Masters Senior (his father) comes to visit him. He leaves stating that the person there is not Steven. Upon leaving the hospital, he gets picked up by the bartender who drives him to work. He works the day.

References

External links

The Man with a Thousand Names title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Works by A. E. van Vogt

Novels

The Book of Ptath
The House That Stood Still
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
The Mixed Men
The Universe Maker
Planets for Sale
The Mind Cage
The War against the Rull
The Beast
Rogue Ship
The Winged Man
The Silkie
Quest for the Future
Children of Tomorrow
The Battle of Forever
The Darkness on Diamondia
Future Glitter
The Secret Galactics
The Man with a Thousand Names
Supermind
The Anarchistic Colossus
Renaissance
Cosmic Encounter
Il villaggio incantato
Computerworld
To Conquer Kiber

Series

Null-A	The World of Null-A The Pawns of Null-A Null-A Three

Slan	Slan Slan Hunter - by Kevin J. Anderson

The Weapon Shops of Isher	The Weapon Makers The Weapon Shops of Isher

Clane	Empire of the Atom The Wizard of Linn

Collections

Out of the Unknown
Masters of Time
Destination: Universe!
Away and Beyond
The Twisted Men
Monsters
The Far-Out Worlds of A. E. van Vogt
The Proxy Intelligence and Other Mind Benders
M33 in Andromeda
More Than Superhuman
The Book of van Vogt
Three Eyes of Evil and Earth's Last Fortress
The Worlds of A. E. van Vogt
The Gryb
The Best of A. E. van Vogt
The Universe Makers
The Universe Makers and The Proxy Intelligence
Pendulum
Futures Past: The Best Short Fiction of A.E. Van Vogt
Transfinite: The Essential A.E. van Vogt
Transgalactic

Non-fiction

The Hypnotism Handbook with Charles Edward Cooke The Money Personality Reflections of A. E. Van Vogt: The Autobiography of a Science Fiction Giant A Report on the Violent Male

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