// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "Blank" say to its friend? You fill in the space.
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| "Blank!" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Isaac Asimov | |
.jpg){kind=spacer} First publication of "Blank!" (cover art by Ed Emshwiller) | |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Infinity Science Fiction |
| Publication date | June 1957 |
"Blank!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was commissioned by Larry Shaw, editor of Infinity Science Fiction, as being the least inspirational title on which to base a story. Harlan Ellison and Randall Garrett were also invited to submit stories based on the same title; Garrett wrote one with "Blank?" as the title while Ellison submitted "Blank."[1] All three were published in the magazine in June 1957.[2] Asimov's story was later reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories.
Plot summary
[edit]The story is about a scientist who is experimenting with time travel. He persuades a reluctant colleague to join him on a journey in the machine he has developed. Despite the inventor's protestations that nothing can go wrong, something does go wrong, and the two travelers find themselves stuck in non-time, between two time-particles. As they fade into unconsciousness, they realize that 'where even eternity was meaningless, there would only be – blank!'
References
[edit]- ↑ Asimov, Isaac (1975). Buy Jupiter and Other Stories. Garden City NY: Doubleday.
- ↑ "Infinity Science Fiction, June 1957". ISFDb. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Blank! title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database