The Lucky Strike
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted July 4, 2024
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Three years ago I downloaded ten titles offered free through Edelweiss, all part of the Outspoken Author series from PM Press. They offered more, perhaps all that had been published at that point, but I figured ten was being greedy enough. All were older books, not advance copies, so I didn't feel compelled to read them then, or by any specific date. For the ones I have read and reviewed so far, with one exception, I paired with another book by the same author. The Lucky Strike was the second in the series, published in October 2009. The title story, a novelette, first appeared in the Terry Carr edited original anthology Universe 14 in 1984. It was a finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. This collection also includes "A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions," which relates to the novelette. I say it is an essay, but other sources identify it as a short story. It originally appeared in Issue #20 of Pulphouse's Author's Choice Monthly in 1991, although it may have been written earlier. In addition to those two, there is an interview conducted by the series' general editor Terry Bisson, as well as a bibilography (up to that time) of Robinson's work.
"The Lucky Strike" is not about a bowling tournament, and only tangentially related to that brand of cigarette. It is the name of an Army/Air Force bomber plane, set within an alternate history in which the Enola Gay crashed and burned during a training excercise, killing all aboard, including its pilot Colonel Paul Tibbetts. The task of dropping the first atom bomb in warfare falls to the crew of The Lucky Strike. The main character is Captain Frank January, the plane's bombardier. After he and the crews of other planes on Tinian Island are shown a film of the Trinity blast, January has a very vivid dream of the aftermath of the dropping of Little Boy. He begins thinking of ways to convince his superiors to alter the mission directive, even though he knows that would disqualify him from flying the mission. Was it a mechanical error, or January's deliberate effort, that caused the bomb to drop several miles from Hiroshima instead of over the city as planned? Before, during, and after the flight, he thought of mental games he played as a kid, thinking about every variation of later events, depending on what he chose to do in any situation. He had mourned the death of President Roosevelt, and cursed Truman for authorizing the bombing of civilian targets. Perhaps just the bomb itself, off the mark but still devastating, would be enough to convince Japan to surrender. He wonders if what he did had a reason beyond his own actions, because Fat Man missed its target several days later. It did not stop January from being court-martialed for cowardice, sabotage, and dereliction of duty, nor did it forestall his execution by firing squad. He would never know of the future he created by his actions.
"A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions," whether it be a short story or an essay, presents several historical variations. In one, the bombs were dropped as we know from our history, but when the Korean Conflict began, Truman authorized several bombs to be dropped off-shore as demonstrations, which stopped the aggression at the 38th Parallel. Alternately, due to a peace group started by a priest who had counseled January before his execution, Truman lost the election in 1948, President Dewey was successful in negotiating with North Korea instead of military action, and by 1956 there was a international agreement to ban all nuclear weapons. Of course, knowledge once acquired never goes away completely, and a far more devastating nuclear conflict occurred during a crisis in the Middle East in the late '60s. There is no way to know if an alternate action will bring a better or worse result than the one that we have witnessed. The same applies to anything occurring today. The best we can do is act in accordance with conscience, while also being aware other people's consciences are telling them to do other things. Not only do the winners write the history of the past, they also control the future, until other forces stop or alter their advance.
As good as the story and essay are, the interview is just as interesting. Robinson is one of my favorite authors, even though there are still quite a few of his books and stories yet to read. He is not a scientist, but has a methodical mind which would have made him a good scientist, and he is a thorough researcher. He says he only researches what is necessary to complete an idea he has for a story, because if he researched everything about a particular subject he might never get around to writing the fiction he had in mind. Bisson asks which school of fiction he belongs in, SF, or literary, or utopian, because at one time or another Robinson has been described as one or the other by various critics. After the Mars Trilogy some labeled him Hard-SF, with which he does not agree. "Hard sf is only hard in its attitude toward the poor, in other words right wing, so that didn't seem to fit very well, even though I talked about technology." Politically he is a leftist, anti-capitalist, and an environmentally conscious activist. He lives, or at least did at that time, in a communal village near Davis, California. He loves the outdoors, taking frequent hikes through the Sierras and other locales. His most recent book, which I have not read, is non-fiction: The High Sierra: A Love Story [ Bookshop | Amazon ]. His fiction has generally been positive and forward-looking, but there have also been cautionary tales, most particularly about climate change.
He said this in 2009: "What's been set up and is playing out now is a Huge World Historical Battle between science and capitalism. Science is insisting more emphatically every day that this is a real and present danger. Capitalism is saying it isn't, because if it were true it would mean more government control of economies, more social justice…so I say, be aware, watch the heavyweights go at it, and back science every chance you get."
Something else that has been said about Robinson, with which I agree: he is a humanist. No matter the technologies he describes, where his stories are set, or what challenges are faced, his fiction is also very character driven. Not always altruistic characters, but the full gamut of human behaviors, emotions, and priorities. This, and my previous review for Icehenge, strengthened my resolve to continue reading him, not just ones I haven't read yet, but re-reading, since I may experience them differently than the first time. Of course, I can say that about so many writers, so I can't say now when I will read KSR again. I just know I will, and recommend you do too. I have two more Outspoken Author books to read. One is by a previously named SFWA Grand Master, the other is someone who could conceivably receive that honor in the future. Personally, if I was able to make the decision, Kim Stanley Robinson would also be so honored. Whether that ever happens, he is a Grand Master in my mind.
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