Mimsy Were the Borogoves
Encyclopedia
"Mimsy Were the Borogoves" is a science fiction
short story by Lewis Padgett
(a pseudonym of Henry Kuttner
and C. L. Moore
) that was originally published in the February 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine
. It was judged by the Science Fiction Writers of America to be among the best science fiction stories written prior to 1965 and included in the anthology The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
. In 2007, it was loosely adapted into a feature-length film titled The Last Mimzy
.
experimenting with a time machine
sends two boxes with hastily gathered batches of educational toys into the past. The first arrives in the middle of the twentieth century and the second in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Believing the experiment to be a failure when the machines and test objects fail to return, he discontinues his efforts.
The first box of toys travels back to 1942, and is discovered by a seven-year-old boy, Scott Paradine, who takes it home. The toys include a small transparent cube that visibly manifests the holder's thoughts; a wire maze puzzle employing a fourth dimension
; and a detailed anatomical doll that possesses unfamiliar organs and structures. As Scott and his two-year-old sister Emma play with the toys, the psychology of the two develops in unusual ways.
Although their parents are often preoccupied with their own lives, they suspect an anomaly and become worried. They consult with a child psychologist, Rex Holloway, who quickly recognizes the strangeness of the toys, and suspects their origin to be alien. Holloway surmises that the toys are "educating" the children and introducing an "x factor" into Scott's and Emma's thought processes. He believes their developing minds are pliable enough to be profoundly affected by the devices.
The toys rapidly guide the Paradine children to construct a pathway into the dimension where the beings of the future live. At Holloway's direction their parents take the toys away from them; but the children continue their effort.
The second box arrives in nineteenth-century England, and is found by Alice Liddell
, who one day recites some verse learned from one of its contents to Charles Dodgson. Intrigued, he asks her its meaning; whereupon she, uncertain, identifies it as "the way out". Dodgson, in reply, promises to include it in his writings.
In 1942, Emma and Scott encounter the book Through the Looking-Glass
and identify in the words of Lewis Carroll
's "Jabberwocky
" the missing element of a time-space equation enabling them to travel to the alien destination. Their father arrives in the doorway of Scott's bedroom as the children vanish in a "direction Paradine could not understand".
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story by Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H...
(a pseudonym of Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
and C. L. Moore
C. L. Moore
Catherine Lucille Moore was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, as C. L. Moore. She was one of the first women to write in the genre, and paved the way for many other female writers in speculative fiction....
) that was originally published in the February 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
. It was judged by the Science Fiction Writers of America to be among the best science fiction stories written prior to 1965 and included in the anthology The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964 is a 1970 anthology of science fiction short stories, edited by Robert Silverberg. It is generally considered one of the best, if not the best, of the many science fiction anthologies...
. In 2007, it was loosely adapted into a feature-length film titled The Last Mimzy
The Last Mimzy
The Last Mimzy is a 2007 science fiction family film directed by Bob Shaye and loosely adapted from the acclaimed 1943 science fiction short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett...
.
Plot summary
Millions of years in the future, a post-human scientistScientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
experimenting with a time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
sends two boxes with hastily gathered batches of educational toys into the past. The first arrives in the middle of the twentieth century and the second in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Believing the experiment to be a failure when the machines and test objects fail to return, he discontinues his efforts.
The first box of toys travels back to 1942, and is discovered by a seven-year-old boy, Scott Paradine, who takes it home. The toys include a small transparent cube that visibly manifests the holder's thoughts; a wire maze puzzle employing a fourth dimension
Fourth dimension
In mathematics, four-dimensional space is an abstract concept derived by generalizing the rules of three-dimensional space. It has been studied by mathematicians and philosophers for almost three hundred years, both for its own interest and for the insights it offered into mathematics and related...
; and a detailed anatomical doll that possesses unfamiliar organs and structures. As Scott and his two-year-old sister Emma play with the toys, the psychology of the two develops in unusual ways.
Although their parents are often preoccupied with their own lives, they suspect an anomaly and become worried. They consult with a child psychologist, Rex Holloway, who quickly recognizes the strangeness of the toys, and suspects their origin to be alien. Holloway surmises that the toys are "educating" the children and introducing an "x factor" into Scott's and Emma's thought processes. He believes their developing minds are pliable enough to be profoundly affected by the devices.
The toys rapidly guide the Paradine children to construct a pathway into the dimension where the beings of the future live. At Holloway's direction their parents take the toys away from them; but the children continue their effort.
The second box arrives in nineteenth-century England, and is found by Alice Liddell
Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Liddell , known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice is said to be named after her.-Biography:...
, who one day recites some verse learned from one of its contents to Charles Dodgson. Intrigued, he asks her its meaning; whereupon she, uncertain, identifies it as "the way out". Dodgson, in reply, promises to include it in his writings.
In 1942, Emma and Scott encounter the book Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
and identify in the words of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's "Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
" the missing element of a time-space equation enabling them to travel to the alien destination. Their father arrives in the doorway of Scott's bedroom as the children vanish in a "direction Paradine could not understand".
External links
- Read Mimsy Were the Borogoves online (temporarily down because of a webhosting screw-up)