SF Question.

[swestrup]

Many years ago I read a short story that I would love to be able to identify. I don't remember the title, or the author. The story takes place as a dialogue (perhaps an interview?) between a normal man and a member of homo superior. The homo superior explains that while he's faster and stronger and smarter than the average human, his kind is outnumbered milllions to one and would, in the long run, have no hope of surviving the normal xenophobic reactions of homo sapiens, if it wasn't for an additional gift. Somehow, they go unnoticed, no matter what they do. The only reason he's willing to reveal all of this to the interviewer is that he knows it will be forgotten in a very short time.

Of course, that means that his kind leave very lonely lives, since their power also works on each other, so they don't even notice when they meet another of their kind.

During the story, the world series is playing on TV, and its slowly made obvious that the star pitcher is also a homo superior, and is deliberately blowing the game, out of sheer bordom.

Ring any bells with anyone? If I had to guess, I'd say it was a Heinlein, but would just be a guess.

Comments

Re: SF Question

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Stirling,
I don't think it's a Heinlein, because I've read just about all of his work that was published before 2003(!) and that wasn't in any of that. Heinlein's novelette, "Gulf", you may recall, was about a man who is recruited by a group of supermen (and women!) and trained until his superhuman status was revealed, then sent on a mission. My initial guess is Henry Kuttner, but I haven't read much of his stuff. I remember one short story in which a paranoid man was confiding his worries to a stranger in a bar that Martians were among them and that they have a hidden third eye in the middle of their foreheads. After the man was convinced that he was just paranoid, and left, the stranger's third eye opened up and watched him leave.
-Jim

[(Anonymous)]

It's called 'Nobody Bothers Gus', and it's by Algis Budrys. I read it in a British book called the Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction, edited by David G. Hartwell. Weird, that I recognised it from your description .I haven't read it in years and I was just trawling the net and found your question by accident..

[swestrup]

Well, thanks! I held out little hope of having the work identified! Now I'll just have to see if I can find a copy to reread.

Thanks again!