Vassi by Art Lewis
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"Vassi" by Art Lewis is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative revolves around themes of isolation, existential dread, and the intersection of reality and the unknown. The story follows Julia Fenway, a woman faced with terminal illness, who encounters Vassi, a time traveler from a distant future, leading her to contemplate profound questions about life, death, and the possibility of escape from her grim fate. Julia,
a file clerk, learns from her doctor that she has only a few months left to live. Alone and consumed by despair, she suddenly begins to hear a voice in her head—Vassi, an invisible historian from the future. As their conversations unfold, she learns of Vassi's capabilities and the possibility of time travel, with a desperate wish for escape from her mortality. When Vassi suggests experimenting with her cat, Belle, Julia is torn between her love for the cat and her yearning for survival. Ultimately, she resolves to end her life, believing that she could join Vassi in a world free of sickness. The story culminates in a tragic and poignant ending, reflecting the overarching themes of longing for connection and the quest for hope in the face of overwhelming despair. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Lewis, Art |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Ritter, Bob |
| Title | Vassi |
| Series Title | Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, January 1961 |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 97.4 (5th grade). Very easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Time travel -- Fiction |
| Subject | Terminally ill -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 60921 |
| Release Date | Dec 14, 2019 |
| Last Update | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 292 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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