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Bester subsequently explained "5,271,009" as being the number of decisions a man must make in his life; too, the number features in each scenario in some manner.
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23:"5,271,009" was inspired by this Fred Kirberger painting of a prisoner on an asteroid. Note the serial number "5271009" on the prisoner's chest.
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To repair the mind of insane artist
Jeffrey Halsyon, supernatural being Solon Aquila causes Halsyon to live out various
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Critic and editor
Sherryl Vint has posited that the story might be read as "an analogy for relationship to
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Works originally published in The
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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Star Light, Star Bright: The Short
Fiction of Alfred Bester, Volume 2
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Hell's My
Destination: Imprisonment in the Works of Alfred Bester
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The Light
Fantastic Volume 2: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
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The Light
Fantastic Volume 1: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
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has described it as "one of favourite shorts (by Bester)", and
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is a science fiction/fantasy short story by
American writer
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The story was commissioned to fit a pre-existing piece of
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240:, #64 = Volume 21, Part 3 = November 1994; archived at
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Age of
Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction
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Starlight: The Great Short
Fiction of Alfred Bester
72:(with the serial number 5271009) is shackled to an
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37:The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
56:scenarios—all of which are terribly flawed.
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261:Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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183:Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction
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531:The Life and Death of a Satellite
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163:; published January 24, 2017, by
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40:, in 1954, it is also known as
621:Short stories by Alfred Bester
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626:Science fiction short stories
420:The Men Who Murdered Mohammed
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569:. You can help Knowledge by
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16:Short story by Alfred Bester
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434:Something Up There Likes Me
206:SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
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466:The Dark Side of the Earth
143:, originally published by
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472:An Alfred Bester Omnibus
329:The Stars My Destination
399:Star Light, Star Bright
337:The Computer Connection
237:Science Fiction Studies
185:(edited by Mark Bould,
179:Alfred Bester (1913-87)
181:, by Sherryl Vint, in
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558:This article about a
68:, wherein a man in a
34:. First published in
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165:Macmillan Publishers
505:Virtual Unrealities
441:The Four-Hour Fugue
392:Time is the Traitor
215:the Washington Post
631:1954 short stories
361:Tender Loving Rage
313:The Demolished Man
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48:Plot summary
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563:short story
524:Non-fiction
451:Collections
137:Starcombing
28:"5,271,009"
610:Categories
427:The Pi Man
369:Psychoshop
117:References
459:Starburst
406:5,271,009
296:Works by
257:5,271,009
195:Routledge
105:", while
96:solipsism
83:Reception
66:cover art
443:" (1974)
436:" (1973)
429:" (1959)
422:" (1958)
415:" (1954)
408:" (1954)
401:" (1953)
394:" (1953)
376:) (1998)
74:asteroid
321:Who He?
259:at the
60:History
533:(1966)
516:(2000)
508:(1997)
500:(1976)
494:(1976)
486:(1976)
480:(1976)
474:(1968)
468:(1964)
462:(1958)
372:(with
364:(1991)
356:(1981)
348:(1980)
340:(1975)
332:(1956)
324:(1953)
316:(1953)
305:Novels
147:, 2009
345:Golem
234:, in
230:, by
212:, in
208:, by
159:, by
139:, by
135:, in
567:stub
113:".
98:."
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171:^
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103:sf
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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