On May 13, 1:42 am, the Omrud <usenet.om...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Dan Leifker wrote:
> > the Omrud wrote:
> >> Was it Heinlein who wrote of a society where you could volunteer for
> >> the punishment for any specific crime, after which you had a credit
> >> for that crime and could commit it when you wanted? The punishment
> >> for murder was so severe (something like 20 years on a harsh mining
> >> planet where most prisoners died during the sentence) that only one
> >> person ever went through the voluntary sentence. He was then
greatly
> >> feared because he had the right to murder one person without further
> >> punishment.
I've read that in the old days here in northern New Mexico,
schoolchildren got tokens for meritorious actions, including things
like perfect attendance, which they could cash in to avoid later
punishments (beatings).
> > Obviously a dated story... had it been written more recently, I'm sure
> > the greatly feared person would have sold his credit on eBay and
cleaned
> > up.
>
> > Did Heinlein also write that absurd story of the malicious aliens who
> > secretly camped in orbit around a planet and each day skimmed off the
> > memories of all the inhabitants? The civilization on that planet had
> > engineered this fantastically ***bersome method of recording each
day's
> > work (probably written with quills in ledgers) so it could be
relearned
>
> I don't remember that one, but then ... ... I wouldn't, would I?
See Gene Wolfe's "Soldier" books for a less absurd version.
I'll be surprised if either of those above is by Heinlein, but maybe
someone at rasfw (now included) will surprise me.
ObCrossPost: Should the subject line have included "Y2MSID"?
--
Jerry Friedman
|
