I picked up a copy of the excellent NEFSA Press Corwainer Smith collection, The Rediscovery of Man. Much to my shame, I’d previously only read what are Smith’s two most well-known stories, “Scanners Live in Vain” and “A Game of Rat and Dragon.” I’m never sure how I’ll react to a collection like this one, but I’m quite enjoying it thus far; I’m only a quarter of the way through with it, but I’ve already found several stories that I thought to be the equal of the two aforementioned celebrated tales. I especially liked “The Lady Who Sailed The Soul” and “Think Blue, Count Two.” If you want to learn more about Smith, check out his official website, maintained by his daughter, at http://www.cordwainer-smith.com/index.htm. You can even order a Cordwainer Smith t-shirt!

But speaking of “Scanners Live in Vain,” what’s the deal with that word, “Scanners,” anyway? There are at least three prominent examples I can think of it being used in SF: “Scanners Live in Vain,” Phil Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, and David Cronenburg’s film, Scanners. None of these stories are related in any way, yet they all use this same term. Isn’t that odd?