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Seeking Analog short story info
June 30, 2010 8:29 AM   Subscribe

Looking for an Analog short story, circa 1960. All life on earth is destroyed by mankind. One man escapes in a rocket. He knows he can't survive in space. Crash-lands on the now barren rock that used to be the earth. His is pursued by an animal, which he kills. (I don't remember whence the animal.) He goes to an ocean to die, knowing that the bacteria in his body will act to "reseed" the earth.

Can anyone tell me the title or author of the story? Any details?

Thanks.
posted by no.mad to writing & language (8 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
In the Analog forums, there's a thread about a complete Analog index that seems to be downloadable as an Excel spreadsheet. Try there?
posted by clavicle at 8:54 AM on June 30, 2010


I remember a *similar* story about a guy who's put in suspended animation of some kind after a disaster, and cared for my robots. They eventually reseed the Earth with grass seeds caught in his trousers or something similar.
posted by curious_yellow at 9:29 AM on June 30, 2010


It sounds a lot like "Adam and No Eve" by Alfred Bester.

Except for one difference, in that story his rocket was actually what destroyed all life on earth (although it's not terribly obvious, I had to go back and check). The animal he kills is his now feral dog, and he does indeed make it to the barren ocean and dies knowing that the bacteria will eventually reseed the earth.
posted by tachikoma_robot at 10:19 AM on June 30, 2010 [2 favorites]


I used to work for the company that now publishes Analog SF. I messaged the Mg. Editor of its sister publication Asimovs, and am awaiting a response.
posted by Debaser626 at 10:28 AM on June 30, 2010


According to the aforementioned Analog Index, "Adam and No Eve" was published in the September 1941 issue.
posted by zamboni at 11:32 AM on June 30, 2010


Story summary: Stephen Crane is an inventor. He has found "a catalyst that would induce atomic disintegration of iron", & the process gives out an enormous amount of energy - kind of substitute for nuclear reactions..
posted by zamboni at 11:39 AM on June 30, 2010


Yes, thirding "Adam and No Eve."
posted by Malla at 12:51 PM on June 30, 2010


If it is "Adam and No Eve" that you're looking for, you can read the story in full on Google Books.
posted by Rhaomi at 5:40 PM on June 30, 2010


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