Simon the Wanderer,
sole survivor of the Human Race
… travels the Universe
with a dog
an owl
…and a mechanical lover
…searching for an
answer to
"Why we are
created only to
suffer and die?"
He meets Bingo
a hoary old cockroach
Who tells him that humans are an experiment
and evolved from cockroach crap.
Simon asks why on Earth did they do this
terrible experiment?
…which has meant so much pain and
agony to the zillions of humans
Why ?
Why ?
Why ?
…and
Bingo
Answers
"Why
not?"
…and
Bingo
Answers
"Why
not?"
…and
Bingo
Answers
"Why
not?"
…at last a believable
explanation of the
origin of life
…by Philip José Farmer
…not Kurt Vonnegut!
Philip José Farmer
(not Kurt Vonnegut)
Simon asks why they did they do this
when it meant so much agony, suffering
and death for sextillions upon sextillions
of living beings…
Why?
We learn that the Universe is an
experiment carried out by a race of
cockroaches
and
that life and humans
evolved from cockroach crap.
"Our universe and all the
others… are scientific
experiments".
…as old as creation itself,
who tells him…
He travels the universe with dog, owl,
and, for a while, mechanical lover,
searching for the answer to
Simon the wanderer, sole human survivor of
the earth, thanks to the malevolent
Hoonhoors, discovered
He travels the universe with dog, owl, and, for
a while, mechanical lover, searching for the
answer to
"Why are we created only to suffer and die?"
The journey makes the novel an
evolutionary/ecological parable in which
the Hoonhors function as the essential
scavengers who clean up after the
creator's--"Its"--mistakes.
Simon the wanderer, sole human survivor of
the earth, thanks to the malevolent
Hoonhoors, discovered
He travels the universe with dog, owl, and, for
a while, mechanical lover, searching for the
answer to
"Why are we created only to suffer and die?"
The journey makes the novel an
evolutionary/ecological parable in which
the Hoonhors function as the essential
scavengers who clean up after the
creator's--"Its"--mistakes.
There is balance to their role since we
learn humans on Earth are "the end of a
process that started with cockroach
crap".
At the end of his journey, Simon meets,
not the creator but Bingo, "a hoary old
cockroachoid" as old as creation itself,
who tells him
"Our universe and all the others… .are
scientific experiments".
"But why?" Simon persists. "Didn't It
know what agony…It would cause
sextillions upon sextillions of living
beings…?"
I like and will paraphrase Kilgour Trout's
observations in Venus on the Halfshell
main character to the creator of the
universe(a giant cockroach)
Why did you create us to live and die if all
Main character to the creator of the
universe(a giant cockroach)
Why did you create us to live and die if all
we are here to do is cause ourselves and
others pain and in the long run not make a
difference in how things turnout?
Trout, Kilgore [Kurt Vonnegut?]. Venus on the Half Shell
(1974). Cutchogue, New York: Buccaneer Books, 1975.
The Hoonhors, "a people from a planet of some unknown
galaxy a trillion light years away [from Earth, and]… .possibly
the most altruistic species in the universe," are giant
cockroaches. They spring into action when "a people kill off
their own planet," cleaning up ("sanitizing") the mess. The
process begins by salting the planet's atmosphere [with] a
substance that precipitates every bit of [water] in the air,"
creating heavy rains that flood the planet (32). Earth is in the
process of such sanitizing as the novel opens and the hero
Simon, like a modern-day Noah, survives the flood to find
himself on Mt. Ararat where he meets and joins a Space
Traveller whose cosmic perspective helps Simon understand
what has happened and sets him on a voyage to the planet
of the Hoonhors.
The
journey
makes
the
novel
an
evolutionary/ecological parable in which the Hoonhors
function as the essential scavengers who clean up
after the creator's--"Its"--mistakes. There is balance to
their role since we learn humans on Earth are "the end
of a process that started with cockroach crap" (201). At
the end of his journey, Simon meets, not the creator
but Bingo, "a hoary old cockroachoid" as old as
creation itself (200), who tells him "Our universe and
all the others… .are scientific experiments" (203). "But
why?" Simon persists. "Didn't It know what agony…It
would cause sextillions upon sextillions of living
beings…?"
"Yes," Bingo replies, cutting off Simon's repeated
"Why? Why? Why?" with first a belch and then: "Why
not?" The End.
What a great find! Rescued from porno shops and legitimately
published by those brave folks at Dell, albeit and unfortunately
sans illustrations, if you know what I mean! Includes a
selected bibliography, biographical sketch , and a slightly
fuzzy photo of the author. Simon the wanderer, sole human
survivor of the earth, thanks to the malevolent Hoonhoors,
discovered "He was the end of a process that started with
cockroach crap" after traveling the universe with dog, owl,
and, for a while, mechanical lover, searching for the answer
"Why are we created only to suffer and die?" The cockroach
knew and I'm going to make you read the book to find out. I
will tell you that Simon almost learned the purpose of life at
the knife and fork of the evil sage. But,if I have to tell you what
the purpose of life is, you would not believe me anyhow. Must
reading for Kurt Vonnegut fans!
I like and will paraphrase Kilgour Trout's observations in Venus on the Halfshell
main character to the creator of the universe(a giant cockroach)
Why did you create us to live and die if all we are here to do is cause ourselves and others pain and in
the long run not make a difference in how things turnout?
The answer, Why not?
I'll try to find the exact quote tonight at home.
Or as Kurt Vonnegut put it
Trout, Kilgore [Kurt Vonnegut?]. Venus on the Half Shell
(1974). Cutchogue, New York: Buccaneer Books, 1975.
The Hoonhors, "a people from a planet of some unknown
galaxy a trillion light years away [from Earth, and]… .possibly
the most altruistic species in the universe," are giant
cockroaches. They spring into action when "a people kill off
their own planet," cleaning up ("sanitizing") the mess. The
process begins by salting the planet's atmosphere [with] a
substance that precipitates every bit of [water] in the air,"
creating heavy rains that flood the planet (32). Earth is in the
process of such sanitizing as the novel opens and the hero
Simon, like a modern-day Noah, survives the flood to find
himself on Mt. Ararat where he meets and joins a Space
Traveller whose cosmic perspective helps Simon understand
what has happened and sets him on a voyage to the planet
of the Hoonhors.
The
journey
makes
the
novel
an
evolutionary/ecological parable in which the Hoonhors
function as the essential scavengers who clean up
after the creator's--"Its"--mistakes. There is balance to
their role since we learn humans on Earth are "the end
of a process that started with cockroach crap" (201). At
the end of his journey, Simon meets, not the creator
but Bingo, "a hoary old cockroachoid" as old as
creation itself (200), who tells him "Our universe and
all the others… .are scientific experiments" (203). "But
why?" Simon persists. "Didn't It know what agony…It
would cause sextillions upon sextillions of living
beings…?"
"Yes," Bingo replies, cutting off Simon's repeated
"Why? Why? Why?" with first a belch and then: "Why
not?" The End.