Jag läste denna historia i början av 2000-talet, men det var en kinesisk översättning så den engelska versionen kunde vara äldre.
Början är lite som passagerarnas film: på ett rymdskepp vaknade en man från stasis för tidigt och fann att han inte kunde gå tillbaka till sömn. Så han måste spendera hela sitt liv på rymdskeppet, ensamt.För en eller annan anledning (teknisk eller etisk), istället för att vakna andra människor, skapade han en fantasivärldshistoria med en modig prins som tidsfördriv. Han gjorde berättelser och ritningar över insidan av fartyget. Då dog han, utan att veta hur folk ska svara på sitt arbete.
Det här låter som en del av Allen Steeles nya Coyote , som ursprungligen publicerades som korta historier. Från Wikipedia-beskrivningen:
Just three months into the journey, something goes terribly wrong. Leslie Gillis, the senior communications officer, is awakened from biostasis. Expecting the year to be 2300, Gillis is horrified when he questions the AI. There was a mix up, and now it is impossible for Gillis to return to his dreamless sleep. His grueling options are either suicide or a lonely existence surviving off the ship’s supplies. While suicide may be more honorable than devouring his crewmates’ rations, Gillis chooses life.
After a brief chat with the AI, Gillis learns that a Mr. Eric Gunther was originally scheduled to awake three months into the trip. Gunther is an agent for the URA, and would attempt to contact the president, or destroy the ship. The program was changed at the last minute to wake someone else instead- Les Gillis. Gillis leaves a note for Captain Lee explaining Gunther’s plans for treason. Why they were changed at the last minute remains a mystery, but it was a change that would cost Gillis his life.
During Leslie Gillis’ solitary life, he did everything he could to keep from going insane, attempting to eat and sleep at regular hours, reading all of the books which were on board, playing chess against the AI, writing stories, and painting. Using practically all of the ship’s art supplies, Gillis created a story about a prince named Rupurt and the fantastic alien world he lived in. He painted scenes of his books on the ship’s inside walls. Eventually, Gillis died in his old age with a fall from the main ladder, after trying to get a better look at the alien ship he had seen. The AI automatically expelled his body into space with the arms of a maintenance bot, and the ship sailed on to 47 Ursae Majoris with no more incidents.
Historien var original publicerad i Asimov s som "The Days Between" i mars 2001. Även om han inte vet resultatet av sin handling avslöjar följande historier (eller delar av romanen)
his stories are taken up as a part of the mythology of the world, with local animals and various geographical features being named after the ones in Gillis' story.
Läs andra frågor om taggar story-identification spaceship Kärlek och kompatibilitet Skor Gear 12 Stjärntecken Grunderna