Jag minns en gammal sci fi-kortberättelse där alla aktörer i teatrarna byts ut av robotar. Den här sista skådespelaren får sin chans att spela en sista roll när ledande skådespelaren slutar få en Three Stooges "personlighetstejp" istället för ett Bogart personlighetsband, vilket gör den dramatiska rollen till något helt komediskt. Att känna sig värdelös i den här automatiserade teatervärlden, planerar skådespelaren att begå självmord på scenen - hans karaktär ska skjutas och han ersätter spjutspetsarna i stötpistolen med riktiga kulor.
Höger mot slutet insåg han att han inte vill dö, men då står han inför en robot med en pistol som pekar på honom och ... Jag kan inte komma ihåg hur det slutar!
Jag tycker att historien du letar efter är The Darfsteller , skrivet av Walter M. Miller, Jr. i 1955- vinnaren av det första Hugo-priset för bästa noveletten.
Hämtad från översyn av historien :
Taking its title probably from the German word "darsteller," which means "actor," Walter M. Miller's novelette The Darfsteller is about a failed actor's return to the stage. Miller's story is about the effect of technological innovation on the psychology of professionals, and it is a winner.
Ryan "Thorny" Thornier was at one point in the past one of those actors who you see all the time on the cover of People and Us Magazines. He and his lady-friend, Mela seemed to be more image that substance, but during their run they held the world as their oyster. Then along came a company called Smithfield and everything changed. Smithfield had invented a way to animate "dolls" and project lines and emotional reactions into them through a machine called the Maestro. The dolls effect was a little flat, but they were realistic enough to convince theater owners to fire their actors and invest in Smithfield's product. Thorny's fortunes fell virtually overnight, while Mela embraced the technology and licensed her image to Smithfield. Mela retired as a young woman to a life of luxury and Thorny became a janitor at a seedy theater so he could stay close to his art. As the years passed Thorny became bitter, until he eventually decided to commit suicide. To do it he sabotaged the theater's production of a play called The Anarch by ruining the tape that controlled one of the characters. Thorny planned to wait until the last minute after the producers realized their problem, then offer his services reluctantly to step into the role, which was one of the last ones he had before his career ended, and which he was best known for. At the end of the play was a scene where his character shot one of the other characters, then a third came in and shot him. Thorny switched the prop gun for a real one with two bullets in it. He wanted to go out in a bloody spectacle that would be talked about for years. But once Thorny enters the stage he begins to feel like his younger self again. The Maestro was a very complex machine that monitored audience reaction and in the true spirit of pandering was capable of changing the play mid-stream to suit the audience's desires. Once Thorny came onto the stage the Maestro read the audience's displeasure with him and tried to write him out of the last two acts. But Thorny outwitted the machine and in the latter parts of the play realized that he did not really want to die. His old flame Mela showed up also as a special appearance, because her image was being used on one of the dolls. Once she saw what Thorny was up to she decided that she wanted to act again also.
Jag läste Darfsteller för länge sedan och det låter som samma historia. Den samlas in i The Hugo Awards ", kan inte komma ihåg om det är volym 1 eller volym 2.
Läs andra frågor om taggar story-identification Kärlek och kompatibilitet Skor Gear 12 Stjärntecken Grunderna