Book description
We call it a gismo. That's right, a gismo. A bit difficult to describe.
Like a cross, I suppose, without the top part. Sort of two arms on a
stand. What happens is this. You hang something on one arm. Anything at
all. A watch, a bracelet, money, anything. I supposed you could hang a
locomotive on, only it's a bit heavy. But anyway you hang something on
and there on the opposite arm appears an exact replica. And I mean
exact. You can't tell the difference. So nobody need make anything any
more. What you need you hang on the gismo. No work. No want. No
starvation. No nothing. When you've got a gismo, you've got everything.
Damon Knight (1922 - 2002) Damon Francis Knight was born in Oregon in
1922. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in modern
science fiction, having made significant contributions to the field as
an author, editor and critic. Knight co-founded the Milford Writers'
Conference, the influential Clarion Workshop and the Science Fiction
Writers of America, serving as its first president from 1965-67. Around
this time he also made his reputation as one of the field's foremost
anthologists. Beginning with reprint collections, in 1966 he launched
the influential Orbit series of original anthologies. Starting with
Orbit 1, the series would continue for over a decade, concluding in 1980
with Orbit 21. Orbit was the longest running and most influential
anthology series in SF up to that point, showcasing such important
authors as Gene Wolfe, R. A. Lafferty and Knight's third wife, Kate
Wilhelm. A master of short fiction, Damon Knight is best known in wider
circles as the author of 'To Serve Mankind', which was adapted for The
Twilight Zone and later spoofed in a Hallowe'en episode of The Simpsons.
He was granted the SFWA's Grand Master Award in 1995, and in 2002, SFWA
renamed it the Damon Knight Grand Master Award in his honour. He died in
2002.
