Mortimer Gray’s History of Death by Brian Stableford

“Mortimer Gray’s History of Death” is a 1995 science fiction novella by Brian Stableford. It is about a nearly immortal man, living in a far future Earth, who writes a life defining Magnum Opus about – you guessed it – death.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

Mortimer Gray is an emortal – a person who has undertaken the nearly universal practice of extending his life for a long time. How long? No one knows for sure, because people who have subscribed to the Zaman view of emortality by having nano-machines constantly fight off disease and regenerate their bodies, are still alive after living for hundreds of years.

The story begins as Mortimer is involved in a shipwreck when a tectonic plate beneath the Pacific ocean breaks and the Earth’s internal heat nearly boils the sea. As one of only two survivors, he sets out to write a definitive history of mankind’s battle with death. The story splits and alternatively discusses each of the ten volumes in his series, as well as the events of his own life in between writings.

I was an utterly unexceptional child of the twenty-ninth century, comprehensively engineered for emortality while I was still a more-or-less inchoate blastula, and decanted from an artificial womb in Naburn Hatchery in the country of York in the Defederated States of Europe. I was raised in an aggregate family which consisted of six men and six women. I was, of course, an only child, and I received the customary superabundance of love, affection, and admiration. With the aid of excellent internal technologies, I grew up reasonable, charitable, self-controlled, and intensely serious of mind.

My Two Cents:
This is the first story I have read by Brian Stableford and I was completely drawn into it. When reduced to a nutshell summary it sounds like a completely boring topic – yet it wasn’t. I was fascinated both with how well the author understood and conveyed his knowledge of the biological sciences, as well as the narrator’s fascinating descriptions of life in the 29th – 31st centuries. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by cool ideas such as religious groups which stage fantastical deaths in the midst of emortals, humans who have been re-engineered for space with four arms, and contractual group marriages among 200 year old people?

• The good:

• Breathtaking in scope and yet marvelously detailed in execution – a tricky and rare feat!
• Several very cool science fiction ideas (as mentioned above.)
• A hard science fiction story that uses biology, microbiology and other life sciences to not only predict the future but explain the past as well.

• The bad:

• This is a long story – nearly 50 pages of thought provoking, detailed analysis. If that’s not your cup of tea then you might want to stay away from this one.
• It’s not an action story either – it is a very detailed and level-headed description of an author and his life’s work – not lots of explosions and car chases here.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 45

• “Mortimer Gray’s History of Death” garnered the following awards:

• It placed 2nd in the 1996 Asimov’s Reader Poll for Best Novella.
• It placed 8th in the 1996 Locus Poll.
• It was nominated for the 1996 Nebula for Best Novella.
• It was shortlisted for the 1996 Sturgeon award.

Where you can find “Mortimer Gray’s History of Death”:

• This story first appeared in the April 1995 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction.
• “Mortimer Gray’s History of Death” was included in Gardner Dozois’s anthology The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year’s Best Science Fiction.
• It has also been included in the 2002 collection of stories Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future

Related Yet Still Interesting Links:

• You may not be surprised to learn that Brian Stableford, the author of “Mortimer Gray’s History of Death”, holds a degree in biology. But did you know that he earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation on “The Sociology of Science Fiction”? Yep. You can learn more about this biology-leaning science fiction author at Wikipedia.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you’ll probably like “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang – the award winning novella about a linguist trying to learn an incredibly difficult alien language.

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