The Egg, by Andy Weir
August 9, 2011 5:59 AM   Subscribe

A lovely short story worth sharing
posted by masters2010 (32 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: This seems to be hitting more glurge buttons than nice-story-to-pass-on buttons; the front page of mefi is kind of a dicey place for that kind of material without some compelling context. -- cortex



 
What is it about? What makes it worth sharing? And with who? Who is the target audience?
posted by Eideteker at 6:04 AM on August 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


That was simply lovely.
posted by John Farrier at 6:11 AM on August 9, 2011


I read it. For glurge writing it's pretty good. But yeah, not the best of the web and not framed well at all. Still, I hate to flag it because it has such an interesting premise, poor writing and all.
posted by Deathalicious at 6:11 AM on August 9, 2011


Close your eyes and open your mouth.
posted by box at 6:14 AM on August 9, 2011


Who is the target audience?

"You."
posted by The Bellman at 6:16 AM on August 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


The premise was interesting enough that I wish it had been better executed. I don't regret having read it.
posted by Phire at 6:18 AM on August 9, 2011 [3 favorites]


“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

So god has good standards, but he's kind of dickish about it?
posted by benito.strauss at 6:18 AM on August 9, 2011


While the second-person narration felt weird at first, it turns out to be perfectly appropriate given the cosmology of the story.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 6:19 AM on August 9, 2011


benito.strauss: "So god has good standards, but he's kind of dickish about it?"

You think that's, dickish, try reading some OT.
posted by notsnot at 6:19 AM on August 9, 2011


After yesterday's schmaltzfest, we seem to be heading deeper into Forwarded-From-Mom-filter territory here. Where will the next turn lead? Applying pith helmet immediately...
posted by robself at 6:24 AM on August 9, 2011


I'm forwarding this to all my grandchildren!
posted by swift at 6:26 AM on August 9, 2011 [3 favorites]


But I actually kinda liked it.
posted by swift at 6:26 AM on August 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


But I actually kinda liked it.

I know, right?
posted by Deathalicious at 6:29 AM on August 9, 2011 [3 favorites]


It was like a catchy pop song on the radio. It put a grin on my face and hell, that's good enough for 3 minutes of reading.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:32 AM on August 9, 2011


I only read it so I could comment. Neither my reading of it nor this comment were worth it.
posted by therubettes at 6:34 AM on August 9, 2011


How does a hook stay attached to a car door handle for that long? FLAGGED.
posted by griphus at 6:40 AM on August 9, 2011


Telling the guy he's reincarnated, and then swatting aside the props to Hinduism -- yeah, dickish.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:42 AM on August 9, 2011


Cute, but thin.
posted by xingcat at 6:43 AM on August 9, 2011


“All religions are right in their own way,”

Written by someone who has never seriously studied different religions or thought about them too hard, I'd guess. It's like the opposite of theology.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:45 AM on August 9, 2011


So god has good standards, but he's kind of dickish about it?

God has something in common with most of the people in this thread, apparently.
posted by Shepherd at 6:46 AM on August 9, 2011 [7 favorites]


Man, no wonder Q is such a dick.
posted by kmz at 6:58 AM on August 9, 2011


Spoiler warning
“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”
“Where you come from?” You said.
“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”
Wait, so this god comes from somewhere else, where there is no time and where things are "different" in an incomprehensible way. But s/he is also the same kind of being as the reader, who will apparently come from this universe. And every religion is right in its own way? And when you put your finger into a glass of water you gain all of the experiences the glass of water has had??

Something about this story seems unlikely to me. Maybe it makes more sense in Bulgarian.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 6:59 AM on August 9, 2011


Nice. Someone should start a religion based on it. It's like Feynman's one-electron universe mashed up with reincarnation and Mormon cosmology.
posted by XMLicious at 7:02 AM on August 9, 2011


Nice. Someone should start a religion based on it.

They did, somewhere around 5,000-4,000 years ago. It was called "Orphism". The Orphic theogonies (what remains of them as reconstructed mainly by Damascius and the recent discovery of the Derveni papyrus), if you'll pardon an extremely short summary, begin with an egg that symbolizes unity, and that then gives birth to diversity. Orphism believes in a return to the original unity of the egg.
posted by fraula at 7:07 AM on August 9, 2011 [4 favorites]


I like the premise. The writing isn't the best -- mentioning Hitler? I like the deeper connotation that humanity is doomed. :-)

It wasn't the best thing I've read, but it was worth the couple of minutes.
posted by eriko at 7:08 AM on August 9, 2011


I liked that story, and although I wouldn't post it, after reading some comments I'm adding it to my favorites. It's a nice little story and there is no reason to tear into it like that.
posted by hat_eater at 7:10 AM on August 9, 2011


Skip this and watch Defending Your Life instead. Same basic point, much better jokes.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:10 AM on August 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


I apologize for the lack of background information in the post, this is my first contribution to the blue and I now realize a bit more information would have been helpful.

Go ahead and flag if you so desire, but I still think this to be a nice short story that is worth a read. As many of you have pointed out not for its craft of language or expertise of story telling, but rather as a seed of thought. I think the world would be a better place with a bit more compassion and the theory presented, while derivative of other thought and full of holes, promotes the virtue of treating others as one would like others to treat oneself.

I recommend you walk around a public space and toy with the thought a bit. Look at others as another version of yourself, just with a different past and with different experiences. We mostly all want the same things - love, friendship, etc. You'll begin to see yourself in others and transcend into a greater understanding of unity.
posted by masters2010 at 7:14 AM on August 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: Maybe it makes more sense in Bulgarian.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:15 AM on August 9, 2011


Needs more cosmic despair.
posted by Dr Dracator at 7:17 AM on August 9, 2011


I can make sense of this by imagining universes as REM Imitation of Life-style places where physical bodies are interacting mechanically and deterministically, and souls are just along for the ride (not in control), gaining various perspectives. In which case there could be a single soul that hops around from body to body in an order chosen by the god dude, chronology not necessarily being the main criteria. Kinda cool to think about.
posted by mantecol at 7:18 AM on August 9, 2011


It could have been an interesting little slice of fiction, if it had been written by someone with an ounce of talent. In other words, pretty much how I feel about the oeuvre of Dan Brown. Lame.
posted by Gator at 7:20 AM on August 9, 2011


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