"Cassandra" is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

short story by American writer

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award–winning novels '' Downbe ...

. It was first published in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

'' in October 1978, and won the

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

in 1979. It was only her second published short story, after " The Dark King" (1977). "Cassandra" has been translated into German, French, Polish, Italian and Romanian. Short story writing is an activity that Cherryh generally only undertakes upon request or when an idea surfaces that does not lend itself to a novel. Receiving a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for this story therefore came as a complete surprise to Cherryh. This short story is Cherryh's modern take on the

Greek mythological Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient ...

figure

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; , , sometimes referred to as Alexandra; ) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecy, prophecies but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is e ...

who had the gift of

prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

Plot summary

The gift of prescience, rather than a blessing, is a

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

for the mythological character Cassandra that she cannot control. She sees the future all the time and cannot turn it off. In Cherryh's story, Crazy Alis leaves her burning apartment each morning and heads for the bombed-out coffee shop, passing charred corpses on the way. She knows it's going to happen but can do nothing about it. When the bombs do come and fire engulfs the city, her foresight actually saves her, but at what cost? She is the sole beneficiary of her misfortune in an otherwise non-functional existence.

Awards and nominations

*1979 –

: winner *1979 –

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

: runner up *1979 –

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...

for Best Short Story: runner up *1999 – Named one of ''Locus'' magazine's 50 best science fiction short stories of all time

References

Sources

. ''The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh''. DAW Books 2004. .

External links

C. J. Cherryh's homepage
''Bibliography of C.J. Cherryh'' {{C. J. Cherryh Short stories by C. J. Cherryh Science fiction short stories Hugo Award for Best Short Story–winning works 1978 short stories Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Fiction about precognition Cassandra Works based on classical mythology