Stainless Steel Rat
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James Bolivar diGriz, alias "Slippery Jim" and "The Stainless Steel Rat", is a fictional character and a series of
comic science fiction Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedy, comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard scie ...
novels A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of '' ...
written by Harry Harrison.


Description

James Bolivar diGriz goes by many aliases, including "Slippery Jim" and "The Stainless Steel Rat". He is a futuristic
con man A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...
,
thief Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...
, and all-round rascal. He is charming and quick-witted. He is also a master of disguise and martial arts, an accomplished bank robber, a criminal mastermind, an expert on breaking and entering, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. Master of self-rationalization, the Rat frequently justifies his crimes by arguing that he is providing society with entertainment; and besides which, he only steals from institutions that he believes have
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
coverage and so will be able to recoup their losses. He displays a strong sense of morality, albeit in a much more restricted sense than is traditional. For example, diGriz will steal without compunction, but deplores killing. The character was introduced in Harrison's short story "The Stainless Steel Rat", first published in 1957 in ''
Astounding ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
'' magazine. The story introduces the Rat, who has just carried out a successful larceny operation, and subsequently details a complex bank robbery the Rat pulls off with ease; however, he is outfoxed by the mysterious "Special Corps"—a crime-fighting organization staffed with former criminals—and recruited by them in order to fight crime. Harrison used the story, with minor modifications, as the introduction to the series's first full-length novel, also called ''The Stainless Steel Rat''. Like other characters created by Harrison, the Rat is a speaker of
Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
and advocates
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
.


Books

There are 12 works in the Stainless Steel Rat series. : ''The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat'' (1978) anthologized the first three books: : ''The Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus'' (2008) anthologized the first three books: (Gollancz) The series takes place in the far future (to the point where the name of the original homeworld of humankind has been lost.) According to professor Coypu, the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
is no longer in use (with no mention of what replaced it), but ''The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World'' provides a timeframe for the Rat's life and adventures when DiGriz is sent 32,598 years into the past and arrives in 1975 A.D., which would place the events of the series around the late 346th century.


Spin-offs


Comics

''The Stainless Steel Rat'', ''The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World'' and '' The Stainless Steel Rat for President'' were adapted into comic strip form in early issues of '' 2000 AD'', written by
Kelvin Gosnell Kelvin Gosnell is a British comics writer and editor. He was involved in the founding of the long-running comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977, and was its second editor (1977–1978). He also edited '' Starlord'' (1978) and ''Tornado'' (1979). Biography ...
and drawn by
Carlos Ezquerra Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra (; 12 November 1947 – 1 October 2018) was a Spanish comics artist who worked mainly in British comics. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Judge Dredd''. Biography Early work Born in Ibdes, Zaragoza (province), prov ...
. Ezquerra drew Jim with an appearance modelled on the actor
James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
. They appeared in the following issues of ''2000 AD'': * ''The Stainless Steel Rat'', 12 episodes, 2000 AD progs 140–151 (Nov. 1979 to Feb. 1980). * ''The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World'', 12 episodes, 2000 AD progs 166–177 (June to Sep. 1980). * ''The Stainless Steel Rat for President'', 12 episodes, 2000 AD progs 393–404 (Nov. 1984 to Feb. 1985). The first appearance of The Stainless Steel Rat in prog 140 was supposed to be preceded with a brief panel of explanation of who Jim was. However, an editorial error meant that the panel actually appeared at the end of the first episode, not the beginning. This prompted a letter to be printed in prog 148 from Harry Harrison himself pointing out the error, for which he won £3. These three stories were colorized and reprinted by
Eagle Comics Eagle Comics was a short lived comic book publishing company that existed to reprint comic stories from the UK's '' 2000 A.D.'' magazine for distribution in North America. They existed from 1983 to 1986 and were based in London, England with pro ...
in 1985 and 1986 as a six-issue limited series. They were also collected in a trade paperback in July 2010 (). The ''2000 AD'' comic versions were collected into a paperback () and hardcover edition in August 2021 which includes the colour centre spreads as they originally appeared.


Books


Gamebook

Harrison also produced a
gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...
in the style of the
Choose Your Own Adventure ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actio ...
and
Fighting Fantasy ''Fighting Fantasy'' is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982. The series distinguished itself by mixing Choo ...
series, called '' You Can Be the Stainless Steel Rat'' (), the reader being told that their decisions would "determine whether he or she can find Prof. Geisteskrank on the planet Skraldespand"Skraldespand" being the Danish word for garbage can. and bring him back before he activates a lethal new weapon". The reader generally cannot fail in this mission, regardless of his or her choices, although it is possible to get caught in an inescapable loop at one point.


Cameos

In the tribute anthology '' Foundation's Friends'', Harrison wrote a story, ''The Fourth Law of Robotics'', which featured the Stainless Steel Rat in the setting of
Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ;  – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
's '' Robot'' series.


Board game

''The Return of the Stainless Steel Rat'', a
board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
inspired by the character, was published by SPI in their magazine ''
Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
'' in the late 1970s. Designed by
Greg Costikyan Greg Costikyan (born July 22, 1959), sometimes known under the pseudonym Designer X, is an American game designer and science fiction writer. Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including: hex-based wargames, role-playing ...
, the game involved the Rat infiltrating a
space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...
under hostile control. The game was accompanied by a 6,000-word short story.


Video games

In 1984 a ''Stainless Steel Rat'' video game was developed by Mosaic Publishing for the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
, co-written by Harrison with programmer Sean O'Connell. A
text adventure game Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
titled ''The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World'' was released in 1984 for the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
.


Characters


Angelina diGriz

Angelina diGriz is a criminal mastermind much like the Rat, only less ethical and more willing to kill. As the Rat's first case for the Special Corps, he tracks Angelina down and ends up falling in love with her. After her capture, she undergoes
psycho surgery ''Psycho Surgery'' is the second studio album by the American Christian metal band Tourniquet. It was originally released on Intense Records and Metal Blade Records in 1991. A remastered version was released on Pathogenic Records in 2001 as ''Ps ...
(not to be mistaken for "
psychic surgery An alleged psychic surgeon at work Psychic surgery is a medical fraud in which practitioners create the illusion of performing surgery with their bare hands and use sleight of hand, fake blood, and animal parts to convince the patient that di ...
") to lessen her homicidal tendencies and she also joins the Corps; during that time she begins a relationship with the Rat that ends with them marrying in the last trimester of her pregnancy. She later assists on many of the Rat's adventures, often providing advice and solutions that Jim himself is unable to see. While she is no longer a heartless killer, her suppressed homicidal tendencies occasionally come out, especially when she sees another woman near her husband.


James and Bolivar diGriz

James and Bolivar diGriz are the twin sons of the Rat and Angelina. The Rat missed most of the first six years of their life because of his adventures in time (he briefly sees them as babies at the end of ''The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge''), but they share their father's attitudes and many of his skills. They end up marrying the same woman, who falls in love with both of them and gets herself duplicated into two identical women sharing one mind.


Harold Peters Inskipp

Harold Peters Inskipp is the director of the Special Corps and one of the most powerful men in the Galaxy. He recruits the Rat, but is frequently infuriated by his insubordinate attitude and tendency to go rogue – committing independent crimes for sheer enjoyment. The Special Corps is composed almost entirely of former criminals – Inskipp himself was a legendary fugitive known as "Inskipp the Uncatchable" before being recruited and eventually becoming the Corps's commander.


Professor Coypu

One of the few Special Corps members not taken from the criminal fraternity, Professor Coypu is a
boffin Boffin is a British slang term for a scientist, engineer, or other person engaged in technical or scientific research and development. A "boffin" was viewed by some in the regular military or government services as odd, quirky or peculiar, th ...
who had developed a Time Helix device permitting
time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...
as well as a portal to alternate realities. He also has a great deal of general scientific knowledge, and sent a copy of his mind with the Rat on his excursion to the 20th century to enable Jim to build a time helix and return to his native time. The only descriptions given of Coypu are his prominent
buck teeth In orthodontics, a malocclusion is a misalignment or incorrect relation between the teeth of the upper and lower dental arches when they approach each other as the jaws close. The English-language term dates from 1864; Edward Angle (1855–1930 ...
- a trait he shares with his namesake, the
coypu The nutria () or coypu () (''Myocastor coypus'') is a herbivore, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent from South America. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' has since been included within Echimy ...
- and a large nose.


The Bishop

The Bishop was a master criminal on ''Bit O'Heaven'', the Stainless Steel Rat's home planet. He was a lot less physical in his capers than Jim but undertook robberies, always leaving as his
calling card ''Calling Card'' is the sixth studio album and eighth album overall by Irish singer and guitarist Rory Gallagher. Released in 1976, it marked the second of four albums he released on Chrysalis Records during the 1970s. The album was co-produced ...
a picture of the
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
chess piece. He retired from robbery before Jim was born, focusing instead on computer crime, and Jim only learned of his existence from a fellow prisoner while briefly in jail. Jim then contacted The Bishop by using his calling card in a robbery. As a result, The Bishop was forced out of retirement when he underestimated the police's computer security systems after running a check on Jim himself. The Bishop eventually became Jim's mentor and taught him a great deal about their trade, as well as a code of ethics. Eventually Jim and The Bishop had to leave ''Bit O'Heaven'' and on their first off-planet adventure The Bishop was killed. As a parting gift he left Jim a note that he signed with his real name, although the name is not revealed to the reader.


The Kekkonshiki

The Kekkonshiki, also known as "The Gray Men", are a human culture who initially prefer domination to coexistence. Their expertise lies in using technology to manipulate sentient minds, and they have manipulated both humans and aliens on a grand scale. Jim has experienced one of their techniques, in which the subject is convinced, via an implanted memory and faked surgical scars, that their hands were severed by an axe and then reattached while they were unconscious from the shock; he later becomes aware of their involvement in the alien invasion when he sees the same marks on the wrists of another prisoner. Jim has knowingly opposed them on two separate occasions (''The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge'' and ''The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You''), but in the latter novel he is informed that he has in fact thwarted their plans twice already, making this their third encounter. (An alternate reading of the text is that finding and infiltrating their homeworld, in the second half of the novel, is counted separately from stopping the alien invasion in the first half.) They live on a harsh, icy world, which forced them to eliminate all emotion from their culture. This society is completely patriarchal, with women being treated as nothing more than property. During Jim's interactions with Hanasu - a disgraced Kekkonshiki council leader - he persuades them to reinterpret their teachings, and they embark on a more peaceful co-existence with the rest of humanity. ("Kekkonshiki" is the romanization of the Japanese word for "Marriage Ceremony" 結婚式. Also, while on their homeworld, Jim follows a technician into a room marked "Benjo", which turns out to be a bathroom; "Benjo" is Japanese for water closet/toilet.)


In popular culture

The
MIT class ring Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class ring, often called the Brass Rat, is a commemorative ring for the graduating class of undergraduate students at MIT. The ring is redesigned each year by a committee of MIT students. The class ring ha ...
, commonly referred to as "The Brass Rat", when cast in Celestrium (also known as jeweler's steel), is often referred to as "The Stainless Steel Rat". The Chinese activist Liu Di, writing under the screen name "Stainless Steel Rat" (不锈钢老鼠), became a high-profile symbol for democracy and free speech in China since her detention in November 2002. Her screen name is often translated as Stainless Steel Mouse. In '' The Librarians'' episode "And the Happily Ever Afters", Flynn Carsen refers to Ezekiel Jones, a thief, "master of technologies" as the "Stainless Steel Rat". In
Obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...
's
The Outer Worlds ''The Outer Worlds'' is a 2019 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Private Division. Set in an alternate future, the game takes place in Halcyon, a distant star system colonized by megacorporations. In ...
a side quest is titled "The Stainless Steel Rat." A character in
Digital Extremes Digital Extremes Ltd. is a Canadian video game developer founded in 1993 by James Schmalz. They are best known for creating ''Warframe'', a free-to-play cooperative online action game, and co-creating Epic Games' ''Unreal'' series of games. Digi ...
'
Warframe ''Warframe'' is a free-to-play action role-playing third-person shooter multiplayer online game developed and published by Digital Extremes. First released for Windows personal computers in March 2013, it was later ported to PlayStation 4 ...
refers to the exoskeleton-wearing player characters as "stainless steel rats."


Reception

''
Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...
'' reviewer Floyd C. Gale rated the first novel four stars out of five, saying "though pure entertainment, tunderlines SF's role in providing speculative thought about potential problems." ''The Stainless Steel Rat'' has been cited as
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
's favourite novel, and having influenced the real-life outlaw Jim Clay "Ether" Harper VI.


Notes


References


External links

* * * *
Stainless Steel Rat Series page
on Official website
Series listing
at SciFan {{DEFAULTSORT:Stainless Steel Rat, The Literary characters introduced in 1957 Book series introduced in 1961 Male characters in literature Science fiction book series Speculative crime and thriller fiction novels 2000 AD comic strips Novels by Harry Harrison Fictional gentleman thieves Fictional martial artists Fictional bank robbers American picaresque novels Fictional con artists Comic science fiction novels