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* TheNamesake: The end of the story gets very close to copying the title. It refers to the way Randall, an [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic child]], finds happiness in [[BrainComputerInterface being used as the basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Randall's specific version of autism (which the story explicitly makes rare) has him feeling imperfectly built to interact with his environment, but by essentially building a body to the environment, they've created a paradise of stimulus for the boy.
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* TheNamesake: The end of the story gets very close to copying the title. It refers to the way Randall, an [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic child]], finds happiness in [[BrainComputerInterface being used as the basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} robot sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Randall's specific version of autism (which the story explicitly makes rare) has him feeling imperfectly built to interact with his environment, but by essentially building a body to the environment, they've created a paradise of stimulus for the boy.
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* NeurodiversityIsSupernatural: In this [[AfterTheEnd post-Catastrophe]] society, Randall is an autistic child who is chosen as the [[BrainComputerInterface basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Now that Randall is in a body designed for his environment, he is happy.
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* NeurodiversityIsSupernatural: In this [[AfterTheEnd post-Catastrophe]] society, Randall is an autistic child who is chosen as the [[BrainComputerInterface basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} robot sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Now that Randall is in a body designed for his environment, he is happy.
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* IndustrializedMercury: Scientists want to send a probe to test the environment of Mercury. These are the initial stages of what would eventually be a colony, but first the scientists have to prove that robots can handle the logistical problems.
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First published in ''Magazine/WorldsOfIf'' (May-June 1974 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, both the American and UK versions. Also included in their ''Literature/TheBestFromIf, Vol. 2'' (1974) anthology. This {{novelette}} focuses on a pair of brothers in a
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First published in ''Magazine/WorldsOfIf'' (May-June 1974 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, both the American and UK versions. Also included in their ''Literature/TheBestFromIf, Vol. 2'' (1974) anthology. This {{novelette}} focuses on a pair of brothers in a
brothers.
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First published in ''Magazine/WorldsOfIf'' (May-June 1974 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, both the American and UK versions. Also included in their ''Literature/TheBestFromIf, Vol. 2'' (1974) anthology. This {{novelette}} focuses on a pair of brothers in a
Anthony Smith is a telemetrics engineer working on the Mercury Project, humanity's initial efforts in [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonizing]] the innermost [[{{UsefulNotes/Mercury}} planet]]. His older brother, William Anti-Aut, is a [[FictionalFieldOfScience homologist]], which means he studies [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} neurodivergent brains/genetics]].
When Anthony's department is hitting a dead end in their work, he suggests that they hire an expert on human brains to come and help them program the new system. Unexpectedly, his boss invites his own brother to help the team, [[SiblingTeam forcing the two to work together]]. They design Mercury Computer to operate a robotic body from Earth, a task with a latency of several minutes.
"Stranger in Paradise" has been republished five times; ''Literature/WollheimsWorldsBestSF: Series Four'' (1975), ''Literature/TheBicentennialManAndOtherStories'' (1976), ''Literature/ScienceFictionStories81'' (1980), ''Literature/TheCompleteRobot'' (1982), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStories, Volume 2'' (1992).
----
!!"Stranger in Paradise" contains examples of:
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Five hundred years [[AfterTheEnd after the Catastrophe]], human beings are [[ColonizedSolarSystem settling the solar system]]; colonies on UsefulNotes/TheMoon, {{UsefulNotes/Mars}}, the asteroid belt and {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}}'s moons. Another expedition is heading to colonize [[{{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} Titan]] and Anthony Smith is helping to get a robotic presence on {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. We also have the ruins of Old UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and the study of {{UsefulNotes/Autism}} is called Homology.
* AfterTheEnd: In this setting, Earth suffered some sort of [[CapitalLettersAreMagic Catastrophe]] over five hundred years ago. It never goes into the specifics, but characters attribute their PopulationControl and ColonizedSolarSystem to that crisis.
* AutismInMedia: This ShortStory from 1974 features Randall [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nowan]], an autistic child who is a background character. He has severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills, described as shrinking into the wall of his own skin, from a rare genetic combination.
* BrainComputerInterface: Randall is an [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic sixteen-year-old]] that would have been [[ReleasedToElsewhere cancelled]] except that one of the main characters, William Anti-Aut, got him a LastMinuteReprieve in order to study his brain/genetics. William then uses his brain as the basis for their Mercury Computer, which wirelessly controls a robot body on {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}.
-->The Mercury Computer, enclosed in glass, carefully and delicately wired, its integrity most subtly preserved, breathed and lived.\\
"It's Randall who's in paradise," said William. "He's found the world for whose sake he autistically fled this one. He has a world his new body fits perfectly in exchange for the world his old body did not fit at all."
* CasualInterplanetaryTravel: Humanity is developing regular trips to outer space, having multiple [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonies throughout the solar system]]. When they send a probe/rocket to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}, it only takes six months for the trip and can be arranged in only a few weeks.
* ColonizedSolarSystem: Humanity has colonies on UsefulNotes/TheMoon, {{UsefulNotes/Mars}}, in the asteroid belt and on {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}}'s moons. This {{Novelette}} is focused on the early stages of a colony on {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}.
* FictionalFieldOfScience: An odd case; this story treats the field of homology as almost exclusively the study of neurodivergent people and their genetics. One of the homologists prefers the term "the genetic physiology of man". In RealLife, homology is "similarity of the structure, physiology, or development of different species of organisms based upon their descent from a common evolutionary ancestor".
* LastMinuteReprieve: Children are raised in creches, and if they are not within certain parameters, they are [[ReleasedToElsewhere cancelled]]. William, who studies people with {{UsefulNotes/Autism}} and their brains, notices Randall's genes are indicative of a very unusual case, and requests that he be transferred to his laboratory instead.
-->[W]ithout that impulse, Randall would have been quietly canceled in a week or less.
* TheNamesake: The end of the story gets very close to copying the title. It refers to the way Randall, an [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic child]], finds happiness in [[BrainComputerInterface being used as the basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Randall's specific version of autism (which the story explicitly makes rare) has him feeling imperfectly built to interact with his environment, but by essentially building a body to the environment, they've created a paradise of stimulus for the boy.
-->A stranger so long and so lost-- in paradise at last.
* NeurodiversityIsSupernatural: In this [[AfterTheEnd post-Catastrophe]] society, Randall is an autistic child who is chosen as the [[BrainComputerInterface basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Now that Randall is in a body designed for his environment, he is happy.
* PopulationControl: Normally people can only have two children (one to replace themselves, another to replace their sexual partner). There are strict rules to qualify for a third child and children creches are expected to [[ReleasedToElsewhere abort or cancel]] children based on specific guidelines.
* ReleasedToElsewhere: In this [[AfterTheEnd post-Catastrophe world]], children are raised in creches and [[PopulationControl reproduction is limited]]. They are aborted (before birth) or cancelled (after birth) whenever they violate certain parameters, such as being identical twins or a failure to socialize.
-->Marco, who was the hardhead of the group, complained that the creches were too eager to abort before term and to cancel after term.
* RiteOfPassageNameChange: In this setting, people are given their first name at birth and when they are old enough, they can choose their surname. William Anti-Aut names himself in defiance of {{USefulNotes/Autism}}, wanting to cure it. Anthony Smith takes an unusual (for the setting) name, helping to define how [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture different the future is]]. Dmitri Large names himself in contrast to his shortness of stature ("Size is not all the large there is, my friend."). Randall [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nowan]] is autistic, and William identifies it partially on the basis of the unusual last name and the way he excludes himself from the rest of humanity.
* SecondaryCharacterTitle: The titular stranger is Randall [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nowan]], but William and Anthony are the main characters. Randall helps form the basis of [[SiblingTeam the two brothers cooperating]].
* SiblingTeam: William and Anthony have the same father and the same mother. Anthony considers this a point of embarrassment due to [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture their society]]'s PopulationControl. When Anthony's team hits a dead end, he suggests they call a [[FictionalFieldOfScience homologist]] to help them, not realizing that they would invite his brother (who is the best in the field). People naturally let them work out the problems together, subtly encouraging their teamwork. By the end of the {{novelette}}, they've bonded and look forward to continuing their partnership.
* SomebodyNamedNobody: One of the characters [[RiteOfPassageNameChange chose]] to name themselves Nowan, pronounced "no one". William takes this as evidence that the child is [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic]].
----
Anthony Smith is a telemetrics engineer working on the Mercury Project, humanity's initial efforts in [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonizing]] the innermost [[{{UsefulNotes/Mercury}} planet]]. His older brother, William Anti-Aut, is a [[FictionalFieldOfScience homologist]], which means he studies [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} neurodivergent brains/genetics]].
When Anthony's department is hitting a dead end in their work, he suggests that they hire an expert on human brains to come and help them program the new system. Unexpectedly, his boss invites his own brother to help the team, [[SiblingTeam forcing the two to work together]]. They design Mercury Computer to operate a robotic body from Earth, a task with a latency of several minutes.
"Stranger in Paradise" has been republished five times; ''Literature/WollheimsWorldsBestSF: Series Four'' (1975), ''Literature/TheBicentennialManAndOtherStories'' (1976), ''Literature/ScienceFictionStories81'' (1980), ''Literature/TheCompleteRobot'' (1982), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStories, Volume 2'' (1992).
----
!!"Stranger in Paradise" contains examples of:
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Five hundred years [[AfterTheEnd after the Catastrophe]], human beings are [[ColonizedSolarSystem settling the solar system]]; colonies on UsefulNotes/TheMoon, {{UsefulNotes/Mars}}, the asteroid belt and {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}}'s moons. Another expedition is heading to colonize [[{{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} Titan]] and Anthony Smith is helping to get a robotic presence on {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. We also have the ruins of Old UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and the study of {{UsefulNotes/Autism}} is called Homology.
* AfterTheEnd: In this setting, Earth suffered some sort of [[CapitalLettersAreMagic Catastrophe]] over five hundred years ago. It never goes into the specifics, but characters attribute their PopulationControl and ColonizedSolarSystem to that crisis.
* AutismInMedia: This ShortStory from 1974 features Randall [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nowan]], an autistic child who is a background character. He has severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills, described as shrinking into the wall of his own skin, from a rare genetic combination.
* BrainComputerInterface: Randall is an [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic sixteen-year-old]] that would have been [[ReleasedToElsewhere cancelled]] except that one of the main characters, William Anti-Aut, got him a LastMinuteReprieve in order to study his brain/genetics. William then uses his brain as the basis for their Mercury Computer, which wirelessly controls a robot body on {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}.
-->The Mercury Computer, enclosed in glass, carefully and delicately wired, its integrity most subtly preserved, breathed and lived.\\
"It's Randall who's in paradise," said William. "He's found the world for whose sake he autistically fled this one. He has a world his new body fits perfectly in exchange for the world his old body did not fit at all."
* CasualInterplanetaryTravel: Humanity is developing regular trips to outer space, having multiple [[ColonizedSolarSystem colonies throughout the solar system]]. When they send a probe/rocket to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}, it only takes six months for the trip and can be arranged in only a few weeks.
* ColonizedSolarSystem: Humanity has colonies on UsefulNotes/TheMoon, {{UsefulNotes/Mars}}, in the asteroid belt and on {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}}'s moons. This {{Novelette}} is focused on the early stages of a colony on {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}.
* FictionalFieldOfScience: An odd case; this story treats the field of homology as almost exclusively the study of neurodivergent people and their genetics. One of the homologists prefers the term "the genetic physiology of man". In RealLife, homology is "similarity of the structure, physiology, or development of different species of organisms based upon their descent from a common evolutionary ancestor".
* LastMinuteReprieve: Children are raised in creches, and if they are not within certain parameters, they are [[ReleasedToElsewhere cancelled]]. William, who studies people with {{UsefulNotes/Autism}} and their brains, notices Randall's genes are indicative of a very unusual case, and requests that he be transferred to his laboratory instead.
-->[W]ithout that impulse, Randall would have been quietly canceled in a week or less.
* TheNamesake: The end of the story gets very close to copying the title. It refers to the way Randall, an [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic child]], finds happiness in [[BrainComputerInterface being used as the basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Randall's specific version of autism (which the story explicitly makes rare) has him feeling imperfectly built to interact with his environment, but by essentially building a body to the environment, they've created a paradise of stimulus for the boy.
-->A stranger so long and so lost-- in paradise at last.
* NeurodiversityIsSupernatural: In this [[AfterTheEnd post-Catastrophe]] society, Randall is an autistic child who is chosen as the [[BrainComputerInterface basis for a computer]] that operates a {{robot}} sent to {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}. Now that Randall is in a body designed for his environment, he is happy.
* PopulationControl: Normally people can only have two children (one to replace themselves, another to replace their sexual partner). There are strict rules to qualify for a third child and children creches are expected to [[ReleasedToElsewhere abort or cancel]] children based on specific guidelines.
* ReleasedToElsewhere: In this [[AfterTheEnd post-Catastrophe world]], children are raised in creches and [[PopulationControl reproduction is limited]]. They are aborted (before birth) or cancelled (after birth) whenever they violate certain parameters, such as being identical twins or a failure to socialize.
-->Marco, who was the hardhead of the group, complained that the creches were too eager to abort before term and to cancel after term.
* RiteOfPassageNameChange: In this setting, people are given their first name at birth and when they are old enough, they can choose their surname. William Anti-Aut names himself in defiance of {{USefulNotes/Autism}}, wanting to cure it. Anthony Smith takes an unusual (for the setting) name, helping to define how [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture different the future is]]. Dmitri Large names himself in contrast to his shortness of stature ("Size is not all the large there is, my friend."). Randall [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nowan]] is autistic, and William identifies it partially on the basis of the unusual last name and the way he excludes himself from the rest of humanity.
* SecondaryCharacterTitle: The titular stranger is Randall [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nowan]], but William and Anthony are the main characters. Randall helps form the basis of [[SiblingTeam the two brothers cooperating]].
* SiblingTeam: William and Anthony have the same father and the same mother. Anthony considers this a point of embarrassment due to [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture their society]]'s PopulationControl. When Anthony's team hits a dead end, he suggests they call a [[FictionalFieldOfScience homologist]] to help them, not realizing that they would invite his brother (who is the best in the field). People naturally let them work out the problems together, subtly encouraging their teamwork. By the end of the {{novelette}}, they've bonded and look forward to continuing their partnership.
* SomebodyNamedNobody: One of the characters [[RiteOfPassageNameChange chose]] to name themselves Nowan, pronounced "no one". William takes this as evidence that the child is [[{{UsefulNotes/Autism}} autistic]].
----
