''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel by American writer
John Kessel
John Joseph Vincent Kessel (born September 24, 1950) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer, and the author of four solo novels, '' Good News From Outer Space'' (1989), ''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' ( ...
, published in 1997. It is a
time travel novel modeled on the
screwball comedies
Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characterist ...
of the 1930s.
The story follows the rich and klutzy Owen Vannice ("Dr. Nice") as he exports a dinosaur from the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
Period. On the way to the twenty-first century, he is stranded in Jerusalem in 40 AD, where he and Genevieve Faison fall in love. However, he leaves her after discovering that she and her father are con artists. She takes revenge by impersonating a representative of the Committee to Protect the Past, marrying him and then pulling a series of surprises that leave him feeling betrayed. He realizes that he still loves the Genevieve he met in Jerusalem; they both return there and are reconciled. Meanwhile, the
Zealot Simon is involved in a failed attempt to take over the time travel station in Jerusalem. He stands trial and is acquitted after a courtroom face-off between
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.
''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' was nominated for the 1998
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award f ...
.
Plot
''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' is set mainly in three eras: the twenty-first century, 40 AD and the Cretaceous Period. In 2063 AD, time travel is commonplace. Time travelers feel free to exploit the past without fear of changing their own history because each visit creates an
alternate history
Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
called a "moment universe". The Saltimbanque Corporation uses it for tourism and to exploit the resources of the past. Famous historical figures are snatched from their time and brought to the twenty-first century (these include
Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
,
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus Christ from several different times in his life).
[ After visitors leave a moment universe, it continues with its new history. In a few of them, permanent installations are created that can be revisited and used as way stations for time travel. One is set up in the Jerusalem of 40 AD, complete with hotels.]
The story begins in the Cretaceous where Dr. Owen Vannice, heir to an enormous fortune and the Dr. Nice of the title, is working as an amateur paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
. Vannice arranges to transport Wilma, a baby ''Apatosaurus
''Apatosaurus'' (; meaning "deceptive lizard") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. Othniel Charles Marsh described and named the first-known species, ''A. ajax'', in 1877, an ...
'', to his home. Sabotage of the time travel apparatus strands him for a time in 40 AD and brings him in contact with a couple of con artists, Genevieve Faison and her father August. At first, the duo conspire to steal the dinosaur from Owen. However, during an abortive attempt by Zealot
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Je ...
s to take over the time travel station, Genevieve falls in love with him. Before she can confess to him that she is a con artist, Owen finds out from a third party and leaves in disgust.[
Broken-hearted, but aware that she is much cleverer than Owen, Genevieve plots an elaborate revenge. Posing as Emma Zume of the Committee to Protect the Past, she arranges to visit his estate and inspect his dinosaur. She makes no attempt to disguise herself, simply altering her personality; and Owen falls in love with her because she reminds him of Genevieve. However, after they are married she pulls a series of surprises on him. She reminds him that she is a "sexual deliberationist", which turns out to mean that she believes in not having sex. She also reveals that she has conspired with her parents to retrieve a sperm sample from him so a grandchild can be grown in an ]artificial womb
An artificial womb or artificial uterus is a device that would allow for extracorporeal pregnancy by growing a fetus outside the body of an organism that would normally carry the fetus to term.
An artificial uterus, as a replacement organ, woul ...
; and that his father has managed to clone Wilma for use in an exotic food industry. Feeling betrayed, he files for divorce. He also realizes that he is really in love with Genevieve, who he still fails to realize is also Emma. Having had her revenge, Genevieve discovers that it gives her little satisfaction, and she decides to go after him. Meeting in Jerusalem, they are happily reconciled.[
In a parallel story line, ]Simon the Zealot
Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...
, one of the apostles, is arrested for his role in the attempted takeover of the time travel station. He is embittered by the changes in Jerusalem and by the removal of Jesus to the future. Early in the occupation by the time travelers, his wife Alma took ill and died; and he is estranged from his son Samuel, who sings a variation of twentieth century blues in clubs. While awaiting trial in 2063 AD, he learns about the future society that he hates and becomes skilled in manipulating public opinion. The trial is presided over by an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
that keeps a running tally of public opinion and factors it into its verdict. Owen makes a disastrous attempt at helping Simon. Abraham Lincoln appears for the prosecution, but Simon counters with a surprise appearance by the Jesus who was extracted from his moment universe. Jesus makes a speech that moves public opinion in favor of Simon. He is acquitted, and in Jerusalem is reunited with Alma after Owen extracts her from another moment universe.[
]
Themes
The exploitation of the past in ''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' is, in part, a satire on the exploitation of the Third World.[ Tourists visit the past to see famous events such as the ]Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
and the assassination of Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
.[ Natural resources such as oil are removed from moment universes.][ Sigmund Freud and ]Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
are added to a college psychiatry department, Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
is a talk show host and the physicist Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...
becomes a drummer in a band led by Mozart.[
This rebounds on the future era: the greats of the past take jobs away from citizens of the future, and some people resort to selling organs for money.]
Owen Vannice is troubled by the exploitation of the past, but does not see the contradiction in stealing a dinosaur from the past. One of the roles of Genevieve is to expose the contradictions in his thinking and spur him to act on his beliefs.[
]
Style
''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' is modeled on screwball comedies of the 1930s. The 1941 Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best Origina ...
film ''The Lady Eve
''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. '' is the source for much of the plot. The use of a dinosaur as a comic element echoes the snake in ''The Lady Eve'', a leopard in the 1938 film ''Bringing Up Baby
''Bringing Up Baby'' is a 1938 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. The film tells the story of a paleontologist in a numb ...
'', and the dog in the 1937 film ''The Awful Truth
''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1923 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts how a distrustful rich couple begins d ...
''. It also echoes the theme of an individual born into great wealth who indulges in an eccentric hobby. Other elements borrowed from these films include a bumbling hero and a zany but competent heroine. Many of the chapter headings are also famous movie titles.[
]
The 21st Century is populated with Neo-Victorians (as in the 1995 novel ''The Diamond Age
''The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, set in a future world in ...
'' by Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque.
Stephenson's work exp ...
). Their formal, decorous society provides a setting for dialog that is rich in double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
s and verbal barbs.[
Elements of ]cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
are incorporated in the story. Owen is equipped with an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
that has been implanted in his brain. Named Bill, it acts as a bodyguard, able to take over its body when necessary to protect him. However, he often has to suppress its violent urges. It also provides ironic commentary on his actions and has a glitch that makes it spout streams of nonsense words at times. In addition, people in the twenty-first century can install personality implants. In one scene, several women who find out about Owen's wealth try to attract him with Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
and Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
personalities.[
]
References
Further reading
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{{Refend
1997 American novels
Novels about time travel
American satirical novels
Tor Books books
Works by John Kessel