"Eyes Do More Than See" 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 ...

short story by American writer

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

Background

In 1964, '' Playboy'' magazine approached several science fiction writers to create short-short stories based on a photograph of a clay head without ears. The selected stories —

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

's "Playback",

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

's "Lovemaking", and Thomas M. Disch's "Cephalatron" (later "Fun with Your New Head") — were published in the December 1966 issue.''Playboy'', December 1966
, The FictionMags Index ''Playboy'' had rejected Asimov's story, so he submitted it to the '' Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', which published it in April 1965. The story has since been anthologized several times and was included in Asimov's collection ''

Nightfall and Other Stories ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) is a collection of 20 previously published science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov. Asimov added a brief introduction to each story, explaining some aspect of the story's history and/or how it came t ...

'' (1969). The story was nominated for the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Short Story.

Plot summary

In the very distant future — about a trillion years in the future — humans have long since abandoned physical form. They exist as energy entities spanning space. Two of these entities, known only as Ames and Brock, tire of artistic competitions using manipulations of energy. They discuss a new project in which they attempt to manipulate physical matter, and Ames creates a sculpture of a human head. Brock, who was once a woman, is painfully reminded of her physical past and that she once knew love. She adds tears to the head and then flees. Ames remembers that he had once been a man, and the force of his vortex splits the head as he turns in search of Brock.

Notes

External links

*
"Eyes Do More Than See"
on the Internet Archive Short stories by Isaac Asimov 1965 short stories Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction {{1960s-sf-story-stub