"Superiority" 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 uni ...
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
by British writer
Arthur C. Clarke, first published in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
. It depicts an
arms race during an interstellar war. It shows the side which is more technologically advanced being defeated, despite its apparent superiority, because of its willingness to discard old technology without having fully perfected the new. Meanwhile, the enemy steadily built up a far larger arsenal of weapons that while more primitive were also more reliable. The story was at one point required reading for an industrial design course at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
.
Plot
The story is told in the form of a
letter of pleading to a court deciding the fate of the former commander of a great allied space fleet. He starts the letter by describing that their final defeat was due not to the inferiority of their forces, but their superiority.
When the war opens, the allied forces have a great advantage both in number of spaceships and the power of their weapons. At the Battle of the Five Suns the enemy does surprisingly well, although ultimately losing. Spooked, the allies confer with their new Chief of the Research Staff, Professor-General Norden. He states their existing weapons have reached the limits of the potential and begins development of terrifyingly powerful new weapons.
The first of these is repeatedly delayed, and the allies pause their attacks while they wait for their ships to be fitted with the new missiles. The enemy uses these delays to capture several former allied systems. Instead of simply counterattacking with their current weapons, Norden develops still newer weapons that will make up for these losses. Each is temporarily successful, but each invariably leads to insurmountable problems and further losses.
The story ends with the author admitting their defeat, but begs the court's favour as he can no longer be held responsible "for my future actions if I am compelled any longer to share my cell with Professor Norden, late Chief of the Research Staff of my armed forces."
Publication
"Superiority" was included in Clarke's 1953 anthology ''
Expedition to Earth'', the 1981 anthology ''The 7 Cardinal Virtues of Science Fiction'' (where it represented
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
), the 1987 military science fiction collection ''Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow'', and the 2001 anthology ''The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century''.
See also
*''
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke''
*
Illusory superiority
*
Opportunity cost
*
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was popularised in the twentieth century by Ameri ...
*
Wonder weapons
References
External links
*
Short stories by Arthur C. Clarke
1951 short stories
Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Technological change
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