"The Wall Around the World" 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 by American writer

Theodore Cogswell Theodore Rose Cogswell (March 10, 1918 – February 3, 1987) was an American science fiction author. Profile During the Spanish Civil War, Cogswell served as an ambulance driver for the Republicans as part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. His ear ...

. It was first published in the magazine ''

Beyond Fantasy Fiction ''Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' was a US fantasy fiction magazine edited by H. L. Gold, with only ten issues published from 1953 to 1955. The last two issues carried the cover title of ''Beyond Fiction'', but the publication's name for copyright purp ...

'' in 1953 and provided the title for Cogswell's first short fiction collection, published in 1962. It is set in a world where magic is taken for granted and technology is banned and feared.

Plot summary

Thirteen-year-old Porgie Mills, an orphan raised by his aunt and uncle, is fascinated by the impassable "wall around the world". It is a barrier higher than any

broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

can fly. His obsession distracts him from his schoolwork in magic. No amount of discipline can diminish the boy's interest. His schoolteacher, Mr Wickens, warns Porgie not to follow in the footsteps of his father, who dabbled in forbidden technology until the dreaded "Black Man" took him away. Porgie, inspired by a sketch by his father, builds a crude

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

in secret. On his 14th birthday, Porgie launches his contraption. He uses his broomstick to provide additional

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...

. While aloft, Porgie spots his bullying cousin "Bull Pup" flying below and takes the opportunity to taunt him. An aerial fight ensues and Porgie's glider gets damaged. With his foe defeated, Porgie sets his sights on the Wall. Eventually his broomstick stops working, but Porgie manages to use updrafts to keep his glider rising until he reaches the Wall's top, just before his glider breaks up. Atop the Wall, he sees the Black Man flying toward him. He panics and falls off the Wall. He is caught by the Black Man, who reveals himself as Wickens. The schoolteacher tells Porgie the truth: the world outside is based on technology and lacking in magic. The Wall was built and people put inside in order to develop their

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

abilities. Wickens takes Porgie to be reunited with his father.

Reception

It was nominated for the 1953

Retro-Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

for Best Novelette. A 62nd World Science Fiction Convention (Noreascon 4) article praised the story:

1953 was also a year in which a number of underappreciated writers produced some very good work. Charles L. Harness wrote his gorgeous story "The Rose", and Theodore Cogswell wrote "The Wall Around the World".

Publication history

:''May be incomplete.'' * ''Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' (1953) Anthologies: * ''Beyond the Barriers of Space and Time'' (1954),

Judith Merril Judith Josephine Grossman (January 21, 1923 – September 12, 1997), who took the pen-name Judith Merril around 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist, and one of the first women to be wid ...

(ed.) * ''The Wall Around the World'' (1962), Theodore Cogswell * ''Yet More Penguin Science Fiction'' (1964),

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...

(ed.) * ''Worlds of Wonder'' (1969), Harry Harrison (ed.) * ''The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus'' (1973), Brian Aldiss (ed.) * ''The Wall Around the World and Other Science Fiction Stories'' (1979), Susan Morris (ed.) * '' Wizards'' (1983), Isaac Asimov,

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ov ...

and Charles G. Waugh (eds.) * ''The Great SF Stories #15 (1953)'' (1986), Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg (eds.) * ''The Mammoth Book of Fantasy'' (2001), Mike Ashley (ed.) The story has also been translated into: * German ("''Die Mauer um die Welt''", 1963) * Dutch ("''De muur rondom de wereld''", 1978) * Italian ("''Il muro intorno al mondo''", 1987) * Hungarian ("''Fal a világ körül''", 1988) * Portuguese ("''A muralha ao redor do mundo''", 1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wall Around the World 1953 short stories Science fiction short stories Works originally published in Beyond Fantasy Fiction