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Isaac Asimov: Exile to Hell

“Exile to Hell” is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, published in May 1968 in the magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact. The story is set in a future society where exile is the ultimate punishment for those who threaten its delicate technological existence. While awaiting the verdict in the trial of Anthony Jenkins, a man accused of damaging critical facilities in a fit of rage, two programmers, Dowling and Parkinson, play chess and debate the justice and severity of this punishment. Dowling argues that exile is an effective and necessary deterrent in a world where even minor mistakes can be catastrophic. Parkinson, however, questions the humanity of such a punishment and advocates for more compassionate alternatives.

August Derleth: The Drifting Snow

“The Drifting Snow” is a vampire story by August Derleth, published in February 1939 in Weird Tales magazine. The story takes place in an old house in Wisconsin during a winter storm. Clodetta, who has just arrived with her husband, begins to sense an unsettling tension in the family atmosphere, marked by Aunt Mary’s rigid character and her strange prohibition against opening the curtains on the west side of the house after sunset. The mysterious rules imposed by the old woman make sense when Clodetta thinks she sees a figure in the snow.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Earth’s Holocaust. Summary and analysis

In Earth’s Holocaust, Nathaniel Hawthorne presents an allegory in which humanity, determined to free itself from all the evils of the past, organizes a gigantic bonfire in a meadow to burn symbols of power, customs, institutions, and cultural objects. Noble titles, crowns, weapons, alcoholic beverages, books, money, instruments of execution, and even religious objects are destroyed in a radical attempt at social purification. Throughout the event, an anonymous narrator observes with growing unease how, in its eagerness for renewal, humanity also seems to be losing its spiritual and cultural roots. In the end, after even burning the Bible, a sinister figure reveals that it has all been in vain, for the true source of evil—the human heart—remains intact. The story concludes with the reflection that until the inner nature of human beings is transformed, all attempts at external reform are doomed to repeat past mistakes.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Earth’s Holocaust

“Earth’s Holocaust” is an allegorical short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in May 1844 in Graham’s Magazine and collected in Mosses from an Old Manse (1846). The story begins with the organization of a huge bonfire, where crowds from all over the world gather to destroy ancient symbols of power, prestige, and tradition. In a reformist fervor seeking the moral regeneration of humanity, material objects, and entire institutions are thrown into the fire: noble titles, royal emblems, weapons, beverages, books, and even religious symbols. However, something essential remains intact, hidden from the power of the flames.

Ambrose Bierce: Beyond the Wall

“Beyond the Wall” is a short story by Ambrose Bierce, published in December 1907 in Cosmopolitan magazine. The story begins with a man visiting his old friend Mohun Dampier on a stormy night in San Francisco. Upon arriving at the gloomy and lonely house where Dampier lives, the visitor realizes that his old companion has undergone disturbing changes. In the dim light of a tower battered by wind and rain, a knock on the wall arouses his curiosity. Intrigued, he listens intently to his friend’s story, which reveals a painful memory related to that mysterious signal.

H. P. Lovecraft: The Music of Erich Zann. Summary and analysis

A young student of metaphysics moves to an old, steep street called Rue d’Auseil, where he rents a room in an almost deserted building. He soon becomes intrigued by the strange music he hears every night from the attic, played by a mute violinist named Erich Zann. Fascinated by these disturbing and unfamiliar melodies, the student tries to approach the musician, who is evasive and disturbed, refusing to play certain compositions in his presence and forbidding him to look out of his room’s window, the only one facing the other side of the wall that closes off the street. Over time, the narrator begins to suspect that Zann’s music is not only artistic but also a defense against something invisible and terrifying. One night, he finally witnesses Zann’s violin become an instrument of despair in the face of a force that bursts through the window. Looking through it, the narrator sees an infinite and chaotic abyss, not the city. He flees in terror and never finds the street again. Zann’s secret disappears with him, leaving the narrator forever marked by what he witnessed.