Creature from Cleveland Depths

Fritz Leiber

Jun 2011 · eStar Books

About this ebook

Here is a modern tale of an inner-directed sorcerer and an outer-directed sorcerer's apprentice ... a tale of-the Creature from Cleveland Depths!Excerpt"Come on, Gussy," Fay prodded quietly, "quit stalking around like a neurotic bear and suggest something for my invention team to work on. I enjoy visiting you and Daisy, but I can't stay aboveground all night.""If being outside the shelters makes you nervous, don't come around anymore," Gusterson told him, continuing to stalk. "Why doesn't your invention team think of something to invent? Why don't you? Hah!" In the "Hah!" lay triumphant condemnation of a whole way of life."We do," Fay responded imperturbably, "but a fresh viewpoint sometimes helps.""I'll say it does! Fay, you burglar, I'll bet you've got twenty people like myself you milk for free ideas. First you irritate their bark and then you make the rounds every so often to draw off the latex or the maple gloop."Fay smiled. "It ought to please you that society still has a use for you outre inner-directed types. It takes something to make a junior executive stay aboveground after dark, when the missiles are on the prowl.""Society can't have much use for us or it'd pay us something," Gusterson sourly asserted, staring blankly at the tankless TV and kicking it lightly as he passed on."No, you're wrong about that, Gussy. Money's not the key goad with you inner-directeds. I got that straight from our Motivations chief.""Did he tell you what we should use instead to pay the grocer? A deep inner sense of achievement, maybe? Fay, why should I do any free thinking for Micro Systems?""I'll tell you why, Gussy. Simply because you get a kick out of insulting us with sardonic ideas. If we take one of them seriously, you think we're degrading ourselves, and that pleases you even more. Like making someone laugh at a lousy pun."

About the author

Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. was born December 24, 1910, the son of a notable Shakespearean actor. He was a graduate of the University of Chicago where he had majored in psychology and physiology, and also attended Episcopal General Theological Seminary. Leiber was an Episcopal Minister from 1932 to 1933, but was encouraged to join his father's company, and toured with him in 1934, leaving two years later when he married in 1936. Leiber became an Editor with Consolidated Book Publishers in Chicago from 1937 to 1941. He was a Speech and Drama Instructor at Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1941 to 1942, a Precision Inspector at Douglas Air Craft Company, Santa Monica from 1942 to 1944, an Associate Editor for Science Digest Magazine from 1944 to 1956, and a Freelance Writer from 1956 to1992. Leiber's interest in writing came from correspondences with a a close college friend, Harry Fischer. Together they developed alter ego characters: Nordic Fafhrd a tall gangly limbed individual from 'the North' - based on Leiber, and the effervescent Grey Mouser - based on Fischer. Leiber first featured the characters in a story, "Adepts Gambit". The story was rejected, but the two characters reappeared in his first published story "Two Sought Adventure", which was published in Unknown magazine John W Campbell, of Astounding Science Fiction was Leiber's first editor. Leiber's first major work as an SF author came with his novel Gather, Darkness! in 1943, concerning the overthrow of a religious dictatorship. An anthology, Ill Met in Lankhmar, published in 1970, received the Hugo science fiction award. Leiber also received a Life Award for his contribution to his field, presented at the Second World Fantasy Convention. He regularly contributed a column to the SF trade magazine, Locus. Leiber was a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and a Lecturer for Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshops at Clarion State College and San Francisco State University. In his lifetime, Leiber won 7 Hugo Awards and a Hugo Grandmaster of Fantasy Award, 2 Nebula Awards and a Nebula Grandmaster Award, an August Derleth Award, 3 World Fantasy and one British Fantasy Awards, a Clark Ashton Award, a Balrog Award, a Locus Award, 3 Gigamesh Awards, an Anne Radcliffe Award, a University of Chicago Proffesional Achievemant Citation, and a Bram Stoker Life Achievement Award. He was also nominated for 7 other Nebula Awards, as well as 4 Lovecraft's and one Second Stage Lensman at Moscon. Leiber has appeared in television, film, on radio and in theater, and has written over 40 books. Fritz Leiber died September 5, 1992 at the age of 81.