Robert A. Heinlein-All You Zombies

Now this was quite an interesting read. I still am trying to wrap my brain around the story's ending. Is the unmarried man one and the same as the older grizzled time cop? It sure appears to be the case. Heinlein's approach to gender is also quite fascinating and way ahead of it's time. You really feel for the character of the unmarried man. A bastard child, an orphan, and a hermaphrodite. He/she was never really either a man or a woman at birth. Even when she has SRS surgery forced upon her into a man, she still isn't really truly a man and never will be. It is so tragic and heartbreaking. And to discover that the only person that seems to have anything in common with him/her is him/herself? Double bummer.

I also love the time cop aspect of the story. Not just because I am a huge fan of the Jean-Claude Van Damme film but because it really does set up the story perfectly for its wild twist. Without the temporal agent storyline the revelation in the end would not be possible. It also shows an example of a time paradox that doesn't end with the entire universe exploding or anything of that sort. It just continues to go on like the meeting had never happened round and round like an endless circle. Like the author writes so eloquently the unmarried man is "The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail, Forever and Ever." The unmarried man also knows where he comes from since he has figured that out not once but twice with the same effect, but everyone else around him feels empty and hollow to his gaze. Hence why he remarks the words that inspire the title of the story Heinlein is telling.

"Where Did All You Zombies Come From?" 

These zombies are not the living dead variety who are looking to feast on people's brains. No they are completely normal human beings. But to The Unmarried Man they might as well be. He can't relate to them, he doesn't trust them, he sees nothing but a long line of faceless beings shuffling about aimlessly not really knowing what their destination is or what their future holds in store for them.

"You aren't really there at all. There isn't anybody but me-Jane-here alone in the dark.
I miss you dreadfully!"

This last quote really solidifies the supreme isolation The Unmarried Man(Jane) feels. Being both a man and a woman but in the end being neither is just too much for one human to bear and this identity crisis leaves the protagonist with no one to care or a shoulder to cry on. What is he/she? Does Gender really determine who you are? Is all that makes us who we are a series of different sex organs and characteristics?

A lot of questions are brought to mind while reading this story, and that is a wonderful thing. I love stories that make you question what is really going on in not only the story but in life as well. And Heinlein's "All You Zombies" poses plenty of deep thoughts.


And just for fun and on a lighter note here is some appropriate music for this story and your listening pleasure.