<span class="SFPTagline">
From SCIFIPEDIA
</span>
A Time to Live is a 3000-word short story by Joe Haldeman, about a man who uses time travel to give himself a second, happier life. It was first published in the May, 1977 issue of Analog.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.
Plot
Harrison is born in 1990; dies in 2110. His early years are years of poverty and failure; but as a young adult he becomes rich and powerful, eventually investing in space travel. When he dies, he has a cryogenic ship made, and his body shot out into the galaxy. 800,000 years later, his body is picked up and revived by an alien, who learns much of ancient history from his brain. The alien agrees to set him down, in a young man’s body, on Earth; but it’s the Earth of 1995. Harrison takes the name Lassiter, and uses his knowledge of business history to make a fortune. He hires the other Harrison into his company and then allows him to take over. Then Lassiter retires to a much happier life outside of business.
Reprints
This story is reprinted in Donald A. Wollheim's The 1978 Annual World's Best SF.
External Links
To see specific information, such as anthologies that include this story, please click the A Time to Live category link at the bottom of this article. To see other articles that reference A Time to Live, please click the What Links Here tool in the toolbox at the bottom of this page.
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
