Short Story #87: You are With It! by Will Stanton

Title:  You Are With It!

Author:  Will Stanton

Summary

After departing in the morning from his wife with her numerous reminders of things he needs to do, Stanley Dobbs arrives at the office where he encounters the Host, who speaks in grand and overdramatic language.  The Host tells him he's about to embark on an adventure and then the next thing Dobbs knows is that he's at a night club he runs and meeting with the Commissioner.  The Commission discusses a mission he will be sent on across the world to find the "Professor."  The deal is settled and next we see Stanley rushing off to work in the morning.  His wife gives him a list of things to do and he goes off to work, meeting up with associates from the night before.  The story switches back and forth like this until the Dobbs encounters a body with a to-do list in his pocket, quite similar to his.  Just because he can piece it together, the Host reappears and tells him the show has been canceled by the wife of the sponsor.  The story ends with Dobbs and a Lieutenant discussing another mission.  

Reflection

This story threw me for a bit of a loop and I had trouble following it through.  It's unclear if the fantasy world is world at home where Dobbs has the "American dream" (referenced within the story) or if it is his world of excitement.  Maybe that is indeed the point?  

Short Story #87 out of 365
Rating: 2 (out of 5 stars)
Date Read:  3/22/2014
Source:  A Century of Science Fiction, edited by Damon Knight. Simon & Schuster, 1962.

For a full listing of all the short stories in this series, check out the category 365 Short Stories a year.

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