By the Seawall

Form: Short story

Year: 1967

Publication history:

• 1967 : Worlds of If January 1967 (m) ,
• 1969 : Dimension Thirteen (pb) , Ballantine, 215 pp.
• 1979 : The Songs of Summer (hc) , Gollancz (UK), 173 pp., ISBN 0575025654
• 1981 : The Songs of Summer (pb) , Pan
• 1982 : Les Chants de l'Été (pb) , J'ai lu (France), 245 pp., ISBN 2277213926, 1392 (in French "La digue")

There are two points of speculation in this story: the creation of a race of synthetic humans (not unlike those in Tower of Glass) to perform drudge work, and the construction of a gigantic wall to protect land-dwelling people from the dangerous monsters inhabiting the oceans. The origin of these monsters is not dealt with in the story, which follows the experiences of a synthetic whose job is to guard a section of the wall. Micah-IV watches the sea for encroaching creatures, inspects the wall for flaws, and guides tourists who visit. Nothing prepared him for the possibility that a visitor might intentionally jump off the wall.