The Four-Hour Fugue

"The Four-Hour Fugue" is a short story by science fiction writer Alfred Bester. It was nominated for the 1975 Hugo Award for Best Short Story of the Year. The story and its two main characters, Gretchen Nunn and Blaise Skiaki, were incorporated into Bester's 1980 illustrated novel "Golem¹⁰⁰," where Skiaki was renamed Blaise Shima.

Skiaki is an important commodity to his employer more than a person. He is a genius in creating olfactory chemicals, which are all-important in this dystopia. In this future, water is too precious to be used for mere bathing. Skiaki lives in a giant Northeast Corridor of urban sprawl crammed with people. Therefore, perfumes have taken the place of bathing for most people; water cannot be spared. Not when water requires a license to be used.

Enter Gretchen Nunn, who is a genius of a different kind...

Nunn is contracted to discover where Skiaki vanishes to. He shakes off professionals like a professional himself. When Nunn correlates reports from the detectives, she notes that Skiaki vanishes for four hours. Every time he does so, someone dies. She deduces that Skiaki enters a fugue during those times.

Nunn pretends to be a delivery girl to enter Skiaki's abode. They become lovers. He gives her a synthetic jewel that she promises to wear only for him.

Skiaki meets Nunn during his fugue state and does not recognize her. When in fugue, Skiaki believes himself a different person, called Mr. Wish. He says that he follows people with a death wish; hence his name. Nunn tries to persuade him that he is mistaken, that she has no death wish - and then strangers appear. The men tell Skiaki to step aside and that they like this choice. Skiaki pouts that he never gets to kill anyone...

Then he sees the jewel Nunn is wearing...

Later, Nunn informs authorities that she resisted an assault and survived.

Her private report to Skiaki's employers does not mention one important fact - Skiaki has discovered that Nunn is actually blind and sees through the eyes of those around her.

External links

* [http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Hugo1975.html 1975 Locus Index to Awards]
* [http://www.nesfa.org/data/LL/Hugos/hugos1975.html The Long List of Hugo Awards, 1975]