Short Fiction · Chapter
Asleep in Armageddon explained
Leonard Sale, stranded on a dead planet, fights to stay awake to prevent two ancient warring mentalities, Iorr and Tylle, from taking over his body.
What happens
Leonard Sale, stranded on a dead planet, fights to stay awake to prevent two ancient warring mentalities, Iorr and Tylle, from taking over his body. He devises a strict schedule of reading, games, and stimulants to avoid sleep, but exhaustion and hallucinations overwhelm him. After a near-suicidal episode, a rescue ship arrives, but the rescuers, unaware of his condition, sedate him. In his sleep, the entities possess him fully, and he dies, his face a mask of internal battle.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Otherness
Sale's extreme solitude on a dead planet leads to psychological breakdown and possession by alien minds.
Violence and Murder
The internal war between Iorr and Tylle manifests as self-inflicted gunshot and eventual death.
Mortality and the Brevity of Life
Sale's desperate struggle to survive and the irony of dying just as rescue arrives highlight the fragility of life.
Characters to notice
- Leonard Sale
Protagonist stranded on a dead planet, fighting sleep to prevent possession by ancient mentalities Iorr and Tylle.
- Iorr of Wendillo
One of two ancient warring mentalities seeking to occupy Sale's body.
- Tylle of the Blood Mound
The other ancient warring mentality, enemy of Iorr, also seeking to use Sale as a vessel.
- Helen King
Mentioned as a memory Sale thinks about to stay awake.
Key passages
“irony, he thought. There was only one thing to do. Draw a plan. This he did. He got a yellow pencil and delineated his six day plan of escape.”
Sale decides to create a detailed schedule to keep himself awake and sane.
Shows his methodical approach to combating sleep and possession.
“He was Iorr, jeweled rings on his hands. He arose beside his rocket and held out his fingers, commanding blind armies. He was Iorr, ancient ruler of jeweled warriors. He was Tylle, lover of women, killer of dogs!”
In his sleep, Sale becomes the ancient rulers Iorr and Tylle, acting out their war.
Illustrates the takeover of his identity by the alien mentalities.
“The rocket flipped wide its airlock. Two men jumped out. 'Sale?' they called. 'We're Ship ACDN13. Intercepted your SOS and decided to pick you up ourselves. The Marsport ship won't get through until day after tomorrow. We want a spot of rest ourselves. Thought it'd be good to spend the night here, pick you up, and go on.'”
Rescuers arrive but plan to stay overnight, unaware of the danger sleep poses to Sale.
Irony of rescue leading to his doom.
“Leonard Sale slept. The two men stood over him. As they watched, Sale's features changed violently. He groaned and cried and snarled in his sleep. His face was riven with emotion.”
After being sedated, Sale's face contorts as the internal battle rages.
Visual representation of the psychic war within him.
“Then, suddenly, he was dead. He lay there, the two men over him. 'What a shame,' said one of them. 'Can you figure that?' 'Shock. Poor guy. What a pity.'”
Sale dies from the possession, and the rescuers attribute it to shock and loneliness.
Tragic ending where the true cause is misunderstood.