Inertia (short story)
| "Inertia" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nancy Kress |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Realistic Fiction |
| Published in | The Saturday Evening Post |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | November 17, 2004 |
"Inertia" is a short story written by Nancy Kress, and published in 2004 as part of the book Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse.
Characters
Sarah Pratt
The narrator of the story, often called 'Gram' by her grandchild. She is an elderly woman who comes off as observant, as well as wise. She is of the few people who was not born in the camp, and she is capable of intelligent speech that is not normally found in those who live in her vicinity.
Mamie
Sarah's daughter, called 'Mamie' by even her mother. She is immature, self-centered, and manipulative. Her most notable relationship is with her on and off boyfriend, Peter.
Peter
Mamie's boyfriend - a poker-playing, cheating, and inconsiderate man who can often be seen eyeing young girls of 16. Even though he is a shallow individual, Mamie appears to be against ending the relationship.
McHabe
A doctor from outside of the camp. He claims that he does not have the disease, but Sarah notes that he always wears a watch. He has the leniency to come and go as he pleases, and is working on an illegal cure to a disease.
Rachel
She is smart and quiet, but is eager to step up towards the end of the story. She is Sarah's granddaughter.
Jennie
Jennie is notably attractive, without having any disfiguration from the disease (she is often eyed by Peter). She is eager, supportive, and passive aggressive. She is Rachel's cousin.
Plot summary
Inertia is about a group of people infected with a disease similar to leprosy but incurable, benign, and personality-altering. This disease has been well contained for over sixty years. Those infected are sent to a guarded camp where they do not pay taxes, though congress took away their right to vote. They occasionally receive donations from the outside world (mainly Korean), but other than that they are self-sustaining. The story starts begins a doctor, McHabe, sneaking into the camp without a biohazard suit, which is unusual because those who do not wear biosuits are not permitted to leave. He asks about people who have been there the longest. He finds Sarah then starts asking her questions about the disease. Later, it is revealed that the disease is benign, and only alters appearance. However, it lessens emotions, and negates strong feelings, skin to depression. All research and testing of the disease has been made illegal after 14 people died from a failed experimental cure. Doctor McHabe has an untested experimental cure from an underground research lab for early cases of the disease, but it only helps the skin, leaving mental effects present and contagious (though the mental effects are noted to be positive).
When the colonies were first set up, many sociologists predicted the colonies would descend into chaos and war zones, but they didn't. McHabe assumes the mental effects of the disease are why the colonies work so well, and have very little violence. The outside world has become fairly violent and America is involved in several wars. McHabe wants to infect the world with the mental effects of the disease so there will be less war and violence. He gives the cure to Jennie and her peer without anyone else knowing, including Mamie and Sarah. Later that night McHabe tells Mamie that he gave Jennie the cure. Mamie subsequently tells the guards about McHabe. The guards come into the camp, wearing biohazard suits and wielding guns, where they shoot and kill McHabe as he tries to explain himself. Rachel gets ready to go out into the world and spread the disease, although her face is notably affected. Sarah agrees to come with her, despite age and arthritis.