Keith Laumer

Name: The walls
Author: Keith Laumer

The walls (1962)

Summary

“The walls”, published in 1962, is a work by Keith Laumer. It explores elements such as Flora, wall and Harry.

Quotes from The walls (Keith Laumer)

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ She had to get hold of herself. These were only mirrors—she knew that. Only mirrors. The other women—they were mere reflections. Even the hostile ones who hid the others—they were herself, mirrored in the walls.
She opened her eyes. She knew there were joints in the glassy wall; all she had to do was find them, and the illusion of the endless plain would collapse. There—that thin black line, like a wire stretched from floor to ceiling—that was a corner of the room. She was not lost in an infinitude of weeping women on a vast plain; she was right there, in her own apartment—alone. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ It was exciting at first, having full-sized people talking, eating, fighting, taking baths, making love, right in the room with you. If you sat across the room and half-closed your eyes, you could almost imagine you were watching real people. Of course, real people wouldn't carry on like that. But then, it was hard to say what real people might do. Flora had always thought Doll Starr wore padded brassieres, but when she stripped on Full-wall—there wasn't any fakery about it. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ Instead of a simple room, neatly bounded on all four sides by solid walls, she seemed now to occupy a stage set off by windows through which other, similar, stages were visible, endlessly repeated. The old feeling of intimate companionship with her reflected self was gone; the two mirror-women were strangers, silently watching her. Defiantly, she stuck out her tongue. The two reflections grimaced menacingly. With a small cry, Flora ran to the switch, turned the screens on. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ I went over the whole thing with the Full-wall people today. By God, they're doing a magnificent job of programming. You see, the two walls will be synchronized. You're getting the same show on both—you're seeing it from two angles, just as though you were right there in the middle of it. Their whole program has been built on that principle."
"Harry, I'm not sure I want another wall—"
"Oh, nonsense. What is this, some kind of self-denial urge? Why not have the best—if you can afford it. And by God, I can afford it. I'm hitting my stride—"
"Harry, could I go with you some day—tomorrow? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ He cocked an eye at Flora. "And I'm having a Full-wall installed!"
Flora glanced at the blank screen. "A Full-wall, Harry?"
"Yep!" Harry smacked a fist into a palm, taking a turn up and down the room. "We'll be the first in our cell-block to have a Full-wall!"
"Why—that will be nice, Harry...."
"Nice?" Harry punched the screen control, then deployed the two chairs with tray racks ready to receive the evening meal.
Behind him, figures jiggled on the screen. "It's a darn sight more than nice," he said, raising his voice over the shrill and thump of the music. "It's expensive, for one thing. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ Sure, you get a little tired of being here all the time; but there are plenty of people worse off—and now, with Full-wall, you'll get a feeling of more space—"
"Harry—" Flora spoke rapidly—"I wish we could go away. I mean leave the city, and get a little place where we can be alone, even if it means working hard, and where I can have a garden and maybe keep chickens and you could chop firewood—"
"Good God!" Harry roared, cutting her off. Then: "These fantasies of yours," he said quietly. "You have to learn to live in the real world, Flora. Live in the woods? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ Harry groaned. "I thought that was all threshed out, long ago." He fixed a pained look on Flora. "Try to understand, Flora. The population of the world has doubled since you were a girl. Do you realize what that means? There are more people alive now than had been born in all previous human history up to fifty years ago. That farm you remember visiting as a kid—it's all paved now, and there are tall buildings there. The highways you remember, full of private autos, all driving across open country ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ Flora brought the trays and they ate silently, watching the screen. After dinner, Flora disposed of the trays, retracted the table and chairs, and extended the beds. They lay in the dark, not talking.
"It's a whole new system," Harry said suddenly. "The Full-wall people have their own programming scheme; they plan your whole day, wake you up at the right time with some lively music, give you breakfast menus to dial, then follow up with a good sitcom to get you into the day ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ He glanced around the apartment, the four perfectly flat rectangular walls, the glassy surface of the variglow ceiling, the floor with its pattern of sink-away panels. His eye fell on the four foot square of the TV screen. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ I—"
"Flora, you know better than that. I'm lucky to have gotten this apartment when I did; there's nothing—absolutely nothing available." He chuckled. "In a way, the situation is good job insurance. You know, I couldn't be fired, even if the company wanted to: They couldn't get a replacement. A man can't very well take a job if he hasn't a place to live in the city—and I can sit on this place as long as I like; we might get tired of issue rations, but by God we could hold on; so—not that anybody's in danger of getting fired."
"We could move out of the city, Harry. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ Flora's voice shook. "How will you get out? They've put it right across the door; they've sealed us in...."
"Don't be a bigger idiot than you have to." Harry's voice was ugly over the thunder from the screens. He went to the newly covered wall, groped, found the tiny pin-switch. At a touch, it slid aside as always, revealing the blank face of the lift shaft safety door. A moment later it too slid aside and Harry forced his way into the car. Flora caught a glimpse of his flushed angry face as the door closed.
Around her, the walls roared. A saloon fight was in full swing. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Keith Laumer, The walls (1962)

“ Do you mean to tell me you want to spend all that money to wedge yourself in a verticar and then transfer to a cross-town and travel maybe seventy miles, packed in like a sardine, standing up all the way, just so you can get out and stand in a wasteland and look back at the walls? ”

Keith Laumer

Summary

Quotes from The walls (Keith Laumer)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature