Dancing Gerontius


Dancing Gerontius is a science fiction short story by Australian writer Lee Harding. It was first published in the December 1969 issue of Vision of Tomorrow, and later included in several Australia sf anthologies.

Plot summary

In a future where medical advances have allowed people to live longer and longer, the problem of what to do with the ever increasing number of older people is "solved" in a rather callous manner, yet one that many of them would accept.

Further publications

After the story's initial publication in Vision of Tomorrow in December 1969 it was reprinted as follows:The Second Pacific Book of Science Fiction edited by John Baxter Australian Science Fiction 2 edited by John Baxter The Best Australian Science Fiction Writing : A Fifty Year Collection edited by Rob Gerrand

Critical reception

In his review of The Second Pacific Book of Science Fiction critic George Turner called the story a "dark vision" and noted that the climatic scene is "a minor tour de force of evocative writing".

Award