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Gimmicks Three
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | Isaac Asimov |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | fantasy short story |
| Released in | The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Fantasy House |
| Media Type | Magazine |
| Released | November 1956 |
Gimmicks Three is a fantasy short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1956 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction under the title The Brazen Locked Room, and reprinted under Asimov's original title in the 1957 collection Earth is Room Enough. The title refers to what Asimov called "the three well-worn gimmicks of pact with the devil, locked-room mystery, and time travel".[1]
Isidor Welby has just left the army and, abandoned by his girlfriend, feels lost and let down. In desperation, he signs away his soul in blood to a demon named Shapur. On the proviso that eventually he will be forced to enter hell, either as an ordinary dammed soul or as a member of the cadre, he is alloted a number of demonic powers, the nature of which are not initially explained to him.
Ten years later, he has become a successful businessman and has married his erstwhile girlfriend. Shapur reappears to demand his price. If Welby can perform a simple task using his demonic powers, Welby will be accepted as a member of the elite of hell. Otherwise, he will be just an ordinary dammed soul.
Welby is confined to an apparently sealed bronze room and challenged to escape from it. Eventually, with little time left, he realises that he has the power to move through time and he moves back in time, thus escaping from the room.
In fact, as he realises, he has moved back to the time before he had signed away his soul and so he is able to turn down Shapur's persuasive offer, much to the demons fury. Not only has he had his ten successful years, with more to come, but the demon cannot now touch him.
- ^ Isaac Asimov,In Joy Still Felt, 4:28.