Eight O'Clock in the Morning (2024)

A short story that inspired the 1988 movie ‘They Live’.

“At the end of the show the hypnotist told his subjects, “Awake.”
Only George awoke however, and he’s the only human to discover a secret that’s being kept from the world!
Here’s the link http://www.whale.to/b/eight_o.html

What? What? No, "I've come to chew bubble gum and kick some ass, and I'm all out of bubble gum."?

No, alas, and I thought it was pretty funny how NO ONE caught the typographical errors in this SHORT short story that later became the movie They Live!

And yet... it's simplicity, it's utter paranoia, its bare-bones understanding of the world (with or without the lizardmen) evokes a raw horror take on Plato's Cave.

Simple idea... wide-ranging effect.

Oh, and it's pretty awesome for all you rebels and haters of conformity out there. :)

OBEY ME AND READ THIS. ;)

Having always enjoyed John Carpenter's film They Live I checked out the original story it was based on once again & still found it highly entertaining. It might be the shortest short story I've ever read, but in just a few minutes it achieves more than some science fiction novels manage to do in hundreds of pages.

George is awoken to the fact that reptilian creatures are living amongst the population, but only he can see them.

This very short story made famous by John Carpenters ‘They Live’ has such a scary concept of infiltration.

A really quick read that is fully of ideas, you can see why it was later adapted.
I’d highly recommend!

Without having seen John Carpenter's 1988 film, They Live, starring the late Rowdy "Roddy" Piper, I have no means of comparing the two. It's best not to. They're completely different mediums and as such, they should stand on their own. Eight O'Clock in the Morning was a very short story (its five pages felt closer to two or three,) so the film presumably added plenty of substance to fill its hour and forty minutes. Now knowing that, I'm curious as to how they filled in the gaps. Was it a fully realized story? Did it add character development and/or worldbuilding? Those are only a few questions lingering. I was, in fact, somewhat surprised that the source material didn't contain Piper's often played line. A line that most film enthusiasts likely know by heart:

"I am here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum."

Ray Faraday Nelson's story was told in an easily digestable style, which I believe was excellent, and his bold intentionality served its black and white mentality very well. You see it in Nada's actions as well as the alien's. This was more than a simplistic science fiction tale. It's social commentary more relevant now than when it was initially published in 1963. Nelson's concepts were many and they were grand.

One of the subjects awoke all the way. This had never happened before. His name was George Nada and he blinked out at the sea of faces in the theatre, at first unaware of anything out of the ordinary. Then he noticed, spotted here and there in the crowd, the non-human faces, the faces of the Fascinators. They had been there all along, of course, but only George was really awake, so only George recognized them for what they were. He understood everything in a flash, including the fact that if he were to give any outward sign, the Fascinators would instantly command him to return to his former state, and he would obey.

Ultimately, it ended abruptly and I closed the link wanting more. A lot more. That can be a good or bad thing. In this instance, it was a good thing. A really profound thing. The finality of it stung, delivering a gut punch that I never expected. And now, on a side note, I hope to see They Live sooner rather than later.

Read it for free HERE:

http://www.whale.to/b/eight_o.html

The (very) short story that provided the skeleton of "They Live", John Carpenter's brilliant '80s action movie, starring Roddy Piper in an iconic role. Like the movie, the story sees a man discover the existence of nefarious aliens infiltrating and directing human society, then follows his mad dash to do something about it. It's entertaining stuff even if, at only 5 pages, it lacks much of what made Carpenter's film so unforgettable. Not a bad way to kill five minutes.

A man wakes from hypnosis, the only one. He starts seeing reptilian creatures under human flesh. Signs and televisions say subliminal words he can see clearly. He gets a call from someone telling him to repeat: "I will die at eight o clock in the morning." The story falls into short-short classification, but packs novel length ideas on a springboard of imagination.

The movie based on this short-short stars Roddy Piper in the eighties. The Sci-Fi Classic, called "They Live," packs action, humor, and weirdness.

A link to the short-short: http://metadave.wordpress.com/2007/07...

A link to the movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T71F1...

Il racconto manifesto, per antonomasia, del rimanere sempre svegli ed all'erta, perché l'inganno é sempre dietro l'angolo, purtroppo. Una storia per chi non ha voglia di vivere anestetizzato come uno zombie, immerso nel nauseabondo zuccheroso buonismo di facciata!
Da leggere e rileggere!
Da questo breve racconto Carpenter ne ideò un film: They live (Essi vivono), che é diventato un cult assoluto della cinematografia mondiale.

So happy that I found this 6 page long short story that was the egg from which John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’ was hatched. It is a very bare-boned story that really has no meat on it whatsoever, and kind of feels like it was thrown together in a few minutes. Still and all, it’s such a great idea, I’m not going to knock it.

The story revolves around a single man waking up to the reality of non-human creatures dwelling among humans and controlling their perceptions, followed by his ensuing efforts to rouse mankind to the truth.
The story is exceedingly short and can serve as a template for other superior works, like it did for the 1988 movie “They Live”. The movie builds on the short story, functioning as an assessment of the apparent democracy we live in and presents a strong message about the power of advertising and manipulative marketing.

Eight O’Clock in the Morning is about aliens taking over the planet by disguising themselves as humans and using subliminal messages to control the masses.

The book is Sci-fi paranoia at its very best. I never heard of Ray Faraday Nelson but he’s associated with Sartre, Burroughs, Ginsberg and other members of the Beat Era, as well as collaborating with Philip K Dick, which doesn’t surprise at all.

He’s also a legend for helping Henry Miller (one of my favourite writers) smuggle copies of Tropic of Cancer out of France.

A great companion piece to I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, Eight O’Clock in the Morning is a brief but flawless story about the need to resist conformity, avoid consumerism, and try to be self-aware.

Thank you to Bill for bringing it to my attention

P.s. This story is free on Google for all to read

Επαναλάβατε μετά από μένα: Όταν γράφεις δυστοπικό sci-fi, δώσε του σελίδες να αναπτυχθεί.
Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα σύλληψη αλλά αν πρέπει οπωσδήποτε να ασχοληθείτε, προτιμήστε την κινηματογραφική μεταφορά "Ζουν ανάμεσά μας" (They Live - 1988) του John Carpenter.

Super short, but it's very good! It's the skeleton for the film They Live, which I think is much better, but you're comparing a five-page story to a 90-minute movie, so of course the details are fleshed out more on screen. Despite the many typos (maybe because the PDF I read was OCR'd?) it is a very easy-to-follow, effective story.

"At the end of the show, the hypnotist told his subjects, 'Awake.'"

Eight O'Clock in the Morning tackles consumerism in an incredibly powerful way, if it’s quite flawed in its execution, but I think that's more down to the fact that the story hasn't aged well, rather than in its quality as a story.

Coming from my understanding of Doctor Who's Silurians, I feel our protagonist, George's assumptions are absolutely absurd, even when those assumptions are confirmed. And, the criminal actions he takes against these reptiles, despite all they did, it's still an awful thing to do to anyone, no matter what they've done. Ultimately, George comes across as a Xenophobic psychopath. He’s a truly awful excuse for a human, and I genuinely can't relate to what he thinks and what he does.

Then there's his behaviour towards women. It's diabolical. Assault and false imprisonment, it’s disgusting to do that to anyone, not to mention it's highly unnatural for people to take it as George’s girlfriend does. The way Ray Faraday Nelson (and any male authors in the sixties) write women is frankly sexist. They're docile, complaisant, and helpless, which is exactly what this story is writing against.

As for Nelson's writing style, he writes quite fast, moving us from one activity to the next. I used to write in a similar style, so I've got a bit of a soft spot for it, but I feel like I'm missing out on details at times, and the whole thing has this “first draft” feel about it, which I can forgive because this lack of detail and snappy actions adds to one of the themes of narrative. Life can go by at a break-neck pace at times, and we've only got so much time to cherish each moment before we pass away into memory.

I love the story's overarching message of consumerism, how corporations can sell you things you don't really need or the way they convince you to do things you don't really have to do - I mean, you and I don't have to use Goodreads, but here we are - just the whole message about corporate marketing, it’s a wake-up call for some or an affirmation for others. Either way, it's an incredibly cathartic message for anyone to receive.

The themes and messages are enjoyable - they’re the highlights of this story - The alien coding, xenophobia, and misogyny, not so much. George’s struggles, fighting off consumerist marketing strategies is intriguing, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a partner-beating psychopath. While I have a soft spot for Nelson’s fast-paced writing style, I don’t think it’s for everyone. Eight O’Clock in the Morning is a poorly executed story with a powerful wake-up call at its heart.

Letto oggi in occasione del 35esimo di "Essi vivono", che conosco quasi parola per parola. Eppure mi era sfuggito il breve, potentissimo racconto da cui è tratto. Prosa asciutta, progressione impeccabile, geniale il modo in cui Nada si sveglia, proprio in principio. Da brava complottista, a questo punto, mi sorge una domanda: Ma perché nel film gli alieni hanno la faccia sheletrobutterosa e non da lucertola, visto che nel racconto si parla espressamente di rettiliani? Non sarà che...

The movie version is perhaps one of my all time favorite films, and somehow this short story went totally under my radar. The movie is the full realization of this concept I feel, and John Carpenter nailed this premise.

As for this short story though, I think we have all looked around a room of people questioning the "awakeness" of those around us. Particularly, as we navigate mundane chores out in public. Anytime you have ever waited in line, or sat in a waiting room. People just seem programmed to go through the motions. To consume and conform. Without our participation, the system that keeps us idle and numb would fall apart.

Yet, we linger on, pacified by our flashing screens and the promise of a life that is just comfortable enough. Fictional stories like these suggest a sinister plot is underneath it all. The lizard people conspiracy theories have been around for a while. But I believe the system, and the status quo maintained by the "elite" is somewhat autonomous. Groups of powerful people with no objective but to maintain their own self interest.

Imagine if the public actually responded to atrocities committed by corporate entities with the sense of justice that was due? Knowing that to do so would disrupt our life of daily comforts. Is it worth it to stand up against them when it pretty much guarantees you won't live to see past 8 in the morning?

Eight O'Clock in the Morning (1963) is a very short science fiction story by Ray Faraday Nelson where the main character, George Nada, is accidentally “woken up” to a new reality of the world ... the reality that has been kept from all humankind.

The question now is: what will he do with that knowledge?

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This is an original story with an interesting premise: What would happen if there were aliens living among us, controlling every aspect of our lives (even the way we perceive reality), and a hypnotist's command to wake up from the trance unexpectedly broke the aliens' spell, too?

The movie They Live (1988) was based on this story.

This short story is awesome! It gripped my from the beginning and held tight until the end. The description of the antagonists was definitely different from the movie that the story inspired, but you can tell that this is definitely the starting point for They Live.

There is a comic book available as well published in the anthology comic Alien Encounters #6 called Nada. I was a bit disappointed in the design of the antagonists, having started with They Live. The story of the comic is practically the short story verbatim until the end, which I really enjoyed.

This is a classic example of a potentially perfect short story.

A basic premise of the story is humans are doing the bidding of an alien power on this planet. The main character George Nada has an awakening and call to action. His goal to show the world the cloaked aliens that have taken human form existing in every facet of society.

Too little to grsb the idea. Looking forward to watch 'They Live'

The very short story that inspired the John Carpenter film "The Live." It's short and to the point and cool.

Lo lees en menos de 3o min, me interesé por él por la película... que por cierto solo vi un fragmento, además que una de las frases que usa el protagonista " i've come to chew bubblegum and kickass" es utilizada por Duke Nukem jaja. Sí me gustó, pero me resultó muy corta. El final es magistral... pero la historia es muy corta XD.

"Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Faraday Nelson is a sci-fi short story. It deserves a solid 7.5 out of 10 stars for its thought-provoking exploration of reality and identity. While the narrative is concise and engaging, some readers may find the pacing a bit rushed. Nevertheless, Nelson's skillful execution of the premise and the unsettling atmosphere created make it a memorable read.

ummmm, nice i guess. kinda generic. kinda cold.

short but extremely impressive story, rightfully inspired a movie

I knew this was a short story, but I was surprised at just how short it really was. With only five pages, it just doesn't have enough room to excel at anything, especially with such a generic premise. The basic concept is laid out, guy wakes up from being hypnotised, he finds out that aliens are among us and control the world through hypnosis on a massive scale, he freaks out, kicks ass, manages to wake people up and by doing so starts a war, dies. There's some symbolism with his name, but really the story lacks any actual depth. It's an OK concept, it served as a basis for a great film after all, but the ending is just terrible and lowers the rating from three stars to two. Nada being able to wake people up so easily, just by imitating the way the aliens sound on TV, is ridiculous, the way he dies is ridiculous and that's put on top of a beginning that you already shouldn't think too hard about.
If you've watched the movie, maybe check out where it all started, but you won't find a good story.

Short, concise, and to the point. This is how effective short stories are written. With that said I still feel it could have been a couple of pages longer, but then again it might haven't been as effective.
It was, as most people who have read it probably know, the basis for the John Carpenter's movie They Live!.

Best book cover ever

3.5 stars mostly because even though this short and sarcastic story was brilliantly expanded into They Live, the faults of character, description, and plot are what prevent me from rating it higher or closer to its 10/10 film counterpart.

In regards to this story’s strengths, “Eight O Clock in the Morning” accomplishes its tough guy tone succinctly and whimsically with sparse prose that moves both quickly and violently. I loved the clash of the positive victory for humanity with the anticlimactic cynical ending for the protagonist. I also enjoyed the description of subliminal control that the Fascinator’s possess That said, I did not enjoy the unnecessary domestic abuse and shallow main character, and I felt the treatment of major events as equivalent with less significant ones in the writing diluted the story’s impact.. Either way, I’m glad this story was adapted into Carpenter’s masterpiece: They Live, and it was worth the read.

Du haut de ses 5 petites pages, Les Fascinateurs reste aujourd’hui l’œuvre la plus connue de Ray Faraday Nelson. Et ce sont précisément ses multiples adaptations et inspirations qui l’empêche encore aujourd’hui de tomber dans l’oubli. Son aura demeure cependant plus forte outre-atlantique, en raison des plus nombreuses adaptations. De plus, la dernière publication date là-bas de 1998 alors qu’en France, nous n’avons eu droit qu’à la traduction de 1963 pour la magazine Fiction.

Si vous ne connaissez pas l’univers des Fascinateurs, je vous invite à le découvrir dans la langue de votre choix (la version originale est très facile à lire).

Hors Série complet : https://biblideleona.wordpress.com/20...