Here, the government has undertaken an experimental procedure to recreate a man after he suffers a severe accident. Yes, he's a lot like "The Six Million Dollar Man," though this story predates that TV show by decades. In fact, nothing much is left of the original man but a brain and some nerves; he's almost entirely robotic. This costs hundreds of millions of dollars, with the goal being to keep him alive forever and perfect the process.

The project team becomes concerned when he insists on wearing a metal mask to hide his plastic, human-like face. He also insists that all the people around him wear masks. These masks come to symbolize his loss of humanity, and this story is deeply psychological and somewhat shocking in the turn it takes. It has a powerful impact, as many of Knight's best stories manage to provide.

Quickies
There are several other stories that have an immortality theme. Here's a quickie review of the ones I like best, in no particular order:

Glass Cloud
"Glass Cloud" by James Patrick Kelly is a far-ranging story that holds many intertwined concepts, from architecture to aliens to immortality to personal relationships. It gets a little muddy in the middle with all those concepts flying around, but I liked it overall.

Capricorn Games
"Capricorn Games" by Robert Silverberg is another, very different, Silverberg story on immortality. Here, a woman attends a very strange party in which she wishes to meet a man who is purportedly 1000 years old in order to learn his secret of immortality.

Hothouse Flowers
"Hothouse Flowers" by Mike Resnick is a current Hugo nominee (the Hugos will be presented on September 2). The story explores a near-future where geriatric patients live long, pointless lives. It's short but has a good twist at the end.

Ancient Engines
"Ancient Engines" by Michael Swanwick is another current Hugo nominee and was also a Nebula nominee earlier this year (but didn't win). A robot gets into a bar fight, resulting in a lively discussion about how true immortality is even difficult for non-humans to attain. It's filled with interesting philosophical ideas and is entertaining, even if the territory is well trodden.

Ben Brickman is an enthusiastic early adopter of ebooks and reads them on Palm devices, Rocket eBook Readers, and his desktop PC. He can be reached at benbrickman@yahoo.com.