Turtledove
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"And So To Bed"  
AnalogJan1
Author Harry Turtledove
First Appearance Analog
Collected

Kaleidoscope;
A Different Flesh;
3xT;

The Best of Harry Turtledove
Series A Different Flesh
Publication date January, 1986
Preceded by "Vilest Beast"
Followed by "Around the Salt Lick"

"And So to Bed" (originally published in Analog, January 1986) is the second story chronologically in A Different Flesh (It was also published in the short-story collection Kaleidoscope, which in turn was incorporated into the macrocollection 3xT, and the collection The Best of Harry Turtledove). It has also been printed in Terry Carr's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 16 (1987). It consists of a mock entry in the diary of Samuel Pepys, who, in OTL, kept a very lengthy journal that has proved invaluable to our present understanding of Restoration England.

In the story, set in May 1661, Pepys relates his decision to purchase two sims for his household. By watching these sims, as well as observing various other animals found in North America, Pepys develops the transformational theory of life, i.e. the Theory of Evolution, roughly 150 years before Charles Darwin was born, thus providing a concrete example of how the presence of the sims has changed how Europeans think.

Stylistically, the story is perhaps one of Harry Turtledove's stronger short works, as he captures the flavor of Pepys' writing quite well.

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