| Jim McGregor | |
| Fictional Character | |
| "Hindsight" POD: 1949 | |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Occupation: | Publisher, Editor, Author |
James "Jim" McGregor was the editor of the pulp magazine Astonishing. Mark Gordian had become one of his most profitable authors by 1953. However, after publishing Gordian's story "Reactions", McGregor was contacted by another of his regular contributors, Pete Lundquist, who claimed that Gordian had somehow plagiarized a story that Lundquist had not yet published.
McGregor engaged a detective in New York City to examine the original manuscript for the story "The Hole Man" retrieved from the Astonishing office files. This showed certain peculiarities in its style and paper quality. McGregor met Lundquist in California, and together, the two confronted Gordian. They were surprised to discover that Gordian was a woman. Moreover, McGregor was surprised when Lundquist deduced that Gordian was also from the future.
Both men expressed disdain for Gordian's plagiarism, although they were sympathetic to the fact that Gordian was trying to reinvigorate an appreciation for science before it was lost.
After a conversation, McGregor and Lundquist left, agreeing to keep Gordian's secret. During the visit, McGregor noticed a collection of short stories on Gordian's shelf. The title indicated it was a memorial edition, dedicated to McGregor. While McGregor realized on a rational level that he would one day die, having the fact thrown in his face as a consequence of time travel was very difficult for him.
Literary Note
Jim McGregor is based on John W Campbell, long time editor of Astounding (later Analog) science fiction magazine. After Campbell's death in 1971, "The John W Campbell Memorial Anthology" was published in his honor.
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