Scanners Live in Vain
| "Scanners Live in Vain" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Cordwainer Smith | |
cover illustration by Jack Gaughan | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Fantasy Book volume 1 number 6 |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | January 1950 [written 1945] |
"Scanners Live in Vain" is a science fiction short story by American writer Cordwainer Smith (pen name of American writer Paul Linebarger [1913–1966]). It was the first story in Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind future history to be published and the first story to appear under the Smith pseudonym. It first appeared in the semi-professional magazine Fantasy Book in 1950, five years after it was written.
"Scanners Live in Vain" was judged by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the finest science fiction short stories prior to 1965 and, as such, was included in the anthology The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964. The story was nominated for a Retro-Hugo award for Best Novelette in 2001. It has been published in Hebrew, Italian, French, Croatian, German and Dutch translations.