The Number of the Beast

First paperback edition cover
Author	Robert A. Heinlein
Cover artist	Richard M. Powers
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction
Publisher	Fawcett
Publication date	July 12, 1980
Media type	Print (Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-449-13070-3
Followed by	The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. The first (paperback) edition featured a cover and interior illustrations by Richard M. Powers. Excerpts from the novel were serialised in Omni (October, November 1979). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... Richard M. Powers (February 24, 1921 – March 9, 1996) was a science fiction illustrator. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton Captain Billy Fawcett (1883-1940). ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... Book cover The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1985. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Richard M. Powers (February 24, 1921 – March 9, 1996) was a science fiction illustrator. ... The cover of the January 1991 issue of Omni. ...

The book is a series of diary entries by each of the four main characters, Zebadiah Carter, programmer Dejah Thoris "Deety" Burroughs Carter and her math professor father Jacob Burroughs, and an off-campus socialite Hilda Corners. Zeb and Deety's names are overt homages to John Carter and Dejah Thoris, the main protagonists of the Barsoom or Martian novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Zebadiah - gift of God. ... Incorrect shortening of Mathematics. ... Hilda Burroughs, ne Hilda Corners, nicknamed Sharpie or Sharp Corners, is one of the two female lead characters in Robert A. Heinleins novel The Number of the Beast. ... In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan, began his writing career with A Princess of Mars, a rousing tale of pulp adventure on the planet Barsoom or Mars. ... John Carter and Dejah Thoris from the cover of the first edition of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, McClurg, 1917 Dejah Thoris is a major character in Edgar Rice Burroughss series of Martian novels. ... A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, McClurg, 1917 Barsoom is a fictional version of the planet Mars invented by author Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. ... Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan, although he also produced works in many genres. ...

The odd foursome dash off in Gay Deceiver, Zeb's sports car spaceship, outfitted with the professor's continua device and armed by Australian Defence Forces, into various fictional universes. There is sex, rivalry, and even a trip to Oz. An attempt to visit Barsoom, curiously, takes the quartet to a different version of Mars, seemingly under the colonial rule of the British Empire. However, near the end of the novel, it is obliquely hinted by Lazarus Long that they had in fact been to Barsoom, the "colonial Mars" being an illusion imposed on them by the telepathically adept Barsoomians: The Australian Defence Force (ADF) consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Regular Army (ARA), and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). ... Oz is a fantasy region containing four countries under the rule of one monarch. ... A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, McClurg, 1917 Barsoom is a fictional version of the planet Mars invented by author Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Spoiler warning: Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. ... Telepathy, from the Greek τῆλε, tele, remote; and πάθεια, patheia, to be effected by, describes the hypothetical transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses. ...

"... E.R.B.'s universe is no harder to reach than any other and Mars is in its usual orbit. But that does not mean that you will find Jolly Green Giants and gorgeous red princesses dressed only in jewels. Unless invited, you are likely to find a Potemkin Village illusion tailored to your subconscious...."

In the novel, the Biblical number of the beast turns out to be, not 666, but , or 10,314,424,798,490,535,546,171,949,056, which is the number of parallel universes accessible to the protagonists. Potemkin villages were, purportedly, fake settlements erected at the direction of Russian minister Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin to fool Empress Catherine II during her visit to Crimea in 1787. ... The Number of the Beast is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the Christian New Testament and has long been accepted to be 666. ... // 666 is an abundant number. ... Parallel universe or alternate reality in science fiction and fantasy is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with our own. ...

The novel lies somewhere between parody and homage in its deliberate use of the style of the 1930s' pulp novels. Many of the plot lines and characters are derived directly from the pulps, as referenced by the first line of the novel: In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... For a description of the medieval homage ceremony see commendation ceremony Homage is generally used in modern English to mean any public show of respect to someone to whom you feel indebted. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the World Depression. ... This article is about inexpensive fiction magazines. ...

"He's a Mad Scientist and I'm his Beautiful Daughter." —Deety They LAUGHED at my theories at the institute! Fools! Ill destroy them all! Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of mad scientist. ...

The Number of the Beast contains many in-jokes and references. For instance, the name of every villain is an anagram of a name or pen name of Robert or Virginia Heinlein. An in joke is a joke whose humour is clear only to those people who are in a group that has some prior knowledge (not known by the whole population) that makes the joke humorous. ... Bad guy redirects here. ... For the game, see Anagrams. ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ...

In this book Heinlein introduced the concept called "pantheistic solipsism" or "world-as-myth" — the theory that universes are created by the act of imagining them, so that somewhere even fictional worlds (Oz is one of the examples Heinlein uses) are real. Pantheistic solipsism is a technical term that has been advanced for the World as Myth idea proposed by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein in several of his books and stories, although the concept has nothing in common with either Pantheism (the universe is God) or Solipsism (nothing exists but... Imagination is accepted as the innate ability and process to invent partial or complete personal realms within the mind from elements derived from sense perceptions of the shared world. ...

Near the end, this book is connected to Time Enough for Love, and through it to several others of Heinlein's later works. Many characters from earlier Heinlein works make an appearance. Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1973. ...

External links

• The Number of the Beast publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

v • d • e Robert A. Heinlein novels, major collections, and nonfiction (Bibliography)
Future History and World as Myth	Methuselah's Children (1958) • The Past Through Tomorrow (1967) • Time Enough for Love (1973) • The Number of the Beast (1980) • The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) • To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987)
Scribner's juveniles	Rocket Ship Galileo (1947) • Space Cadet (1948) • Red Planet (1949) • Farmer in the Sky (1950) • Between Planets (1951) • The Rolling Stones (1952) • Starman Jones (1953) • The Star Beast (1954) • Tunnel in the Sky (1955) • Time for the Stars (1956) • Citizen of the Galaxy (1957) • Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958)
Other novels	For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs (1939/2003) • Beyond This Horizon (1942) • Sixth Column (1949) • The Puppet Masters (1951) • Double Star (1956) • The Door into Summer (1957) • Starship Troopers (1959) • Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) • Podkayne of Mars (1963) • Glory Road (1963) • Farnham's Freehold (1965) • The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) • I Will Fear No Evil (1970) • Friday (1982) • Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984) • Variable Star (1955/2006)
Nonfiction	Take Back Your Government (1946/1992) • Tramp Royale (1954/1992) • Expanded Universe (1980) • Grumbles from the Grave (1989)